Wednesday Journal 091521

W E D N E S D A Y

September 15, 2021 Vol. 42, No. 7 ONE DOLLAR @oakpark @wednesdayjournal

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

Case by case, how OPRF faces COVID concerns

FROM SMALL THINGS...

Mandates, quarantines and hesitancy all intersect

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

Anthony Clark thought he did enough to dodge the coronavirus.

Clark, a community activist and teacher at Oak Park and River Forest High School, followed all the guidelines: He wore masks, practiced social distancing and was careful around gatherings. He got vaccinated – and received a COVID-19 booster shot.

Just two weeks into the new school year, Clark tested positive for COVID-19.

“I’ll be honest, I’m surprised,” he said.

Clark, who is immunocompromised, said he hasn’t been inside his classroom – let alone the school building – in almost a year. Clark has Behcet’s disease, a rare disorder that causes inflammation of blood vessels, and because of his medical condition, he was able to teach remotely last year, even after OPRF opened up for hybrid learning in the spring.

“As somebody who, of course, went out occasionally for nonprofit work or community work or you know, social gatherings, I managed to not catch Covid for about a year and a half,” Clark said. “It’s surprising to me. Literally, [it’s the] second week of being back at work, back in the building, being vaccinated, having the booster shot, I caught Covid.”

So Clark went into isolation. Clark, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 days ahead of Labor Day weekend, said he missed a week of work and used up all See QUARANTINE on page 8

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Grace Hampson (right), of River Forest, puts a donation in the jar Sept. 11 during the 19th Annual LemonAid fundraiser on Bonnie Brae Place in River Forest. Founded in 2002 to commemorate the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the event has raised more than $400,000 for local charities since that first year, when it raised $400 for Hephzibah Children’s Association. In 2020, LemonAid raised nearly $80,000.

9/11 project now a museum exhibit

Oak Park River Forest Museum shows students in 2001 struggling to understand attack

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Just as many can still remember exactly where they were Nov. 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was

assassinated, the fall of the World Trade Center is seared in the memories of those who were alive to witness it – even if some weren’t quite old enough at the time to fully grasp the tragedy. To help them process the events of Sept. 11, 2001,

Sally McPartlin, the art teacher at River Forest’s Roosevelt Middle School, asked her eighth-grade students to illustrate their emotions.

See MUSEUM on page 15

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Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

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Oak Park begins capital improvement discussions

Trustees make headway in prioritizing projects

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

Angry about the condition of alleys in Oak Park? Displeased with the state of the police department’s facility? Wish there were more public benches around town? Fewer potholes? More trees? Chances are the village of Oak Park is already working to address such issues through its five-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).

Projects related to maintaining or improving municipal infrastructure fall under the capital improvement umbrella. The village of Oak Park’s Finance Committee met Sept.

13 to review the five-year CIP plan recommended by staff, tackling a substantial portion of the 228-page document.

Village President Vicki Scaman sits on the Finance Committee as do Trustees Jim Taglia, Ravi Parakkat and Chibuike Enyia.

Trustee Susan Buchanan and Trustee Arti Walker-Peddakotla also attended and gave input. Initial response from trustees was relatively positive, with much praise being heaped on village staff for the amount of work put into the plan.

“As a trustee, it’s always extremely useful to have the ability to spend time and understand the state of our assets in the village,” said Taglia, adding that the village must continually invest in its infrastructure to meet the needs of the community.

Oak Park’s CIP planning process coincides with the development of its budget for the next fiscal year. The fiscal year budget includes the first year of the CIP and the previous village board adopted both during the month of December. However, village staff recommended the current village board continue to adopt a fiscal budget in December but adopt the first year of the CIP in early October.

“The reason being is that engineering can then get started,” said Interim Village Manager Lisa Shelley.

By adopting the first year of the CIP early, the engineering department can start bidding projects out before contractors’ schedules fill up or prices increase, according to Shelley and Village Engineer Bill McKenna.

Many of the listed projects included in the CIP plan have been in process for years, including equipment replacement and facility studies. Some were delayed or postponed due to COVID-19. All of the projects in the CIP plan are rated by priority using a scale of “A” through “F,” with “A” representing essential and immediate needs. “F” represents future projects with no expenditures intended in

SOS Democracy The Fight for Voting Rights

Thursday, September 23, 7-8:30 Virtual from the Forest Park Library Join us in a discussion about today’s threats to fair, open and trusted elections. Most importantly, find out what we can do now to protect the right of all citizens to vote.

Featuring Otis’ Dream The struggle to vote Jay Young

Executive Director Common Cause Illinois

Rebecca Greenberg Senior Staff Attorney ACLU Illinois

Tyler St. Clair

Outreach Manager Common Cause Illinois

Limited space To register, go here:

2022. Some grant-funded projects have higher rankings than others as the village could risk losing that support by postponing a project.

Buchanan voiced concern that some sustainability projects were not listed as “A,” feeling the given rankings did not align with board goals.

Village staff broke up the recommended CIP plan by the fund responsible by type of improvement as well as by the fund responsible for managing and paying for each project. Each project falls under one of four categories: building improvements, fleet replacements, equipment replacements and main CIP, which includes all other projects.

Each category has a separate fund or budget attached to it to track costs, but some projects could qualify as tax increment financing (TIF) eligible expense or relate to either the village’s water and sewer or parking funds.

In those cases, the expenditure is budgeted within that specific fund rather than one of the CIP funds.

The finance committee went through the projects categorized under the main CIP fund during the Sept. 13. The fund’s main expenses are street repairs and replacements, alleys and sidewalks. One of the notable “A” priority projects” for the fiscal year 2022 is the traffic calming and landscaping project at Forest Avenue and Ontario Street.

The recommended plan states that the

fund’s revenue is generated through a “dedicated [one percent] sales tax, a six cent per gallon gasoline tax as well as through the state distribution of [International Monetary Fund] Telecommunications Taxes.” The main CIP fund also subsidizes the other capital funds through interfund transfers.

The projects under the building improvement fund, as well as the fleet replacement and equipment replacement funds, were also discussed Sept. 13. A notable building improvement project ranked “A” is the modification of the existing bunk room in the main fire station to provide for the needs of future female firefighters. The need for new fire department vehicles, as the current vehicles that have reached the end of their useful lives, also got an “A” rating under the fleet replacement fund.

By January 2024, the state of Illinois is requiring police departments to have programs up and running for body cameras, which the Oak Park Police Department does not currently utilize. The equipment replacement fund lists the cost of devices, storage and redaction software as a “B” project – “essential but may be delayed.”

The finance committee will review the portion of the CIP plan related to the water and sewer funds at its next meeting on Sept. 27.

The proposed timeline calls for an adoption of the CIP during the Oct. 4 board meeting.

Join Us in Celebrating 35 Years!

Upcoming Programs and Events Sept 22: Designing with Dahlias Virtual Sept 24: Uncorked at the Conservatory Sept 26: Fall Fest at the Conservatory Oct 14: African Violets Lecture Virtual

Support the Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory.

Become a member today.

Visit us: 615 Garfield, Oak Park Tues - Sun 10 am - 4 pm OakParkConservatory.org

Or go to: https://bit.ly/38weUaN

Learn more at fopcon.org

Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

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What 9/11 taught me

B

federal lawmakers. arbara Jean Lee was “Every piece of evidence that only in Congress for is released further validates three years when she the Lieutenant’s conduct,” said stood before her visibly Byrd’s lawyer. “The Lieutenant disgruntled colleagues exercised professionalism and to explain her opposition to the restraint in heroically defend2001 Authorization for Use of ing and protecting members of Military Force. Lee, of Oakland, Congress and their staff during was the only member of the the violent insurrection on House or Senate (there are 535) January 6th.” to vote against the authorizaByrd has also received a tion. rash of death threats. He was “Now this resolution will harassed and called n—. Dempass, although we all know onstrators showed up outside of that the President can wage Commentary his apartment. The Blue Lives a war even without it,” she Matter movement was mysterisaid. “However difficult this ously absent from this Black cop’s line of vote may be, some of us must urge the use defense. Suddenly, outrage flowed from of restraint. Our country is in a state of the right-wing over a fatal police shooting. mourning. Some of us must say, let’s step Babbitt, unarmed but for a bloodlust mob back for a moment. Let’s just pause, just for at her back, was painted as a damsel in a minute and think through the implicadistress. tions of our actions today, so that this does Another hero on Jan. 6 is Capitol Police not spiral out of control.”

Officer Eugene Goodman, “who was capWhen Lee spoke, her voice trembled and tured on video facing down members of cracked with emotion. She nonetheless the mob that breached the Capitol on Jan. 6 kept her composure, although the effort and diverting them from entering the Senwas barely visible (controlled breaths; an ate chamber and potentially even, almost motherly tone; saving lives,” according to the hand gestures for effect).

New York Times.

“Now I have agonized over Goodman received biparthis vote,” she continued. tisan praise by the lawmak“But I came to grips with it ers he saved, many of them today, and I came to grips with instrumental in the attempted opposing this resolution durcoup. He got the Congressioing the very painful, yet very nal Gold Medal, among other beautiful, memorial service. honors (no doubt a sign of As a member of the clergy so not a little embarrassment on eloquently said, ‘As we act, let the part of people aware of us not become the evil that we their own complicity but too deplore.’” duplicitous to own up to it).

For her thoughtfulness, Lee I imagine Goodman sensed would receive thousands of the grotesque in all of this pieces of hate mail and countflattery. less death threats littered with One of his friends told the insults and racial epithets.

The Oakland congresswoman would Washington Post that Goodman said “he’d eventually learn that her chief of staff ’s do the same thing again. He’s not looking cousin, Wanda Anita Green, was part of the for any accolades. … But the attention is a United Airlines crew aboard Flight 93. little scary for him.”

Green was hailed as one of the heroes Go figure. who helped divert the plane from its intended course, which authorities suspect was A crude, but clarifying song headed to the Capitol building, where Lee When the first plane hit the North Tower was having a meeting in the dining room of the World Trade Center, I was just getearly in the morning of that fateful day. ting out of gym class at Oak Park and River “My staff called and said something very Forest High School. I only remember the dangerous was happening, and I needed to dazed face of a teacher as he shared the evacuate,” Lee recalled for a story pubsurreal news with someone else. lished Sept. 10 in Elle Magazine. “They During my second period English class, weren’t sure what, but they told me to get the teacher rolled a box TV (this was before out of the building. At the same time, I the ubiquity of flat screens) into the room heard Capitol police say, ‘Evacuate. Leave, so that we could see the devastation on the leave, leave.’” news in real time.

The story of Green’s possible role in For the remainder of the day — indeed taking on the 9/11 hijackers reminded me for the next weeks and months and several of Lt. Michael Byrd’s role in the attempted years afterward, we would be inundated coup on Jan. 6, 2021. Byrd fired a single with color-coded terror alerts, pundits on shot at Ashli Babbitt, a protester who was cable news calling for blood, American attempting to break into a room containing flag bandanas (I bought one myself) and

MICHAEL ROMAIN

“The very concepts of freedom and liberty have been twisted, perverted and pimped out by the powers that be.”

relatives of mine commenting approvingly of George W. Bush’s “gangster swagger.”

School notwithstanding, this was our real education in modern American patriotism.

When nationalistic passions congeal in this country, as they did in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the result almost always hardens into hatred and violence and jingoism. And those values almost always translate into runaway profits for warmongers.

The same year of the 9/11 attacks, the rapper Project Pat released a single that my friends and I listened to often when we were in high school. The lyrics are so crass and misogynistic that I now cringe reading them as an adult. Back then, though, this kind of music was standard fare for a lot of us.

I grew up listening to powerful people talk down to Blacks, pinning the blame for our socioeconomic conditions on our socalled “culture of poverty,” which was supposed to be embodied in hip-hop (a billiondollar industry propped up by the children of those same high-minded critics).

The crass materialism, the hyper-sexualization, the misogyny, the violence, the toxic masculinity of hip-hop is a mirror image of the nation’s elite (I challenge you to watch The Wolf of Wall Street and listen to Project Pat’s “Don’t Save Her” and explain how the values expressed in the film differ from those expressed in the song).

That’s what I’ve realized some two decades after 9/11 and after watching this country routinely spit in the face of the martyrs and heroes who risk themselves for a form of patriotism that, I’m now convinced, is too good for the empire we’ve become. The very concepts of freedom and liberty have been twisted, perverted and pimped out by the powers that be.

Let me be clear. The mistreatment cuts across identity lines. Just look at how this country has treated the New York City first responders — refusing to adequately compensate them, lying to them about the air toxicity at Ground Zero, refusing to even show up to hearings related to their health care and benefits.

“I can’t help but think what an incredible metaphor this room is for the entire process that getting health care and benefits for 9/11 first responders has come to,” the comedian Jon Stewart said in 2019 at a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

“Behind me, a filled room of 9/11 first responders. And in front of me, a nearly empty Congress. Sick and dying, they brought themselves down here to speak to no one.”

So the carelessness isn’t exclusive to Black people, but I’ll argue that the vitriol — a nasty, hyper-aggressive variant that includes the worst of hyper-individualism, unregulated capitalism and racism — is particularly acute when it comes to Black heroes like Barbara Lee and Michael Byrd.

It seems that Black people are constantly saving America from herself, only to be under-appreciated when we aren’t being outright castigated or threatened with physical harm for our heroism.

Project Pat said it best in a song that — for all of its ghetto glorification of excess, crass carnality, promiscuity and its eschewing of commitment — may as well be about American empire.

“Don’t save her, she don’t wanna be saved (Ain’t nothin’ going on but the money and power).”

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

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Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

Storytimes in the Park Wednesdays, through Oct. 27, 10 to 10:30 a.m., Various Oak Park Parks The Oak Park Public Library is partnering with the Park District of Oak Park to bring storytimes to neighborhoods this summer. Share books, songs and more. For families with kids 0-5. Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. Bring your own blanket and hand sanitizer. Limited to 20 families, with masks.

Sept. 15: Maple Park, 1105 S. Maple Ave. Sept. 22: Dole Park, 255 Augusta St. Sept. 29: Barrie Park, 1011 S. Lombard Ave.

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BIG WEEK September 15-22

Friday@Hemingway’s: Mike Mangione Sept. 17, 7 to 9 p.m., Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum Hear the American singer-songwriter, guitarist and percussionist at the first F@H’s event of the season, an ongoing social and community engagement evening with an emphasis on the arts – literature (poetry, prose, reading), performance (music, dance, theatre) and visual (drawing, painting, photography). Refreshing libations available.

Held outdoors, weather permitting. $10; $0-$5, members. Runs through Dec. on the third Friday.

Next up, Oct. 15: Haunted Hemingway, Ghost Stories. Tickets/more: hemingwaybirthplace.com/ programs-events. 339 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park.

Sunday, Sept. 19, 2 to 3:30 p.m., Barbara Hall Meeting Room, River Forest Public Library For those short on time and space, garden containers provide an opportunity to add color and texture in sun and shade. Discover how to choose containers and plants for maximum effect with Nina Koziol. Sample containers will be raffled. Brought in partnership with River Forest Township. Register: riverforestlibrary.librarymarket.com/events/containers-and-window-boxes-creating-wow-factor. 735 Lathrop Ave.

Teen Environmental Club

SARAH JAYNE LANE

See You Saturdays Saturday, Sept. 18, 25, Oct. 2 and 9

Marion Street transforms into an interactive, open street with live music, activities, food and beverages, kids’ entertainment and more. Bring your pets, chairs and yard games. View schedule/more: downtownoakpark.net/ event/see-you-Saturday. Marion St. between Lake and North Blvd.

“Her Voice” Art Exhibition Reception Saturday, Sept. 25, 1 to 4 p.m., Expressions Studio Paper and Print Arts View the fifth annual juried show of women printmakers and guest artists. The show brings together women of different art background to exhibit prints, paintings, drawings, collage, fiber art and photography. Also, view works online: expressions-studio.org.

29 Harrison, Oak Park.

Grand Opening Sunday Sept. 19, 1 to 4 p.m., Studio of Art See the new gallery and working art studio owned

by Melody Kratz. Learn about art classes for teens and adults geared to those who “want to explore their passion in a modern positive environment.”

Also view art in a 24/7 gallery storefront. Opening includes music by School of Rock, beer from Oak Park Brewery and BBQ food to purchase. More: facebook.com/studio.of.art.oak.park. 451 South Blvd., Oak Park.

Containers and Window Boxes: Creating the Wow Factor

Jessica Kronika, “Sure de Los Muertes (Sugar of the Dead)”

Healthy Architecture: The Impact of Design on Well-Being

ANTONY WOOD

Thursday, Sept. 16, 7 to 8:30 p.m., Unity Temple and Virtually The first in the Break the Box lecture series presented by the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation (UTRF) features Oak Park’s own Dr. Antony Wood, CEO of the Council on Tall Buildings & Urban Habitat, speaking on Community, Sustainability & the Skyscraper: Can They Co-Exist? In-person tickets: $25; $10, students; free, UTRF members. Streaming: $10; free, students and members. More/register: utrf.org/event/antony-wood. 875 Lake St., Oak Park.

Sunday, Sept. 19, 1 to 3 p.m., Main Library Entrance Join the Teen Environmental Club for a monthly Adopt-a-Block cleanup. Meet at 1 p.m. and walk as a group to a nearby designated block. Litter clean-up supplies provided. Led by the Leading Edge Teen Advisory Board (LETAB) where teens gain leadership skills and work together to build community.

Register: oppl.org/calendar. 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

“Learning to Pray: A Guide for Everyone” Thursday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m., Virtually with Dominican University’s Siena Center Hear New York Times best-selling author Rev. James Martin discuss his most recent book.

Editor-at-large of America magazine, Martin has appeared on The Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert.

He also authored Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion and Sensitivity, which was the basis for a Martin Scorsese-produced documentary. Register: dom.universitytickets. com/w/event.aspx?id=1385. Free; $10, suggested donation.

Live Jazz Program Friday, Sept. 17, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and Virtually Attend a non-denominational opportunity for reflection and meditation while listening to jazz music. This month, music and readings reflect on resilience. A socially distanced, masked (including musicians) event. Third Friday each month through May. Free. Livestream: goodshepherdlc.org. 611 Randolph, Oak Park.

Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

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Slow trickle for vaccines at Concordia University

Facing state mandate, school offers vax clinics but finds few takers

Gebhardt thought if the university held more vaccination clinics, more people would be inclined to register for the COVID-19 vaccine, but that’s not the case. At the Sept. 10 clinic, Risch was one of five individuals who received that first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter “It seems like those who really wanted it got it early,” Gebhardt said. “Those who have David Risch planned on getting vaccinated been kind of hesitant waited, but they’re still against COVID-19 months ago but found rea- coming.” sons to put it off. He hated shots and was worGebhardt spoke more about CUC’s apried about vaccine side-effects. proach to encouraging staff and students to But when Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a vaccine get the Covid vaccine prior to Pritzker’s manmandate for Illinois school employees last date taking effect. month, Risch had no choice but to “put it at “We’ve strongly recommended it, [and] the top of the list.” With new coronavirus cas- we’ve made it available,” she said, adding es rising and schools now back in full swing, the university believed hosting vaccination Risch said he wanted to do his part and help clinics on campus and sharing out the dates keep staff and students safe. would bring people in. “We didn’t do a ton of On Sept. 10, Risch, a campus safety officer education around the pros and cons only beat Concordia University Chicago, joined a cause we felt like it would fall on deaf ears – handful of university workers and students at that students are already hearing it. We talked an on-site vaccination clinic and received the about doing some sort of campaign or what first dose of the two-dose Moderna COVID-19 not, but thought is that even going to make a vaccine. The clinic – which was the second difference?” one held this month – is part of the univer“So we’ve just taken more of a ‘We strongly sity’s effort to make COVID-19 vaccines more recommend it,’” she said. “‘Here are some accessible to employees and students, as well dates. It’s convenient.’” as their immediate families. A third vaccinaThe university has not shared how many tion clinic will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Sept. 17, of its employees and students are fully vacand pre-registration is required. cinated.

The vaccine mandate also applies to college For Clark Stutsman and Frankie Rodriguez, students and healthcare workers and is part they cited their families as their reason for getof the state’s push to combat the spread of COting vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.

VID-19, especially with an increase in Delta Stutsman, an incoming freshman, and Rodrivariant cases. Individuals must receive the guez, whose wife works at CUC, said they resingle-shot Covid vaccine or the first dose of a searched Covid vaccines before making that two-dose vaccination series by Sept. 19. final call and scheduling their appointments.

Pritzker initially set a Sept. 5 deadline but “It’s not really a political thing. It’s more recently extended it to accommodate hospital of a health issue,” said Stutsman, adding he and education leaders who are figuring out wanted to protect his family, especially his testing protocols and how to hold their staff grandma who is immunocompromised. and students accountable. Individuals must As for Rodriguez, his decision came down have the second shot of two-dose vaccine within 30 days after the first dose. Employees to this: “I thought about the risk of not doing and students who opt out of the COVID-19 it over the risk of actually getting it done. Revaccine for religious or medical reasons are gardless of what’s happening, there’s less of subject to mandatory testing, according to the a risk being vaccinated. If I can increase my chances of staying here for my family, then I state guidance.

“I wanted to protect the students and em- decided that it’s the best move.”

Rodriguez said he’s been hesitant about Coployees here,” said Risch, who sat at a table vid vaccines ever since they came out in the in the back of the room and waited for his 15-minute observation period to end. “In some spring, and when he saw the nurse approach him, he became lightheaded. ways, I probably got it maybe less for myself “I can feel myself sweating from the nerves,” and more for the people around me to make sure I’ve reduced the risk of transmitting said Rodriguez, who was midway through his observation period. “But I’m also finally resomething.”

Since April, CUC has held between 10 and lieved. There’s no turning back now.”

To learn more about COVID-19 vaccines, 12 COVID-19 vaccination clinics on campus, but Dean of Students Kathy Gebhardt said visit the Centers for Disease Control and Preshe has noticed less and less people signing up vention at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/ State Farm index.html. For more information on CUC’s to receive the shot. The university saw dozens Bloomington, IL of staff and students at the first few clinics, vaccination clinics or to pre-register for the 2001290 but those numbers have since tapered off, she Sept. 17 clinic, visit www.cuchicago.edu/general-information/covid-19-information/. said.

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Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

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Oak Park couple donates $1M for community rec center Hunts will help launch fundraising campaign at Sept. 18 public event

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

The Park District of Oak Park’s plan to build a community recreation center is well on the way to becoming a reality, thanks to a sizeable donation from local philanthropist duo Patty and Ken Hunt. The couple have pledged $1 million toward construction of the center through the “A Place to Belong” capital funding campaign carried out by the Parks Foundation of Oak Park, a separate nonprofit entity that works closely with the park district.

“With their gift, they’ve gotten us even closer to where we need to be,” said Edward Kerros, vice president of the foundation’s board of directors.

The park district has committed to not using tax dollars to fund the community recreation center. In recognition of this, the Parks Foundation is looking to raise $22 million to build the center, through which the park district plans to offer recreation, mental health, fitness and free after-school programming for Oak Park residents. The foundation, which began quietly fundraising for the project about 18 months ago, is hosting

PROVIDED

Rendering of the park district’s proposed $22M rec center. a family-friendly celebration at the site of the future rec center, 229 Madison St., on Saturday, Sept. 18 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. to mark the public launch of the “A Place to Belong” capital funding campaign. Patty Hunt, who was not immediately available for comment, is among the event’s speakers.

Kerros remained mum on just how much the foundation has raised of its $22 million goal, stating that the progress report will be

given at the event, which will also feature games and refreshments.

“I really don’t want to spill the beans until the event because we’re building up to sharing that exciting news,” said Kerros. “What I can say is that we’ve made tremendous progress.”

That progress has been made with the help of both individuals and businesses, as well as granting organizations, he said.

Also speaking at the launch event will be the capital campaign’s co-chairs, Dr. David Ansel and Mary Jo Schuler, who has also made a considerable contribution to the cause by donating the land on which the park district will build the recreation center. She and her husband Stephen Schuler, both Oak Park natives, transferred ownership of the acre of land on Madison Street in November of 2019.

Ansel and Schuler have made quite an effective team, according to Kerros, who credited the co-chairs for much of the campaign’s success.

“We are really blessed to have Mary Jo and David as our co-chairs,” said Kerros.

“They’ve been very instrumental in getting the word out and getting people excited.”

Schuler said fundraising has gone well so far, despite disapproval from some members of the community about building a new center. Schuler called that group of “a very, very small minority.” She believes every community has a group of people resistant to change and investment in its citizens. In Oak Park, that group is far outnumbered by the residents in favor of improving the community, according to Schuler.

“There’s a whole army of people in our community who have a passion for investing in our community,” she said, “and to also, in this instance, perpetuate low-cost, no-cost opportunities to engage in an active lifestyle at the community recreation center.”

George Wendt, legend in open water swimming, drowns at event River Forester, 73, taught at Fenwick, later at Benedictine

By F. AMANDA TUGADE Staff Reporter

George Wendt, a beloved Fenwick High School teacher and legendary Chicago swimmer, died after drowning in Lake Michigan Sept. 11 during the 30th annual Big Shoulders Open Water Classic.

Wendt, a 73-year-old from River Forest, was found “unresponsive after swimming in the water” around 9 a.m. in the 800 block of North Lake Shore Drive, according to the Chicago Police Department. He was transported to Northwestern Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Wendt’s death was ruled an accidental drowning, the Cook County medical exam-

iner’s office reported. Police said the death is being investigated by Area 3 detectives.

Wendt was president of the Chicago Masters Swim Club and competed in the 2018 U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championships in Indianapolis. He was a two-time winner of Chicago’s Big Shoulders race, according to a 2012 Chicago Tribune story. Wendt, a 1965 Fenwick graduate, was also inducted in his high school’s Hall of Fame in 2013.

Organizers of Big Shoulders released a statement on its website on Sept. 11 addressing Wendt’s death and the legacy he left behind.

“I write this with an incredibly heavy heart,” organizers wrote. “For those who haven’t heard, today we lost George Wendt, a good friend, a role model, a swimming icon, and someone I will miss dearly.

George was one of the best people I had the

Big Shoulder Lake Michigan Swim/Facebook/Eric Johnson

Master swimmer George Wendt as he appeared earlier on the day he died. pleasure to call ‘friend.’

“Always positive with a smile, George was the guy who made going to the pool at 5:15 seem like a privilege, rather than a chore. He died doing something he loved,

open water swimming. We will have more in the days ahead, but in the meantime, please send any photos you had of George from the race, or from the race in general, to post.”

Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

7

C O R R E C T I O N

Clarifying the property assessment, tax bill of Vantage development

By MICHAEL ROMAIN Equity Editor

Last week, we published an article titled “Vantage high rise gets 40% tax cut. Kaegi blames appeal processes.”

Since then, we’ve realized that the heading and some claims in the body of the article were inaccurate.

“After appealing the assessor’s figure with the Cook County Board of Review (BOR), Vantage’s market value was assessed at $48.5 million and the building’s 2020 tax bill was cut by 40 percent, to $4.9 million,” we wrote.

But what the property owner was assessed is not necessarily what they paid in taxes.

According to documents held with the Cook County Treasurer’s office, Vantage paid $2,044,100.09 in total property taxes this year for the 2020 tax year. In tax year 2019, Vantage paid $1,348,234.20. That 2019 amount reflected the fact that for the first half of 2019, no taxes

were assessed on one of the two PIN numbers associated with the Vantage property.

A BOR spokesperson said this week that the Oak Park Elementary School District 97 petitioned the BOR to lower Vantage’s assessment.

She said local taxing bodies typically conduct these kinds of interventions when they believe that an assessment is too high and won’t withstand an appeal to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB).

If the PTAB determines that a property’s assessment is too high, then local taxing bodies have to refund the money, the spokesperson said. So, as a preemptive measure, taxing bodies intervene.

“It’s much harder to refund something than to not get it in the first place,” the BOR spokesperson said.

We’ll be delving into this matter in more depth at a later date. In the meantime, Wednesday Journal regrets the error.

CONTACT: michael@oakpark.com

FILE

Vantage Oak Park, 150 Forest Ave

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Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

QUARANTINE

Dealing with the virus from page 1 his sick days, leaving him unable to do what he loves the most: being with his students.

And Clark isn’t alone in this experience.

With schools fully reopened this year, many teachers like Clark, as well as other faculty, staff and students, continue to bear the brunt of the pandemic, especially as the state’s Covid protocols for schools remain in flux.

In the past three weeks, school district officials statewide were hit with two major changes: Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a vaccine mandate for all school employees and college students, and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) voted to provide remote learning for students who are quarantined after being potentially exposed to COVID-19 in school. ISBE previously offered remote learning for students who are ineligible to get vaccinated and were under quarantine orders by a local public health department or the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The OPRF District 200 Board of Education also unanimously approved a memorandum with its Faculty Senate, a collective bargaining unit, during a Sept. 9 special meeting.

Among the items listed in the memorandum, employees who are fully vaccinated or are exempt from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine will be placed on paid administrative leave if they test positive for the virus.

The memorandum also stated that teachers “will provide audio and video observational access to their classrooms” for students. That means students could livestream their classes, but they may be unable to participate in the class in real time.

Teachers can also choose whether to make their classes available for livestreaming, if “appropriate to the instructional needs.”

Prior to the memorandum, students in quarantine would log into Google Classroom, an online platform that contains lessons, homework and links to resources. The virtual classroom has “explicit step-by-step instructions” for students to follow while at home, said Laurie Fiorenza, director of student learning.

Fiorenza, who spoke to Wednesday Journal before the memorandum became public, said that students could schedule an hour of online tutoring with a substitute teacher during the school day and look forward to offering another layer of support.

For Ray, a junior at OPRF who did not want his last name used, managing schoolwork while under quarantine was stressful.

Ray, who was identified as a close contact during the beginning of the school year, said he was put under quarantine for almost two weeks and struggled to keep up with homework.

Ray said he decided not to use the online tutoring service because he felt that the tutors he worked with before only helped him with his homework. Ray said what he needed was someone to teach the lesson.

FILE

Oak Park and River Forest High School “I can get anybody to [help me with my homework,” he said. “I can ask my sisters or my mom for help. It’s the fact that I’m sitting here trying to piece together the work that I should have been in class [for], listening when they were explaining how to do it.”

One student’s story Ray went on and opened up about being named a ‘close contact.’ According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a ‘close contact’ is someone who has been within six feet of a person with COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes over a 24-hour period. In schools, students are no longer considered close contacts if they have stayed 3 to 6 feet away from a student with Covid – and if they and the student with Covid are both masked correctly and consistently, the CDC reported. The exception does not apply to staff, teachers and other adults.

District policy stated that students and staff who have been fully vaccinated and are exposed to COVID-19 do not need to quarantine as long as they remain asymptomatic.

Under the Oak Park Department of Public Health, those who are unvaccinated and exposed to the virus must quarantine for two weeks, or up to 14 days. Staff and students, however, have the option of taking a BinaxNOW COVID-19 rapid test on the last four days of quarantine. If staff and students test negative for Covid, they can come

back to the school on that day.

Ray said he had just scheduled a vaccination appointment when the school notified him as a “close contact.”

Ray said he and his mother were hesitant about the vaccine and heard all kinds of stories about people getting blood clots, after getting the shot, or that the nurses who administer the vaccine “stick the whole needle in your arm.” Ray said that his mother also felt that the vaccine was just another “move for the government to be able to track everybody.”

Patrick Hardy, OPRF’s executive director of equity and student success, said Ray and his mother are not the only ones who are vaccine-hesitant and have expressed similar concerns. While 79% of students at OPRF are fully vaccinated, there are still those who remain on the fence about getting the shot.

Hardy said he’s heard from students, especially from Black students, who are hesitant about the COVID-19 vaccine for very “specific” reasons. Some students are overwhelmed by the amount of information on the vaccine – “They said, ‘There’s just too much,’” Hardy said – while others felt that the information they needed was buried underneath other facts.

Hardy, who is Black, said other Black students have cited the Tuskegee Study, an experiment that followed hundreds of rural Black men in Alabama with syphilis and

were ultimately denied treatment. “‘The vaccine is free. When has anything been free for Black people?’” said Hardy, recalling a conversation with one student.

Echoing Hardy, Ray said his mother, both of whom are Black, felt like getting the COVID-19 vaccine was just another way for the government to exercise control.

Hardy shared students are already aware of the consequences of being unvaccinated, and what they’re looking for is someone they can talk to about their beliefs and concerns.

“I’m not looking to convince you of anything. I want you to feel welcome in this building, to hold those beliefs and hold them strongly, because they’re grounded in something real that happens to our people in this country and continues to happen,” Hardy said. “I think just being affirming, being welcoming and being a good listener was what they needed to feel comfortable.” “... They know where my office is,” said Hardy. “They got all the information. And all I say is, if there’s something I can do to support you, please let me know. And that’s the end of that.”

For more information on the COVID-19 vaccine, visit the CDC’s website https:// www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/index. html. To schedule a vaccination appointment locally, visit www.oprfhs.org/covid-19/index-clone and click the tab “Ways to Get Vaccinated.”

Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

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Oak Park negotiates staff vaccine mandate with unions EMTs, firefighters, health dept. staff designated as health workers

By STACEY SHERIDAN

personnel, Pritzker’s executive order requires healthcare workers to undergo a complete series of COVID-19 vaccinations. At The village of Oak Park could a minimum, the order dictates be following the White House’s people within these groups must lead when it comes to the vaccihave received at least one dose nation status of personnel. Just of a two-dose vaccination series as President Joe Biden signed an or a single dose vaccine within executive order Sept. 9 requiring 10 days after the issuance of the federal employees to be fully vacorder and be fully vaccinated cinated against COVID-19, Interwithin 30 of the first dose. im Village Manager Lisa ShelThe village of Oak Park is ley confirmed the village was paying particular attention to considering imposing a similar the order’s language pertainmandate for village staff. ing to healthcare workers. Shel“We are working our way ley shared that the village has through the discussions with identified the nurses employed some of our labor unions,” said by the Oak Park Public Health Shelley.

Department as healthcare The interim village manager workers. declined to name the unions or Likewise, the village’s emerthe status of the discussions, LISA SHELLEY gency medical technicians stating she could not discuss Interim village manager (EMTs), all firefighters, fall unnegotiations. However, she told der the category of healthcare Wednesday Journal the village workers as “they work under was reviewing the impact of anthe direction of a medical direcother executive order – that of tor and under his license at Loyola HospiGovernor J.B. Pritzker, issued Aug. 26.

Along with school and higher education tal,” according to the interim village manStaff Reporter

“Since [healthcare workers] have an immediate [vaccination] deadline, those conversations are further along.”

ager. That medical director is emergency medicine specialist Dr. Mark E. Cichon, Professor and Chairman Department of Emergency Medicine at Loyola University Chicago.

“Since [healthcare workers] have an immediate [vaccination] deadline, those conversations are further along,” Shelley said.

“The details in this mandate are then being used as the basis of the conversations with

the other labor unions.”

With the delta variant sweeping the nation, COVID-19 remains a major problem.

Despite vaccination efforts led by the state, county and village itself, positive cases continue to mount in Oak Park. The village of Oak Park announced Sept. 8 that 59 residents had tested positive for the virus since the last COVID-19 update on Sept. 1, when the village reported 65 new cases.

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Welcome to Worship 2021

YOUR LOCAL RELIGION GUIDE Sunday Worship at 8:00 AM (in person) and 10:30 AM (in person and via livestream) Christian Education at 9:15 AM following CDC Guidelines

O

Small Building for a Big Ministry

ak Park is filled with significant church buildings, some of which are magnificent and cathedral-like, one which is a World Heritage site. While relatively small and understated in comparison, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church’s newly renovated building is the home of an expansive ministry and base of faith exploration and development that extends far beyond the corner of East and Randolph in Oak Park.

On any given day, you will find members actively engaged in ministry.

We assemble weekly meals for the homeless, feed breakfast to high schoolers, and assist refugees and immigrants on their journey. We actively participate in BLM, LGBTQ+ and women’s marches. Working with local and national agencies, we transform lives with our voices, our funding, our hands and our hearts. We stand together as a community, willing to do the hard work of justice thru advocacy, service, and support.

This ministry is the outward sign of our spirituality – the Gospel wearing skin.

It isn’t all about work, young families bring their children to plant seeds for life-long friendships and faith. Whether in Sunday School, Vacation Bible School or the National Youth Gathering, intergenerational bonds are formed that remain through adulthood. Children grow up and bring their children to grow in faith among us.

611 Randolph, Oak Park corner of East and Randolph 708-848-4741 www.GoodShepherdLC.org facebook.com/goodshepherdlc

We are all children of God and faith is an ongoing journey. Reflecting the example of Jesus Christ, and assured by the grace of the Lutheran tradition, we respect each person’s integrity in their relationship with God and each person’s unfolding journey of spiritual growth. Questions of faith and spirituality are encouraged and taken seriously as a part of the journey.

If you are interested in a faith community that takes connections to the world and connections to God seriously, you might be one of us. And while our building is beautiful, it isn’t the heart of our focus.

Join us Sundays for worship. 8:00am in person or at 10:30am either in person or livestreamed. The link is on our website: GoodShepherdLC.org.

Welcome to Worship

Special Advertising Section

September 15, 2021

Living in God’s abundant grace

“N

ot so long ago,” wrote Dave Lyle, Senior Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in River Forest, “it looked like we were heading toward the beginning of a new ministry year that would have a pre-pandemic feel to it. Unfortunately, the surge driven by the Delta variant forced a rethinking of things.

“Nevertheless, God is good!” Pastor Lyle continued. “And as we lean into our vision to be ‘Together in Christ’ we see that God continues to bless us abundantly.”

After moving its worship services to livestream on YouTube at the beginning of the pandemic, Grace Church has gradually returned to in-person worship. In June of 2021, after months of limited-capacity services, the congregation resumed its regular Sunday morning schedule of worship services at 8:30 and 11 a.m. Masks are required, and the large sanctuary offers plenty of room for social distancing.

The 8:30 a.m. service continues to be livestreamed on YouTube. Go to Grace’s website at GraceRiverForest.org and scroll down on the home page for a link to the service.

Grace’s Bach Cantata Vespers will also welcome in-person worshipers back to the sanctuary this fall, while continuing to livestream the services at the Bach Cantata Vespers channel on YouTube. The first cantata of the season is on Sunday, September 26, at 3:45 p.m.

Visit BachVespers.org for more information.

Living in God’s abundant grace

Sunday morning education programs returning to in-person learning this fall, with Sunday School, Teen Talk, confirmation, and Adult Ed classes at 9:45 a.m.

Opportunities to serve are plentiful at Grace. Fellowship groups for all ages, including a Theology on Tap night for young adults, gather in different settings, knowing both that it’s important to get together and to stay safe while doing so.

Challenges and uncertainties abound during these days, but we look forward to the many ways we can reconnect in the days to come.

Grace Lutheran Church is at the southwest corner of Bonnie Brae and Division in River Forest. Call 708-366-6900 for more information.

David R. Lyle, Senior Pastor Troy Medlin, Associate Pastor Bill Koehne, School Principal 7300 Division Street River Forest, Illinois 60305 708-366-6900 GraceRiverForest.org

A

Fair Oaks Market Supports Teen Mission Trip and Sarah’s Inn

call to serve those in need resides at the heart of Fair Oaks’ congregation. Whether a longtime member or first-time visitor, Fair Oaks invites comers of all ages to join in mission activities building fellowship and putting faith into action supporting others locally, nationally and internationally.

One annual highlight is the Fair Oaks Senior Mission Trip which serves to connect older youth to each other and to sponsoring adults while encouraging them to experience and learn about communities outside of their own. This year we took 29 youth and 5 adults to New Orleans for a memorable week that included meeting with local churches, learning about the history of the area, and bearing witness to the lasting impact of Hurricane Katrina. Over the course of the week, our group worked with local organizations to address housing needs, built strong bonds of friendship, and explored deeper issues of faith and life.

We invite senior high youth and families to learn more and join us for our July 2022 Mission Trip to Ashville, NC! The trip is available to all and is sponsored in part by our Fair Oaks Market.

The upcoming Fair Oaks Market, held at the church at 744 Fair Oaks Avenue on Saturday, October 16 from 10am-3pm, will raise funds for both senior high mission work and Sarah’s Inn. The market will feature one-of-a kind items made by church members and local artisans alike including: holiday gifts, handcrafted bags, ceramics, textile arts, skincare products, essential oils, prints, children’s items, specialty jams and baked goods. There is no entrance fee and free parking. COVID protocols will be closely followed.

The market will also hold a raffle with 3 great prizes: a 2022 White Sox game package, a pair of handmade white oak Adirondack chairs, and a gourmet dinner prepared by Pastor Ben Lynch and Charlie Mayer.

For a full list of Fair Oaks’ many mission partners please see: fairoakspres.org/mission-ourpartners. We hope to have you join us!

Sunday services 8:30 and 11 a.m.

We are worshiping in person.

Please wear a mask.

Live-stream worship Sundays at 8:25 a.m.

Go to GraceRiverForest.org

EducaPon hour 9:45 a.m.

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Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

‘See you Saturday’ starts Sept.

West Suburban 17 in downtown Oak Park Cares for You!

West Suburban Medical Center consistently receives an “A” rating for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group, the nation’s premier advocate of transparency in healthcare. Patient safety is our highest priority.

“That is how you know you can count on West Suburban Medical Center.”

- Cristina Waters Oak Park Village Clerk

New outdoor event series runs through mid-October

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

With the conclusion of “Thursday Night Out” creating a void in calendars, people in Oak Park craving safe social interaction will be thrilled to hear the latest familyfriendly event series put together by Downtown Oak Park (DTOP) starts Saturday.

Called “See You Saturday,” the event series will occur, as the name suggests, on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Marion Street between Lake Street and North Boulevard, beginning Sept. 18 and ending Oct. 9.

“It’s like ‘Thursday Night Out’ except it’ll be going on all day. We have different activities and entertainment throughout the day as well as into the evening,” said Shanon Williams, DTOP executive director.

Attendees will enjoy a heightened experience dining al fresco or having a cocktail outside while live music plays. For children, there will be kids’ entertainers, balloon twisters and activities.

To keep people safe from COVID-19,

DTOP will have hand sanitizer at each of the tables along the blocked off street. People can sit at the tables to eat takeout from nearby restaurants or take in the scene.

Attendees are also able to bring their own furniture and yard games.

DTOP is making the wellbeing of the community a priority. Williams told Wednesday Journal her team has been working with the Oak Park Health Department on safety guidelines.

“We’re really going to follow protocol in keeping people safe as far as masking and social distancing,” said Williams.

That won’t hamper any fun. “See You Saturday” is pet-friendly, bike-friendly and friend-friendly, according to Williams. The first Saturday’s lineup includes a free yoga class, Latin jazz music, kids’ art activities and bean bag games – as well as an opportunity to make the most out of the mild weather before winter blows in.

Williams, for one, is excited about the new event series.

“I just think it’s perfect for the community right now,” she said. “This is a good fit.”

S W NE

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Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

13

Kribi Coffee meets Cross Function on South Blvd.

Forest Park roastery and coffee shop comes to historic Boulevard Arcade

By MELISSA ELSMO Oak Park Eats Editor

Expansion is on the horizon for Kribi Coffee. The Forest Park air roastery and coffee shop, 7324 Madison St., is set to open a sibling space in Oak Park. The second location set to open in mid-October will be housed at Cross Function, a flexible workspace in the Boulevard Arcade building, at 1033 South Blvd.

“My wife Cindy was driving down South Boulevard and saw the available café space,” said Jacques Shalo, owner of Kribi Coffee. “I connected with Trent to learn more about the space, and it seemed like a great opportunity for Kribi to enter Oak Park.”

Trent Stoner, principal at Cross Function, has long envisioned a coffee shop being a part of his flexible work environment, but the pandemic delayed the project. The pause allowed him to connect with Shalo who was looking to “seed the Kribi concept” in Oak Park.

“The 77 members of Cross Function are very stoked Kribi is coming,” said Stoner. “We told them about the build out and explained we would keep disruptions to a minimum, but they were like, get it done.” Members will

MELISSA ELSMO/Oak Park Eats Editor

WELL MET: Trent Stoner, of Cross Function, and Anthony Roeder, of Marion Street Services, welcome Jacques Shalo (center), of Kribi Coffee, to the Boulevard Arcade building. have free access to Kribi’s offerings.

Shalo and Stoner are working with Anthony Roeder, general contractor at Marion Street Services, to get the diminutive shop up and running. Marion Street Services is an exclusive builder in Oak Park and Roeder is confident he will be able to get the buildout

completed speedily.

“This is like the crowning cream swirl on the latte,” said Roeder.

The build out will take advantage of the copious light on the first floor of the historic Boulevard Arcade building and create additional space to hang art from the Oak Park

Art League. A long counter will greet customers and seating for 6 to 12 guests will be available in the shop and inside the well-appointed lobby area. Outdoor seating during warmer weather months will double the coffee shop’s seating capacity, but Shalo, Stoner and Roeder anticipate the shop will be used predominantly for grab-and-go purposes.

Kribi’s Cross Function location will capitalize on the recognizable design elements popularized at the Forest Park location. The colorful palette, conceptualized by Shalo’s son Jeremiah, is a nod to the family’s Cameroonian heritage and regional coffee sourcing practices. The shop will be equipped with Kribi’s signature air roaster and Shalo intends to offer coffee beans by the pound and brewed by cup. He will serve the same breakfast items he serves at the Forest Park location and is exploring lunch items to round the menu offerings.

“We were drawn to the Cross Function space because it allows us to open Kribi in Oak Park as soon as possible,” said Shalo.

The new space will serve as a precursor to a larger Kribi expansion in Oak Park expected sometime in late 2023 or early 2024. As more people are getting back on the train again, the Kribi location at Cross Function will bring a much-needed early morning coffee and breakfast option to South Blvd.

Shalo anticipates opening as early as Oct. 15 with first cups poured as early as 6 a.m.

Sponsored Content

T

Oak Park’s Largest Personalization Company Now Offers Locally Inspired Merchandise

his was a busy summer for local customization business Personalization House, to say the least. In June, owners Eric Priceman and Lauren Nemiroff acquired Forest Park’s Classic Screen Printing, Energy Tees and Yipes!. While integrating their growing collection of businesses, they both

saw an opportunity to implement changes to the retail store. Priceman explained “Personalization House has been a solution for customization in the community, but with our expanded capabilities we wanted to bring our customers more than just our services.

We were familiar with the work of Yearbook

Studios, and believed they would be a perfect partner to design a new in-store experience and line of merchandise.”

Eric and Lauren hired Yearbook Studios, led

by Creative Director Jef Anderson. Tasked with redesigning the store and creating an entire line of merchandise in just a few weeks, they pulled inspiration from their own backyard. For the store, the focus was on showcasing the new off-the-shelf merchandise while also finding a way to work in the product samples that materialize the breadth of services Personalization House offers. For the merchandise, they honed in on themes that would be appealing to both locals and visitors. The rich history of Oak Park offered great inspiration for design concepts. Yearbook took the opportunity to create remarkably unique, thoughtful and whimsical graphics. From map illustrations that include Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park, each with meaningful landmarks, to the “Icons” line representing some of Frank Lloyd Wright’s best known works, they married their signature vintage touch with local history.

Anderson stated, “Redefining Personalization House by creating a new store experience and new products has been a rewarding job for the Yearbook team.” Stop in to see the results. We think you’ll be pretty impressed.

Personalization House 127 N Marion St, Oak Park, IL 60301 (708) 383-4100 • www.gopersonalize.com

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Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Happy crowd munches through Barrie Fest, courtesy of Takeout 25 Restaurant-boosting organization launches nonprofit model

By MELISSA ELSMO Oak Park Eats Editor

Barrie Fest bustled with community members looking to support Takeout 25 and seven local restaurants serving up a diverse array of dishes at the Sept. 11 event at the park at Lombard and Garfield. Food vendors included Amerikas, Khyber Pass, Kalamata Kitchen, Mora Asian Kitchen, Billy Bricks Woodfired Pizza, Carnivore Oak Park, Ben’s Bar-BeCue, Happy Apple Pie Shop and Cafe Cubano.

Takeout 25 sold more than 350 ticket booklets at $25 each giving attendees the option to select three items each valued at $8 from any of the seven vendors. The remaining dollar in the booklet price was donated to Beyond Hunger. Khyber Pass also donated 20% of its proceeds to Beyond Hunger.

Barrie Fest-goers lined up to make their selections from the food booths and, thanks to strong attendance, both Khyber Pass and Café Cubano ran out of food by the end of the afternoon. The seven vendors collectively earned more than $8,000 at Barrie Fest.

“Barrie Fest and the Takeout 25 launch were absolutely fantastic,” said Ravi Parakkat, Takeout 25 founder and now a village trustee.

“We had a much larger turnout than we expected, and we would love to partner with SEOPCO again in the future.”

SEOPCO is the South East Oak Park Community Organization. The group began in the early 2000s to respond to the contentious multiyear cleanup of environmental contamination of Barrie Park.

The OPRF chapter of Clean Up Give Back was on hand to ensure RAVI PARAKKAT the event was clean and green.

Takeout 25 founder Thanks to high school age volunteers the festival was free of litter and helped bring attention to Takeout 25’s focus on sustainability. In addition to working together at Barrie Fest, Takeout 25 and the cleanup group have collaborated to turn some of the take-out related waste generated in Oak Park during the pandemic into a plastic bench that will be installed at village hall in the coming weeks.

“These young volunteers are doing very important work in the community,” said Parakkat. “We are so grateful they helped us handle our waste responsibly.”

Both the Barrie Fest celebration and the forthcoming bench are signs that Takeout 25 is becoming a permanent fixture in the Oak Park community and beyond.

Takeout 25 started as an online initiative dedicated to supporting restaurants through the COVID pandemic and

“We had a much larger turnout than we expected, and we would love to partner with SEOPCO again in the future.”

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

SPOKESMAN: David Fletcher, the general manager for Wheel and Sprocket, tunes up a bicycle during Barrie Fest, Saturday. Attendees browse the booths (top) and sample food from Oak Park restaurants (above right). marked its transition to an official non-profit organization at Barrie Fest by offering branded T-shirts in exchange for a $25 donation. The effort raised $3,000 and funds will be used to help Takeout 25 cover its non-profit start up and infrastructure costs.

While all local restaurants will continue to have universal access to the free marketing engine Takeout 25 has become, the new 501c6 is designed to outlive the pandemic and will rely on a membership model to help support dining establishments and enrich the local economy in a variety of ways.

Parakkat acknowledges the not-for-profit is in its infancy but envisions the Takeout 25 membership cost being $25 per month or $300 per year for participating restaurants.

The fees will give members the “right of first refusal” on

future Takeout 25 events and access to cross community collaborations designed to strengthen the local economy.

“We are very confident in our ability to provide value to restaurants” said Parakkat. “Everything we are hoping to do will enhance the top-line for member restaurants.”

In addition to increasing revenue and lowering costs for restaurants, Parakkat aims to facilitate relationships with local delivery services, introduce collaborative initiatives to aid restaurants in bulk ordering eco-friendly take-out packaging and reduce retail food waste by marketing local food overages in inventive ways.

As Takeout 25 grows, programs will be staffed by paid interns or part-time paid staff members as needed. Parakkat will stay on as founder and board president and will not be paid for his ongoing efforts.

Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

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SHOCK AND ANGER: Art project allowed D97 students to work through their emotional reactions to the 9/11 attacks.

MUSEUM from page 1

“I just put paper and markers out and said, ‘Draw how you feel about the whole thing,’” she recalled. “Everyone’s emotions came out.”

McPartlin compiled all that came out of the art therapy exercise into four powerful collages that are now on display at the Oak Park River Forest Museum to commemorate the 20-year anniversary of the terrorist attack that devastated the nation. The exhibit is on display through the end of October.

When viewed, the collages provide an intimate look into the adolescent minds of their creators as they struggled to make sense of the incomprehensible while undergoing the complicated transition from child to adult.

“It was a very traumatic thing to experience, even from afar,” said museum operations manager Rachel Berlinski.

More than the sum of their parts, the collages have stark themes ranging from solemn patriotism to cataclysm. The young artists’ interpretation of the attack ranged from the abstract to the highly literal. American flags are prevalent across the pieces, but the macabre image of people jumping from the twin towers, engulfed in flames stands out.

The words “CONFUSION,” “HATE” and “FEAR” are splashed across the pictures in contrast to such phrases, “United we stand,” and “I pledge allegiance,” which are also featured.

“They’re very impactful,” said the art teacher, now retired.

McPartlin donated the collages to the museum about three years ago, after hanging onto them for quite some time, finding her-

self unable to dispose of them.

“I just didn’t have the heart to get rid of them,” she said.

Now a museum exhibit, the collages afford those who lived through the terrorist attack a chance to reflect on that fateful Tuesday.

It’s a particularly moving experience for the children, now adults, who remember sitting in school as news broke that a passenger jet had roared into the north tower of the World Trade Center followed by a second into the south tower.

“As a kid, it’s kind of funny what you remember, but this is the kind of thing you can’t forget,” said Berlinksi, who was in second grade at the time of the attack.

For those born in a post-9/11 United States, the exhibit provides an important learning opportunity, one safe enough to share with children. The collages have preserved the pain, confusion and fear that was felt across the nation, hundreds of miles away from where the twin towers once stood in New York City.

“We’re looking at these pieces for the first time historically and saying, what are our firsthand experiences?” said Berlinksi.

“How are we going to be talking about this event 100 years from now?”

If you go…

The exhibit is available with the price of general admission at the Oak Park River Forest Museum through the end of October.

The museum is open Wednesday through Saturday between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. with admission costing $5 for Oak Park and River Forest residents. Admission costs $7 for non-residents. Kids under seven are free.

The museum is located at 129 Lake St.

Fall offers optimal Scott McAdam Jr. growing conditions and fewer pressures and stressors than other seasons. As soil temperatures decrease, dormant weed seeds in the soil are not able to germinate as readily. That minimizes competition for space, nutrients, and moisture for the seed to properly establish healthy root systems.

With cooler temperatures, the soil also retains moisture longer, decreasing your time and watering demands. Don’t overwater, as this can result in drowning or washing the seed away. Short, frequent watering keeps the top layers of soil moist without being too wet.

Common practice is to keep the top 4-6” of soil moist at all times without being oversaturated. Ten to 15 minutes of irrigation per area will typically provide enough moisture to grow your new lawn. In times of late-season heat, irrigating twice per day might be necessary for optimal growth and soil moisture.

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Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

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HISTORIC CORNER: Updates with a historic feel are planned for Forest and Ontario, adjacent to Austin Gardens.

Forest-Ontario changes get preservation support Positive feedback from Oak Park’s full Historic Preservation Commission

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

The proposal to calm traffic and restore the historic character of the intersection of Forest Avenue and Ontario Street continued to gain steam with Oak Park’s Historic Preservation Commission. The dual-purpose proposal from the village’s Public Works Department came back to the commission for an advisory review Sept. 9, where it scored positive feedback for the second time.

The project was dubbed “a great addition to the area” by Commissioner Lou Garapolo, who reiterated his supportive comments given Aug. 26, when the proposal went before the HPC’s Architectural Review Committee.

“Hopefully it’ll go forward quickly,” he said.

Commissioner Asha Andriana, new to the preservation commission, agreed. This was also the first meeting as a member of the commission for Nicole Alfred-Napper.

The Public Works Department’s landscaping and traffic calming proposal involves replacing pavers in the parkway near the Nineteenth Century Club, replacing crosswalks and adding small brick and limestone columns at the entrance to the residential

area. The columns will serve to denote the Frank Lloyd Wright-Prairie School of Architecture Historic District.

The commission’s Architectural Review Committee gave the project preliminary feedback Aug. 26, where it was suggested the plaques on the columns utilize a pattern similar to stained glass designs of one of Oak Park’s Frank Lloyd Wright structures.

Village Engineer Bill McKenna and Brenda Kiesgen, of Site Design Group, who first presented the proposal to the Architectural Review Committee, returned for the advisory review from the full commission.

McKenna shared an updated plaque design reflective of the tulip pattern utilized in the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, proving they had taken the Architectural Review Committee’s suggestion to heart. McKenna told the commission they had reached out to the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust for permission to use the tulip pattern and it was granted.

“I’m glad you were able to use the tulip pattern,” said Commissioner Rachel Houze.

“It looks good.”

The commission was widely pleased with the updated plaque design. Several commissioners chimed in to agree with Houze following her comments, which pleased Kiesgen.

“Thank you,” said Kiesgen. “I think it turned out well.”

As the review was merely advisory, the commission did not take a vote on the proposal.

Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

ART BEAT

‘Kicking Ass in a Corset’: new/old take on leadership

Oak Park, Jane Austen inspire women’s leadership principles

M

Progressive values: I am y book, Kicking Ass in a Corset: Jane Austen’s proud to live in a community that 6 Principles for Leadis progressive and concerned ing and Living from the about issues of equity. I wrote this Inside Out, comes out book to help women tap into their from Iowa Press this month. In power even when their environit, I share the six core virtues of ments try to take that power away. novelist Jane Austen’s heroines — The “corset” is the metaphor I confidence, pragmatism, diligence, use to describe the ways in which integrity, playfulness and humilwomen in the workplace may find ity — and show how they form it difficult to “breathe” as they are the basis of Internally Referenced pushed, prodded and squeezed Leadership. Taken together, these by seemingly intractable forces principles help women tap into beyond their control. a deep well-spring of personal Caroline Myss: I’m very inGuest Author strength and internal locus fluenced by the impactful of control that is always work of Oak Park resident available to them. and world-renowned There are so many ways women’s empowerment Oak Park inspired, faciliauthor and healer, Carotated and encouraged this line Myss. I was honored work. Specifically, there that she agreed to read are six. and endorse my book.

Oak Park trees: When My book is written for all COVID Spring began, I was women who want to be the in the midst of editing my leaders of their own lives book and was so grateful and tap into an internal for the Oak Park trees state of power, agency in my backyard, which and equanimity no matter provided stability and what is going on around strength during such an them. unsettling time. Ironically, Kick-Ass Oak Park my book is about the ways women: In addition to my in which Jane Austen’s heroines enable us to work at DePaul, I teach women’s empowerfind our internal power and agency no matment courses, and there are many kick-ass ter how we are being challenged or squeezed Oak Park women with whom I enjoy growing by the external world. and learning. They inspired my real-life apAustin Gardens: Being plications of Austen’s principles a lifelong Jane Austen fan, and I am so grateful for their what Rudyard Kipling called friendship and wisdom. a “Janeite,” it felt like a divine The Book Table: I was synchronicity when my husdefinitely grateful when The band and I moved near Austin Book Table (1045 Lake St., Oak Gardens. One of my favorite Park, booktable.net) was able to outings during COVID is to take reopen for in-person shopping. our dog Addy (our Pride and I am honored that there will be Prejudoodle) to the beautiful autographed copies of my book park where I read or review available there. student work. As a professor Andrea Kayne is director of and director of the leadership the doctoral program in educaprogram at DePaul University, tional leadership and associate College of Education, I teach professor at DePaul University. doctoral and master’s students She has taught, written and conwho want to be leaders in K-12 and Higher sulted in the areas of empowered leadership, Education. While I often point to well-known feminist leadership, emotionally intelligent role models in education, business and leadership and internally referenced leadership. She lives in Oak Park with her husband government to illustrate the characteristics (Andy Mead, Design & Production manager at of internally referenced empowered leaderGrowing Community Media) and their “beauship, it is the comparison not to modern-day tiful, blended family.” More on Kayne and examples but to Jane Austen’s heroines that “Kicking Ass in a Corset” at andreakayne.com. make the most impact.

ANDREA KAYNE

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“ hile I often point to wellknown role models in education, business and government to illustrate the characteristics of internally referenced empowered leadership, it is the comparison not to modern-day examples but to Jane Austen’s heroines that make the most impact.

Where to Go When You Feel All is Lost: A Blueprint for Mental Health Care Panelists: Dr. Alexandra Luger, Dr. Heidi Hamernik, and Daisy Rios, LCPC Thursday, September 30, 2021 7:30-8:30 pm CDT Join us for a panel discussion on the ins and outs of seeking mental health care for children, adolescents, and adults.

We’ll cover topics such as when to seek professional help, how find the right type of treatment, and what to expect from the therapeutic process. We’ll also address issues involving access to care, including insurance, waitlists, and tele-health. This discussion will demystify the therapeutic process and make you a more savvy consumer of mental health care.

Attend the webinar at the link below: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86859116412?pwd=aWJ4NHV2MzhTR1I5VmVlTUhkcUZ1QT09

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Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

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Pitching in River Foresters headed over to “LemonAid Place” -- aka the 700 block of Bonnie Brae (top) – on Sept. 11 to support the 19th Annual LemonAid fundraiser, which in that time has raised more than $400,000 to support local charities.

This year’s event featured live music by musicians from School of Rock (center) and, of course, plenty refreshing lemonade. Bottom, Danielle McCarthy (center) gives a drink to Michael Moster and his sister, Marian.

Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

19

River Forest water meter project gets the go-ahead Automatic metering without drive-bys will streamline, improve readings

By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter

A short-handed River Forest Village Board advanced the village’s automatic metering infrastructure (AMI) project with a unanimous vote, Sept. 13.

By a 4-0 vote, officials approved spending an additional $550,000 on contracts/costs associated with the project and the associated customer portal, including implementation costs and contract terms with the vendors involved.

Of the six trustees, only Ken Johnson and Rescipio Vazquez were in attendance in person for the meeting. Trustees Katie Brennan and Erika Bachner participated virtually and Trustees Lisa Gillis and Bob O’Connell did not attend.

Included were $529,233 for Core and Main for a Sensus FlexNet AMI system and $20,797.20 for WaterSmart Software Inc. for the customer portal software implementation.

In April, officials approved a contract with Siemens Industry Inc. for consulting services, project management assistance, and installation and verification of water meters and multiplexer units (MXU) for the fixed-base AMI system. At the Sept. 13 meeting, officials

learned that the Siemens contract had been restated, leading in a reduction in costs from $1,028,343 to $883,566. Part of the decreased cost was reducing the number of water meters that will need to be replaced to 314 from 1,964.

However, even with the reduction in the Siemens contract, the project is still over budget by approximately $45,000. Although Lisa Scheiner, acting village manager, explained that not all purchases will be due at once, Cathy Adduci, village president, instructed her and Jeff Loster, director of public works and development services, to seek further project cost reductions.

Erin Perry of Siemens told officials at the Sept. 13 meeting that she expects replacement of water meters to be completed by January and the entire project to be completed by March.

The AMI project will entail upgrading water meters throughout the village with state-of-art equipment that will allow the village to obtain meter readings without requiring public works staff members to perform a “drive-by” read, which is the current practice.

The project will deliver better customer service by providing accurate bills based on actual consumption that can be seen in real time

by providing meter reads on an hourly basis instead of once per billing cycle, the current practice. It can also help identify any irregularities in water usage such as leaks being experienced by residents.

In addition, the project will streamline the water meter reading process by eliminating the need for public works staffers to drive through the village, which will be more environmentally friendly and save staff time.

The project will require installing new MXUs, which are small battery-powered devices installed close to the meters. Loster said workers will only be required to work inside homes or businesses to replace the 314 water meters. He estimated that installation will take 30 minutes each. Installation of the MXUs will be done outside.

Since the remote reads will be collected by radio signal, the village will need to install a

central antenna on the water tower.

Perry explained the Siemens public relations campaign that will inform residents about the program, providing informational fliers and a toll-free number for residents to call for any questions they have about the project.

Short videos will be produced providing information and details of the program that will be displayed on the village website, she added.

A list of frequently asked questions also will be created and posted on village web sources to inform residents and answer their questions.

Adduci said she is “very supportive” of the project, adding she believes the project should reduce the number of resident complaints that village staff members receive regarding water usage, noting that those complaints are among the most common.

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Do you live in Oak Park, River Forest or Proviso Township and need to schedule a mammogram?

Make your appointment today!

Now, there’s no reason not to have one.

Breast cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer in women — and mammography is the most effective screening tool. Experts at Rush recommend that most women have mammograms every year beginning at age 40.

Do you qualify?

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To register for your free mammogram, call (708) 660-2355.

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To qualify, you must not have insurance coverage.

You must live in Oak Park, River Forest or Proviso Township. Proof of residence will be requested at the time of your visit (e.g., voter registration card, utility bill or personal check).

Your mammogram must be performed by Oct. 31, 2021.

Digital mammography saves lives.

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We offer the latest technology in breast screening, including 3D mammography (also known as breast tomosynthesis), breast MRI, and hand-held and automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) screening for dense breasts.

* Funds are provided by a private grant for residents of Oak Park, River Forest and Proviso Township. Only those who do not have insurance qualify for a free mammogram.

2022 0726 ROPH Free Mammogram Campaign

A free mammogram could save your life.

During the month of October, women who live in these communities can receive a screening mammogram for no cost at Rush Oak Park Hospital.*

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C R I M E

Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Chevy Impala runs red light, totals SUV

A woman and toddler were injured in a traffic collision around 8:17 a.m., Sept. 13, when a Chevy Impala crashed into their SUV at the intersection of Austin Boulevard and Augusta Street.

Commander Paul Kane of the Oak Park police department told Wednesday Journal that the woman and toddler were transported to Loyola University Medical Center. While he doesn’t know the extent of their injuries, they are believed to be nonlife threatening.

PHOTO BY MICHELLE FOLLOWS “All I was told was they’re goAccident at Austin and Augusta boulevards. ing to be OK,” Kane said.

The SUV was traveling westbound on Augusta Street, when it was hit by an Impala, going northbound on Austin Boulevard. The Im- vehicle struck by the SUV sustained any inpala’s driver allegedly ran the red light. The juries. impact of the crash caused the SUV to roll over in traffic and hit another vehicle. The SUV ended up on the northwest corner of An armed offender in a black ski mask the intersection, damaging a wrought iron approached a male victim and demanded fence, according to Kane.

As the accident happened on the Chicago the keys to his Honda CRV; the victim then side of the boulevard, the Oak Park police threw the keys away from the vehicle, as are not handling the incident. Kane did not the first offender and a second ran toward have information as to whether the Impala the keys, with one pushing the victim to driver or the occupant, or occupants, of the the ground at 11:38 a.m., Sept. 3 in the 400

Aggravated vehicular hijacking

ASSISTED LIVING • SHELTERED CARE • MEMORY CARE • SKILLED NURSING

block of South Elmwood Avenue. The offenders got the keys and fled in the victim’s vehicle. The estimated loss is $16,000.

Home invasion A woman was awoken after a masked man, who entered her apartment through an unlocked kitchen window, covered her mouth with his hand and threatened her at 4:48 a.m., Sept. 6 in the 800 block of South Austin Boulevard. The victim was able to get out of bed and scream, after she forcefully elbowed the offender, who fled from the apartment through the rear kitchen door.

Armed robbery ■ Someone, brandishing a box cutter, sat down next to the victim on a CTA train and demanded money at 6:39 p.m., Sept. 8 on the Blue Line near Oak Park Avenue. The victim had no money but handed over his white Apple Air Pods, an estimated loss of $250.

■ A man with a gun in his hand walked into Mobile Mart, 622 Madison St., then walked behind the counter and demanded money; the clerk complied, putting $300 in cash from the register into a plastic bag while the offender took $100 from a tacklebox behind the counter at 8:38 p.m., Sept. 9.

The estimated loss is $400.

Motor vehicle theft

A white 2018 Volvo XC60 was removed while it was getting serviced at Perfection Autobody, 811 Garfield St., at 12:18 p.m., Sept. 7. The keys were left on the hood of the vehicle.

Theft ■ A Glock G42 .380 gun, containing one magazine, was stolen from a table inside a residence in the 300 block of Wesley Avenue between 2 p.m., July 17 and 10 a.m., Sept. 2.

The estimated loss is $395.

■ The catalytic converter was cut from a 2003 Honda Pilot between 11:30 p.m., Sept.

4 and 12:30 p.m., Sept. 5 in the 500 block of South Cuyler Avenue.

These items, obtained from the Oak Park Police Department, came from reports Sept.

3 through Sept. 10 and represent a portion of the incidents to which police responded.

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

Compiled by Stacey Sheridan

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21

SPORTS Glenbard West powers past OPRF to remain unbeaten Wide receiver Locke, running back Gray bright spots during 60-20 loss

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

Like other high school football players in Illinois, Oak Park and River Forest High School senior wide receiver Eric Locke Jr. is happy to be back playing in front of capacity crowds again.

“It’s great. It’s nice to have our friends watch us play again,” said Locke, who is in his third season as a varsity starter.

Also known as E.J., Locke had a solid effort in the Huskies’ 60-20 loss to Glenbard West on Sept. 10 in the Huskies’ West Suburban Conference Silver Division opener, grabbing seven receptions for 81 yards.

While there weren’t many positives from the outcome, OPRF head coach John Hoerster felt Locke was one of them.

“Eric made a lot of great plays tonight,” he said. “He really was a leader on the field.”

The Huskies (1-2, 0-1) were outscored by the Hilltoppers (3-0, 1-0) 28-0 in the first quarter, setting the tone for a difficult evening. Nevertheless, OPRF kept battling and senior running back Kelby Gray (20 carries, 72 yards) had a pair of short scoring runs in the second quarter, and junior quarterback Jack Gooch (19-for-26, 184 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) tossed a 4-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to sophomore Sam Gray.

However, the Huskies weren’t able to overcome the slow start and the final quarter See FOOTBALL on page 22

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

OPRF wide receiver Eric Locke (23) was a bright spot for the Huskies, catching seven passes for 81 yards during the team’s loss to Glenbard West on Sept. 10 at Oak Park Stadium.

Demetrius Dortch (8) tries to find a bit of daylight as he slips past Glenbard West defenders during OPRF’s 60-20 defeat at the hands of Glenbard West on Sept. 10.

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

Huskies fans filled Oak Park Stadium on Sept. 10 for the third straight home game to open the OPRF football schedule. This week, the Huskies will take to the road for the first time against Lyons Township.

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

22

S P O R T S

Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

@ @OakPark

On the road all season, OPRF tennis seeks success No. 1 and 2 doubles teams are senior-laden squad’s strength

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Report

The Oak Park and River Forest High School girls tennis team is spending the entire season on the road due to ongoing construction that has resulted in the courts being used as parking.

While obviously it’s not ideal, head coach Fred Galluzzo used a bit of levity to describe the situation.

“It’s like we’re the Washington Generals playing the Harlem Globetrotters -- we’re always the away team,” he said. “It’s really a shame and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

A consequence of having no home matches is that the Huskies have not been able to hold senior night festivities. Galluzzo is looking to find a way to honor this season’s seniors but admits it’s difficult given the circumstances.

“We’ve got 12 seniors and we’d like to give them a good sendoff,” he said. “But it’s tough when you don’t have a home court to celebrate.”

The hope is that once construction is done in the spring, the courts themselves will be rebuilt and ready to play next fall.

Despite the logistical challenges, OPRF has been largely competitive so far this fall.

Galluzzo believes his top two doubles teams of Martha Brennan/Basma Raja and Angie Berggren/Margot Eldred are the Huskies’ strength.

“If we have two solid doubles teams in a conference tournament or a sectional, we’re pretty happy with that,” he said.

He hopes that the doubles teams can compensate for a lack of experience in singles.

“We have a freshman and a sophomore who are talented players that will be good later,” said Galluzzo.

The West Suburban Silver is powerful once again, and according to Galluzzo, and that can only foster growth for the young Huskies.

“It sounds like a broken CD, but if the West Suburban Silver isn’t the toughest tennis conference in the state, it’s the second-toughest,” he said. “We’re happy to be in it because the competition is solid, but it’s a tough road to

have to play these teams on a daily basis.

These kids are going to get better.”

Friars off to solid start in 2021 Fenwick High School’s girls tennis team is off to a solid start this fall, compiling a 9-5 record.

In his 30th season, head coach Gerard Sullivan has a good group of returnees, including juniors Maeve Paris and Kate Trifilio, who each would have been state qualifiers in singles had there been a tournament last year.

Moreover, the Friars have received valuable contributions from its doubles’ teams, which feature Caroline Blair, Kate Dugan and Megan Trifilio among others.

“The team has racked up wins from our depth positions in doubles,” said Sullivan.

“Beating Fremd 3-2 and placing second at their invitational Sept. 4 with our top three missing is an example.”

The Girls Catholic Athletic Conference race is expected to be a tight one. Fenwick

should be in the mix along with Loyola Academy, Providence Catholic and St. Ignatius.

New coach at Trinity helm Trinity High School’s tennis team has a new head coach, with Carolyn Rutili replacing Mary Ann Rose this fall. And she’s been pleased with the effort the Blazers have given her so far.

“Our season is going very well,” she said.

“The girls are having fun while playing, and that’s our biggest focus, along with practicing fundamentals.”

Sophomore Anna Ruggiero is Trinity’s No. 1 singles player, and Rutili believes she’s improved her consistency and power.

Sophomore Neve Guardiola is undefeated this season, and seniors Grace Bennett and Claire Dooley are the top doubles team.

“We have so much spirit and care for each other,” she said. “I think their positivity and care will get them through anything.”

FOOTBALL

Hoping for turnaround from page 21 was largely played with a running clock. The result was especially disappointing given that OPRF was coming off an impressive performance in a 49-8 victory over visiting Hinsdale South the week before.

“It’s been a rocky start,” said the 6-foot-4 Locke, who also plays basketball. “This game didn’t work out like we wanted it to, so we have to move on to the next week.”

Glenbard West has long been one of Chicagoland’s most successful high school football programs due to its physical style and crisp execution on both sides of the ball. While Hoerster made sure to credit the Hilltoppers, he also knew OPRF needed to play almost perfectly to give itself a chance.

“They’re very good, and in order to compete you have to play mistake-free football and do everything right. You have to make them earn everything and we didn’t do that on either side of the ball,” Hoerster said.

There are still six games remaining in the regular season for the Huskies, and Hoerster is hopeful that the team can turn things around.

“You’ve got to make a decision as a player on how you want to bounce back,” he said. “You can either fold up your tent and go home or you can dust the dirt off and keep playing.”

Locke, who is one of the team’s captains and has an offer from Roosevelt University and has interest from a few NCAA Division I schools, feels the same way.

“We need to practice harder,” he said. “We need to cut out some of the playing around that happens and focus on both the physical and mental things that can make us successful.

We definitely got a wake-up call and need to have a different mentality next week.”

After having their first three games at Oak Park Stadium, the Huskies hit the road as they’ll meet Lyons Township High School at Bennett Field in Western Springs on Sept.

17 a 7 p.m.

ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer

OPRF quarterback Jack Gooch (2) pitches the ball to a teammate during the Huskies’ game against Glenbard West on Sept. 10. Gooch completed 19 of 26 passes for 184 yards and one touchdown.

Providence trips up Fenwick Having notched a pair of impressive home wins to start the season, Fenwick High School traveled to New Lenox for a meeting with Providence Catholic, hoping to keep momentum going.

Unfortunately, the Friars lost to the host Celtics 21-20, dropping their record to 2-1.

Fenwick’s Luke D’Alise had a 1-yard touchdown run while quarterback Kaden Cobb threw for two scores. After Cobb’s second touchdown pass, a 12 yarder to Eian Pugh about midway through the fourth quarter, kicker Iain Ramage missed

an extra point that would’ve tied the game at 21.

Fenwick was able to get the ball twice more and drove into Providence territory each time. But on the first possession, Cobb was intercepted at the Celtics’ 18 when a defender managed to take the ball away from Pugh as the two hit the ground.

Then on the Friars’ final drive, Ramage came up short and wide left on a 56-yard field goal attempt in the closing seconds.

Fenwick will travel to De La Salle for a Catholic League/ East Suburban Catholic Conference White Division contest Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m.

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

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Heroes in dresses … and pantsuits

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y heroes could not be more different in appearance or background or more alike in focus, tenacity and doing whatever it takes to improve people’s lives.

Let me tell you a little about two of my heroes: Golda Meir and Nancy Pelosi.

Golda (funny how comfortable I am using first names) apparently was the master of the well-placed, low-key wisecrack, which she used frequently in negotiations with surrounding enemy countries (which is to say, in her time, virtually every country near Israel).

Golda Meir was more than a Milwaukee schoolteacher who emigrated to Israel and became an activist. Her road was much harder. She was born in Kiev, Russia on May 3, 1898. On Easter, 1903, posters appeared announcing A Proclamation Inciting a Pogrom of the Jews.

Pogroms are attempts by the powerful to terrorize struggling people and divert attention from the advantages of the privileged (In the U.S., think Ku Klux Klan and throw in the atavists who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6). Pogroms against Jews were considered entertainment, much like lynchings in the American South.

Meir emigrated to the United States with her family in 1906, was educated here, and became a teacher. She married and had children. After leaving her family behind (her husband and children eventually followed) for Israel, Golda Meir became an Israeli teacher, politician and stateswoman, and eventually became the fourth prime minister of Israel.

She wrote that in spite of the place which her children and the family as a whole took up in her life, her nature and being demanded something more: “I cannot divorce myself from the larger social life. I cannot let children narrow the horizon. And for such a woman, there is no rest.”

She attended the Evian conference in 1938 where it was hoped many countries would offer to take in Jews who were in the throes of Nazi extermination. It didn’t happen, and the rest, as they say, is history. It’s interesting that as Golda was speaking and pleading to take European Jews to Palestine, the representatives of America, Britain and France walked out.

By the way, the Statue of Liberty poem is written by Emma Lazarus, a Jew. Let me say first about Nancy Pelosi that while I would kill for her wardrobe, hairdresser and makeup artist, I could never be able to get in her daily 5-mile walk/run along the Potomac. (Golda Meir, on the other hand, was a chain smoker who traveled the world while being treated for cancer.)

These women are a different breed.

Nancy Pelosi has had a life of privilege and protection, yet she seems, at least in politics and government, to be afraid of nothing and no one. Never will I ever forget her tearing up Trump’s State of the Union speech as he handed it to her.

I am also positive that if she and Golda Meir spent time together, they would not have discussed clothes. Golda would have walked away with financial commitments for several projects, and Nancy would have rushed away to finish whatever deal she was putting together in the House of Representatives.

I miss Pelosi’s wardrobe of masks. Impeachment(s) to insurrection, she always looked pulled-together. Until vaccinations finally won over the vast majority of her House, Speaker Pelosi wore a mask to match each outfit.

Mothers everywhere should be hoping their sons grow up to be like Golda Meir or Nancy Pelosi.

Note: Props to our own Harriet Hausman, whose frequent state-of-theunion columns in this paper keep us informed and inspired.

MARY KAY O’GRADY

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Reassessment shifts Oak Park’s tax burden

buildings increase by 47%? There he second installment tax bills are two main reasons for this: First, that arrived in late August are the assessed values on existing large the first to reflect the 2020 reasapartment buildings increased sigsessment of Oak Park propernificantly, resulting in a median tax ties. Combined, these tax bills increase of 26%. The big assessment seek a total of $230 million from Oak increases are the result of an effort Park properties, an amount 3.2% highto comply with a county ordinance er than last year. Because of the reasrequiring large apartment buildings sessment, however, the tax changes to be assessed at 10% of market value. for most individual property owners Over the last several years, the Illinois do not match the increase in tax bills Department of Revenue’s annual for the community as a whole. comparisons of sale prices to assessed When property values are reasvalues indicated that large apartment sessed, each property’s share of the buildings were being assessed at community tax burden changes, with Oak Park about 7% of market value. some properties seeing dramatic tax Township Assessor The remaining increase in apartincreases, others experiencing moderment taxes comes from several new ate tax growth, and some getting tax apartment buildings that came onto the tax rolls reductions. The variations in tax bills associin 2020, including two large buildings in downated with the 2020 reassessment are noteworthy town Oak Park — the Albion building at Lake because they shifted the tax burden between and Forest and the Eleven33 building at South business and residential properties.

Boulevard and Harlem. County records indicate This year, the combined tax bill for Oak Park’s that the new apartment buildings were not fully residential properties — single-family homes, occupied in 2020, but even at partial occupancy condominiums and two- to six-flats — fell by they generated more than $2 million in new propabout 1%. This decline was offset by increases in erty tax revenue for the community. business taxes, with large apartment buildings Why did the taxes on residential properties fall (properties with seven units or more) paying by 1%? The decline in taxes on residential prop47% more compared to last year, and commercial erties occurred because the assessed values of buildings paying 5% more. The changes from Oak Park’s residential properties did not rise as all sectors of the tax base add up to Oak Park’s fast as the assessed values of business properties. overall tax increase of 3.2%.

Why did the taxes on large apartment See ELSAFFAR on page 30

ALI ELSAFFAR

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Strong combo

he blending of Barrie Fest with the debut of a different aspect of Takeout 25 made for a very good day last weekend in southeast Oak Park.

Barrie Fest is the annual event staged by the South East Oak Park Community Organization. It is a neighborhood party but also a recollection of the several years when a prolonged, major, and often botched soil remediation of the park at Lombard and Garfield robbed the community of its park.

SEOPCO has been a determined voice for an Oak Park neighborhood that historically was overlooked. And Barrie Fest has been its signature event.

This year SEOPCO teamed with Takeout 25, newly minted as an official nonprofit. Takeout 25 was created out of the COVID pandemic as a way for Oak Parkers, and increasingly our neighbors, to support independent restaurants that have suffered dining room closures, staff shortages and rising food prices.

As it invents itself, Takeout 25 added a new wrinkle at Barrie Fest as seven local restaurants actually came out to sell food to eager visitors. It was well received and a very good combination with SEOPCO.

Over-streetscaped Go deep enough into the Capital Improvement Plan presented Monday evening to Oak Park’s village board and you come to provisions for continued repairs to the downtown area’s much over-improved Marion Street.

Back in 2007, perhaps a last moment of optimism before the real estate crash and all that has followed in a turbulent decade, Oak Park’s village government wisely decided to remove the last remnant of what had become a failed pedestrian mall in Downtown Oak Park.

Lake Street had previously been “restreeted.” But the block of Marion from Lake to North Boulevard had been left as a declining, if walkable, mall. The retail vacancy rate was high, the infrastructure was deteriorating and the village, led by President David Pope, had a vision of what it, and the block south of the Green Line, might become.

It involved brick streets, bluestone sidewalks, granite curbs, a “water feature,” fancy lights and, yes, even heated sidewalks.

There were objections at the time that it was all too much.

Too expensive. Too fragile. And while there was a brief shining moment when the street was finally done and it looked like a photo from Fancy Street Journal, that was just a moment.

Since then it has been repairs and replacement of the overreach.

Bluestone sidewalks and crosswalks don’t hold up particularly well under heavy use. Granite cracks. Heated sidewalks don’t work over time. And remember, the heated sidewalks were intended to protect the bluestone from snowblowers, shovels and plows. Oh well.

So the capital plan calls for more fixes, for essentially abandoning the heated sidewalks.

The decision to put the street back in was the right one. The choice to build it in a way that allowed it to be closed off for street fairs was certainly smart. And the combination has brought back the block as a retail destination, even in hard times for retail.

Wisely, subsequent village boards, with input from business leaders, have scaled back the streetscape excesses of Marion Street. The Lake Street rebuild of a year ago is handsome but significantly less over-the-top than Marion. And it appears to be built to last a lot longer.

V I E W P O I N T S

Peace and quiet vs. noise and silence

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he first hour of my day, before the noise machinery commences, before the bustle begins and the too-fast walking, before the bells start marking time, I sit on a park bench and become the still point of my turning world.

Breath leads to breadth and depth, the to-do list turned off along with the self-reproach and should-haves.

The sun weaves through every cranny and crevice in the thicket of trees. Rivulets of students stream through neighborhoods toward school. Two teens playing hooky to nurture their budding romance (I imagine) head the opposite way. Owners hold back fullbladdered, pent-up pets with dreams of snagging squirrels, which hop through the grass seeking buried forage for winter storage, if only they could remember where they left it. Sunshine butters the treeless semi-circle of meadow with life-sustaining light.

The inner gaze turns outward, a prison break from the holding cell of subjectivity. Bacon and eggs waft from a nearby condo’s windows, left open to cool, sleep-friendly night air, along with the ethereal cricket concert, which continues into the early morning.

Walkers pass, harboring unknowable thoughts, shedding their angers step by step until they empty the bin of frets and regrets (I hope). A herd of grey-bellied cumulus grazes overhead across a pasture of blue. Sidewalks become the graveyard of cicadas, but the survivors will soon be singing their daily chorus of the doomed.

I come here seeking quiet, not silence. Silence is absence, emptiness. Quiet is fullness. Quiet, unlike noise, is the sustaining ground of sound. Quiet hosts sounds that noise normally drowns: the jingling of a dog’s tags, the labored breathing of a sweating jogger, children making themselves heard by many means (laughter preferable to whining), wind chimes gently jostling one another.

Wind shudders past my ears. A leaf, falling to the sidewalk, tumbles slowly before the force of nature’s blower.

The breeze through drying leaves is symphonic, swirling through trees, our original woodwinds, conducted by flailing branches. A Tai Chi practitioner nearby mimics their movements — or is it vice versa?

Quiet is what you don’t hear, too, footfalls in the grass on the far side of the park, the flutter of butterfly wings, dogs in the distance, sweating through their tongues.

Birds perform the original vocalise. Distant train whistles provide the muffled horn section of this quiet

symphony. Human conversation with its rise and fall and lilt is the original recitative.

Soon enough, all will be obliterated by noise — the demonic chorus of cicadas by afternoon builds to a harsh metallica, with overwhelming crescendos. Unmuffled motorcycles blast under amplifying viaducts.

Sirens alert and alarm. Car horns bray their impatience with dawdling, distracted motorists. Car stereos inflict decibel damage on victimized ears, accompanied by the electric crackling of maxed-out speakers.

Car alarms set off by no one knows what.

The unceasing hiss of car tires against pavement. The roar of belching behemoth garbage trucks and buses. The rattletrap of CTA and freight trains. The churning grind of street work on Oak Park Avenue. The wheezing and rumbling of dump trucks carting off the old pavement.

Squealing brakes. The annoying backup buzz of Amazon delivery vans.

And if weed-whackers and giant mowers weren’t noxious enough, gas-powered blowers inflict pollution, particulate diaspora and hearing loss, which cannot be justified by our obsession with front yard neatness. An auditory and respiratory crime against humanity, gas blowers have been banned in Oak Park since 2003, but the law is not enforced.

Noise is hostile, anti-social, anti-harmonic, an assault against the senses, produced by those who seem addicted to it, who fear the abyss that silence suggests. In their efforts to exterminate silence, they violate quiet, which all of us need, all of us thrive in.

That’s why they call it “peace and quiet.” They go together.

So out I go in the morning and evening, once cicadas have exhausted their hellish chatter, to treat my ears to the sonic tonic of quiet.

Oak Park is a much too noisy place. We should work to make it quieter.

If we replaced gas-powered leaf blowers with electricpowered, and if we replaced gas-powered vehicles with the soft whir of electric propulsion, this village — this country in fact — would be transformed. We wouldn’t be so road-enraged and sidewalk-deafened.

Maybe we wouldn’t be so mad at each other all the time.

And maybe we could hear the most soothing sound of all.

Quiet.

KEN

TRAINOR

Recovery Month is for everyone If you ever spend time with someone who is recovering from a substance use or mental health disorder, you may notice they often radiate a sense of joy and peace no matter what they have been through. It is an alluring love of living life well.

There is good news: This joy is available for every person, family, and community. September is an excellent opportunity to experience this way of life, as the recovery community comes together to celebrate the miracle of recovery.

In 1989, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) launched National Recovery Month to increase awareness surrounding mental health and substance-use disorders. At the same time, they wanted to celebrate the success stories to illustrate that living in recovery is possible.

Because the miracle of recovery is for everyone, we all have important roles to play to create a supportive

culture. Most of us know someone living in recovery; ask how you can celebrate this time with them. They’ll be grateful you did.

If you are interested in taking an active role in strengthening the community, there are many organizations working to end the stigma surrounding behavioral health disorders. Volunteering your time and talents with a local group can make a significant difference in many lives.

Finally, if you or a loved one is struggling, please reach out for help. Find a trusted friend, family member, professional, or religious leader who can offer perspective and support. Do not delay. Make the call, or visit our website at rosecrance.org.

And please, know that life is waiting.

David Gomel, PhD

President and CEO Rosecrance Health Network

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Remembering Anne at the State Department

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Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

W E D N E S D A Y

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

hanks for writing your column on Anne Smedinghoff in the Wednesday Journal of Oak Park-River Forest [Anne’s vision of a different world, Ken Trainor, Viewpoints, Sept. 1]. I am a retired Foreign Service officer and the daily media digest on Sept. 2 from the American Foreign Service Association listed your column.

As a Foreign Service officer (26 years, seven overseas tours), I grieve each loss from the Foreign Service.

But Anne somehow became special to me, and in her memory, PROVIDED I want to pass on a few notes about how she RESPECT: The list of Foreign Service officers who died during was, and is, memorialized at the State Department. their overseas tours includes Anne Smedinghoff.

The State Department has a series of green plaque. Anne’s family was there, and so was I. marble plaques listing U.S. diplomats who The atmosphere in the auditorium was, of course, have died in the line of duty. The plaques are in the subdued as we waited for the memorial to start. When “C Street” lobby, the so-called diplomatic entrance Secretary Kerry appeared with the Smedinghoff famwith all the flags along the back wall that often is used ily, we all stood instantly in respect. In the absolute sias a backdrop for television stories. The plaques are lence that ensued, the only sound was from simple: name, year of death, and place of the spring-loaded seat-bottoms popping up death. Anne’s is “Anne T. Smedinghoff, and banging against the back of the seats.

Afghanistan, 2013.” You can just make As a way to describe Anne’s career at the out Anne’s entry in the section above the State Department, Secretary Kerry spoke marine’s head in the attached photo. briefly about each of Anne’s career steps: I, and I think all Foreign Service officers, the A-100 orientation class, a tour in Ventake this plaque with the utmost gravity. ezuela (a tough assignment even then, by This picture does not show the lobby in State Department standards), and of course its usual format, since it was set up with a Afghanistan. There may have been other podium and curtains for the ceremony. But stops on her journey. For each place, folks those blue curtains cover a hallway leading ANNE SMEDINGHOFF in the audience who knew her at that time to an elevator lobby and the west side of would stand in small groups. I remember the first floor of the State Department’s people in the groups would often have their arms Harry S. Truman Building. I worked on the Mexico around each other.

Desk in that part of the building in 2013, and I would Anne’s father talked about various events in Anne’s walk by that plaque every day. When I brought visitors life. Clearly, Anne was a special person with a lot of from the lobby to our office, I would stop at the plaque intelligence, nerve, and energy. and describe it briefly to them, lowering the pitch of I wanted to pass on to you some of the personal my voice and speaking slowly so they would not hear memories I hold of Anne, a person I never knew in life my voice quavering.

I have forgotten the exact date, but in 2013, Secretary but whom I now love and admire in death.

Jock Whittlesey, a retired U.S. State Department ForKerry led a memorial service for Anne at the State Deeign Service officer, lives in Jupiter, Florida. partment’s big auditorium, just a few yards from this

JOCK

WHITTLESEY One View

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

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

In a healthy conversation about community concerns, your voice is also vital.

We welcome your views, on any topic of community interest, as essays and as letters to the editor. Noted here are our stipulations for filing.

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

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

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Lay blame where it’s due

For weeks now, President Biden has been blamed for what are judged as failures in the U.S. exit from Afghanistan. The go-to adjective is almost invariably “chaotic.” As if the President sent the Afghan government and military running, and brought hordes of desperate Afghans swarming around the Kabul airport. As if the President were actually in a position to force the Taliban to do what we wanted and dictate the release of Americans and our allies still in the country.

Face reality. It’s a fiction that we have the sheer power to make that happen. Diplomacy and “soft power” are the only tools we have now, used patiently and skillfully, with international partners.

What’s worse in calling the exit “chaotic” is that it

dismisses and demeans the exemplary discipline, professionalism, and especially the effectiveness of our troops who engineered the massive evacuation of more than 123,000 people! Nothing like this has ever happened before. They did their work tirelessly and with great courage as if in the calm eye of a hurricane. All around them, beyond their control, was the violent, destructive maelstrom.

Give credit where it’s due. That evacuation was the most significant achievement of the President and those under his command, “on his watch.” Lay blame for the “chaos” where it belongs.

Fred Reklau Oak Park

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

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Let Al’s Grill keep its outdoor dining space

very Sunday for the past 20 years, we have enjoyed breakfast at Al’s Grill on Madison. This is beyond a typical restaurant — it is a welcome haven where their long-term staff know people by their names, and their orders. It is a place where you can rely on great food, great service, and a true glimpse of what Oak Park is really like: bringing hospitality, and a diverse and very loyal clientele.

When the pandemic threatened every business in the village, especially the small independent ventures, the owner of Al’s

Grill thought out of the box and established an outdoor seating area, using a small parking lot located on his own property. It became a welcome respite from our homes as you could sit outside to enjoy a meal. The space is open. The number of tables are better distanced than any other restaurant in Oak Park. It was heated or cooled — at considerable expense to the owner — but it offered something few in Oak Park provided.

The outdoor space remains a welcome environment and with the resurgence of the delta variant, it offers a much-needed alternative to indoor restaurants.

We were very dismayed to hear that the village has now determined that the owner is no longer allowed to keep this space open, telling him it has to revert it back to a parking lot. Not only does this seem ill-timed with surging COVID cases, but it also refuses to acknowl-

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edge the needs of independent businesses in Oak Park.

The space is fully confined to his property. It is attractive with beautiful and seasonal planters. It offers heat or fans. It is arguably the best outdoor dining space in the village. Given how most other communities have worked closely with their businesses to weather the pandemic or to learn how to think about their community first, Oak Park reverts to the way things were, rather than the way they should be.

Some communities block off entire streets — indeed the addition of outside space on Lake Street for outside dining is an indication of how things should be in order to do what we can to keep our businesses healthy and vibrant.

Most dining facilities do not require onsite parking so the use of Al’s Grill’s parking lot should not be a deterrent. So why make him revert this space back to a lot when the space, as currently used, offers so much more?

It appears that the village did not effectively learn one of the most important lessons of the pandemic — to be nimble and flexible when it comes to surviving. Let Al’s Grill keep its space. Encourage entrepreneurs and independent businesses to choose Oak Park as a place where their concerns are recognized. If not, ventures like this that bring so much more to the DNA of the community than the $70,000 in property taxes, may easily choose to leave — along with many residents frustrated at the village’s lack of concern for its citizens and those who do business in the community.

Jennifer and Ken GoodSmith are longtime residents of Oak Park.

Not one, but two Jewish delis

In his column last week, Dan Haley expressed excitement that a genuine Jewish deli is coming to the Geppetto’s space on Oak Park Avenue. His excitement is understandable. Who wouldn’t be pleased that a locally-owned deli is opening a short distance from their office?

But I’d like to remind Wednesday Journal readers that there already is a genuine, locally-owned Jewish deli in Oak Park. The Onion Roll has been serving deli lovers for decades at 6945 W. North Ave. I can vouch personally for the excellence of their pastrami and Reuben sandwiches. And sources say they’ll soon be making their own bagels.

Rare is the town that can boast two genuine delis. Let’s enjoy them both!

Judith Alexander

Chair, The North Avenue District

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Drechsler, Brown & Williams has done God’s work

t is not often that I am compelled to make a public statement beyond the pulpit of my own parish of St. Edmund, but I do wish to share my thoughts with the community at large about the closing of Drechsler, Brown & Williams Funeral Home, which has been serving our community for generations.

For the past 17 years, I have been pastor of St. Edmund Roman Catholic Parish. I am also the administrator of St. Catherine/St. Lucy Parish. Prior to my ministry in Oak Park, I served the people of God for 23 years in Western Springs and in the city of Chicago. As you can imagine, in 40 years of priestly ministry, I have had the opportunity to work closely with numerous owners and directors of funeral homes all across the greater Chicago metropolitan area.

Throughout these many years, my experience working with such directors and owners has been overwhelmingly positive. We don’t stop to think of all that is required of individuals in this profession. They receive calls at all hours of the day and night, and they must be ready to respond. These calls often take place at the most inopportune moments, including during their own family Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations.

No matter the circumstance, funeral home personnel are always available. In some ways, their presence to the community they serve is similar to the expectation that people of faith have of their priests, ministers, imams, and rabbis. But unlike the various religious leaders listed above, funeral directors must have familiarity with all of the faith traditions of the people they serve, so as to accommodate

Weird tracking at main Post Office

Warning to my fellow Oak Park residents!

I just learned that if I purchase a mailing label, either online or from the kiosk, and then put that labeled package in the collection box next to the kiosk, the Post Office never scans it in. They have no way of tracking your package. However, if you leave your package in the pile on the main counter, they will scan it in. There is no signage to this effect anywhere. The package I mailed Tuesday, using the collection box, will not appear in the system until it is delivered. If it is lost, it is lost forever. Use that pile at the counter!

Kris Hansen

Oak Park

their client’s needs in the most comforting and meaningful of ways.

Funeral home personnel spend hours with grieving individuals, helping them with preparations, and sometimes, especially for those unaffiliated with a particular expression of faith, they are the only comforting and calming presence at a time of deep sadness, confusion, clouded thinking and even chaos.

It is sad to lose Oak Park’s only remain-

ing funeral home, (although we have many other fine funeral homes nearby), but after decades of service to their community, Charlie and Lynne Williams have earned the right to set aside those calls that come at all hours, along with all the stress and demands that operating a funeral home entail.

For 17 years, it has been an honor to work and to minister alongside everyone associated with Drechsler, Brown & Williams Funeral Home. Whether it be Charlie

REV. JOHN MCGIVERN One View

or Lynne Williams, one of their sons who have often helped, or any of their other employees, I could trust that every aspect of their involvement would be experienced with great sensitivity, understanding, kindness, dignity, and respect.

Thank you, Charlie, and Lynne! I hope that your days of retirement are long, easy, and enjoyable. You have done God’s work in our community, and I am deeply grateful.

Rev. John McGivern is pastor of St. Edmund Parish and administrator of St. Catherine/St. Lucy Parish.

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Civic Cinema is the theme at Oak Park Film Fest

n 2005, after filmmaker Yves Hughes and I screened “Diversity in Oak Park” at focus groups in Cannes, France, we joined casting director Donna Watts to launch the Oak Park International Film Festival at the Oak Park Public Library, thanks to the largesse of thenAssociate Director Jim Madigan.

Our vision was to present diverse films with local connections and oft-global themes in a free, nonjuried fun festival. It worked.

This Saturday, Sept. 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., along with cocoordinators Nyah Clay, Kaitlyn Venturina and Bianca Rodriguez, we will host the 15th festival, including free screenings at Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St., and online in this first hybrid exhibition (after skipping last year). The multiplicity of this year’s films and filmmakers is an exercise in diversity itself, especially in this racial, gender, health, and class pandemic.

This year’s festival is dedicated to the late, great actress-journalist Alice Brown. She never missed a fest. Two of her films were featured in early festivals and she moderated panels in later ones. The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, NBC’s Today Show, and WJ featured glowing tributes to Brown — whose

insights and civic awareness epitomized the fest.

This year’s event launches a year-long inquiry into “civic cinema,” allowing for investigation of the ways individuals, collectives, and institutions foment change and cross borders. Participants represent several generations, ethnicities, and identities with some links to Oak Park/Austin.

The fest also heralds other iconic local moms who passed: former trustee Vernette Schultz; former Oak Park Community Relations head Sherlynn Reid, both of whom cracked systemic racism in village structures; former lawyer-activist Fumi Knox, who was born in California’s Manzanar Japanese-American concentration camp; and former educator Bette Wilson, former head of District 97’s Multicultural Education Dept. In their honor and to address this critical moment, festival organizers will screen “Diversity in Oak Park,” which launched the fest in 2005.

Festival co-coordinator Nyah Clay, a Trinidadian-American, shares her short film about class in D.C. where the line between suburb & cities symbolizes us & them. Assisting Clay will be writer Kaitlyn Venturina, a Filipina-American. We’ll see Columbia Col-

STAN WEST

lege LGBTQ student shorts. Festival host will be Puerto Rican poet Bianca Rodriguez, also my former student. Among the films she’ll introduce include Community Television Network’s Humboldt Park-based doc by teen Latinx, Asian & Black filmmakers.

Featured as well this year will be our festival “godmother,” Oak Park actress Joyce Porter, starring in a suspenseful short by Jeph Porter. Projects I worked on range from “The Light of Truth – Richard Hunt’s Monument to Ida B. Wells” trailer, co-produced by

Canadian-American Laurie Little, HaitianAmerican Natasha Phicil, Hyde Parker Rana Segal with Chicagoan Enero Ray, to the “James Baldwin’s Black Lives Blues Are Mine” trailer, which we’ll sneak preview with my book promo at a private Sept. 17 filmmaker’s reception at Buzz Café’s, “Party Room,” 905 S. Lombard, 5 to 7:30 p.m. to which Brown, Schultz, Knox, Reid & Wilson’s daughters are invited.

My book just rolled out via Kendall Hunt Publishing. https://bit.ly/3g2lhHV

e th e v e a t S a D

oprfchamber.org

October 12, 2021 | 5-7 PM

V I E W P O I N T S

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

Intent to bury Rush, not to praise him

I want you to stay alive

Our village of Oak Park handed out signs for people to put on their lawns. On the signs, we were to write why we got vaccinated. This is what I wrote: I got vaccinated because I love you.

I love me.

95% of those who die from COVID are unvaccinated.

I do not want you to die.

Send letters Ken Trainor, Wednesday Journal 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 E-mail: ktrainor@wjinc.com Please include name, address and daytime phone number for verification.

Some readers of my recent essay on Rush Limbaugh [Soliloquy on Rush Limbaugh, Viewpoints, July 21] mistakenly interpreted it to indicate that I felt favorably about this radio celebrity. This likely involved an understandable misreading of the last line: “Rush, we miss you.”

The line was meant to be a continuation of thoughts attributed to his “average devoted listener,” referenced previously — not a reflection of my own feelings.

I personally feel that the world is just a slightly better place with Limbaugh off the air.

Doug Wyman

Ron Moline

Oak Park

Oak Park

LEGAL NOTICE

IMPORTANT NOTICE

2018 Annual TO PROPERTY OWNERS Tax Sale Schedule Cook County Annual Tax Sale Notice to

Property Owners, Annual Tax Sale Schedule, and Delinquent Real Estate Tax List

This legal notice includes a list of properties of real estate on which 2018 property taxes (due in 2019) are delinquent and subject to sale as of August 18, 2021.

NOTE: This list may include some properties on which the taxes were paid after the list’s preparation on August 18, 2021. It is the property owner’s responsibility to verify the current status of payment. This list does not include all the properties in Cook County that are delinquent and subject to sale. For a complete listing of the properties in your neighborhood that are subject to sale, please visit www.cookcountytreasurer.com.

Under Illinois law, the Cook County Treasurer’s Office must offer properties having delinquent real estate taxes and special assessments for sale. IF YOUR PROPERTY IS LISTED IN THIS NOTICE FOR SALE OF DELINQUENT REAL ESTATE TAXES, IT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO TAKE ACTION SO THAT YOUR TAXES ARE NOT SOLD. The tax sale is scheduled to begin FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2021. The sale of taxes will result in a lien against the property that will add, at a minimum, hundreds of dollars in fees to the amount currently due. Sale of the tax and continued failure by the owner to redeem (pay) may result in the owner’s loss of legal title to the property.

Prior to sale, delinquent taxes may be paid online from your bank account or credit card by visiting cookcountytreasurer.com. Personal, company, and business checks will be accepted only through October 15, 2021. After October 15, 2021, all payments must be made by certified check, cashier’s check, money order, cash, or credit card. Please note that under Illinois law, the Treasurer’s Office cannot accept payments of delinquent taxes tendered after the close of the business day immediately preceding the date on which such taxes are to be offered for sale. For questions about submitting a payment or to verify the precise delinquent amount, you may contact the Cook County Treasurer’s Office by phone at (312) 443-5100 or by e-mail through our website at www.cookcountytreasurer.com (click on “CONTACT US BY EMAIL”).

SALE BEGINS FRIDAY NOVEMBER 5, 2021, AT 8:30 A.M. THE TAX SALE HOURS OF OPERATION ARE 8:30 A.M. TO 5:00 P.M. (CHICAGO LOCAL TIME) EACH SCHEDULED DAY. THE DATES OF SALE AND THE DAILY SALE HOURS MAY BE EXTENDED AS NEEDED. TAX BUYER REGISTRATION WILL TAKE PLACE BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 17 AND OCTOBER 26, 2021.

FOR REGISTRATION INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.COOKTAXSALE.COM OR CONTACT THE TREASURER’S OFFICE. SALE DATE

VOLUMES

November 5, 2021

001 TO 147 Barrington, Berwyn, Bloom, Bremen, Calumet, Cicero, Elk Grove, Evanston, Hanover, Lemont, Leyden, Lyons, Maine, New Trier, Niles, Northfield, Norwood Park, Oak Park, Orland

November 8, 2021

November 9, 2021

TOWNSHIP/CITY

148 TO 270 Palatine, Palos, Proviso, Rich, River Forest, Riverside, Schaumburg, Stickney, Thornton, Wheeling, Worth, Hyde Park 271 TO 464 Hyde Park, Jefferson, Lake

November 10, 2021 465 TO 601 Lake, Lake View, North Chicago, Rogers Park, South Chicago, West Chicago

COOK COUNTY DELINQUENT REAL ESTATE TAX LIST OFFICE OF THE TREASURER AND EX-OFFICIO COLLECTOR OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS. Advertisement and Notice by Collector of Cook County of Application for Judgment and Order of Sale of Delinquent Lands and Lots for General Taxes for the years indicated, for order of sales thereof, as provided by law.

COUNTY OF COOK, STATE OF ILLINOIS September 15-16, 2021 NOTICE is hereby given that the said Collector of Cook County, Illinois, will apply to the County Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois on Friday, October 1, 2021, for judgment against all lands and lots, hereinafter described as being delinquent, upon which taxes (together with any accrued interest and costs) remain due and unpaid, for an order for sale of said lands and lots for satisfaction thereof, fixing the correct amount due. Final entry of said order will be sought on Friday, October 29, 2021.

NOTICE is further given that beginning on the 5th day of November, 2021, A.D., at the hour of 8:30 A.M., all said lands and lots, hereinafter described for sale for which an order shall be made, or has been made and not executed as noted, will be subject to public sale at 118 N. Clark St, Room 112 (Ran-

dolph Street entrance), in Chicago, Illinois, for the amount of taxes, interest and costs due thereon, respectively.

The following is a list of the delinquent properties in Cook County upon which the taxes or any part thereof for the 2018 tax year remain due and unpaid; the name(s) of the owners, if known; the property location; the total amount due on 2018 tax warrants (excluding delinquent special assessments separately advertised); and the year or years for which the taxes are due.

In lieu of legal description, each parcel of land or lot is designated by a property index number (PIN). Comparison of the 14-digit PIN with the legal description of any parcel may be made by referring to the cross-indices in the various Cook County offices.

The Cook County Collector does not guarantee the accuracy of common street addresses or property classification codes at the time of sale. Tax buyers should verify all common street addresses, PINs, classifications, and ownership by personal inspection and investigation of said properties and legal descriptions prior to purchasing general taxes offered at the sale.

NO TAX BUYER WILL BE PERMITTED TO OBTAIN A TAX DEED WITH RESPECT TO ANY PROPERTY OWNED BY A TAXING DISTRICT OR OTHER UNIT OF GOVERNMENT. WHEN AN ORDER TO VACATE THE TAX SALE OF ANY SUCH PROPERTY IS ENTERED, THE FINAL RESULT MAY BE A REFUND WITHOUT INTEREST.

DELINQUENT PROPERTY TAX LIST as of August 18, 2021 TAX PAYER NAME

PROPERTY ADDRESS

VOL

PIN

TAX TYPE TAX YEAR

TAX DUE

TAXPAYER OF CLIFFORD T OSBORN

OAK PARK - RESIDENTIAL 147 LE MOYNE PKY 1218 N AUSTIN BLVD 2 DIVISION ST 51 AUGUSTA ST 1341 N HARLEM AVE 1217 N HARLEM AVE 203 N KENILWORTH AVE 823 LAKE ST 240 S MARION ST 200 HOME AVE 417 S KENILWORTH AVE 301 S EAST AVE 53 CHICAGO AVE 714 N AUSTIN BLVD 106 S RIDGELAND AVE 222 WASHINGTON BLVD 207 W WASHINGTON BLV 430 S TAYLOR AVE 817 S CUYLER AVE 1124 S HARVEY AVE 1184 S HARVEY AVE 816 S MAPLE AVE 814 S MAPLE AVE

138 138 138 138 139 139 141 141 141 141 141 142 142 142 142 142 142 142 143 143 143 144 144

16-05-110-002-0000 16-05-127-030-0000 16-05-127-042-0000 16-05-319-004-0000 16-06-113-039-1003 16-06-120-044-1002 16-07-115-052-1016 16-07-129-034-1035 16-07-309-046-0000 16-07-310-027-1011 16-07-325-023-1009 16-07-415-032-0000 16-08-104-004-0000 16-08-105-022-1005 16-08-300-030-1081 16-08-314-043-1033 16-08-320-028-1018 16-08-322-015-0000 16-17-124-020-0000 16-17-319-011-0000 16-17-327-017-0000 16-18-127-026-1005 16-18-127-026-1014

PROPERTY ADDRESS

VOL

PIN

TAX TYPE TAX YEAR

TAX DUE

OAK PARK - RESIDENTIAL

TOWNSHIP OF OAK PARK LEON ANDERSON JR PARADISE SOL INVEST JOY PETTIGREW JEANINE L SMITH ALBERT JARRETT ORTEGA JOHN D HOWLAND NORMAN AXELROOD RUBY DEVELOPMENT CO JOHN P CLEARY PAK FUNG TAXPAYER OF NETWORK CONNECTION LLC JAMES SPEARMAN OAK PARK CENTER INC YVETTE SPENCER GRP WASHINGTON LLC1146 SHARON SMITH ECHELON RTY INVESTRP CLIFFORD T OSBORN PETER BATJES JR LAURA VILLALOBOS SHERRY MADAY

TAX PAYER NAME

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018

$1,330.64 $6,219.85 $8,651.73 $1,218.00 $576.71 $3,858.95 $5,568.52 $2,600.25 $174.31 $3,514.75 $1,450.54 $1,715.65 $6,762.10 $2,341.07 $451.47 $254.86 $2,990.72 $14,392.39 $5,140.93 $7,566.69 $6,323.34 $4,036.05 $196.89

UNKNOWN 1023 GUNDERSON AVE

145 145

16-18-302-008-0000 16-18-411-050-0000

0 0

2018 2018

$131.05 $11,423.36

6549 NORTH AVE 6547 NORTH AVE 1116 LAKE ST 1116 LAKE ST 1116 LAKE ST 401 SOUTH BLVD 6136 ROOSEVELT RD 917 S OAK PARK AVE

139 139 141 141 141 142 143 145

16-06-204-005-0000 16-06-204-006-0000 16-07-119-035-1002 16-07-119-035-1004 16-07-119-035-1005 16-07-405-008-0000 16-17-328-034-0000 16-18-307-035-1002

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018

$16,007.27 $31,388.59 $12,033.70 $12,033.70 $4,177.35 $31,978.91 $10,070.58 $21,233.45

1011 W SOUTH BLVD

141

16-07-302-041-0000

0

2018

$1,562.79

OAK PARK - COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL ROBERT & MARCELLA GRAY FABRICAS SELECTAS PROP JOE INVESTMENT LLC JOE INVESTMENT LLC JOE INVESTMENT LLC WEST CERMAK REALTY F M ALL INC DACIA MED PROF CORP

OAK PARK - VACANT LAND MARC KATZ

Published by order of

MARIA PAPPAS County Collector of Cook County, Illinois

29

30

V I E W P O I N T S

Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Puppets for the Day Nursery

As a result of Ten Thousand Villages’ recent community partnership with Oak Park-River Forest Day Nursery, kids at the Day Nursery have received gifts of finger puppets, coloring books, stuffed animals and activity cards. Ten Thousand Villages partners four times a year with a community nonprofit, offering the store’s customers an opportunity to purchase items to be donated to those served by these various agencies.

This year is the first time Day Nursery has been the recipient of our customers’ generosity.

Oak Park’s Ten Thousand Villages was established in 2007 by a group of villagers committed to the organization’s mission to create opportunities for artisans in developing countries to earn income by bringing their products and stories to our markets through long-term, fair trading relationships. The organization was founded in 1947 by Edna Ruth Byler, a member of a Mennonite community in Pennsylvania, who imported textiles made by women in Puerto Rico, India and Jordan, and sold them from the back of her car.

The name — Ten Thousand Villages — was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s quote: “India is not to be found in its few cities, but in the 700,000 villages — we have hardly ever paused to inquire if these folks get sufficient to eat and clothe themselves with.” In every village are people who want to live a meaningful life, with dignity, and who bring beautiful culture worth sharing. Multiply the village idea by 10,000, and it represents the world Ten Thousand Villages is working to build for artisans in developing countries.

ELSAFFAR

Tax burden shifts from page 23 This resulted in an increase in the business share of Oak Park’s tax burden and a corresponding decline in the residential share.

Did all homes, condominiums and small apartment buildings experience 1% tax reductions? No. Although taxes declined on residential properties as a group, there is wide variation within the group. A majority of residential properties had tax reductions, but about one in five experienced double-digit tax increases, and around 8% had tax increases greater than 25%.

Will the decline in the residential share of the tax burden be permanent?

Although no one can predict the future, the property tax system’s response to the pandemic provides reason to believe that at least part of the shift in the tax burden may be temporary. When Oak Park’s new assessed values were issued in February of

The store is operated by a board of directors. Denise Walsh is the current chair of the board. The Oak Park store’s 14th anniversary was Sept. 7.

The OP-RF Day Nursery was established in 1912 to respond to the needs of local working parents and their children — a safe, affordable, enriching environment for children to learn and play while their parents worked. The Day Nursery’s creative play-based program instills a love of learning and encourages children’s continued social, cognitive and emotional development, ensuring that they become lifelong learners and achieve success in future formal education. Fees are on a sliding scale to ensure families at all income levels have access to the excellent program. The Day Nursery is licensed to serve 77 children; 60 are currently enrolled. The executive director of the Day Nursery is Cari Christoff; Victoria Gregor is the program director.

Thanks to the generosity of the Oak Park store’s customers, Day Nursery kids received 60 finger puppets made in Peru from Lucuma Designs, and in Ecuador from Minga Fair Trade Designs; 19 sets of activity cards from Barefoot Books, including Global Kids, Mindful Kids, and Yoga Pretzels; and 18 Dandy Pals, also made in Ecuador and from Minga Fair Trade Imports. Putumayo World Music, whose products are sold in the store, donated 70 oversized Europe Coloring Books.

Vickie Engelhardt

Ten Thousand Villages Oak Park

PROVIDED

Victoria Gregor, program director at the Day Nursery, accepts a basket of gifts from Ten Thousand Villages board member Christina Hillestad and staff marketing specialist Kathryn Greenlea.

2020, efforts were made to ensure that they accurately reflected market values. When the pandemic hit, however, it was assumed that residential property values would fall, and the original assessed values were reduced by 8-12%.

But most of the anticipated declines in market value did not materialize. If the housing market remains strong when the pandemic-related adjustments disappear at Oak Park’s next reassessment in 2023, large increases in residential assessments may be needed to accurately reflect the market.

This could result in an increase in the residential share of the tax burden.

Why did Oak Park’s tax levies increase by 3.2%? The tax cap law limits most governing bodies to inflation-level tax increases on existing properties but allows for additional revenue from new properties.

Among the Oak Park districts, School District 97’s increase of 3.4% is the maximum allowable under the tax cap law. OPRF High School, the park district and village government all had levy increases of 3% or less, and the library’s levy fell by 8.5%. Oak Park Township anticipated that its increase

would be capped at 3.4%, but an unexpected interpretation of the tax cap law generated $73,000 in additional revenue, resulting in a 4.8% tax increase. The township will make up for this year’s excess by seeking $73,000 less than the tax cap allows next year.

Can I do anything to reduce my current tax bill? If you are eligible for a homeowner, senior citizen or disability exemption but did not receive one, the Township Assessor’s Office can assist you in obtaining a revised bill for a smaller amount. If you have received all exemp-

tions for which you are eligible, however, you likely will not be able to do anything about your current bill.

Can I do anything to reduce future tax bills? Oak Park taxpayers will soon have an opportunity to file appeals with the Cook County Board of Review, which will impact next year’s taxes if the appeals are successful. When appeal dates are announced, residents may call Oak Park Township for help preparing appeals.

Ali ElSaffar is the Oak Park Township assessor.

Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

V I E W P O I N T S

Sanctuary for siblings of children with special needs

A

s a kid growing up with a younger brother who has a developmental disability, I would have benefited tremendously from a supportive group of peers who could relate to the challenges I experienced.

They would have known all about the stares you and your family can get in public, and the sometimes rude, hurtful comments from strangers. They also would have shared those same emotions that I thought were uniquely my own struggle.

In other words, during those formative years I would have loved to have an outlet like Sibshops.

For the past six years, sponsored by River Forest Township in partnership with Thrive Counseling Center, Sibshops has been a sanctuary for siblings of children with special needs. Those needs might be physical and developmental disabilities. In other instances, emotional and mental health challenges are in the mix.

Over the years, wearing both my sibling and facilitator hats at Sibshops, it has been extremely gratifying to see girls and boys break free from their day-to-day routine, let down their guard, and be their authentic self. There is a comfort that comes from being around others who are on a similar journey, going through some of the same ups and downs. It’s about understanding what others are going through, and knowing that they understand you, too.

Thanks to the expert guidance of facilitators Laurie Johnson and Javier Sanchez, Sibshops’ activities create a relaxed, fun atmosphere to address some heavy issues.

What comes out of it: laughter, reflection, heightened selfawareness, strategies to relate better to your special-needs sibling, and a deeper awareness of the important roles these siblings have in their family dynamics.

The gatherings are safe, confidential, and transformative. Each time, it has been a joy for me to see these youths, grades 1 through 7, walk away with a lighter load than they came with. The same goes for me, too.

Unfortunately, like the rest of the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has made things tough for Sibshops. The program pivoted to Zoom gatherings, but it’s not the same as meeting in person.

Now that in-person Sibshops is starting back up on Saturday, Sept. 18, excitement is growing among the families who have already experienced its positive impact. And there’s room for more families, too. The fee is $10, lunch provided, with need-based scholarships available.

Sibshops is well worth checking out. To all families who have siblings of special-needs children, I promise you will be glad you did.

Registration for Sibshops is required in advance. For more information or to register, please contact Laurie Johnson at 708-383-7500, x308, or ljohnson@thrivecc.org.

Mike Carmody is executive director of Opportunity Knocks, a nonprofit that supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

MIKE

CARMODY One View

31

O B I T U A R I E S

Ceoria Coates, 95

Became an actor after retirement Ceoria M. Coates died at home in Oak Park on Aug. 25, 2021. Born on Jan. 29, 1926, she was raised in Flint, Michigan and graduated from Western Michigan University in 1949. She met her husband, Thomas (Donald) Coates in Flint, and after college, they moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he attended law school and later became a City Councilman. In addition to working full time in property management, she helped to manage her husband’s political campaigns and took great pride and enjoyment in raising their son, Thomas.

Upon retirement, she spent the next 35 years acting professionally and was an active member of SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors’ Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) until she died. Her movie and TV acting credits included: The Good Mother, The Firm, Spenser for Hire, The Chicago Code, Sirens, and a PBS documentary: Forgotten Genius: Percy Lavon Julian. She also filmed commercials for CVS, T.J. Maxx, Walgreens, United Way, Allstate, Kraft Foods, and Harris Bank. After moving to Oak Park in 2006, she enjoyed the senior bowling league at Circle Lanes, water aerobics at the West Cook YMCA, and watching or participating in any activity that involved her granddaughters.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas (Donald) Coates and is survived by her son, Thomas D. Coates (Mary Ann Bender) and her granddaughters, Caitlyn and Calista.

Roger Conner, 84

Teacher and lifelong student of the world Roger William Conner, 84, a longtime Oak Park resident, died in his home on May 22, 2021 due to complications from Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a rare degenerative neurological condition.

The only child of Grace and William Conner, he was born and raised in Evanston, where he attended Northwestern University, earned his bachelor’s degree in English, and met Marsda (née Mead), who would become his wife of 63 years.

After completing his master’s degree at Harvard, he went on to teach English as a Second Language at “Loop” City College (now Harold Washington) until he retired. He recognized it as his great good fortune to spend nearly 50 years working at a profession he truly loved, sharing his passion for language, while serving the educational needs of young immigrants from all over the globe.

Though a teacher by trade, he remained a lifelong student of the world, pursuing an astonishing range of interests and hobbies. He was an avid photographer, an actor in community productions at the Beverly Arts Center, a singer with the Lyric Opera, a subscriber to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, a tech fanatic and founding member of his school’s “Mac Group.” A nature enthusiast, he spent summers camping in Colorado in his early years, biking along the Salt Creek Trail and frequenting Morton Arboretum in later life. But more

than teacher or scholar, actor or audiophile, cyclist or outdoorsman, he was first and foremost a devoted father with a ready sense of humor, and he will be remembered as such by his five surviving children. He and Marsda were utterly committed to their family, and their tireless generosity and selfless support over the decades was an abiding gift that the lucky recipients can only endeavor to pay forward.

Roger was predeceased by his wife, two sons, and one granddaughter. His life was celebrated with a small private memorial at Morton Arboretum in June and his passing will be formally commemorated with an open service at Ascension Catholic Church in Oak Park on Friday, Sept. 17 at 11 a.m.

Timothy Eggert, 73 Owned Competitive Foot

Timothy R. Eggert, 73, of North Riverside, died on Sept. 7, 2021.

Born on Aug. 7, 1948, he was the proud owner of The Competitive Foot running store in Oak Park and Western Springs for 40 years. He sponsored local races, participated in many of the Downtown Oak Park business district events and activities, and volunteered at the Chicago Marathon. He cared deeply about his employees, customers and the Oak Park community.

Tim was the husband of Tyna Eggert for a wonderful 50 years; the father of Todd (Kelly) Eggert and Tracy (Tommy) Fussaro; the grandfather of Chase and Chloe Eggert & Thomas Fussaro; the brother of Judith (Thomas) Harrington and Jeff (Christine) Eggert; the brother-in-law of Roger (Nancy) Wolff; and the uncle and friend of many. Tim was preceded in death by his parents Len and June Eggert.

Visitation was held on Sept. 9 at Hallowell & James Funeral Home in Countryside, with a funeral service on Sept. 10.

Interment was private.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Parkinson’s Foundation, http://www.parkinson.org.

Nell Lurain, 75 Rush University professor

Nell S. Lurain, 75, died peacefully at home in Oak Park on Aug. 31, 2021. Born on Aug. 1, 1946 in Charlottesville, Virginia, to the late William P. and Alice Snavely, she grew up in Storrs, Connecticut. In 1968, she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Oberlin College, where she earned an undergraduate degree in biology and met her life partner, her husband of 52 years, John R. Lurain III. She went on to pursue an academic career in science, completing a PhD in microbiology at Loyola University of Chicago while simultaneously raising two daughters.

Throughout their childhood, she was a dedicated presence on the sidelines at sporting events, reading scientific journal articles in between bursts of cheering.

In 2020, she retired from her position as professor of Immunology and Microbiology at Rush University after more See OBITUARIES on page 32

32

Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

O B I T U A R I E S Continued from on page 31 than 25 years on the faculty. She loved the puzzle and practice of laboratory research and found human pathogens endlessly fascinating. This enthusiasm for her discipline, along with her nearly infinite patience, care, and commitment to education made her an excellent mentor and teacher. In 2019, she was awarded the Rush Faculty Excellence in Education Award.

A longtime, engaged member of First United Church of Oak Park, she found a community of faith that nurtured both her spirit and her strong sense that human beings have a collective responsibility to care for each other. Through the church, she became involved with Cluster Tutoring, first as a tutor, and later, as a board member. The organization’s mission corresponded closely with her belief in the power of education and the importance of investing in the future through young people.

Everyone who knew Nell was struck by her sharp intellect, her unflappable practicality, her understated sense of humor, and her deep concern for others. Her family, friends, and colleagues were warmed by her generosity of spirit and reassured by her steadfast reliability. Her affection and her “instructions” will be missed in equal measure.

In addition to her husband, Nell is survived by her children, Alice (Carla García) Lurain and Kate (Gabriel Alvarado) Lurain, and by her siblings, William (Susan) Snavely and Elizabeth (Van) Aldred.

A memorial service will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept.

26 at First United Church of Oak Park, 848 Lake St. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Cluster Tutoring (clustertutoring.org).

Arrangements were handled by Drechsler, Brown & Williams Funeral Home.

Jerry Levinson, 86

Karen Swan, 73

Jerry Levinson, 86, formerly of Oak Park, died on Sept. 4, 2021 in Dallas, Texas. A graduate of Fairfax High in California, he served as a sergeant in the Air Force in Korea in the 686 Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, then worked as an electrical engineer, where he provided expertise to several companies, including Collins Radio, Zenith, and Knowles Electronics. Cycling was an extreme passion, which led him to open Oak Park Cyclery. The store was a home to many in the Chicago area for best-in-class bikes, service and repairs, and a great place to start many bike rides. At age 80, he qualified for the Senior Olympics, a testament to his dedication. He also shared his appreciation for classical and jazz music, the Chicago Cubbies, and most importantly, his compassion, empathy and love for family.

Jerry is survived by his wife, Helen; his brothers, Howard and Michael Levinson; his daughter, Andrea Skinner; his son, Philip Levinson; his daughter and son in-law, Julie and Matt Koellner; and his grandchildren Abigail and Rebecca Skinner, Katrena Koellner, Olivia and Penelope Levinson.

If you’d like to make a tribute in memoriam, we have selected two organizations that align with Jerry’s spirit: Ghisallo Cycling Initiative, https://ghisallo.org/donate, and Alzheimer’s Association, https://www.alz.org.

Karen Swan, 73, died suddenly and peacefully on Sept. 5, 2021. She joined Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation in 2008, at the same time as her daughter Darby Rosenfeld. She and Darby, Darby’s husband Jaeson, and their three kids Case, Zack, and Cora formed a multigenerational presence in the congregation.

She was a member of the Religious Education for Children and Youth program for many years. She was always enthusiastic, full of creative ideas, and the first person to say, “I can do that” when a new opportunity arose. She co-taught numerous religious education classes with Darby over the years, and touched the lives of many Unity Temple children and youth. She had a loving and open presence that fully celebrated the gifts of those around her. She will be missed.

Karen is also survived by her husband, Marco; her daughter, Gillian; and her son, Sam. There will be a memorial and reception on Sunday, Sept.

19 in Riverside. There will also be a memorial in southern Maine in late October.

Owned Oak Park Cyclery

Unity Temple member

Drechsler, Brown & Williams

Robert P. Gamboney

Since 1880 Family Owned & Operated

I am there for you in your time of need.

All services handled with dignity and personalized care.

Charles Williams, Owner/Funeral Director

Cell: 708.420.5108 • Res: 708.848.5667

203 S. Marion St. Oak Park 60302 708/383-3191

I am affiliated with Peterson-Bassi Chapels at 6938 W. North Ave, as well as other chapels throughout Chicagoland.

Funeral Home

Funeral Director

g n a H e r e h in t k r a P Oak

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Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

Growing Community Media

33

HOURS: 9:00 A.M.– 5:00 P.M. MON–FRI Deadline is Monday at 5:00 p.m.

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

HELP WANTED CROSSING GUARD

River Forest Public Schools District 90

District 90 is seeking qualified and experienced applicants for the following positions:

• English Language Learner Teacher (Lincoln Elementary School) • Physical Education Part-time Teacher (Lincoln Elementary School) For detailed qualifications requirements and job duties, please visit our website at www.district90.org/about/employment for our complete list of employment opportunities.

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

General Duties: Provide excellence in education by developing and implementing activities that encourage students to be life-long learners. Possesses knowledge of District policies and regulations relating to areas of responsibilities. Create an environment that is conducive to learning and appropriate to the developmental maturity and interests of each student.

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

River Forest Public Schools District 90

River Forest D90 has an opening for a Temporary Evening Custodian. Responsible for cleaning of buildings and grounds, as assigned. A strong work ethic, interpersonal skills and custodial experience is required. Salary commensurate with experience. For consideration, please complete an online application on our District website at www. district90.org.

PART TIME DRIVER ASAP

Local company looking for part time driver/warehouse. Must be drug free & have valid IL DL. Must be able to lift 75lb. $13/hr Email resume to HR@SIEVERTELECTRIC.COM

PAID-ON-CALL FIREFIGHTER Job Title: Paid-on-Call Firefighter Description: The Village of Riverside Fire Department is seeking applicants for the position of Paidon-Call Firefighter.

Additional Status Information: This is not a full-time position.

Qualifications: - In good physical condition - Reside within 1.5 miles of the boundaries of the Village of Riverside at time of appointment - Be 18 years of age at the time of application - Possess a high school diploma or GED - Possess a valid driver’s license with a good driving record Miscellaneous Applications are reviewed in October 2021.

Application deadline is Friday, October 8th, 2021.

The Village of Riverside is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

HIRING BONUS! HEPHZIBAH DAY CARE PROGRAM SITE SUPERVISOR

Hephzibah Children’s Association offers after school day care on site at each of the Oak Park elementary schools.

The Day Care Program is accepting applications for a Site Supervisor for the 2021-2022 school year to provide supervision to childcare staff as well as care and supervision of 5-11-year-old children.

Regular days and hours are Monday through Friday from 2:30 - 6:00 PM, Wednesday 1:30 – 6:00 PM. Additional hours on school closing days, in coordination with the school district calendar. May work other hours during school holidays and for staff meetings.

Associate degree in child development or early childhood education, or the equivalent in child development or education desired. Previous experience working with children required.

Program starts mid-August and runs through the school year.

Additional hours for staff meetings and on school closing days in coordination with the school district calendar.

HIRING BONUS!

Part Time Positions Available for 2021-22 school year

AFTER-SCHOOL RECREATION / DAY CARE WORKER YOUTH DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST ON SITE AT OAK PARK PUBLIC SCHOOLS

The Day Care Program of Hephzibah Children’s Association is accepting applications for nurturing individuals to provide care and supervision of 5-11-year-old children in the After School Day Care program on site at Oak Park public schools.

The days and hours are Mon – Fri from 2:30-6:00 PM and 2:00-6:00 PM on Wednesdays.

Plan and supervise arts and crafts, indoor & outdoor play, games, sports, homework help and more.

Requirements include: -previous experience working with children -6 semester hours in education, recreation, social work or related college courses desired

Applications accepted until position is filled. EOE.

SOFTWARE DEVELOPER

Responsible for Developing and Implementing real-time, clinical decision-support software for some of the most prestigious hospitals in the country. Requires Bachelor’s degree plus 5 years of experience or Master’s degree plus 2 years of experience in software development. Review full job duties online and apply to: employment@vigilanzcorp.com

HELP WANTED

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Budget and Revenue Analyst in the Development Customer Service Department.

This position will Serve the public with professional administrative and analytical duties in the areas of budget preparation, purchasing, payroll, data analysis and process improvement. Provides, prepares and maintains records, and financial and statistical reports and analysis which assist in the Village’s ability to improve business processes and gain efficiencies through better use of technology. Budget duties include assisting in the development, analysis and application of performance measures with regard to Village services and resources; preparing, modifying, tracking and monitoring Village expenses and transfers; and conducting budget-related research and analysis. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Village of Oak Park’s website http://www.oak-park. us/jobs. Interested and qualified applicants must complete a Village of Oak Park application. First review of applications September 24, 2021.

Starting a New Business?

Publish Your Assumed Name Legal Notice in • Austin Weekly News • Wednesday Journal • Forest Park Review • Riverside/Brookfield Landmark

Call the Experts Before You Place Your Legal Ad! Call Stacy for details: 708/613-3333

Program starts mid-August and runs through the 2021-22 school year.

Contact MJ Joyce at: mjjoyce@hephzibahhome.org

Contact MJ Joyce at mjjoyce@hephzibahhome.org

Equal Opportunity Employer We are an inclusive employer and welcome people from all backgrounds to apply

Equal Opportunity Employer We are an inclusive employer and welcome people from all backgrounds to apply



The Forest Park Police Department is seeking qualified individuals for the position of Crossing Guard.

This position requires flexible hours during days when schools are in session. A background investigation and drug screening will be conducted prior to consideration for the position. Applications available at Village Hall, 517 Desplaines Avenue or on-line at www.forestpark.net and should be returned to Vanessa Moritz, HR Director, at Village Hall.

For additional information, contact Dora Murphy at 708-615-6223 or write dmurphy@forestpark.net.

Find Marketplace listings on the next page!

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

In print • Online • Available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year OakPark.com | AustinWeeklyNews.com | RBLandmark.com | ForestParkReview.com | PublicNoticeIllinois.com

34

Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

CLASSIFIED

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

MARKETPLACE FLEA MARKET Berwyn

OUTDOOR FLEA MARKET & CRAFT FAIR TRINITY CHURCH 7022 RIVERSIDE DR. SATURDAY SEPT 18 9AM-2PM 708-484-1818 (press 3)

GARAGE/YARD SALES Oak Park

MULTIFAMILY YARD SALE 900 N. MARION ST SAT. 9/18/21 8:30 AM11:30AM

Housewares, adult and children’s clothing, toys, furniture, books, electronics, and too much more to list.

Forest Park

GARAGE SALE 1010 THOMAS AVE FRI, SAT 9AM-4PM

My sister moved and I have STUFF! Xmas Outdoor/indoor decorations, mirror 36X64, butcher block 36X25, rower, propane bug fogger, hand tools, 36 lb trolling motor, air purifier, hardware, office, lots of home goods, bread maker, CDs, DVDs, books, ladies M-XXL, Men’s M/L/ XXL polo shirts, and so much more.

Must wear a mask!

GARAGE/YARD SALES

R E N TA L S & R E A L E S TAT E CARS WANTED

SUBURBAN RENTALS

Oak Park

BERWYN: 2 BR

GARAGE SALE 847 JACKSON AVE SAT 9/18 9AM TO 1PM

Boys clothes and shoes, toys for all ages, books, kitchen and home goods, some furniture.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Wonder Works Children’s Museum.

Masks encouraged!

AUTOS FOR SALE 1994 CADILLAC FLEETWOOD

Full power, very low miles. Garage kept. Needs minor repair. Minor rust.

5.7L 350. Must sell. $3850 obo.

Call or text 708-606-6640

ITEMS FOR SALE PIANO FOR SALE

Chickering 1938 grand piano, 5’4”.

Good condition. Refurbished and restrung in the past. Buyer must move.

Reasonable at $1000.

Call 312-339-2370

WANTED TO BUY WANTED MILITARY ITEMS: Helmets, medals, patches, uniforms, weapons, flags, photos, paperwork, Also toy soldiers – lead, plastic – other misc. toys.

Call Uncle Gary 708-522-3400

Gorgeous Apt w/ granite kitchen countr top. All appls. HT/WTR inc.

Security cams. $1200 + $1500 sec.

Close to Shpng Mall

Ceiling Fans Installed

A&A ELECTRIC

Let an American Veteran do your work

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

708-409-0988 • 708-738-3848 Sr. Discounts • 30 Yrs. Exp. Servicing Oak Park • All surrounding suburbs • Chicago area

FLOORS KLIS FLOORING INC.

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

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

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

708-296-2060

HANDYMAN CURT'S HANDYMAN SERVICE Drywall Repair • Painting Fans Installed • Carpentry Trim Gutter Cleaning • Window Repair

FREE ESTIMATES Excellent References No Job Too Small

708-488-9411

HANDYMAN Roofing Repairs Concrete Repairs • Drywall All types of handiwork Call For Free Estimates

773-637-0692 Ask for John

Best Selection & Service

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

Mercedes, Corvette, Mercedes,Porsche, Porsche, Corvette, Ferrari’s, Jaguars, Muscle Cars, Ferrari’s, Jaguars, Muscle Cars, Mustang && Mopars Mopars Mustang Top $$ Etc. $$$$Top $$allallmakes, makes, Etc.

Collector James Collector James 630-201-8122 630-201-8122

CLASSICS WANTED

Deluxe 4 RMS, 1 BDRMS apt. Close to train, hospital, school, park. Includes heat, water, all appliances, laundry facility, parking. Handicap accessible. Just painted, new blinds.

No pets. $995/mo. Sec. dep. 1 mo.

Credit Check. Available Sept or Oct. BROKER

708-347-2500

APARTMENT FOR RENT AUSTIN/OAK PARK 3BR

Austin/Oak Park: Bright and spacious, 3-bedroom apartment w/ huge living room and dining room, appliances included. Rent $1175.00 plus utilities. Close to transportation and parks.

Call 312-852-2814

CEMETARY PLOTSor Unrestored NOVENAS NOVENAS Restored Cars &HOME Vintage Motorcycles 3 FOREST PRAYER TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN CEMETERY PLOTS Domestic / Import Cars:(NEVER KNOWN TO FAIL) (3) Side by side Forest Home Cemetery plots. Section 75 Lot 83 Block 50. Located at west end of cemetery. Reasonable offers considered.

Contact: 815-671-9391

Oh, most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor of heaven,

Blessed Mother of the Son Mercedes, Porsche, of God, Corvette, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. Oh, Star of the Sea, me and show me, herein you are my mother. Oh, Holy Mary, Mother of Ferrari’s, Jaguars,help Muscle Cars,and Earth. I humbly beseech you from the bottom God, Queen of Heaven of my heart to suc cor in my necessity (make request). There are none that Mustang &canMopars withstand your power. Oh, show me herein you are my mother. Oh, Mary,

$$ Top $$ all makes, Etc.

conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee (3 times). Holy Mary, I place this prayer in your hands (3 times). Say this prayer for three consecutive days and publish; your request will be granted. JS

HAULING BASEMENT CLEANING

Appliances & Furniture Removal Pickup & Delivery.

708-848-9404

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

708-243-0571

NEIGHBORHOOD CLEAN UP

Evergreen trimming & more. Clean-ups.

Garden weed removal.

Storm Branch Tree Removal.

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

cat calls

Oak Park’s Original Pet Care Service – Since 1986

Daily dog exercising Complete pet care in your home )PVTF TJUUJOH t 1MBOU DBSF Bonded References

524-1030

PLASTERING McNulty Plastering & Stucco Co.

OAK PARK & FOREST PARK

708-386-7355

MMpropMgmt.com

BERWYN DELUXE 4 RMS

630-201-8122 HOME SERVICES ELECTRICAL

STUDIOS, 1, 2 & 3 BR

708-699-8916

Collector James

ELECTRICAL

SUBURBAN RENTALS

CITY RENTALS AUSTIN RENAISSANCE APARTMENTS

A HUD subsidized affordable Apartment property announces the opening of its waiting list for both One and Two Bedroom Apartments! Resident rent is approximately 30% of gross household income, some restrictions apply. Our property is located on Washington Blvd in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood.

Apartments offered with an occupancy of one to four persons. Properties feature modern kitchens, include appliances, and offer onsite maintenance. Austin Renaissance will accept requests for application packages by U.S. Mail postmarked no later than , September 15, 2021. Send or email a written request for an application package that includes your name, mailing address. Daytime telephone number, Email address, and the number of persons in your household to: Town Center Realty Group LLC, PO Box 64, Huntley IL 60142-0064 or Email requests to mrpaul.tcrg@gmail.com Application packages available by mail or email delivery only. No walk-ins accepted.

Town Center Realty Group LLC

ROOMS FOR RENT Large Sunny Room with fridge, microwave.

Near Green line, bus, Oak Park, 24 hour desk, parking lot. $125.00. New Mgmt.

312-212-1212

OFFICE /RETAIL FOR RENT OFFICE SPACE FOR RENT THERAPY OFFICE OAK PARK

Free wifi; flexible leasing, and offices nicely furnished right down to the Kleenex. Secure building & friendly colleagues, often giving referrals to other office mates. Shared Waiting room, Conference room & option to join Peer Supervision Group. Ideal for new practice or 2nd location.

708-383-0729

RIVER FOREST–7777 Lake St. * 1116 sq. ft. * 1400 sq. ft. Dental Office RIVER FOREST–7756 Madison St. * 960 sq. ft.

OAK PARK–6142-44 Roosevelt Rd. * 3 & 5 room office suites FOREST PARK–7736 Madison St. *2500 sq. ft. unit Strand & & Browne Strand Browne 708-488-0011 708-488-0011

Small & big work. Free estimates.

Complete Plaster, Stucco & Re-Coating Services

708/386-2951 • ANYTIME Work Guaranteed

Licensed, Bonded, Insured, & EPA Certified Expert craftsmanship for over 50 years

PLUMBING Supreme Plumbing & Sewer Services Installation: kitchens, baths, showers •Sewer Systems Piping Clogged drains •Water heaters

100% Satisfaction Guaranteed Quality workmanship & service 20+ years’ experience Locally owned & operated

Free Estimates!

708-955-7844

johnlavin530@gmail.com License #PR-1234

708-447-1762

PAINTING & DECORATING CLASSIC PAINTING

Fast & Neat Painting/Taping/Plaster Repair Low Cost

708.749.0011

Reach the people making the decisions.

Place an ad in GCM Classified!

Call 773/626-6332

Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

CLASSIFIED

35

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

Let the sun shine in...

Public Notice: Your right to know

In print • Online • Available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year OakPark.com | PublicNoticeIllinois.com PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

NOTICE TO BIDDERS AND INVITATION FOR BIDS VILLAGE OF BROOKFIELD WATER METER UPGRADE PROJECT

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MEETING DATE: October 6, 2021 TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits CALENDAR NUMBER: 15-21-Z APPLICATION: The Zoning Board of Appeals (“Board”) will conduct a public meeting on a special use permit application filed by the Applicant, Ruth Dorsey, to operate a massage service establishment, pursuant to Section 8.3 (“Table 8-1: Use Matrix) of the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance at the property located at 816 S. Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park, Illinois, Property Index Number 16-18-224-005-0000, in the NC Neighborhood Commercial Zoning District.

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

The Board will conduct the public meeting remotely with live audio

available and optional video. The meeting will be streamed live and archived online for on-demand viewing at www.oak-park.us/ commissiontv as well as cablecast on VOP-TV, which is available to Comcast subscribers on channel 6 and ATT U-Verse subscribers on channel 99. The remote public meeting is authorized pursuant to Section 7(e) of the Open Meetings Act. The Village President has determined that an in-person public meeting is not practical or prudent due to the COVID-19 outbreak during Governor JB Pritzker’s current disaster proclamation. It is also not feasible to have a person present at the public meeting due to public safety concerns related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at the public meeting. Interested persons may provide written evidence, testimony and public comment on the application by email to Zoning@ oak-park.us or by drop off in the Oak Park Payment Drop Box across from the main entrance to Village

Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, to be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on October 6, 2021.

An individual’s name and their testimony or comment will be read aloud into the record at the public meeting if received no later than 30 minutes prior to the start of the public meeting. Interested persons may also sign up to participate in the meeting to cross examine the applicant and its witnesses, present evidence, testimony or public comment by emailing Zoning @oak-park.us before 5:00 PM on the day prior to the public meeting to sign up. Individuals who sign up to participate in this manner will receive an email from Village staff with information about how to join the meeting online through Zoom web-conference means or by phone.

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

Published in Wednesday Journal September 15, 2021

RECEIPT OF BIDS The Village of Brookfield will receive sealed proposals for the Water Meter Upgrade Project until 11:00 A.M. Central Time, Wednesday, September 29, 2021, at the Office of the Village Manager. Bids will be opened and read in the Edward Barcall Hall in the Municipal Building, located at 8820 Brookfield Avenue, Brookfield, Illinois, on Wednesday, September 29, 2021, at 11:00 A.M., Central Time. The Project includes upgrading approximately 6,771 water meters and other related work.

CONTRACT DOCUMENTS Electronic copies of the bidding documents are available from the office of the Municipal Engineer, Edwin Hancock Engineering Co., via email request to info@ehancock.com. A non-refundable fee of Thirty dollars ($30.00) will be required.

No bidding documents will be issued after 4:00 P.M. on Thursday, September 23, 2021. Bid proposals must be submitted on the forms provided. Only contractors that have been issued bidding documents by Hancock Engineering Company, the Village Engineer, will be allowed to submit proposals.

Submission of a bid shall be conclusive assurance and warranty that the bidder has examined the plans, the site of the work and the local conditions affecting the contract and understands all of the requirements for performance of the work. The bidder will be responsible for all errors in its proposal resulting from failure or neglect to conduct an in-depth examination. The Village of Brookfield will, in no case be responsible for any costs, expenses, losses or changes in anticipated profits resulting from such failure or neglect of the bidder. The bidder shall not take advantage of any error or omission in the plans or proposal. Sealed envelopes or packages containing bids shall be addressed to the Village Manager and plainly marked “Village of Brookfield – Water Meter Upgrade Project” on the outside of the envelope.

QUESTIONS, CHANGES, CLARIFICATIONS Any questions that arise must be made in writing and shall be directed by electronic mail to Carl Muell, Director of Public Works, Village of Brookfield at cmuell@brookfieldil.gov. The written questions, along with the Village’s response, shall be circulated to all known potential bidders without identifying the party submitting the questions. The cut-off for receipt of additional questions shall be 12:00 Noon, Central Time on Friday, September 24, 2021, in order to facilitate preparation of any addenda. No inquiry received after that time will be given consideration. Replies and/or addenda will be mailed and faxed to all known potential contractors by 4:00 P.M., Central Time on Monday, September 27, 2021.

Receipt of any addenda must be acknowledged in writing as part of the Bidder’s Proposal. Bidders shall be responsible for ensuring that they have received any and all addenda. The Village of Brookfield shall not assume responsibility for the receipt by the Bidder of any addenda.

BID SECURITY Each proposal shall be accompanied by a proposal guaranty in the form of a bid bond, executed by a corporate surety company, a bank cashier’s check or a certified check payable to the “Village of Brookfield” for not less than five percent (5%) of the amount of the proposal. The proposal guaranty checks of all, except the two responsive, responsible proposers which the Village determines in its sole discretion to be the proposers with whom the Village desires to commence negotiations for a contract, will be returned after the proposals have been checked and tabulated. The proposal guaranty checks of the two responsive, responsible proposers will be returned after the contract and the contract bond of the successful proposer have been properly executed and approved. Bid bonds will not be returned.

RIGHT TO REJECT BIDS The Village of Brookfield reserves the right to waive technicalities and to reject any and all proposals for any reason deemed in the best interest of the Village of Brookfield.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MEETING DATE: October 6, 2021 TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits CALENDAR NUMBER: 16-21-Z

123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

APPLICATION: The Zoning Board of Appeals (“Board”) will conduct a public meeting on an application filed by the Applicant, Ryan D’Aprile, seeking a variance from Section 8.3 (Table 8-1: Use Matrix) of the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance, which section prohibits office uses from being located within the first 50 feet of the street lot line at grade level or on the ground floor of any building within the DT-1 and DT-2 Sub-Districts of Downtown, to allow D’Aprile Properties LLC, a full-service Residential Real Estate Company (office use) on the ground floor within 50 feet of a street line at the premises commonly known as 193 N. Marion Street, Oak Park, Illinois, Property Index Number 16-07-118-0500000 in the DT Downtown Zoning District.

The Board will conduct the public meeting remotely with live audio available and optional video. The meeting will be streamed live and archived online for on-demand viewing at www.oak-park.us/ commissiontv as well as cablecast on VOP-TV, which is available to Comcast subscribers on channel 6 and ATT U-Verse subscribers on channel 99. The remote public meeting is authorized pursuant to Section 7(e) of the Open Meetings Act. The Village President has determined that an in-person public meeting is not practical or prudent due to the COVID-19 outbreak during Governor JB Pritzker’s current disaster proclamation. It is also not feasible to have a person present at the public meeting due to public safety concerns related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

A copy of the application and applicable documents are on file and are available for inspection at Village Hall, Development Customer Services Department,

All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at the public meeting. Interested persons may provide written evidence, testimony and public Published in Wednesday Journal September 15, 2021

comment on the application by email to Zoning@oak-park.us or by drop off in the Oak Park Payment Drop Box across from the entrance to Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, to be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on October 6, 2021. An individual’s name and their testimony or comment will be read aloud into the record at the public meeting if received no later than 30 minutes prior to the start of the public meeting. Interested persons may also participate in the meeting to cross examine the applicant and its witnesses, present evidence, testimony or public comment by emailing Zoning @oak-park.us before 5:00 PM on the day prior to the public hearing to sign up. Individuals who sign up to participate in this manner will receive an email from Village staff with information about how to join the meeting online through Zoom web-conference means or by phone.

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

AWARD OF CONTRACT Unless all bids are rejected, the contract award will be made to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder that the Village of Brookfield in its sole discretion determines to be in the best interest of the Village. In determining who the lowest responsive, responsible bidder is, the Village of Brookfield will consider all factors that it, in its discretion, deems relevant in determining who the lowest responsive, responsible bidder is.

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS The general prevailing rate of wages in Cook County, Illinois, for each craft or type of worker or mechanic needed to execute the contract or perform the work, also the general prevailing rate for legal holiday and overtime work, as ascertained by the Illinois Department of Labor, shall be paid for each craft or type of worker needed to execute the contract or to perform the work. Work performed under this contract shall be in accordance with Illinois Prevailing Wage Act (Illinois Compiled Statutes, Ch. 820, Act 130, Sections 1-12), Employment of Illinois Workers on Public Works Act (Illinois Compiled Statutes, Ch. 30, Act 570, Sections 1-7), Drug Free Workplace Act (Illinois Compiled Statutes, Ch. 30, Act 580, Sections 1-11).

Village of Brookfield, Illinois Timothy C. Wiberg, Village Manager Published in RB Landmark September 15, 2021

EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY

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

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

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

To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-669-9777.

Wednesday Journal • Landmark • Forest Park Review

PUBLIC NOTICE OF COURT DATE FOR REQUEST FOR NAME CHANGE

PUBLIC NOTICE OF COURT DATE FOR REQUEST FOR NAME CHANGE

STATE OF ILLINOIS, CIRCUIT COURT COOK COUNTY.

STATE OF ILLINOIS, CIRCUIT COURT COOK COUNTY.

Request of SANDRA ANNE CASTILLO-MEZA Case Number. 2021CONC001308

Request of VICTOR CRISTIAN ENCISO Case Number. 2021CONC001309

There will be a court date on my Request to change my name from: SANDRA ANNE CASTILLO-MEZA to the new name of: SANDRA MEZA

There will be a court date on my Request to change my name from: VICTOR CRISTIAN ENCISO to the new name of: VICTOR CRISTIAN CASTILLO-MEZA

The court date will be held: On November 19, 2021 at 10:30am at VIA ZOOM- Meeting ID: 958 9492 1843/Password: 226532 Cook in Courtroom # 1707 Published in Wednesday Journal September 8, 15, 22, 2021

The court date will be held: On December 6, 2021 at 9:00am at VIA ZOOM- Meeting ID: 965 2561 6475/Password: 553663 Cook in Courtroom # 1704 Published in Wednesday Journal September 8, 15, 22, 2021

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Wednesday Journal, September 15, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

WRIGHTPLUS September 15, 2021

House selection both a science and art

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2021

P R E V I E W

Property transfers

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W E D N E S D A Y

JOURNAL F O R E S T PA R K

REVIEW

Wright Plus housewalk returns with a flourish Several buildings have not been on the tour in decades

By LACEY SIKORA

A

Contributing Reporter

fter a COVID-19 imposed hiatus of over a year, Wright Plus returns on Sept. 18 for the first time since 2019. The walk has been in the works for over two years, and ticket holders are ready and willing to jump back onto the housewalk circuit with the housewalk to end all housewalks.

“It’s been a challenging hiatus,” said event cochair Vicki Kwarciany. “The team has been working on the walk since June 2019 and research began on these houses in November 2019.”

She says that over 75 volunteers and Frank Lloyd Wright Trust employees work on the leadership team that plans the walk, and all are excited to be back. In addition, many people who purchased tickets in 2019 for the 2020 walk are looking forward to attending.

Event co-chair Corrine Penery says that while 2020 ticket holders were given the option to use their tickets for two or even three years later, many people opted to come back this fall.

“They’re so excited about this year’s houses,” Penery said. “Whether it’s the Ingalls House that See WRIGHT PLUS on page B3

Photos courtesy of Frank Lloyd Wright Trust/Photo by James Caulfield

(Above) Exterior and dining room, J. Kibben Ingalls House (Frank Lloyd Wright, 1909) September 15, 2021 ■ Wednesday Journal/Forest Park Review

B1

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B2 View more at OakPark.com/Real-Estate ■ September 15, 2021

W R I G H T

P L U S

P R E V I E W

Courtesy of Frank Lloyd Wright Trust/Photo by James Caulfield

Isabel Roberts House (Frank Lloyd Wright, 1908, remodel 1955)

WRIGHT PLUS Protocols in place from page B1 hasn’t been on since the 1990s or the Isabel Roberts house, people are excited to come back and do something normal, even if we have slightly different safety protocols.”

Some of the safety protocols in place this year, included halting ticket sales much earlier than in prior years and selling about 30 percent fewer tickets than normal to promote social distancing during the walk.

Multiple Frank Lloyd Wright Trust sites

will be open for early check-in for trust members, decreasing the number of people who will be at the Welcome Center on the morning of Wright Plus.

Inside each home, tour group sizes will be smaller, and volunteers working inside houses are required to be vaccinated. All guests and volunteers will be required to wear face masks while inside all buildings and on shuttles, and hand sanitizer will be provided before entry into each building.

Kwarciany stresses that the cautious approach will not dampen the experience for guests.

“People are excited, energized and ready to do something fun and engaging outside in the neighborhood before winter sets in,”

Courtesy of Frank Lloyd Wright Trust/Photo by James Caulfield

Living room, Isabel Roberts House (Frank Lloyd Wright, 1908, remodel 1955)

Courtesy of Frank Lloyd Wright Trust/Photo by James Caulfield

Oscar B. Balch House (Frank Lloyd Wright, 1911)

Kwarciany said. “There’s a pent- up demand for this. There’s no other housewalk like Wright Plus.”

The seven houses featured on Wright Plus this year include five homes in River Forest and two in Oak Park.

In River Forest, the Isabel Roberts Home was designed in 1908 by Wright for Roberts, who worked in Wright’s studio, her mother and her sister. Roberts is said to have helped work on the drawings for the home, and included plans for a tree that grew through the roof of the home.

Architect William Drummond designed some changes to the house in the 1920s, and in the 1950s Wright remodeled the home. It

is the only Prairie Style interior in a Wright home updated by Wright himself.

J. Kibben Ingalls, president of the Western Heater Dispatch railroad car company, hired Wright to design his home in 1909. The River Forest home was last on Wright Plus in 1999. The Prairie Style home includes original oak trim, copper light fixtures and art glass windows. The homeowners recently completed an exterior paint project, aided by historic research into the original colors of the home.

Oak Park’s Oscar B. Balch house was designed by Wright for the decorator in 1911, See WRIGHT PLUS on page B6

September 15, 2021 ■ Wednesday Journal/Forest Park Review

B3

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Contact Marc Stopeck at 708.613.3330 or marc@oakpark.com B4 View more at OakPark.com/Real-Estate ■ September 15, 2021

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B5

W R I G H T

P L U S

P R E V I E W

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Courtesy of Frank Lloyd Wright Trust/Photo by James Caulfield

Bell House (Harry Mahler, 1914)

WRIGHT PLUS from page B3 shortly after Wright returned to Oak Park after his infamous trip to Europe with former client Mamah Borthwick.

The Prairie Style home is one of the first Wright homes to feature a flat roof.

The Frank H. Bell house was designed by architect Harry Mahler in 1914. The house is considered Mahler’s only Prairie Style residence and features an abundance of leaded glass windows. The Oak Park house was built by Sherman Edwards as a wedding gift for his daughter. The house is making its Wright Plus debut.

The Henry Einfeldt House was built in 1914 by architect duo Purcell and Elmslie. George Elmslie was Wright’s colleagues in the Chicago offices of both Joseph Lyman Silsbee and Adler & Sullivan.

William Purcell’s grandfather was the original owner of the Hills-DeCaro House, designed by Wright in 1906. The Einfeldt House in River Forest house has not been featured on Wright Plus for 38 years and has been expanded. Original built-ins and leaded glass remain.

William Drummond designed the John A. Klesert house in River Forest in 1915. The American foursquare home has prairie and craftsman influences and cost $4,500 to build in 1915. This is the first time the home has been featured on Wright Plus.

Edward Probst, a partner in Graham, Anderson, Probst & White, designed this River Forest house in 1916 for his family. The house retains 60 original floral art glass windows designed by Giannini and Hilgart.

Ticket sales for this year’s walk have ended, but the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust is looking forward to Wright Plus 2022, with plans for the walk to return in May.

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B6 View more at OakPark.com/Real-Estate ■ September 15, 2021

Courtesy of Frank Lloyd Wright Trust/Photo by James Caulfield

W R I G H T

P L U S

P R E V I E W

Courtesy of Frank Lloyd Wright Trust/Photo by James Caulfield

E. Probst House (Edward Probst, 1916)

Wright Plus L house selection both a science and art Homes by the master just the start, the others complement those choices

By LACEY SIKORA

the Victorian era.

“There are a limited number of Wright houses, and you can’t build any more,” Pond said. “That’s ong before the weekend of Wright Plus opens why the ‘plus’ houses are so important.”

Vicki Kwarciany, co-chair of this year’s walk, and up historic homes in Oak Park and River Forest to hundreds of visitors, Frank Lloyd Wright a long-term Frank Lloyd Wright Trust volunteer, Trust volunteers put a lot of thought and effort says that other architects are definitely a big draw into choosing homes for the walk. In fact, the for the walk.

“There’s so much fantastic architecselection process begins for the next ture in the area, we don’t want to limit year as soon as Wright Plus wraps up. ourselves,” Kwarciany said. “There are Typically, when Wright Plus is held so many important architects, like Wilin May, the Wright Plus House Selection liam Drummond and Purcell & Elmslie.

Committee begins meeting in June.

They not only did unique things in their Frank Pond has been on the commitown right, but they also offer their own tee for more than 25 years and chairs the interpretation of the Prairie Style.” committee this year. He says that while No matter the unifying theme of the the committee always tries to look at the walk, Pond says the selection committee walk with fresh eyes, there is a bit of also considers the geographic layout of general framework they follow. the walk.

“We look for three Frank Lloyd Wright FRANK POND “All Wright homes are north of the homes, which are complemented by the [Lake Street] el tracks, except one,” Pond Home and Studio and Unity Temple,” Pond said. “Then we look for other complementary said. “We try to have a link between the Home and Studio and Unity Temple and other homes.” homes.”

Co-volunteer Susan Frost says that one approach Those complementary homes are the “plus” of Wright Plus, and Pond says they might follow a par- to planning a walk is to start with the neighborhood ticular theme architecturally or stylistically. Some and build the walk around that. years the homes might have a distinctive Prairie See SELECTION on page B10 Style bent, and other years might feature some from Contributing Reporter

September 15, 2021 ■ Wednesday Journal/Forest Park Review

B7

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P L U S

P R E V I E W

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FOR RENT Courtesy of Frank Lloyd Wright Trust/Photo by James Caulfield

John A. Klesert House (William Drummond, 1915)

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B10 View more at OakPark.com/Real-Estate ■ September 15, 2021

ers. On top of that, there’s the feeling they get of helping Oak Park and River Forest. It’s such a community event.”

Homeowners Nora Malone and Ryan Tetrick are looking forward to sharing their from page B7 house, the J. Kibben Ingalls House, on this year’s walk. The couple have lived in the “That can make it more convenient for our house four years, and say the draw of living guests and easier logistically,” Frost said. in a Wright-designed house moved them to the However, the committee is not afraid to suburbs earlier than expected. visit other suburbs. In the past, Malone recalls visiting Wright’s the walk has featured a sprawling Home and Studio and Unity TemJohn Van Bergen house in Mayple as a child and says that’s where wood. Another year, visitors travher love of Wright began. It was elled to Riverside to see parts of an easy decision to let the Frank the Avery Coonley estate.

Lloyd Wright Trust feature their At the end of the day, Frost says house. a lot of the selection happens or“The trust maintains the Home ganically. Many volunteers and and Studio and fosters a love of Wright home owners have lived Wright designs,” Malone said. in the area a long time, so often “Helping them raise money is imSUSAN FROST someone knows the owner of a portant to us.” house.

They recently completed exte“Most owners are not surprised to be rior painting which restored the home’s origiasked,” Frost said. “A lot of owners know each nal colors and say they look forward to perother and they share resources, especially haps having the house on the walk sometime when it comes to the historic preservation of in the future when they have done more work their homes. It’s like a community within a to restore the home. community.”

Corrine Penery, co-chair of this year’s She says that the goal Wright Plus, says that is always to find houses while the walk is a great that tell a great story. boon to the villages of Those great stories keep Oak Park and River Forpeople coming back to est from a tourism perWright Plus year after spective, it brings much year. more to the area.

Homeowners also “There’s a sense of vibenefit from being on brancy from the people the walk. Frost notes out in the street and waitthat many of the homeing in line,” Penery said. owners who choose to CORRINE PENERY AND VICKI KWARCIANY “It’s a fun atmosphere.” open up their homes for Kwarciany agrees, Wright Plus are quite invested in the historic stating, “We are home to the largest concenpreservation of their homes. tration of Frank Lloyd Wright homes in the “They care very deeply about these build- world. There’s a lot to be proud of. The weekings and have a desire to share that and the end is an opportunity to show off our commuefforts at historic preservation,” Frost said. nity, and Wright Plus is a way to engage vol“Beyond that, they get a gigantic history of unteers and guests. It’s a really big group of their house by a researcher, and they also get people interested in the community. There’s a to participate in gatherings for the homeown- sense of energy and excitement.”

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B11

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COLDWELLBANKERHOMES.COM Oak Park 114 N. Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park | 708.524.1100 The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Realty are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2020 Coldwell Banker Realty. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Realty fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Realty LLC.

B12 View more at OakPark.com/Real-Estate ■ September 15, 2021

Opportunity

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September 15, 2021 ■ Wednesday Journal/Forest Park Review

B13

P R O P E R T Y

T R A N S F E R S

River Forest home sells for $1,811,000

The following property transfers were reported by the Cook County Recorder of Deeds from the month of May 2021. Where addresses appear incomplete, for instance where a unit number appears missing, that information was not provided by the recorder of deeds.

RIVER FOREST ADDRESS

PRICE

SELLER

BUYER

1346 Jackson Ave 1339 Monroe Ave 1225 Monroe Ave 611 Jackson Ave 1303 Ashland Ave 914 Ashland Ave 1120 Park Ave 414 Clinton Pl 1419 Bonnie Brae Pl 1020 N Harlem Ave 1020 N Harlem Ave 4 Washington Blvd 1510 Bonnie Brae Pl 1205 Ashland Ave 15 Gale Ave 219 Ashland Ave 322 Forest Ave 628 Forest Ave 1526 Lathrop Ave 133 Park Ave 343 Gale Ave 703 Ashland Ave 1322 Jackson Ave 1147 Jackson Ave 1015 Jackson Ave 1524 Forest Ave 1540 Park Ave

$1,050,000 $1,100,000 $1,180,000 $1,200,000 $1,250,000 $1,790,000 $1,811,000 $160,000 $245,000 $332,000 $349,500 $385,000 $426,000 $480,000 $530,000 $565,000 $585,000 $609,000 $635,500 $650,000 $677,500 $700,000 $715,000 $792,000 $885,000 $939,000 $98,000

Dale Karen W Tr Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 800238512 Dardis Ryan Dube Brandon J Dwyer Joseph J Tr Singer Michael H Bailey Ryan A Tr Palmer Bradley Latz Peter J Healy Michael P Herzog Michael E Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 8002385042 Bowersox Matthew T Bailey Joellen Tr Dixon Joseph D Pickett Bertha First Amer Bk Tr 0518404 Lesniak John R Pesek Lucinda I Tr Kowalski Anna L Tr Clen Pice Bruno Margaret P Sam Lang K Huber Don J Funches Fragier L Cooks Christopher Byczek Opal L Halperin Daniel A Federici Joseph E Tr Oconnell Robert E Jr Campbell Terence La Penna Anthony Peters Aqam Mattucci Lindsey B Pilotto David Luther Adam Niu Zhiwei Ogorzalek Arthur Polyakov Oleg Schwarz Erin Howell Peter H Tr Callahan Jonathan D Walczak Marcin Conway Joseph M Sullivan Kathleen M Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 8002384901 Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 1101178 Samuel Christopher C Reaney Michael J Lopresti James J Arista Phyllis D Domino Aaron Bachman James V Tr Casey Brian

OAK PARK 1209 N Harlem Ave 725 S Maple Ave 1166 S Cuyler Ave 415 S Lombard Ave 1103 Washington Blvd 920 Wesley Ave 444 Washington Blvd 212 N Oak Park Ave 344 N Austin Blvd 135 S Kenilworth Ave 1148 Washington Blvd 1044 Ontario St 840 S Oak Park Ave 121 Washington Blvd 1041 Susan Collins Ln 444 Washington Blvd 1215 N Harlem Ave 1121 N Harlem Ave 1011 S Oak Park Ave 1421 N Harlem Ave

$102,000 $110,000 $120,000 $120,000 $131,500 $135,000 $135,000 $138,000 $140,000 $141,000 $145,000 $153,000 $160,000 $177,000 $180,000 $195,000 $206,000 $210,000 $220,000 $225,000

Vongluekiat Irene Bianco Jason A Kelly Marilyn T Madina Rhonda A Aquino Emma Mertgodan Michael Goldin Gilbert Gwendolyn Reif Robert W Beckwith Paul A Davidson Janice M Lei Uei Groben Elmer 653 Oak Pk Llc Watkins Renard C Thompson Eric Kalal Kristin M Bauer Ruth Miley Jason Tr Herholdt Amanda Gonzalez Raquel S

Obrien Anastasia M Reposh Gregory Grandview Cap Llc Spiller Steve Pinzon Laura Antunez Daniel Cox Patricia Hernandez Jacqueline Ball Nebrenda Mcdonnell Michael Bauer Ruth Bowland Fabiola I Luis David Garcia Monica L Dzurik Sarah P Rome Sandra Rojas Guillermo Stallings Kevin Cai Jiarui Tejam Tyrone

B14 View more at OakPark.com/Real-Estate ■ September 15, 2021

1120 Park Ave., River Forest

OAK PARK ADDRESS

PRICE

SELLER

BUYER

1427 N Harlem Ave 318 -320 N Maple Ave 253 Washington Blvd 429 Wisconsin Ave 515 S Scoville Ave 430 S Maple Ave 324 N Marion St 524 N Cuyler Ave 644 Washington Blvd 1175 S Harvey Ave 1143 Clinton Ave 1006 Home Ave 1123 S East Ave 705 Carpenter Ave 126 S Humphrey Ave 1158 S Cuyler Ave 1185 S Kenilworth Ave 48 Lake St 534 N Lombard Ave 6032 Roosevelt Rd 726 S Ridgeland Ave 720 S Ridgeland Ave 1023 S Humphrey Ave 1046 S Maple Ave 721 Ontario St 407 Wisconsin Ave 1114 S Lyman Ave 1167 S Oak Park Ave 1156 S Maple Ave 806 S Scoville Ave 1137 Erie St 705 S Taylor Ave 734 N Lombard Ave 916 N Oak Park Ave 109 Le Moyne Pky 813 Forest Ave 1104 S Maple Ave

$230,000 $238,000 $245,000 $255,000 $260,000 $260,000 $291,000 $295,000 $300,000 $308,000 $319,000 $325,000 $335,000 $350,000 $350,000 $370,000 $372,000 $378,000 $379,000 $380,000 $382,000 $392,000 $399,000 $400,000 $425,000 $425,000 $426,000 $433,000 $434,000 $440,000 $458,000 $459,000 $464,000 $470,000 $475,000 $485,000 $499,000

Putnick Matthew C Pyne Nora Holmes Danna Myers Marcella W Shinsako Mary C Redict Rosalynn Agyepong Tera Fiume001 Llc Fokatte Monika Schiff Timothy Dillon Anne M Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 134240 Johnson Joan C Tr Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 036583 Bjarnarson Robert F Broussard Katie M Oconnor Stephen C One Point Ctr Llc Willis Sylvester Le Hiep X Fuller Keith Douglass Connor Yani-Matula Megan Tr Evans Edward Stephen Wohlgenant Susan L Mccarthy Kevin C Boyter-Escalona Margaret Anne Heide Nora R Elk-Weist Laura Urso William F Charles Erica M Abbott Susan C Tr Nietfeld Lynn C Palmer Rebecca A Jbmm Investments Llc Gerbie S Ralph Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 7649

Kontopoulos Richard J Trepkowski Ann Marie Jackson Rhonda Carlson Jessica Shinsako Donald M Hanekamp Diane S Trust Wagner Rhonda 52nd Ave Llc Losasso Jennifer Robinson Schiff Daniel 52nd Ave Llc-Clinton Midwest Fin Inc Johnson Ericka Shupe Ryan J Pekarik Laura Drew Kevin S Hendricks Peter Isetti Giulia Swagler Justin M Bradley Rashida Ortuno Carlos Favoino Keeley M Turner Anne Kelly Ward Margaret R Plechaty Rosalie M Hong Stephen Melendez Beth Ann Floyd Jelani Rashad Babbitt Andrew W Ridley Chelsea K Madison Veronique Heidi Lindsay Petrovich Christopher Balasubramanian Prasanna Menon Shreevidya Kowalski Stephanie Rose Mcgruder Andre

P R O P E R T Y

T R A N S F E R S

OAK PARK ADDRESS

PRICE

SELLER

BUYER

428 N Oak Park Ave 1107 N Ridgeland Ave 937 Fair Oaks Ave 1007 Wenonah Ave 727 Gunderson Ave 710 Chicago Ave 217 N Taylor Ave 156 N Oak Park Ave 326 S Cuyler Ave 620 S Highland Ave 1143 N Grove Ave 1115 Clinton Ave 430 Berkshire St 600 S Elmwood Ave 324 N Grove Ave 538 N Ridgeland Ave 127 S Taylor Ave 327 N Harvey Ave 537 Wesley Ave 623 N Grove Ave 202 Le Moyne Pky 819 N Elmwood Ave 532 Woodbine Ave 122 Le Moyne Pky 154 N Taylor Ave 1115 Paulina St 511 S Kenilworth Ave 406 Madison St 1035 N Grove Ave 415 S Maple Ave 1311 N Harlem Ave 209 S East Ave 807 N Kenilworth Ave 304 S Cuyler Ave 911 N Marion St 135 S Elmwood Ave 336 S Kenilworth St 510 Madison St

$500,000 $515,000 $535,000 $550,000 $550,000 $560,000 $562,000 $563,000 $565,000 $575,000 $577,500 $590,000 $590,000 $600,000 $620,000 $620,000 $625,000 $630,000 $635,500 $640,000 $645,000 $645,000 $647,500 $650,000 $675,000 $675,000 $685,000 $690,000 $692,000 $70,000 $71,000 $745,000 $749,000 $775,000 $780,000 $813,500 $92,500 Unknown

Mitchell-Bolling Janice Cantillon Kathleen M Baer Michael Johnson Christopher Stanger John G Tr Schroeder Tracey L Tr Kleinkopf Jeffrey Kincaid Elizabeth Schoeny Amy C Boveri Ross Spooner Sharon Watts Tr Beachler Zachary D Lopresti James J Murphy Mark Strickland Matthew Omalley Kathleen A Tr Smith Trust Weinstein Matthew Kerrins Martin P Tr Hauck Robert L Wahlers Charlotte Walsh Deborah L Mullins Doniphan Sullivan Jill Chapman Clayton Eleven Paulina Dev Llc Elmiger Julie A Seok Kyun Se Tr Giles Robert W Tr Rezai-Al-Waraqi Deborah Tr Przybysz Elsa M Tousignant Andrew J Kingery Eric V Barlow Jacqueline M Tr Giovannini Dennis A Mcfolling Guy E Ayala Juliana Sheriff Of Cook County

Strong Sarah Berhory Torgerson Heidi L Mack Kristina L Tamayo Tammy R Allen Nickolas Young Raun Stewart-Bartes Marta Spooner Sharon Watts Morrison Thomas Webster Henry C Ruesewald Sara Barahona Michael Smith Caryn M Urso Jennifer Castro Quincy W Tr Carlo Jesse Gerace Jason W Mahoney Josh Patrick Dekker Elizabeth J Yoder Jesse Shear Talia C Fioritto Sean Gaudoit Nicholas Shanley Patrick James Terrell Carter Epstein Susannah Cruz Kevin R 400 Madison Llc Retson Caraig L Norton Myles Edward Demartinez Marta Emelina Valdes Daussa Jackson Maria M Behr Nicholas Shill Gregory H Kelpsch Timothy C Omalley Kathleen A Drsi Alexander Vrmtg Asset Trust

FOREST PARK 161 Harlem Ave 300 Circle Ave 850 Des Plaines Ave 7251 Randolph St 7300 Marengo Ave 7320 Dixon St 1224 Elgin Ave 1228 Marengo Ave 1035 Thomas Ave 7521 Brown Ave 912 Elgin Ave 7531 Brown Ave 1017 Circle Ave 621 Harlem Ave 822 Ferdinand Ave 828 Dunlop Ave 931 Dunlop Ave 1023 Marengo Ave 505 Elgin Ave 300 Circle Ave

$1,000,000 $105,000 $115,000 $150,000 $170,000 $183,000 $240,000 $245,000 $291,000 $307,000 $315,000 $330,000 $330,000 $335,000 $410,000 $500,000 $510,000 $510,000 $590,500 $80,000

161 S Harlem Llc Markese Linda Jasper Lori Mejia Leslie Ashcraft Don E Fruth Susan M Raleigh Mark A Tr Dussias Constantine C Dixon Anquinetto Vukovic Ranka Gaylord Hannah Lorenz Mitchell Hostas Prop Llc Golub Martin Daly Paul P Taddeo Charles P Jr Coleman Terron Schassen Michael Ryan Rudnik Thomas J Burg-Clark Yolanda Tr

Ampler Dev Llc Clark Corey Hare Lofita M Whitaker Rp Jr Sorice Martin Womack Joseph 1st Midwest Fin Inc Johannsen Richard P Viswanath Nitya Strong Mary Alice Chairez Ruben Jr Ahlgren Mary Claire Pantoja Jose Patel Sima Coleman Jill Pangikas George N Grb Ventures Llc Kapusta Joseph Gajewski Cynthia Howe Tr Anderson Edward

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September 15, 2021 ■ Wednesday Journal/Forest Park Review

B15

189 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 (708) 386-1400

HomesInTheVillage.com

Featured Listings for This Week 322 N Marion, 1S • Open Sun 1-3 pm

Erika Villegas,

Oak Park $299,000 3BR, 2BA Linda x187

Oak Park $688,000 5BR, 3BA Kyra x145

Oak Park $644,800 4BR, 4BA Kyra x145

Forest Park $550,000 5BR, 3BA Patti x124

Oak Park $440,000 4BR, 2.1BA Patti x124

Oak Park $429,500 4BR, 1.1BA Harry x116

Oak Park $415,000 4BR, 1.1BA Kris x101

Forest Park $398,000 Multi unit Kyra x145

Countryside $387,000 3BR, 3BA Maria x117

Cicero $245,000 Multi unit Maria x117

River Forest $180,000 2BR, 1BA Harry x116

Oak Park $159,000 2BR, 1BA Linda x187

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806 Fair oaks Ave Oak Park 4BR, 2.1BA...$915,000 Patti x124

240 Iowa St Oak Park 4BR, 3BA...$565,000 Patti x124

Managing Broker/Owner

Mike Becker

Laurie Christofano

Marion Digre

Morgan Digre

Leticia Cruz

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B16 View more at OakPark.com/Real-Estate ■ September 15, 2021