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November 15, 2023 Vol. 44, No. 20

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JOURNAL @oakpark

Remembering Harriet Hausman

of Oak Park and River Forest

Viewpoints: Pages 25, 26, 31

Austin youth group gets local Rotary digital boost $100K computer lab donated to Kidz Express by OP-RF service group

Oak Park’s finest

By JESSICA MACKINNON Contributing Reporter

Young people participating in the Austin neighborhood’s Kidz Express have a new multi-faceted computer lab, thanks to the efforts of the Rotary Club of Oak ParkRiver Forest. The lab was dedicated Nov. 4 in honor of former Rotary Club member Lesley Gottlinger, who died in June, just a few weeks before the first computers were

Families from 900 block of North Marion get an early start on Thanksgiving with a plaque of appreciation for the village’s blue crew REPORT BY ERIKA HOBBS, PAGE 5 TODD BANNOR

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Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

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Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

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Oak Park’s public health director shares details on resident survey

Theresa Chapple-McGruder is spearheading a new effort to learn more about BIPOC residents’ health outcomes

By LEE EDWARDS Contributing reporter

When Dr. Theresa Chapple-McGruder was first hired as the public health director for the village of Oak Park in May 2021, she came into the job with a singular mindset: Keep people alive.

With the height of the COVID-19 pandemic now behind her, Dr. Chapple has set her sights on keeping people alive in a different way — by creating a survey.

Chapple, along with the village’s epidemiologist, Emma Betancourt, are working together to create the first in a series of community-focused surveys that will, in part, help determine the factors impacting Oak Park’s Black and BIPOC residents’ health outcomes.

Chapple explained when she first began working in the Oak Park Department of Public Health, there wasn’t an epidemiologist on staff nor any data about chronic diseases, maternal health, or environmental health hazards. She said the only data available was for communicable diseases such as STIs and HIV. “One of my major goals in 2022 was to go to our village board and ask for funding to do an annual health survey and hire an epidemiologist to lead the survey and analyze the data,” Chapple said.

“We were given that funding to start our 2023 and we are 10 months into that year.

The hope is that we can get this survey off of the ground and start collecting data on the prevalence of diseases and be able to look at that data by race, age, gender, so we can get a full understanding of what the community needs are.”

Chapple told Growing Community Media that Betancourt was hired in August 2023 after the Village received a $350,000 grant through the Strengthening Illinois Public Health Administration for three years from the Illinois Department of Public Health

grant on July 1, 2023.

“I am an epidemiologist by training but I always like to say I am not the village’s epidemiologist, I am the village’s health department director. I can’t do two jobs,” she said.

“In the time that we didn’t have an epidemiologist, I was able to work with outside consultants to help design the health survey. So as soon as Emma joined our team, she was provided with the health survey and her job is now to deploy it in the community to get us back data as quickly as possible so that we can start to make recommendations based on it.”

PROVIDED

Theresa Chapple-McGruder Lee Edwards, a Growing Community Media contributing reporter, recently sat down with Chapple to talk about the new initiative.

The following is a condensed version of the conversation. It has been edited lightly for space and clarity.

GCM: With regards to the survey, is it based just on health outcomes? Is it necessary to have community or residents’ input as part of that survey’s creation?

Chapple: That’s a good question. We did not have community input in this round of survey development, but we did talk about different ways to get community input.

And so, our plan right now is to have the survey as a base, and then share the results with the community and say, “Does this resonate with you? Did we ask the right questions? Are there different things that we should have been getting from you?”

Help us with the context with the numbers that we have. There’s two different approaches: you can go to the community with nothing and ask for something or you can go to the community and ask how well did we do it. That’s the approach we ended up with.

a different way that they would have preferred us to ask this question, things like that. I really see this first year as being kind Chapple: If I had my way it would have of a feedback loop with the data in the community. And then year been yesterday. I am hoptwo, really tweaking the ing to get it done in 2023, survey based off of what but I would not be shocked we found from year one. if it went out in the first And then once we have quarter of 2024. two years’ worth of data points, we can start to GCM: What is a reasonsay, are we getting conable expectation the pubsistent data, or do we lic should have for these reports and surveys? How think that one year was much time and resources a fluke? And then we does it take to complete have three years’ worth THERESA CHAPPLE-MCGRUDER these kinds of reports? of data that’s a trend Public health director and based on trend data, Chapple: Good data you make your program takes time. When we’re rebased on everything ally thinking about what you’ve learned. it’s going to take for us to have good data on the GCM: When you think health of the community, I about all this work that’s would not think that a one-time data annu- necessary, is the village able to provide al survey is going to give us information. enough resources to make sure that all Once we get the data from the survey, we those goals stay on track? want to take it to the community and see if it resonates with them, to see if there’s See PUBLIC HEALTH on page 11 GCM: What is the timeline for the survey that is informed by science?

“I totally believe that racism is a public health issue and I believe that poverty makes people sick.”

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Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

Trans & Non-Binary 101 & Allyship Workshop

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

BIG WEEK November 15-22

Wednesday, Nov. 15, 6-7:15 p.m., Oak Park Public Library, Main Library This workshop is designed for those who want a better understanding of Trans and gender non-binary identities. Register now at oppl.org/calendar. 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

Book Talk: ‘Our Town Oak Park Walk With Me, In Search of True Community’ Thursday, Nov. 16, 6:30-8:00 p.m., Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Museum Wednesday Journal’s own Ken Trainor will have a discussion with author William Hazelgrove regarding Ken’s new book, Our Town Oak Park. Books will be available for purchase at the event. Registration is requested as event capacity is limited. https://tinyurl.com/5t454cbh.

339 N. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park.

Folk Music Series Performance: Joe Jencks Thursday, Nov. 16, 7-8 p.m., Oak Park Public Library, Main Library Conservatory training + a solid working class Irish background = the sound of Chicago folk singer Joe Jencks, who has traveled all over the world yet still retains a uniquely local perspective. Register now at oppl.org/calendar. 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

Native American Women in Illinois History: An Interactive Event Sunday, Nov. 19, 1-2 p.m., Oak Park Public Library, Main Library Ojibwa author and speaker Kim Sigafus will share a history of native women in Illinois, using all kinds of native artifacts to tell the story, which is both informative and interactive. Q&A will follow. Register now at oppl. org/calendar. 834 Lake St., Oak Park.

Thanksgiving Interfaith Service

‘The Lightning Thief’

Friday, Nov. 17, 7:30 p.m., Percy Julian Middle School Auditorium This is a musical adaptation of Rick Riordan’s best-selling book which opened on Broadway in 2019. A teenager discovers he’s a demigod and embarks on a journey to prevent a war among the gods. $8 for students and senior citizens, $12 for adults, 416 S. Ridgeland Ave., Oak Park.

Sunday, Nov. 19, 7 p.m., West Suburban Temple Har Zion The Community of Congregations presents a special Thanksgiving service. 1040 N. Harlem, River Forest.

Family Open Gym Family Trivia Night Friday, Nov. 17, 7 - 8:30 p.m., River Forest Public Library Families are invited to test their knowledge at a fun evening of competitive trivia. We will serve pizza at this after-hours event. Registration required. When you register, please indicate the number of people on your family’s team. Make sure at least one person on your team has a smart phone to enter your answers. 735 Lathrop Ave., River Forest.

Wednesday, Nov. 22, 12 - 1:30 p.m., Gymnastics & Recreation Center Want to do some tumbling before the Thanksgiving holiday kicks in? Here’s your chance. Special open gym for kids aged 1-17. $7 per visit of $6 per visit with a prepaid ten-visit pass for $60, 21 Lake Street, Oak Park.

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

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Police, paws and plaques

Neighbors thank officers for community services beyond policing

By ERIKA HOBBS Editor

Jim Gates showed a little police pride last week after he and some neighbors surprised officers and Pawfficer Howie with a thank-you gift.

They gave them a plaque to show appreciation for Sgt. Traycee Love’s appearance with the police pup at a September block party on the 900 block of North Marion Street.

“We have a great relationship with them,” Gates said.

With notice, officers will visit a block party and offer services such as signing kids up for bike permits and talking about helmet safety.

They’ll hobnob with adults, too.

At the Marion Street party, Gates said Pawfficer Howie – Oak Park’s loveable community service dog – made himself at home, even hopping up on a lawn chair to regally preside over the partying.

Pawfficer Howie, a rescue who is believed to be a Laborador mix with traced of St. John’s Water Dog – is trained to use a special therapy with people in which he applies pressure to those petting him. That pressure is said to increase endorphin levels and to release dopamine and serotonin to help relax people and stabilize their moods.

“It was really good experience,” Gates said.

PHOTOS BY TODD BANNOR

Oak Park Police Chief Shatonya Johnson accepts a gift-wrapped plaque of appreciation from (left to right) Cary Webb, Mike & Marcia Harms, and Jim & Louise Gates.

Community Service Dog Pawcifer Howie supervises as Chief Shatonya Johnson unwraps the plaque presented to the police department by the families of the 900 N. Marion block, at police headquarters on Nov. 9.

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Roosevelt Middle School in River Forest.

D90 inches closer to full ‘exemplary’ status The district says it values ‘continuous improvement’

By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter

With a “goal of continuing to move every child forward every year,” Supt. Edward Condon said he believes Roosevelt Middle School will continue to improve and bring the district to “exemplary” designations across the board.

The last time all schools in the district received “commendable” was two years ago, according to Condon. Willard Elementary made an improvement for the following year and was joined by Lincoln Elementary joining them in 2022. However, Roosevelt is not far behind.

“At the same time Roosevelt Middle School is continuing to show growth in the ‘commendable’ category,” Condon said, praising the school for their achievements in IAR and the science assessment.

The “exceptional” performance from Roosevelt Middle in the science assessment, which requires students to apply their science skills on the test, earned the school a 79% proficient rate in the cat-

egory, with 43.3% of students achieving the “proficient” level and 35.9% achieving “exemplary” level. According to the report, the state’s “exemplary” level was 17%.

“That is a really significant accomplishment that shows the progress that they are making,” Condon said. “They are showing continued progress overtime.”

Roosevelt also scored higher than the state’s average in their English language arts growth percentile, as well as in mathematics. According to Condon, the average learning gains, hovers around 50%.

District 91 surpassed that state average, which for English language arts was 49.8%, receiving 55%. Roosevelt Middle alone received 52.9%. In math, Roosevelt outshined the state’s average of 49.7% with their 56.5%, which was just slightly under the whole district’s average of 58%.

“As far as that reflects in actual measurement, schools that are showing growth between 55% and 60% are showing very good progress,” Condon said. “Schools that are showing growth in excess of 60%, that is an excellent student growth goal.”

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM As the student growth filters through the between male and female students, going district, Condon said he believes they will from 17% in 2022 for English language continue to see ongoing progress both for arts to 14% in 2023, a difference of 3 percentage points. individual students and schools.

In math, the male and female achieve“The continued focus in increasing alignment, instructionally, has been a re- ment gap also closed in, dropping from 6% ally important step to ensuring that all stu- in 2022 to 1% in 2023. dents are getting the high-quality level of However, it was not all improvements as instruction that is necessary for them to be the achievement gap between whites and successful,” Condon said.

Hispanics has widened in both English That “alignment” has come through language arts and math since 2022. across all grade levels to not only ensure The achievement gap between Hispanic teachers in the same grade teach the same and white students increased in English content, but also to take into consideration language arts from 2022 by 9 points and by vertical alignment- collaboration across 6 in math. different grade levels from one grade to the “This merits careful attention and connext, which ensures there is a lot of com- sideration in ways we can address needs munication and collaboration across the that are not being fully met,” Condon said. grade levels.

The district would like to see their chronSince the science assessment is only giv- ic absenteeism rate decrease. While still en to students in fifth, eighth, and eleventh smaller than the state’s, which for 2023 was grade, Roosevelt Middle is the only school in at 28.3%, D90 had 13.4% of students absent D90 that received a percentage for students for at least 10% of the school year. achieving performance level, scoring 43.3% “While there are many reasons why a stuproficient and 35.9% exemplary in 2023. dent may need to legitimately miss school, The middle school received higher per- if there is more the district can do to procentages than the state’s average, which vide support or assistance to minimize abwere 35.2% proficient and 17% exemplary. sences, we should be working towards that Adding another school to the ‘exemplary” goal,” Condon said. designation is not the only achievement D90 While the reasons could vary, Condon is celebrating on the 2023 report card. said the district needs to take action to enAn area of strength Condon pointed out sure the reasons are not attributed to bulwas that the district saw a decrease in the lying, adding that school should be a place achievement gap between white and Black where everybody feels like they belong and students in both English language arts and are included. math since 2022.

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Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

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Notable village hall’s future will be vetted by a new committee Oak Park’s landmarked building needs an upgrade, but a committee will recommend how to manage it

a public declaration of investment in the village’s east side at a time when some perceived that neighborhoods east of Ridgeland were likely to resegregate as, much of the Chicago’s West Side had quickly shifted from white to Black residents during the 1960s and into the 1970s.

“By putting some attention there, we were continuing our overall efforts towards integration and investment in all areas of our village,” Scaman told the

By JESSICA MORDACQ Contributing Reporter Wednesday Journal.

The National Register of Historic Places Oak Park trustees moved forward with added the village hall to its list of properplans to address how to manage its aging ties in 2014, an honor usually not considvillage hall by forming a review committee ered for buildings younger than 50 years that will determine options for renovation old. But an exception was made for the village hall because of its historical imporor replacement.

The move comes about three months af- tance and architecture.

Harry M. Weese, a prominent Chicago ter the public decried a proposal to demolish the modernist building and replace it architect and preservationist, designed the building to symbolize government with a $140 million-complex transparency with its open for municipal government U-shape structure and the and police. council chambers’ layout, Village President Vicki where citizens’ seats ascend Scaman, who initially voted into a balcony that gazes last summer in favor of dedown at the village board. molishing the building, spent Despite the building’s role the following few months in the community and its forming a village hall facility notable design, it requires review committee, much like extensive, costly updates. she makes recommendations Village hall houses the Oak for appointments to Oak Park Police Department and Park’s commissions. its lockup in a windowless “The idea of a facilities combasement, which “is in really mittee, no matter which direcbad shape,” Scaman said. tion we went, was the intenThe village contracted tion before the vote,” Scaman VICKI SCAMAN FGM Architects of Chicago said at the Oct. 30 meeting.

Village president in 2019 to assess the police She added that the board station and suggest whether directed Village Manager to renovate or relocate it. AlKevin Jackson to help with a though the pandemic stalled community engagement process the night this process, the board reengaged FGM of the controversial July meeting when delast year, along with New England-based molition plans were proposed. consulting firm BerryDunn which proThe review committee is tasked with devided detailed recommendations on polictermining whether renovations would be ing strategy and public involvement. Both more cost-effective and sustainable than consultants’ reports confirmed the need rebuilding a local landmark. for a redesigned village hall and suggested Oak Park’s village hall was built at Madimany updates, including better accessibilson Street and Lombard Avenue in 1975 as

“Demolition may not necessarily be off the table completely, but, if we were to make that decision, we would be making it with a whole lot more information.”

FILE

Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison St., Oak Park. ity entrances and a new heating and cooling system that would require dismantling of the building.

“It’s not going to be an easy fix — not an impossible fix — but it’s not going to be an easy one,” Scaman said. She added that the village hall’s ceilings, which slant down toward the center of the building, not only contribute to leaks, but also cause sound to carry, providing staff with little privacy to engage with visiting residents.

At the Oct. 30 meeting, the board’s six trustees and Scaman voted 6-1 in favor of approving Scaman’s proposed review committee to analyze whether these renovations will be more cost-effective and sustainable than a rebuild.

Trustee Ravi Parakkat — the sole dissenting vote, and one of two nays in the vote to demolish the village hall at the July meeting – said he was concerned that the committee was an afterthought and that a rebuild, though uncertain, would be expensive.

“I know and respect some of the members of this committee, however, I do have concerns about how this came to be,” Parakkat said at the Oct. 30 meeting. “This was created in response to considerable community backlash on the push to demolish and rebuild village hall.”

Brian D. Straw, the other trustee who voted against demolishing the village hall in July, said at the October meeting, “I don’t understand why one would vote against a committee.” He added that, functionally,

a vote against the committee would be one for demolishing the village hall. “This is a committee that’s going to give a real deep analysis of this issue and I’m thankful that we’re going down this path and engaging in this process. This is the right way to do it.”

“Demolition may not necessarily be off the table completely, but, if we were to make that decision, we would be making it with a whole lot more information,” Scaman told the Wednesday Journal.

Scaman organized the review committee of 16 members from the community and the city’s commissions, including the Disability Access Commission, Citizens Police Oversight Commission and Historic Preservation Commission. The committee’s co-chairs Colette Lueck — former Plan Commission chair and trustee — and Daniel Roush, previous chair of the Historic Preservation Commission, will help include additional community voices in the review process.

This committee will meet about five times to assess the building and is expected in February to deliver a recommendation to the board: whether to renovate or rebuild, or possibly to make a few updates to the existing space and to add on to the original structure.

“At some point, we’re just going to have to make that difficult decision,” Scaman said. “Where are we comfortable compromising, and how much are we willing to give up in order to maintain the building?”

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

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Ribbons on trees are OK in River Forest The village board responds to complaints by revising ordinance

By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter

River Forest residents can wrap ribbons around trees on their parkways again after officials voted at Monday’s meeting to amend the ordinance that prohibited such displays.

The vote to amend the ordinance was 5-0.

Trustee Erika Bachner did not attend.

The issue was raised at the Oct. 16 village board meeting by resident Rene Hermes, who asked that officials enforce the existing code that he said did not permit decorations on parkway trees in the village. After village attorney Lance Malina, of Klein, Thorpe and Jenkins, confirmed the validity of the ordinance, officials agreed that the code should be enforced.

Village Administrator Matt Walsh started contacting village residents with ribbons on trees on their parkways, leading one of those residents, Juli Ann Geld-

ner, to complain to officials at the Oct. 23 village board meeting. Geldner objected to being asked to remove from her parkway trees ribbons supporting Israel following the invasion of that country by Hamas earlier in the month, suggesting the action was anti-Semitic.

She also addressed the ordinance and said she does not think it applies to ribbons on trees.

Village President Cathy Adduci responded by suggesting that all ribbons be allowed to stay up and that the ordinance be reviewed.

“There are many trees throughout the village that currently have commemorative ribbons and this has been a common practice for years,” Walsh said in a Nov. 13 memo to the officials. “The proposed ordinance clarifies that commemorative ribbons are allowed to be placed on parkway trees so long as the ribbons remain in good condition.”

Adduci thanked Geldner, who attended Monday’s meeting but did not speak, for raising the issue and noted that officials needed to change the ordinance.

According to the ordinance, commemorative ribbons are defined as “material that is wrapped around a tree trunk without any permanent fixtures to promote awareness of certain causes or to memorialize events.” The ordinance also states that such ribbons are not permitted to promote political candidates, parties or referenda.

Resident Mindy Credi addressed the

board by stating that she agreed that ribbons should be allowed on parkway trees but encouraged officials to enforce the ordinance in regard to nails, screws, bolts and other types of fasteners she has seen on trees in the village, passing out photos of examples.

Adduci and Trustee Lisa Gillis expressed concern with a sentence in the proposed amended ordinance relating to removal of ribbons “if they are in poor condition.”

Adduci questioned who would make the determination that ribbons are in poor condition and Gillis noted that trees can be harmed if ribbons remain tied around their trunks for an extended period of time.

Reflecting their concerns, the ordinance language was amended at the meeting to indicate ribbons would be removed “if they are determined by village staff to be in poor condition or are otherwise detrimental to the health of the tree.”

Make a Difference in the Health of Our Community Join RUSH Oak Park Hospital’s Community Engagement Council and help us improve the health and well-being of our community. We’re looking for passionate, engaged people from Oak Park and surrounding communities who want to provide input and feedback on important local health issues.

Visit rush.edu/rophcec to learn more about responsibilities and eligibility requirements — and to submit an application.

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Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Asylum seekers in Oak Park have been placed in temporary housing Of the more than 160 asylum seekers, 58 are children under 18

address immediate needs for the growing migrant crisis in the area as the weather turns cold.

Village officials led a plan with partnering organizations to find about 28 days of housing for people who had been staying in the lobby and tents at Chicago’s 15th DisBy ERIKA HOBBS trict police station in Austin who crossed Editor over the border into Oak Park to find shelAsylum seekers who had sought refuge ter from the Halloween snowstorm.

The cost to the village is estimated to exin Oak Park churches after an October snowstorm have all been placed into new, ceed $370,000. That includes food, janitorial services, translation services, housing and temporary shelters, village officials said.

Of the more than 160 asylum seekers, 58 medical care.

Wraparound services, or services such are children under 18.

Last week, the village government and as mental health or health care, are being managed by Housing Fora network of community ward, a Maywood-based partners assisted the doznonprofit. They offer asens of families in moves to sessment, intake and serThe Carleton Hotel and the vice coordination, as well West Cook YMCA. as volunteer management, On Tuesday, about 58 mibehavioral health support, grants were relocated from transportation, laundry United Lutheran Church services and program adand Good Shepherd Lutherministration. an Church to The Carleton.

Meals are also provided The next day, another six at each site. families were moved in.

“We are once again inAbout 54 people moved credibly grateful for the geninto the West Cook YMCA erosity of Good Shepherd by last Friday.

Lutheran Church, and willAnother 23 migrants are ingness and desire to make now sheltering at Grace a positive impact displayed Episcopal Church. That KEVIN JACKSON

by Rev. Kathy Nolte and the endeavor is operated by OP village manager congregation,” Jackson, the volunteers and is not led village manager, said in a by the village. statement. “This site and A family of four has been moved into private housing directly by an this group not only answered the call, but they went above and beyond to ensure that Oak Park family, village officials said.

The effort to find housing for the asylum these asylum seekers were welcomed into seekers comes after Oak Park village trust- Oak Park and well cared for.”

Village officials also announced last ees earlier this month passed an emergency declaration that gave Village Manager week that they are working with the Cook Kevin Jackson the spending authority to County Health Department to provide

“This site and this group not only answered the call, but they went above and beyond to ensure that these asylum seekers were welcomed into Oak Park and well cared for.”

JACK CROWE

Volunteers help sift through donations for migrants.

Donations drive for asylum seekers

By WEDNESDAY JOURNAL STAFF

Dozens of Venezuelan refugees arrived at the District 15 Chicago Police station over the weekend, and volunteers are asking for help by holding “sorting parties.”

Volunteers said the people arrived at the station on Madison just east of Austin Boulevard wearing t-shirts and flipflops. They did not have winter clothes.

medical care for the migrants.

Trustees are expected to meet with officials from the City of Chicago Wednesday explores ways to collaborate. They are also expected to take up the issue again Nov. 20.

Direct donations are not being accepted in any of the locations run by Oak Park’s village government. Instead, officials said, the emergency operations center is working with other partners on a plan to collect and distribute items these asylum seekers may need.

Both Housing Forward and the West Cook YMCA are accepting monetary donations to support asylum seekers on their

Although there is an overabundance of some winter items, those in high-demand include blankets, winter coats, small women’s gym shoes (sizes 6 to 8), and men’s work shoes (sized 8 to 10).

The sorting parties, where you can drop items off or help sort, are at St. Catherine’s St. Lucy’s Catholic Church Monday at 38 N. Austin Blvd., 9 a.m. to 2 p.m Mondays.

web sites.

For those interested in volunteering for Oak Park’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), visit https://webforms.oak-park.us/Forms/CERTVolunteerhttps://webforms.oak-park.us/Forms/ CERTVolunteer.

Volunteers interested in aiding in medical emergency response can apply to serve with the Oak Park’s Medical Reserve Corps at https://webforms.oak-park.us/Forms/ MRCVolunteer.

For more information about volunteering, call 708-358-5700 Monday to Friday between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

PUBLIC HEALTH from page 3

Chapple: The village has agreed to an annual health survey as part of our budget.

We are in our budget cycle right now. And this would be the second time that an annual health survey is in our budget. The budget gets presented now for the following year.

So, for 2024 we have asked for the second annual health survey to be in there. The health department has found external funding to support an epidemiologist. So we have three years where epidemiologist salaries are covered based on external support.

GCM: Have you received support for these efforts from the board of trustees and the village president?

Chapple: I think since it’s so new, I think it’s kind of waiting to see what happens with this. I haven’t gotten any opposition to it. But this isn’t an aspect of healthcare that people are talking about because we’re just so new and getting up and running.

GCM: As part of this survey, will racism be viewed as a public health issue as well as low income or any other societal issues?

Chapple: I totally believe that racism is a public health issue and I believe that poverty makes people sick. That’s just the kind of the things that I bring with me as I’m running the health department. What the questions and surveys will focus on more are more around social determinants of health as well as the current health status. So yes, there will be questions about age and income and experiences that people face as a result of how they present to the world. What comes out of it is what it could be up to the data, and it won’t be skewed by my preconceived values, but questions will be in the survey and will pick the results as they come.

been extremely tough for public health practitioners to work in. All in the news throughout the pandemic you heard about health department officials being harassed and all that. So, it’s really hard to say to people to come work in the health department if they know that they have the potential for harassment. The public health workforce has a turnover rate similar to police. Yet many people talk about what’s happening and how hard it is to recruit for the police. But you don’t hear that similar refrain when it comes to people talking about the need for good public health practitioners. There’s also the situation of public health that has kind of been overlooked for many years. Public health has been un-

GCM: What does that look like to rebuild the health department three years after the pandemic?

2023 Fall leaf collection set to begin...

The annual fall leaf collection program is scheduled for Oct. 30 – Dec. 7 with six pickups planned for each section of the Village. Residents should rake leaves into the street at least 18 inches from the curb the day before the scheduled pickup dates indicated on the map.

Leaves raked into the street will be pushed into piles by Public Works crews during the night to reduce impact on traffic and parked cars. Leaves will be collected the following day. Residents who miss a scheduled pickup date should keep their leaves on the parkway until the night before the next scheduled pickup. Sweepers will be scheduled to run at the end of the collection program to clean up residue. Cooperation is essential to the success of this operation, so please follow these simple rules: • Consider composting or using the leaves as garden mulch as an alternative to raking.

• Do not rake leaves into or close to bus shelters or bicycle racks.

• Rake leaves out the day before the scheduled pickup date.

• Inform landscape services of the leaf collection schedule.

• Leaves only -- do not add brush, grass clippings or yard waste.

• Obey all parking restrictions. Regulations will be strictly enforced.

• Do not park on or near a pile of leaves, which can hinder leaf removal operations. Heat from a car also could ignite the leaves.

• Rake leaves onto side streets whenever possible. Try to avoid major thoroughfares where piles of leaves might create traffic hazards.

• Do not rake leaves into or close to cul de sacs or traffic diverters. The equipment needs room to operate.

derfunded for as long as public health has existed. And we see that that’s a problem whenever a big issue comes.

GCM: How does that make you feel about the work that you’re doing, especially since a portion of the work is focused on helping people from underserved portions of the community as well as people from bipoc backgrounds or different sexual orientations?

Chapple: I have been in public health since 2000, so 23 years doing this work. It is my jam. I am dedicated to the health of the population and will always continue to fight for it in good times and bad times.

‘Like’us on Facebook to view additional content

Chapple: Challenging. It’s challenging on all levels, I would say. One of the challenges is the workforce. The pandemic has

• Keep catch basins clear of raked leaves to avoid flooding.

• Dampen piles after raking to avoid leaves being blown by the wind.

• Drive carefully. Leaves are slippery when wet and large piles may hinder visibility.

• Drive cautiously – crews will create safe work zones and close intersections for a few minutes while removing large leaf piles.

For more information call (708) 358.5700 or email publicworks@oak-park.us

11

@WednesdayJournal

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

Nov. 15 Nov. 22 Nov. 29 Dec. 6

Nov. 16 Nov. 24F Nov. 30 Dec. 7

• Last day to rake Dec. 5

• Last day to rake Dec. 6

TUESDAY

MONDAY

Nov. 14 Nov. 21 Nov. 28 Dec. 5

Nov. 13 Nov. 20 Nov. 27 Dec. 4

• Last day to rake Dec. 4

• Last day to rake Dec. 3

2023 FALL LEAF COLLECTION SCHEDULE

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Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

C R I M E

BMW carjacked at gas pump Here’s Your Fall Clean-Up List

As winter closes in, be sure to take time to check off these items from your Fall Clean-Up List: 1. Clean-up landscape debris: Removing any fallen landscape debris such as branches Scott and leaves will help McAdam Jr. prevent nesting of pests and will limit the ability for plant diseases to overwinter in fallen plant tissues.

2. Cut back perennials: Doing so will allow them to have uninhibited growth during the spring flush.

3. Fertilize your lawn: Apply a lateseason, winterizing fertilizer that is high in phosphorus. This will allow for enough nutrients to sustain through the winter, provide better root growth, and allow your lawn to be lush come spring.

4. Give one final mow: Set your lawn mower to a low setting between 2” and 2 ½”. That will not only make it less vulnerable to winter turf diseases, but will help the soil dry faster during the spring thaw.

5. Protect your sensitive plants: Adding a layer of mulch at the base, wrapping your plants, or applying anti-desiccant sprays will help your vulnerable plants sustain through the winter and minimize any damage from freezing.

6. Plant your bulbs: Doing so now will provide your garden with seasonal color in the spring.

2001 Des Plaines Ave. Forest Park • 708-771-2299 www.mcadamlandscape.com

A Chicago man was carjacked and his BMW stolen last Monday as he pumped gas on the 500 block of South Austin Boulevard.

According to police, the man reported that he pulled his 2023 BMW X3 into a gas station and began to fill it up when another man jumped into the driver’s seat and drove away eastbound on Harrison. The suspect then turned southbound on Austin and was last seen heading east on I-290.

The owner reported that the car held a camo work bag, a laptop, a Verizon Galaxy S23 cell phone and cash.

The estimated loss is $62,460.

Man found lying on porch arrested for criminal trespass A 34-year-old Oak Park man was arrested last week after repeatedly showing up at a home police told him to stay away from.

According to Oak Park police, the man showed up at a woman’s house on the first block of Garfield and she repeatedly told him to leave. He was seen lying on the back porch. He still returned and police later found him and arrested him for criminal trespass. He was held on bond.

ATM safe theft thwarted A drive-up ATM at Fifth Third Bank on the 700 block of Harrison was damaged last Saturday after a person tried to pry the plastic cover off of it to access the safe door. The person was not successful. The estimated cost of damage was not known.

Man with outstanding warrant arrested A Chicago man was arrested after a traffic stop last Wednesday on the 5800 block of West Corcoran after police found he was wanted for arrest.

According to Oak Park police, the man had an active warrant from DuPage County for a DUI, eluding officer and leaving the scene of an accident. He was arrested and held on bond.

Aggravated robbery on Lake Two people threatening a pedestrian with a gun on the 100 block of Lake Street

last Friday made off with $300 in cash. According to police, a man and an accomplice approached the person, gesturing that he had a gun in his pocket. The person handed over the cash and the two fled. No arrests have been made.

Man with two active warrants arrested A Bolingbrook man was arrested because he had two active warrants last Tuesday after Oak Park police pulled him over on the 600 block of Adams.

The man, who police said was pulled over on a traffic stop, was arrested for having two active warrants – one in Will and one in DuPage counties – and for driving on a suspended license. He was held on bond.

Weekend vehicle thefts ■ A 2011 Hyundai Elantra was taken from the 400 block of South Taylor Friday. The estimated loss was $10,000. However, the car was found later that day in Bolingbrook. There have been no arrests in the incident.

■ A 2014 Hyundai Sonata was taken Friday morning from the 6600 block of Roosevelt. The estimated loss was $8,000. However, the car was recovered Saturday on the 500 block of Dickens in Chicago. No arrests have been made.

■ A 2020 Kia Soul was taken from the 200 block of North Cuyler. It has not been found. The estimated loss is $25,000.

■ Someone broke into a 2010 Hyundai over night between Friday and Saturday on the 0 to 100 block of Harvard. The steering wheel was peeled in what police said was an attempt to steal the vehicle.

These items were obtained from Oak Park Police Department reports dated Nov. 4 to 13 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 Wednesday Journal staff

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

13

Car parked on leafy street explodes in flames

she said her brother-in-law saw the car The culprit may not be what when smoking. Then the smoke billowed.

They called 911. you think As emergency crews were arriving, she

By ERIKA HOBBS Editor

It was a Saturday morning shocker.

Smoke. A boom. A car in flames.

A car on a quiet, leafy street in flames.

It was the leaves’ fault.

No, really.

According to Oak Park Fire Chief Ron Kobyleski, a 2021 Nissan Rogue caught fire Saturday morning at about 11:30 a.m. on the 300 block of North Kenilworth Avenue.

It was parked on a pile of leaves at the curb.

Catalytic converters, he said, can stay hot enough to ignite dry leaves, particularly when they’re piled high enough to touch the converter.

Jennifer GoodSmith was on a neighborhood stroll with her family that morning

and the others watched flames break out from under the car.

“And once that flame took hold,” she said, “it all happened so quickly. It was frightening.”

Flames crawled up the sides of the car, she said. A landscaper tried to use an extinguisher on the car. So did a neighbor.

Neither worked.

Once the gas tank blew — at least she thought it was the gas tank, she said, a fireball shot up to the sky and ignited the leaves of the tree above it.

There was an explosion. Then another.

Perhaps the tires.

And then the windshield broke.

“It was astonishing,” she said.

Catalytic converters can get as hot as 500F to 800F, experts say.

SUBMITTED BY JENNIFER GOODSMITH

Leaves caught fire beneath a car parked on the 300 block of North Kenilworth.

Kobyleski said the Oak Park fire department extinguished the blaze with water.

He added that such fires are more com-

mon than one might think. The village, he added, receives about three to four calls a year for fires like this one.

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Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

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15

OPRF honors alums with the Tradition of Excellence Award An English teacher at the high school is also an honoree

By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing reporter

For what is believed to the be first time, a current Oak Park and River Forest High School teacher was a recipient of the school’s Tradition of Excellence OPRF alumni award.

OPRF English teacher Scyla Baielli, who graduated from OPRF in 1986, was honored, along with Kamilah Forbes, who graduated in 1994 and is now the executive producer at Harlem’s famed Apollo theater, and Class of 2005 graduate Sam Hunt, an actor.

Another teacher, former OPRF special education teacher and wrestling coach Mike Powell received the Tradition

PROVIDED

Scala Baielli (left), one of the Tradition of Excellence honorees, is interviewed during the school assembly by OPRF Student Council representatives Connor Kitley (center) and Xiomara Grachan (right).

COURTESTY OF OPRF

Scala Baielli

of Excellence award in 2015 after he stopped teaching at the high school.

Baielli was a standout hurdler at OPRF and in college at Western Illinois University, where she competed at the national level. Baielli finished sixth in the 55-meter hurdles at the 1992 indoor national championships and qualified for the 1992 Olympic Trials in the 100-meter hurdles. At WIU, she finished ninth in the 100-meMIKE POWELL ter hurdles at the 1991 NCAA championships. In 1996, she was honored as the Gateway Conference’s Athlete of the Decade in Indoor Track. In 2005, she was inducted into the WIU Hall of Fame.

Baielli has taught English at OPRF for nearly 30 years.

She has also coached track at the school. In 2007 she was named a National Endowment for the Humanities teacher/scholar for poetry.

Baielli and Hunt appeared at assemblies at OPRF last week, during which they received their plaques and answered questions from students. Forbes could not attend the assemblies because of an illness in her family but appeared via a prerecorded Zoom interview with student council representatives.

Baielli, who lives in Oak Park, told the Wednesday Journal that she was honored to receive the award.

Forbes had worked in theater and television before becoming the executive producer at the Apollo Theater. She graduated from Howard University. She directed “By the Way,” “Meet Vera Stark,” “Blood Quilt,” “Sunset Baby,” and HBO’s “Between the World and Me.” SAM HUNT Forbes received the National Black Theater Festival’s Larry Leon Hamlin award and a NAACP Image award. She has focused on creating works by, for, and about the hip hop generation.

Hunt graduated from OPRF in 2005. Hunt is best known for his recurring role as Greg “Mouse” Gerwitz in the television shows Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. He also starred in the film, Unbroken: Path to Redemption.

Recipients of the Tradition of Excellence award were selected by a committee that included the officers of the OPRF Student Council, math teacher Katie Prendergast, who serves as the faculty sponsor of the student council, science teacher Lindsay Cermak and student activities coordinator Angie Hawkins.

16

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

ROTARY

Honoring Lesley Gottlinger from page 1 delivered to the Kidz Express center at 5221 W. Congress Parkway.

Founded in 2005 by Oak Park residents Warren King and Duane Ehresman, Kidz Express serves youth 5 through 13 years old by matching them with mentors 14 through 28 years old. The paid mentors, typically young people who were in the program, serve as credible role models for their younger mentees. The center offers after-school and summer programming in health and nutrition, leadership development, music and dance, emotional counseling, college and career preparation, job training, childcare and tutoring.

The organization’s mission resonated with Gottlinger, who was a teacher in the Austin neighborhood for many years as well as a passionate advocate for young people.

“Lesley was the grande dame of our Rotary Club. She fell in love with this project and jumped on board immediately. She was just a force of nature and if she put her mind to something, it was going to happen,” said Iris Saavedra-Zaldivar, one of three local Rotarians to spearhead the project.

The computer lab was a few years in the making, delayed by complications associated with the COVID pandemic. Rotary Club member Christine Baissac-Hayden first brought Kidz Express to the club’s attention in 2019. She is a neighbor of its

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM executive director, Douglas Low, and has worked for the organization.

“I moved from France to the U.S. in 2017,” said Baissac-Hayden. “I had a vision of America as being big and beautiful, like you see on TV. But working at Kidz Express was a major crash landing. The kids I met and hearing the situations they experienced was heartbreaking. These kids had witnessed things most of us haven’t.”

The local Rotary club decided to tackle an ambitious computer renovation project for Kidz Express as a way of making a significant impact in the lives of children on the West Side and to celebrate the club’s centennial.

To maximize its fundraising efforts, the club decided to apply for a global grant from Rotary International’s World Fund.

To be eligible for the grant, which is usually given exclusively to overseas projects in partnership with U.S. clubs, the club had to enlist support from foreign countries.

“Kidz Express is an organization in our own backyard that is serving disadvantaged youth in a community impacted by unemployment, violence and disinvestment. I believe strongly in prevention rather than cure — and Kidz Express uses a prevention model for helping youth. …

We thought the computer project was a perfect use of a Rotary grant,” said Saavedra-Zaldivar.

The grant, “Bridging the Digital Divide Through Peace,” focuses on peace circles and conflict resolution as well as computers and computer skills training. While Baissac-Hayden served as the liaison with Kidz Express, Gottlinger was responsible

TODD BANNOR

Ade Onayemi, Rotary District 6450 past governor, speaks at the dedication of the new Lesley Gottlinger Computer Room

TODD BANNOR

Members of the board of Kidz Express and OP-RF Rotary Club members at the dedication of the new Lesley Gottlinger Computer Room on Nov. 4. Front Row (left to right): Ade Onayemi, Rotary District 6450 past governor; Don Gottlinger, Lesley’s husband; Patty Eggerding, Rotary Club president; Iris Saavedra-Zaldivar, Rotary; Pamela Crenshaw, Kidz Express executive director. Back Row (left to right): Duane Ehresman, Kidz Express founder; Lemart Kinsey, Kidz Express assistant director; Douglas Low, Kidz Express former executive director, treasurer; Christine Baissac, Rotary; and Val Peiler, Kidz Express board chair. for writing the grant and assuring that it met Rotary guidelines. Saavedra-Zaldivar was the salesperson, convincing overseas Rotary clubs to support the project. She received funding from clubs in Bolivia, Italy, Colombia, Canada and France, BaissacHayden’s native country. In addition, Chicagoland Rotary District 6450 contributed to the effort. All told, the intrepid team raised approximately $91,000 and the Oak Park-River Forest club kicked in an additional amount to fund a total $100,000 project in honor of its 100th anniversary.

The fundraising effort resulted in the purchase of laptops, desktops, Adobe software, internet access points, printers and a photocopier as well as tables and chairs.

“The computer room is a fitting tribute to Lesley, who had a real legacy with the Rotary Club,” said Ade Onayemi, district governor of Rotary District 6450 and former president of the Rotary Club of Oak Park-River Forest. “She was very proud that both of her parents were strong Ro-

tarians. She was very involved in our club as well as with District 6450. She was the youth exchange officer for our club, recruiting local host families for our high school international students and serving as a den mother for the kids for 15 years.

There were kids all over the world who were devastated by her death.”

Gottlinger and Onayemi also co-chaired the Rotary’s Interact Club for students at Trinity, Fenwick and Oak Park and River Forest high schools. The youth club works on service projects throughout the year and sends members to an annual U.N. Model program to introduce them to how the U.N. works on global issues.

“Lesley was the Pied Piper and a grandma to all kids. She was passionate about helping disadvantaged kids improve their lives. And she was passionate about using Rotary as a vehicle to change lives. She would be happy to know the Rotary Club’s computer project has reached fruition,” said Onayemi.

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Do you have DIABETES?

I

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

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

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

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

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

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

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18

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Most Metra ticket fares will decrease in February Among the changes: reduced prices for one-way and monthly tickets, and no more 10-rides

By IGOR STUDENKOV Staff Reporter

Most Metra riders within the Growing Community Media’s coverage area will pay less for one-way trips and monthly passes under the new fare structure that will take effect on Feb. 1, 2024.

During its Nov. 10 meeting, Metra Board of Directors unanimously approved a new fare policy that reduces the number of fare zones from 10 to 4. All but one station within the Growing Community Media’s coverage area will fall into Fare Zone 2. Brookfield’s Congress Park station will fall into Fare Zone 3.

Riders traveling from Fare Zone 2 to downtown Chicago will pay $3.75 for one-way tickets and $75 for monthly passes. For example, that represents roughly a 12% decrease for one-way Oak Park riders, and a 25% decrease for monthly ones.

Congress Park riders traveling toward the Loop will pay $5.50 for one-way tickets and $110 for monthly passes.

In other words, they will pay the same for one-way tickets and $10 more for monthlies.

In a major change, the fare for any trips that don’t start or end at any of the downtown terminals will be the same regardless of distance, or $3.75 for one-way trips and $75 for monthly passes. This represents a decrease even for riders who travel short distances. For example, a one-way trip between River Forest and Oak Park now costs $4.

The new fare policy will eliminate $6 unlimited ride day pass that’s good for up to three fare zone and the $10 day pass that’s good system-wide. It will be replaced with a zone-based pass with a value that will increase the farther one travels from the Loop. Riders within Growing Community Media coverage area who use the $6 pass will need to pay $7.50, and riders who use a $10-day pass will need to pay between $7.50 and $13.50 if they are traveling to and/ or from the Loop. They’ll pay $7.50 if they want to travel elsewhere in the system.

While both of the current day passes can only be pur-

Union Pacific West Line

Station Kedzie Oak Park River Forest

Location East Garfield Park Oak Park River Forest

IGOR STUDENKOV

Oak Park Metra station chased on Ventra app, the new Day Pass will be available in physical form, as well.

The $100 Super-Saver monthly pass, which is good system-wide, is going away, too, in favor of zone-based passes.

But the increase will mostly affect collar-county riders traveling to and from the Loop.

But in perhaps the most dramatic change, the 10-Ride tickets, which allow riders to take 10 trips for a price of nine, will be going away. It will be replaced by a Ventra-

Fare Zones One Ways Current Feb. 2024 Current Feb. 2024 10-Rides Five Packs B 2 $4.25 $3.75 $40.50 $35.75 B 2 $4.25 $3.75 $40.50 $35.75 B 2 $4.25 $3.75 $40.50 $35.75

only “Day Pass Five Pack,” which will allow riders to buy five, one-day passes for the price of 9.5 monthly tickets.

Since the price of one-way tickets is decreasing, that still represents a decrease for riders who use 10-rides for round trips in the newly minted Fare Zone 2.

Aaron Maertins, Metra’s director of operations, planning and project management, told the Metra board last Friday that they wanted to move away from tickets that are “trip-limited” and toward those that are “time-limited.” And he noted that when the trains are crowded, it’s easy for conductors to forget to hole-punch paper tickets or swipe digital ones during those trips.

Riders who buy five-packs will be able to share passes within the pack with other riders, similar to how 10-ride ticket holders can use it to pay for their companions’ fares.

Riders who board at stations that either have ticket agents or ticket vending machines now pay a $5 surcharge if they buy a ticket on the train. Maertins said that Metra will be “suspending the surcharge for the time being” to make it easier for riders to adjust to the new fare policies.

He did not specify how long that would be.

P R O P E R T Y

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

T R A N S F E R S

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

Oak Park home sells for $1,353,000

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

OAK PARK ADDRESS

PRICE

SELLER

BUYER

300 N Scoville Ave 731 S Marion St 635 Fair Oaks Ave 171 N Lombard Ave 426 S Lombard Ave 405 Home Ave 1127 Erie St 1339 N Harlem Ave 340 N Austin Blvd 1025 Randolph St 800 Washington Blvd 426 N Harvey Ave 401 S Grove Ave 929 Clarence Ave 415 S Lombard Ave 1040 Erie St 930 Ontario St 1135 Schneider Ave 950 Washington Blvd 724 Erie St 930 Ontario St 456 Washington Blvd 830 N Grove Ave 1161 S Ridgeland Ave 335 S Taylor Ave 221 N Kenilworth Ave 1041 N Humphrey Ave 813 N Cuyler Ave 813 N Harlem Ave 1171 S Highland Ave 205 S Humphrey Ave 1044 Susan Collins Ln 700 S Oak Park Ave 407 Wisconsin Ave 1232 N Euclid Ave 850 Carpenter Ave 906 S Highland Ave

$1,016,500 $1,050,000 $1,285,000 $1,353,500 $105,000 $125,000 $129,000 $145,000 $158,000 $175,000 $176,500 $179,000 $180,000 $181,000 $188,000 $197,500 $200,000 $202,500 $205,000 $220,000 $232,000 $235,000 $247,000 $247,000 $263,000 $268,000 $317,000 $333,000 $335,000 $355,000 $365,000 $369,000 $375,000 $375,000 $388,000 $392,000 $395,000

Rohner Bruno R Tr Wigfield Christopher Smith-Deborah Gorman Evans William J Thomas Dedra Curran Thomas Davis Scott Havertine Suzanne J Tr Pinkins Keneth Brudniak Karen Marie Schulz Nathan Joe Inv Llc Huffman Helen L Lagioia Paula C Tr Desarden Miriam E Enlow James Dunkley Maribeth G Tr The Judicial Sales Corp Ruan Guocong Diprova Michael Brendemuhl Ruth Anne Tr Petersen Connor L Reverse Mtg Fundg Llc Us Bk Trust Natl Assn Tr Dean Deborah E Levine Maureen Tr Mayo Kenneth Lennon Patricia Vargas Alejandro Birmingham George M Tr Second City Renewal Llc Zhang Hao Segreti John Nerenberg Tammy Jane Thomphsen Edward M Slager Donna E Dangremond Emily M

Zarnagar-Lumley Sara Dangelo David A Risting Jonathan Mccollough Laura Mojica Elsa Marie Dd3 Bldr Llc Maxwell Matthew Torres Cecilia Lawton Andrew Kowalik Jane Wright Lakeshia Reyes Alejandra Cawley Mary Talbot Kyle Navar Saul White Kim M Cruz Rosa Jacqueline Homes For Less Llc Zardkoohi Neema Onigbinde Susan Dynek Kerry Staff Matthew Butterfly Prop Investments Llc Ramirez Gabriel Lavelanet Maya Salinas Reimer Michael James Tr Furling Tracey L Tr Rogers Tristan Cohen Lainie Mosqueda Victor M Plascencia Lechu Investments Llc Hart Tanqueray Meckel Jordan Lahera Hector E Davaatseren Chinzorig Burke Ronald Jones Davey A

171 N. Lombard Ave., Oak Park

OAK PARK ADDRESS

PRICE

SELLER

BUYER

711 Hayes Ave 949 S Elmwood Ave 114 S Ridgeland Ave 1034 S Humphrey Ave 837 S Humphrey Ave 907 South Blvd 927 N Lombard Ave 1181 Clinton Ave 1047 N Lombard Ave 134 S Cuyler Ave 748 S Grove Ave 1001 S Humphrey Ave 639 S Ridgeland Ave 905 S Lombard Ave 740 S Oak Park Ave 1050 Hayes Ave 627 S Euclid Ave 724 S Lombard Ave 426 N Harvey Ave 125 S Ridgeland Ave 313 N Kenilworth Ave 1212 N Taylor Ave 801 N East Ave 928 N Austin Blvd 145 Le Moyne Pky

$425,000 $425,000 $435,000 $439,000 $450,000 $455,000 $460,000 $460,000 $475,000 $480,000 $481,000 $485,000 $500,000 $500,000 $505,000 $522,500 $525,000 $538,500 $55,000 $550,000 $553,500 $555,000 $562,000 $575,000 $590,000

Grandview Cap Llc Teal Ronald D Pediment Llc St Martin Kristie Ann Suburban Cap Investments Llc Tarleton David Creehan Kenneth Tr Serio Sherry Lee Boyle John M Sifferd Katrina Lee Tr Leonard Jon S Donovan Jerome G Kim Andrew Mayciiruk Andrew C Lamb Larry L Jr Thomason Charles W Jr Brownlow Cecil A Pluta Linda M Ross Alma Ware Ashley Paul R Lenzo Kris Mcclurg John Koch Christopher C Tr Vernon Christopher L Mayberry Tyrone L Crawford

Short Michael Giorango Joseph Jr Wicklow Dev Grp Llc Trumpinski Ryan Synchrony Cap Llc Shoemaker Brooke Netter Sarah Toppen Haldis L Ferguson Geoff Doe Sydney Carlson Hoff Andrew Griffin Martez Valentino Muriel Schiess John B Kribi Buzz Cafe Llc Faulman Rachel Huff William Joe Cannova Joseph Michael Boyle Brian H Nowak Holds Iii Llc Moore Kristin Us Bk Tr Nadella Rajagopala Hines Kristen M Tr Martinez Roberto M Slater Karen

See PROPERTY TRANSFERS on page 20

19

20

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

P R O P E R T Y

T R A N S F E R S

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Continued from page 19

OAK PARK ADDRESS

PRICE

SELLER

BUYER

1119 S Harvey Ave 820 S Maple Ave 1166 S Cuyler Ave 307 S Taylor Ave 312 S Ridgeland Ave 831 S Cuyler Ave 1135 S Grove Ave 616 Wenonah Ave 738 N Grove Ave 230 N Oak Park Ave 1023 N Elmwood Ave 709 S Lombard Ave 527 S Oak Park Ave 622 N Kenilworth Ave 1151 Home Ave 1009 N Euclid Ave 1015 N Oak Park Ave 710 Hayes Ave 641 S Scoville Ave 616 Clinton Ave 426 N Harvey Ave 929 S Oak Park Ave 1000 Woodbine Ave 1301 N Harlem Ave 332 N Scoville Ave

$595,000 $600,000 $600,000 $618,000 $620,000 $640,000 $676,500 $679,000 $685,000 $69,500 $702,500 $730,000 $755,000 $775,000 $800,000 $803,500 $825,000 $830,000 $852,500 $870,000 $90,000 $90,500 $905,000 $99,000 $995,000

De Vries Fleur C Brown Jasmyn Grace Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 5065 Zamula Sergiy 1166 Cuyler Llc Kaplan Katherine Ogunseitan Adeboye Rovner Benjamin Wolff Erin Maureen Conyers Malcolm Javor Kenneth Kemper Curt Granholm Timothy Balsamo Brian N Burke Ronald L Robbins Cameron Lencioni Kathleen M Tr Parlier Robert Judicial Sales Corp Donna J Sorensen Trust Carroll Donna Tr Ohlsen Erin Teague James R Mcmurray Matthew S Chihan Joan B Saitzeff David Picchiotti Robert D Plunkett Mark Muren Mark A Orseno Michael Mccollough Aaron G Friedman Samantha Tekian Ara King Erin E Zemanski Michael Toltzis Avishai Madden Kathryn Hoffman Benjamin Roche Tr Green Jason Andrews Brian Joseph Nowak Holds Iii Llc Huerta Miguel Federal Home Loan Mtg Corp Lee Susan Sukwon Baltic Troy Mayberry Tyrone L Crawford Collins Mary Margaret Spink Tr Vera Rita Lombard Lisa S Tr Roberts Jeffrey S

RIVER FOREST 812 Lathrop Ave 1100 N Harlem Ave 414 Clinton Pl 1539 Franklin Ave 1521 Bonnie Brae Pl 414 Clinton Pl 1420 N Harlem Ave 1417 Bonnie Brae Pl 415 Franklin Ave 415 Franklin Ave 8213 Lake St 1005 Bonnie Brae Pl 212 Lathrop Ave 46 Park Ave 929 Keystone Ave 1519 William St 912 Franklin Ave 1449 Thatcher Ave 936 Forest Ave

$1,850,000 $120,000 $168,000 $235,000 $244,000 $265,000 $267,500 $271,000 $289,000 $302,500 $380,000 $400,000 $472,000 $485,000 $570,000 $593,000 $600,000 $655,000 $715,000

Corvo Joseph E Jannessa Steven A Tr Goebel-Mcgarry Darlene C Lapointe Denise Lillie John G Credo Dana D Gleesn Edward Velazquez Karina Strom David Ellis Karyn Trust Porter Olivia C Park Jihyun Paist Michelle P Tr Ochao Ana I Romano Carmen Kranz Terry Cook Craig Underwood Thomas Klima Patricia Marcucci Paul Beilman Andrew Bonesteel Kristina Carrage Ruth C Tr Wilson Doris Paredes Maria Susana Porcelli Emily June Li Yuanqing Bushman Jason Craig William A Tr Zinni Maura J Tr Greczek John J Tr Smith Mary Rose Tr Wendt Anne L Tr Wendt Matthew T Chicago Title Land Trust Co Tr 4281 Drake Andrew Beese Nancy J Tr Liss Robert

812 Lathrop Ave., River Forest

RIVER FOREST ADDRESS

PRICE

SELLER

BUYER

810 Forest Ave 238 Ashland Ave 7214 Oak Ave 610 Forest Ave

$718,000 $860,000 $88,000 $932,000

Carman David M Tr Franchi Patrick Zukosky Richard Ebert Roman Alexander Tr Iv

Mccallum Jaclyn Connelly Kathryn C Delgado Jimmie Okeefe Jeremy

FOREST PARK 102 Rockford Ave 926 Dunlop Ave 300 Circle Ave 7449 Washington St 1062 Des Plaines Ave 7251 Randolph St 1103 Circle Ave 315 Des Plaines Ave 37 Elgin Ave 7648 Yuba St 7704 Harvard St 1500 Marengo Ave 1333 Elgin Ave 831 Hannah Ave 431 Elgin Ave 422 Thomas Ave 926 Beloit Ave 933 Marengo Ave 443 Marengo Ave 540 Thomas Ave 524 Ferdinand Ave 504 Thomas Ave 508 Marengo Ave 926 Dunlop Ave

$1,840,000 $100,000 $119,000 $125,000 $134,500 $145,000 $150,000 $171,000 $270,000 $275,000 $290,000 $300,000 $302,000 $400,000 $420,000 $450,000 $479,000 $485,000 $499,000 $530,000 $575,000 $597,500 $701,500 $72,000

Aguiar Alberto J Cerceo Patrick De Martinez Marta EmelinaValdes Daussa Martinez Juan Mcelligott Robert Parillo Bridget Horrocks Daryl Martinez David Intercounty Judicial Sales Corp Local Prop Llc Series M Gillan Lucas Shay Lisa Shrader Linda M Tr Vondrasek Evan Desai Devang Taylor Andrew Marotz Deanna B Grandview Cap Llc Dell Melode Sample Herbert D Sheridan Patrick Ingram Marlita Gamradt Sarah J Anguiano Mario A Steger Michael Camana Roberto C Anslow John Labotka Danielle Louise Casey Jerome P Schull Bradley Swanson Mark Drust Adam Pb Holdings Llc Earixson Nathan Michael Tan Allison Bowman Timothy Lukose Pattiyal M Tr Campbell Jeremy Ross Callum F Ringel Lowell A Berthiaume Timothy Gerrard Megan Sauer Devin A Horvath Steven M Shea Stephanie Greenwood-Brown Joshua Keitz Heidi Fleitas Mario A Pereyra

Homes

NEED TO REACH US?

email: erika@growingcommunitymedia.com

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

Robin Titus of Titus Designs at her store on Oct. 20. | PHOTO BY TODD BANNOR

Interior designer opens Oak Park studio

By LACEY SIKORA

A

Contributing Reporter

new interior design shop has opened on Oak Park Avenue, but designer Robin Schwadron isn’t new to the industry. In fact, the studio is a culmination of a long career in design that has taken Schwadron from Florida to New England to the Midwest.

After studying interior design in college, Schwadron got her start in the Palm Beach area working for another

designer. When that designer retired, Schwadron kept a few clients and found a lot more through word of mouth.

After working in Florida for a decade, her husband’s job took them to Boston, and Schwadron continued to work on the East Coast, helping clients in Florida, Charleston and Virginia design their homes.

When her husband’s career moved them to the Chicago area, Schwadron kept her clients on the East Coast and added more from the western suburbs to the North Shore. The couple calls Oak Park home, so when Schwadron decided to add a storefront to her business,

it made sense to keep it in the community.

She found available space at 143 S. Oak Park Ave., and after a few months of renovation, hung out her shingle for R. Titus Designs.

Schwadron noted, “I needed a new office, and in this business, you always have extras of inventory. It made sense to have a storefront.”

The space has a living room-like setup at the front with a rotating selection of art, textiles and furniture See TITUS DESIGNS on page 23

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22

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

NEW PRICE!

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Join us for pictures on Sunday December 3 11am-3pm Pets with their people are welcome.

Majestic Victorian Central Oak Park Historic District

KATHY & TONY IWERSEN

708.772.8040 708.772.8041 tonyiwersen@atproperties.com

Bake Sale & Raffle

same location!

1529 S. Harlem, Berwyn

Inside the North Berwyn Park District building • Parking available!

Thanks to our sponsors North Berwyn Park District & VS Printing

Visit animalcareleague.org for full event details!

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Welcome to Our Town Oak Park “Our Town Oak Park – Walk with Me, in Search of True Community” Community”, a new book by Wednesday Journal columnist Ken Trainor, an Oak Park native, is based on short essays, published over three decades in the local newspaper, that chronicle life in a dynamic, ever-evolving town where the unique meets the universal. The unifying thread is true community — finding it in the extraordinary ordinary, in the day-to-day, the face-to-face, the moments of beauty, and, as Thornton Wilder said of his play, Our Town, finding “a value above all price for the smallest events in our daily life.” Our Town Oak Park aims for that same “rainbow’s end,” capturing the experience of being alive — in one middle-sized, middleclass, Midwest town at the beginning of the 21st century. Join this pedestrian-friendly journey in search of true community.

The book is available at The Book Table, the Oak Park River Forest History Museum, or online via Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

23

PHOTOS COURTESY OF R. TITUS DESIGN STUDIO

TITUS DESIGNS Home refresh from page 21 from lines Schwadron uses in her designs. In the back of the space, she’s created a minikitchen area which showcases the cabinet line she uses in her kitchen designs. The space also makes a great gathering spot for social events that Schwadron plans to hold in the shop.

She’ll also use the space for consultation with design clients.

She noted that each client is individual. If a client wants to redecorate an existing home, they will often meet at the house, but for new construction projects meeting in the shop will make more sense.

Schwadron admitted, “For some people with kids and pets, they can focus better away from home, so we will meet here. It makes decision making easier.”

She added with a laugh: “It’s also easier when I don’t have to take 800 tile samples to your client’s house.”

R. Titus Designs is a full-service interior design studio. Schwadron said she works on high and low volume jobs, as well as those in between. In a typical year, she’ll work on 10 projects that run the gamut from a whole house to one to two rooms to kitchens

and bathrooms. Sometimes, starting in one room can lead to other parts of the house.

She remarks, “You don’t dye half of your hair because then the other half would look really bad.”

With her new studio, Schwadron said she will also be able to help clients looking for smaller ways to refresh their homes. She has access to wallpaper lines that are sold to the trade only. She is also planning to offer window treatments from start to finish with fabric choices, a workroom for sewing and an installer.

At this time, Schwadron is open by appointment and will open sporadically for open houses and for community events. She said she is looking forward to welcoming in the community.

“I hope that Oak Park will come around and see the space,” she added.

The Oak Park River Forest area is a great community for design because a lot of the older homes can use a bit of work, Schwadron said. While working with an interior designer is a bit of an investment, she said it is one that pays off.

“I think it’s almost like an education,” she said. “You need an architect and a contractor to do a job, but who’s going to tell you where to hang your art and where the lights go?”

“It’s worth the investment given how much design changes your everyday life. It makes it so much better. It’s not just looking pretty, it’s about how your house functions.”

24

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Democracy Needs News.

News Needs YOU. Donate to Wednesday Journal.

Double your Donation to Wednesday Journal between now and Giving Tuesday!

Actually, we call it Giving NewsDay! And thanks to a $25,000 match from our Board of Directors, you can double your donation between now and Tuesday the 28th, until we reach our NewsDay goal of $50,000.

We need your support to continue bringing you the stories and features you depend on week after week. Journalism should serve the public interest - and as a nonprofit newsroom that’s what we do.

But we need support from folks like you to uphold that mission.

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Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

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

T

Modest tax bill increases explained

he recently mailed second installment property tax bills reflect modest annual changes compared to last year’s bills, with businesses and most residential properties experiencing increases of 2.6% or less.

Many senior citizens receiving the Senior Freeze exemption, however, saw their bills increase by 5.4%.

The driving force behind the tax increases this year is the tax levy increases of local governments serving Oak Park, which combined for an overall increase of 3.2%. This increase is below the limitations imposed on most local governments under the Illinois Tax Cap Law. The Tax Cap Law allows for levy increases based on the rate of inflation, but only up to 5%.

Since the applicable inflation rate for the current tax bills was 7% — above the maximum — Oak Park’s elementary school district, library, park district and township were Oak Park all limited to levy increases of Township Assessor about 5%.

Oak Park’s village government, however, decided not to increase its levy at all this year.

And the high school increased its levy by 4% even though it could have received a 5% increase. The decisions by the village and high school boards, coupled with the cyclical shifting of Oak Park’s share of county government taxes (Oak Park’s share went down this year), combined to keep Oak Park’s overall levy increase at 3.2%.

ALI ELSAFFAR

Do the tax bills reflect the reassessment of my property value that took place earlier this year?

No. Illinois property taxes are paid in arrears, which means that the 2023 reassessment of Oak Park properties will appear on second installment tax bills in calendar year 2024. The bills that were recently mailed are the second installment of 2022 taxes, which are paid this year, calendar year 2023.

Why were second installment tax bills issued so late this year?

See TAX BILL on page 30

VIEWPOINTS

25

Village hall: Preservation or cost-effectiveness?

27

May you all be a little like Harriet The following is a condensed version of the eulogy delivered by Rabbi Max Weiss at the private funeral service for Harriet Hausman, who died last week at the age of 99: he book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible begins with a poem about our eternal struggle to find meaning in life. Buried within this text is hidden the line, “The eye never has its fill of seeing, the ear never is satisfied with all it hears.” While I think Harriet was deeply satisfied with her life, she was still eternally curious. Her eyes and ears were still hungry.

She was not done. She was not done loving. She was not done laughing. She was not done enjoying a good meal. She was not done writing. She was not done listening to our stories or sharing hers. She was not done sharing her life or pushing and working mightily for justice. She deeply loved her life and more importantly she deeply loved the people in her life.

It is impossible in a eulogy to summarize a life like Harriet’s. She saw so much, did so much, touched so many people, traveled, mourned, celebrated, cared.

She lived life so fully and well that once we begin to tell her story it would likely take more than her 99 years to finish the telling and it would be the height of hubris to attempt to tell her story to people who have known her and loved her for decades and decades, her closest circle of friends, her family, her dear ones.

Harriet was one of a kind. To the world she embodied dignity and graciousness that, on first meeting her, one might mistake for passivity or weakness. If a person made that mistake, it did not last for long. Harriet was fierce. But she was fierce in all the right ways. If you were fighting for justice or peace or for simple human dignity, she was fighting by your side, and there was no greater advocate or ally. She was a worker, a warrior, an encourager and a leader. For Harriet there was never an excuse to do nothing. If a task needed to be done, we should just do it. Why wait?

In the second-century rabbinical text Pirke Avot, the rabbis ask the rhetorical question, “Who is rich?” And they answer, the one who is satisfied with what she has.

Harriet was extremely happy with her life. She was deeply satisfied with the little part of the world where she had some control, with her family, her friends, and her community. At the same time she was deeply unsatisfied with the state of disarray and the injustice

T

MAX WEISS

One View

PROVIDED

Harriet Hausman (right) with her daughter Barbara. she perceived in our world. Her joy with her life never turned into self-satisfaction, never caused her to turn inward and ignore the world around her. Instead it motivated her to help other people achieve the same successes and happiness that she appreciated.

Harriet lived with a bottomless well of gratitude and thankfulness. Gratitude radiated from her. I imagine that almost everyone in her broad circle of friends has received at one time or another a note from Harriet, a note of thanks or praise, a note of encouragement.

Think about those notes for a minute, not only their beautiful penmanship but what they meant. Those notes meant that Harriet was thinking about you even when you were not currently in her presence. She was thoughtful and considerate. She was also very, very clear in her expectations. Just as she had high standards for herself, so she did with her friends and especially her family.

For decades Harriet and Marty were inseparable.

They adored one another, improved one another and See HARRIET on page 30

26

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

O U R

V I E W S

Preserve village hall

I

t was in July that the half-baked notion of demolishing Oak Park’s village hall came careening into public discourse and actually resulted in an immediate village board vote to actively pursue such a step.

How, in a village that consciously hobbles such dramatic development propositions in order to encourage discussion and community response, did this fantastical concept leap onto an agenda and a vote?

Well, the instant action resulted in an instant public response and it was not positive.

Sure, everyone who had paid attention knew there was talk of replacing Oak Park’s police station which, since village hall’s construction in the mid-1970s had been stuffed into the windowless cellar of village hall. A bad idea from the start, the subterranean police station had ripened into a miserable and obsolete space, fully at odds with any modern notion of community policing.

No one anticipated, though, that an architectural consultant hired by the village to propose an alternative concept for a new police station would recommend imploding the entire mid-century, Harry Weese-designed, and nationally recognized landmark building sitting atop the hovel of a police station.

And certainly, no one could ever have thought the village board would simply say, “Cool, let’s get to it.”

Village President Vicki Scaman quickly recognized her misstep and rightly slowed it all down. First, the village board approved hiring an additional architectural consultant, a firm with preservation credentials, to work with the initial firm to study and recommend how and at what cost the entirety of village hall could be modernized and its multiple structural challenges addressed.

And last week the village board approved formation of a citizens committee that will work with the consultants to review all options and come back to the board in the new year with its recommendations. A range of village commissions will be represented on the committee to gain input on the project. Among them the Disability Access Commission, as the current structure, built just before access became the law of the land, is actively unwelcoming to many. The Citizens Police Oversight Commission is represented, as whatever comes next for the police station needs to reflect Oak Park’s evolving belief in an open and transparent policing strategy — hard to pull off from the basement — and the Historic Preservation Commission will be represented, as the obvious answer here, and sorry for our prejudgment, is that village hall must be preserved. Everything about Oak Park’s value system says, “Fix this building for the next 50 years and celebrate it.”

Replace the HVAC systems. How about geothermal? Reimagine access as a fundamental right. But don’t apologize for a government building with few private offices, half walls and staff working in more visible areas, a council chambers where the elected officials sit below their constituents, a building set intentionally on the village’s east side as a message, which still resonates, that each neighborhood is critical and warrants investment.

And build a new police station that is visible, infused with light and shows respect to both our officers and our citizens.

And no more talk about demolition.

V I E W P O I N T S

Harriet’s legacy: Speak up and speak out

‘F

She was determined to reach her ierce” isn’t the first word that would spring to mind upon centennial next April, but life had other meeting Harriet Hausman. plans. It would have been quite some Diminutive, maybe. Courtecelebration, even grander than the ones ous, civil, refined, and kind for she held the last few years at Maya del sure. You could easily mistake her for Sol. On April 9, 2022, her 98th birthday, the president of the Ladies Auxiliary I announced to those assembled that, of some civic organization in long-ago as her longtime editor, I was promoting mythological America. her to the heady heights of full-time But contrary to type, I will always columnist in Wednesday Journal. Her remember her as a fierce defender of double-take was priceless. democracy.

It wasn’t so much a promotion as acThere was nothing small-d about quiescence. She was writing every week democracy in Harriet’s lexicon. She anyway. But she earned that official always capitalized the word in her designation, which made her, as far as columns although, as her stickler editor, we know, the oldest weekly newspaper I would change it, which I now regret. columnist in the United States, and She was a big-D Democrat because Deprobably the world. This was no gift on mocracy was too big and too important our part. Her columns were excellent, to relegate to lowercase. not just for someone writing (longhand) And she was fiercely protective of it, in her late-90s. They were flat-out good. more than anyone I’ve ever met.

Was she up to the task? Ha! She was Harriet was an anomaly — as prim, a machine. I was the one struggling to proper and polite as she was fierce. Her keep up with her. She paid attention, inpoliteness masked steely determinaformed herself, didn’t pull her punches, tion within. Which is how I now define and never aimed a low blow. She was, to “civility,” just one of many things I the end, a class act. learned from Harriet Hausman, DefendMany people are afraid to speak out HARRIET HAUSMAN er of Democracy. She would disagree because they don’t want to be branded with you without ever being disagree“partisan.” They want to remain above able, yet she took down Donald Trump the fray. We are understandably repulsed by the in her columns on a regular basis with surgical mud wrestling pit of the culture war. But Harriet precision and without ever ruffling her refinement.

Hausman spoke up and spoke out without ever Maybe that’s why no red-faced, right-wing reader losing her dignity. She was a longtime member of ever responded to her columns with the usual toxic the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and the mix of sneering ad hominem attacks and dismissals. It would be like screaming at your grandmother. most important of our civil liberties is free speech, I never received impolite rebuttals, which is to their which she practiced until she perfected it.

Her main message never wavered: Democracy credit — and Harriet’s as well. She was, first, last, is endangered. We need to defend it. That means and always, a class act. opposing those actively working to weaken, subvert It’s interesting that “polite,” “politics,” and “poland overthrow it. One of the best ways to do that is ity” all derive from the same root. “Politicians,” to speak out. Don’t be shy. You can speak out, clearly on the other hand, could learn much from Harriet and with conviction, and still be polite.

Hausman, Master of Civil Discourse.

She showed us how to do it. That is Harriet’s She certainly had plenty to say. Many tell me they legacy. feel helpless in the face of the Right’s onslaught And if a 99½-year-old with a torn aorta could do against Democracy. Other than donating to camit, then goddammit, so can we. In fact, we must do it paigns and voting, some say, they’re not sure what we can really do. if we hope to Defend our Democracy from the antiHarriet had the answer: Speak up and speak out.

Democrats who want to undermine it.

She submitted essays to Viewpoints regularly beHarriet Hausman, fierce Defender of Democracy, fore Trump soiled the White House, but starting in just completed a century-long clinic on the subject.

2017, she went into overdrive and didn’t stop until The final exam is scheduled for Nov. 5, 2024. A passher heart did, on Nov. 7, the consequence of a torn ing grade is “D” … for Democracy. aorta. Her heart didn’t break, it tore. Being 99½ years old probably had something to do with it.

See KEN TRAINOR on page 30

KEN

TRAINOR

V I E W P O I N T S

Preserving village hall vs. preserving money?

W E D N E S D A Y

JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest

Will renovations to Oak Park Village Hall be more cost-effective and sustainable than a rebuild?

That seems to be what the village board has asked the new Village Hall Facilities Review Committee to determine.

This assignment could very well predetermine its outcome, for rehabbing an outdated historic building can cost a lot and designing a new building that meets today’s needs can be much easier than rehabbing an old building designed to meet

BOB UPHUES

Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison St., Oak Park.

the needs of an earlier time.

Instead of preservation, the board has clearly prioritized cost effectiveness. It could have given the committee a different assignment. Instead of asking them to determine if it will be cost-effective to preserve the building, it could have asked the committee to determine the most cost-effective way to update and preserve the building (including possibly building a new police station elsewhere). It could have prioritized preservation, without being blind to cost.

What the village board ultimately decides to do with the historic landmark Village Hall — upgrade or demolish — should also be the example and the rule for every homeowner in one of the village’s three historic districts. If cost-effectiveness is the paramount guide for the board when it comes to

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

preserving village hall, then cost-effectiveness will also be the paramount guide for homeowners in historic districts.

Need to replace deteriorating cedar siding on your 1890s home? Go ahead: Replace it with more costeffective, maintenance-free vinyl siding. Need more living space? Go ahead: Raise the roof and finish the attic, a simple, cost-effective renovation that, sadly but unavoidably, changes the home’s street appearance. Too expensive to replace your leaky, vintage arched windows? Go ahead: Replace them with modern, energy-efficient rectangular windows.

What is good for the goose should be good for the gander. If the U.S. Secretary of the Interior’s Standards of Historic Preservation* only apply to Oak Park’s historic landmark village hall only if the village board deems them cost-effective, then these same standards should only apply to homeowners in historic districts if the homeowners deem them cost-effective. * https://www.nps.gov/subjects/taxincentives/ secretarys-standards-rehabilitation.htm.

Mark Wallace Oak Park

New village hall and police station?

Since Pete’s is taking so long and some wonder if it will ever build on Madison, build a new village center on that property. The village has already invested in the property. Then build a shopping complex where village hall now resides.

Michael Papierniak Oak Park

Editor Erika Hobbs Digital Manager Stacy Coleman Staff Reporters Francia Garcia Hernandez, Amaris Rodriguez Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor Real Estate Editor Lacey Sikora Big Week Editor James Porter Columnists Marc Blesoff, Jack Crowe, Doug Deuchler, Mary Kay O’Grady, Kwame Salter, John Stanger Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead Editorial Design Manager Javier Govea Designer Susan McKelvey Marketing Representatives Lourdes Nicholls, Ben Stumpe Business & Development Manager Mary Ellen Nelligan Circulation Manager Jill Wagner E-MAIL jill@oakpark.com Special Projects Manager Susan Walker Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Downs Publisher Dan Haley

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

your connection to the topic ■ Signature details as at left

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

H O W

T O

R E A C H

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ADDRESS 141 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park, IL 60302 ■ PHONE 708-524-8300 EMAIL Dan@OakPark.com ■ ONLINE www.OakPark.com Wednesday Journal is published digitally and in print by Growing Community Media NFP. The newspaper is available on newsstands for $2.00.

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V I E W P O I N T S

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

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When lives are at stake …

I

t has been extremely disappointing to hear village trustees Ravi Parakkat, Lucia Robinson, and Cory Wesley cast aspersions on community members and make statements about the refugee humanitarian crisis at the board table, statements that are full of erroneous assumptions and misinformation.

I was one of the District 15 Police Station Response Team volunteers late on Halloween night.

When I arrived at the police station, the refugees (aka our new neighbors) were already there, so my role was limited to delivering bedding and blankets from storage. But if there had been an opportunity for me to drive refugees to the police station, I would have done so.

Better than standing idly by while children risked freezing to death outside, less than a half-mile from Oak Park’s borders.

Crises don’t respect municipal boundaries, and crises don’t make appointments.

At one point I too believed that, while conditions in the Dist. 15 tent cities and Chicago’s shelters were deplorable, it would be more beneficial for refugees to stay within Chicago city limits.

Here’s why I changed my mind: For weeks and even months, Dist. 15 volunteers have been warning of a brewing humanitarian crisis, urging Oak Park elected officials to visit the tent cities at the police station and engage directly on this issue. To

CAROLLINA SONG One View

my knowledge, only three trustees visited: trustees Chibuike Enyia, Lucia Robinson and Brian Straw.

Over the last few months, the population of the Dist. 15 tent cities ballooned from 50 to nearly 200 people, including well over 50 children. There was no space to pitch more volunteer-supplied tents for large numbers of new arrivals; the only adjacent open space is a vacant lot, rutted and paved with gravel. Imagine spending the winter sleeping on gravel. There were only two porta-potties for upwards of a hundred people in the parking lot that volunteers refer to as Area Two, and inadequate garbage removal.

On Friday, Oct. 27, Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications sent an email to the police station volunteer liaisons citywide, stating that more refugees would be arriving at each police station over the next 10 days, and asking for help in finding locations to shelter migrants from winter weather. We reached out to faith leaders and community leaders that day, looking for space to shelter people.

On Halloween, Dist. 15 volunteers became increasingly concerned about the terrible weather— the first day in which snow/ sleet and below-freezing temperatures were forecast. One volunteer even took it upon herself to see if she could arrange pickup of a truckload of corrugated cardboard from one of the big-box stores in order to insulate tents from direct contact with the ground.

As temperatures dropped on Halloween night, concern deepened. One volunteer recounted receiving a text message along the

lines of “My tent is leaking and my blankets are icing over. What do I do?”

At 9 p.m., another volunteer called the Oak Park Police Department and told the desk sergeant that they needed to open village hall to shelter refugees — otherwise people could freeze to death. My understanding is that the police department said they would have to contact the village to authorize opening up village hall.

This is key: permission was requested — and permission was received — after which volunteers transported refugees (with their consent) to village hall. To my knowledge, none of the volunteers promised more than one or two nights indoors. When it became clear that village hall couldn’t hold the number of people who sought immediate shelter from life-threatening conditions, President Vicki Scaman reached out to Pastor Kathy Nolte, who opened Good Shepherd Church.

Much has been made by trustees Parakkat, Robinson, and Wesley, of harms supposedly done to refugees by sheltering them outside city limits, causing them to “lose their place in line” for the supposed array of benefits offered by the city of Chicago. I raised this issue with several people in the nonprofit sector who have extensive experience working with refugees. Not one person advocated leaving refugees to risk death on city streets to “preserve their place in line.” They were clear that this is a regional humanitarian crisis not a city of Chicago problem, and that “everyone needs to step up.”

There is something called CityKey, an

I’m with Ben Franklin on this one

Did you ever think about the fact that every place on earth gets very close to the same amount of sun over a full year? [Why not Central Daylight Savings Standard Time? Ken Trainor, Viewpoints, Nov. 8] I think we at about 40 degrees latitude have it about the best.

I spent some time in summer in Sweden. The sun did not go down until about 11 p.m. and came up about 2 a.m. All that nice sunlight was wasted while I was sleeping. And I would bet that the dark days of winter are depressing.

I have not spent time in the low latitudes or near the equator in summer, but there the sun goes down as early as 7 p.m. They don’t get the

long light evenings that we get with sunset at a time you can enjoy it. Our sunsets in summer are also longer and prettier because the angle makes the sun drop more slowly.

So I think we have it best, and I am more than happy to adjust my clock—big deal — in order to have that extra hour of light in summer but in winter to have a little sun when I get up.

Ben Franklin invented Daylight Savings Time. Put me down on his side of the argument.

Bill Dring

Longtime Oak Park resident Steamboat Springs, Colorado

official ID offered by the city of Chicago.

Unfortunately, it is of extremely limited usefulness. For example, it is not considered a valid ID for the purposes of requesting a copy of a birth certificate. Furthermore, the city abruptly canceled its last scheduled CityKey event in October due to overwhelming demand, and declared that there would be no further opportunities to apply for one until sometime in 2024.

The city of Chicago has been a conduit for some housing subsidies for refugees.

However, most of those are state and federal funds. The portion that originates within the city of Chicago unfortunately appears to have been depleted; the city has announced that none of the refugees going to any of the new shelters (which have yet to open) will be eligible for any housing assistance. The people who have gotten assistance have been in the system since April.

I want to be clear that I am not an expert on refugee policy; I am just a lowly volunteer.

I think it is my responsibility to try to seek accurate information on issues I care about and to try to fact-check my assumptions before speaking publicly. This seems like the very least to be expected from elected officials like Trustees Parakkat, Robinson, and Wesley, who can direct village staff to research areas of concern that affect board actions.

To do anything less when lives are at stake is reckless and irresponsible.

Carollina Song is an Oak Park resident.

A sincere thank-you

I am writing to express my gratitude for all of the efforts of our community to help out the migrant people who have begun to show up in Oak Park. Though we might not have a defined plan, short- or longterm, we have all stepped up in our own way to help out.

Whether it has been donated time, food, clothing, language translations, or consideration for long-term planning or solutions, I am encouraged to be from Oak Park.

I am thankful to our village

president for her efforts and all of the trustees in their efforts to work together and come up with solutions. Oak Park again is reacting to a crisis and, even with ups and downs, people are working together to build a community that we all can trust.

My hope is that we continue down this path of commitment, connection, and compassion for all people who come to, live in, and contribute to our community.

Joe Raschke Oak Park

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Davis should support a ceasefire now

I was privileged to attend a rally of about 60 people, on Nov. 9, from Congressional District 7 Voters for Ceasefire Now. We rallied at Congressman Danny Davis’ Chicago office. After weeks of calling and emailing him to support House Resolution 786 calling for a ceasefire, some of his constituents decided that we needed to communicate more directly.

The speakers and community members included people with loved ones in Palestine and in Israel. We were a cross-section of people of diverse faith backgrounds, communities, and ages, ranging from grandparents to OPRF High School students and everything in between.

Speakers reminded us of the more than 10,000 deaths in Gaza since October 9 — over 4,000 of them children — of the horrible conditions without water, hospital care, food, or toilets, and of the destruction of much of the housing in northern Gaza. They noted that a

“break” in the bombing to allow in humanitarian aid, only to start the bombing again, accomplishes nothing except the killing of more people in horrible circumstances.

Some speakers recalled Danny Davis’ past actions in support of justice issues in Israel/ Palestine and called for him to act consistently with his previous understandings and convictions.

Despite our invitation to the Congressman or a staff member to attend in order to hear constituent voices, the Congressman did not attend, nor did he send a representative. It is hard to understand why, at this point in the war on Gaza, Congressman Davis has not supported a ceasefire.

Please continue to contact him and senators Durbin and Duckworth to support a ceasefire, now.

Anne Koerber Oak Park

Address the unhoused before winter arrives

Dear Metra Board: Obviously, no one wants responsibility for the conditions at the Oak Park Metra/CTA stop.

The denial seems quite typical. As I mentioned previously, I have witnessed the mentally ill menace Metra riders at the entrances to this public area.

I received a note from the village, as follows: “We continue to be aware of the influx of unhoused individuals within the community and that they congregate near an encampment at or around Oak Park public transportation stations. As winter weather rapidly approaches, Oak Park continues to work diligently with Chicago and other jurisdictions to mitigate the situation and ultimately assist individuals to find permanent housing. This week there have been productive conversations with partners from Housing Forward and the CTA on addressing these concerns.”

But if you look at Housing Forward’s literature, they admit they are not relocating these and other similar individuals. Rather, they are resupplying and providing services to the unhoused. So no one has taken responsibility for relocating individuals these, despite the

upcoming Chicago winter.

I feel strongly that this speaks poorly of the values of Oak Park and local government and other service providers in this region.

Chicago’s solution for the situation is placing families in tents in the wintertime.

The idea that Illinois, Chicago and Oak Park are sanctuary entities has become a joke, a burned-out political slogan, now that the reality of what that entails really sets in. And no one really believes the Trump-era resistance slogan is worth the breath uttering it.

That Oak Park, the CTA and Metra would allow this situation to grow and become an ever greater problem, is frankly, embarrassing. It does nothing to create the type of atmosphere conducive to drawing back ridership. As Chicago Forward notes, 18% of the unhoused have severe mental illness issues and are unstable.

That is a public-safety issue waiting to happen.

The two largest transportation agencies and the village of Oak Park need to take back control of the situation before an incident takes a dark turn.

Brian Lantz

Oak Park

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

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Red flags River Forest should have spotted

Dear Editor, I posted a comment on Facebook regarding an “Update” published by the village of River Forest about the Lake and Lathrop fiasco in River Forest.

Some residents have asked me to send the comment to your newspaper: After having reviewed the Complaint, Answers, Affirmative Defenses, Construction Loan and Guaranty (2023CH05065) filed in Cook County Circuit Court by Beverly Bank vs Lake Lathrop LLC, Frank Paris Jr. and various LLCs, Delaware and Nevada Corporations (likely used to collateralize the $20 million line of credit given by the bank) et al, this “Update” is a mischaracterization of the situation at best.

The evidence attached to the lawsuit contain multiple “red flags”

that should have alerted the board this project was in serious trouble.

The bank acted quickly to protect its interests, and our River Forest board should have done the same, long, long ago. The residents should have answers about why this took so long to stop. The residents deserve this at the very least.

As of this date, the Mechanics Liens against Lake Lathrop LLC, as recorded by the Cook County Recorder of Deeds, are $2,251,244.04. These are contractors who have not been paid for services. The bank sued for over $4 million that was spent by Lake Lathrop LLC on the project.

I am a resident of River Forest since 1973 and a licensed Illinois attorney.

Pierangela Murphy River Forest

Thanks for highlighting safe storage of guns

Many thanks to the Village of Oak Park Public Health Department for featuring “Safe storage of firearms required” in the most recent OP/FYI newsletter. A focus on prevention of unintentional shootings, gun suicides, child access to guns, and gun theft, is vital to our community’s well-being!

We expect safe storage practices of gun owners. Yet, it takes our frequent conversations with each other — those who do or do not own guns — to change our culture by effectively practicing gun safety.

Thank you for listing the Oak Park ordinance expectations of safe storage. I was surprised by the comment about guns left in a vehicle and only a suggested recommendation that they not be in “plain view.” As more than half of stolen guns are stolen from vehicles, a higher level of security in a vehicle is required, such as a gun

lockbox anchored to the vehicle frame.

Thanks, too, for listing the easily accessible locations in the village where free gun locks can be obtained: Oak Park’s Public Health Department, Oak Park Township, and the Community Health Board office at the park district’s Community Recreation Center.

Your encouragement of conversations promoting gun safety is greatly appreciated. Thank you for promoting everyday conversations about gun safety, with resources readily available at https://www. oak-park.us/safestorage.

We are looking forward to your next article and events promoting gun safety and gun violence prevention!

Lois Thiessen Love

Gun Responsibility Advocates Oak Park resident

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Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

HARRIET A gift to all from page 25 grew together. They centered their lives around each other and worked together not only raising a remarkable family but also trying to make the world a more just and equitable place. They believed in the potential of people and in the potential of our country and devoted their time and resources toward helping make our world a better place for everyone. But mostly they just loved one another and brought joy to each other that was palpable. It radiated from them. Marty died much too young and Harriet continued to carry their joint legacy and work forward. Until very recently she did not slow down. A slowed down Harriet was usually twice as good as any of us on our best day. While her body failed her, her mind never did — even last Wednesday her column came out in the Wednesday Journal.

While Harriet deserves all of the credit for her force of will and her continually sharpening intellect, the credit for her ability to continue to thrive as her body weakened belongs to Barbara. You took care of one another physically, spiritually, intellectually, emotionally. I know your mom’s

V I E W P O I N T S

presence in your life was a gift to you but your presence in her life was a gift to her beyond measure.

Harriet was a constant companion and source of love to her friends and family, a theater- and concert-goer, a lover of all things sports, a card player and compassionate listener and advice giver. She was funny and earthy and also ladylike and proper. I have no idea how she pulled that off but she was Harriet. She could do anything.

There are certain people who live in my head, people I imagine a conversation with to help me figure out what a proper next step might be. Harriet is one of those people. Sometimes, faced with a dilemma, I ask myself, “What would Harriet do?” Usually the answer is simple. “Just do it. Show up. Make the call. Write the letter. Would you like a piece of cake, dear?”

Harriet had a life full of blessings, deep love, prosperity, true friends, embracing family, an ability to make a difference in our world. Our lives have been truly blessed by her. May our blessing to her be that we are all able to be a little like her. May we have some small measure of her dignity, her passion, her intellect, her energy and her love.

May we thus keep the blessing that was her life alive.

Max Weiss is the rabbi of Oak Park Temple.

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

TAX BILL

Modest increases from page 25 Cook County’s second-installment tax bills are supposed to be due on Aug. 1 each year.

But last year, second-installment tax bills were due on Dec. 30, and this year the due date is Dec. 1. The reason for these delays relates to the county tax appeal system.

Second-installment property tax bills cannot be issued until all tax appeals are decided, first by the Cook County Assessor’s Office, and then by the Cook County Board of Review. In 2021, a computer modernization project created compatibility problems between these agencies, which led to monthslong delays in getting correct data from one agency to the other.

Once the system falls as far behind as it did in 2021, it takes time to catch up. But the catch-up is happening. This year, secondinstallment tax bills are due about a month earlier than last year, and the next secondinstallment tax bills may be due some time in September of 2024.

Why did senior citizens receiving the Senior Freeze have higher increases than other property owners?

The Senior Freeze exemption provides tax savings for homeowners age 65 or older whose household income is $65,000 per year or less.

The exemption works by freezing a property’s

assessed value, but it does not freeze the tax bill or the tax rate. Tax rates can fluctuate for many reasons, leading to above-average tax increases for Freeze recipients in some years, and tax reductions in other years. This year featured above-average increases, but most seniors receiving the Freeze will likely see tax reductions next year.

What if I didn’t receive the Senior Freeze or another tax exemption on my tax bill?

This year, many eligible seniors did not receive the Freeze on their bills because special rules related to the COVID-19 pandemic came to an end. Before the pandemic, seniors had to renew the Freeze annually by verifying that their household income was below the program’s $65,000 maximum. The annual renewal requirement was temporarily waived during the pandemic, but this year seniors again have to apply for the Freeze.

If you are eligible for, but did not receive, the Senior Freeze exemption or other exemptions such as a homeowner or a disability exemption, the Township Assessor’s Office can assist you in obtaining a revised bill for a smaller amount.

Can I do anything to reduce future tax bills?

The next appeal period is expected to take place when the Cook County Assessor’s Office opens for appeals sometime in the spring of 2024. Taxpayers who need help filing appeals or want to be notified of the opening of the appeal period should feel free to call Oak Park Township at 708-383-8005.

KEN TRAINOR Missing Harriet from page 26 But her best writing was reserved for her personal notes. She has, I think, single-handedly kept the U.S. Postal Service afloat. After reading my column about the death of my ex-wife, she wrote, “I felt a kinship with your column today, and I extend my sincere, empathetic thoughts. Time often helps us remember pleasant hours in our lives, and helps us diminish those unpleasant ones. Wishing you my best always.”

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This past Sunday evening when I came in to work to get a head start on Monday’s many tasks, I found an envelope on my desk containing a photocopy of a letter she wrote welcoming our new editor, Erika Hobbs, and praising me for my work. It had to be one of the last things she set her mind to, and, true to form, she set her mind to a kind and encouraging message.

Classy, to the very end.

Thanks, Harriet, for your remarkable grace, your inclusive humanity, your fierce determination, and your deep commitment to citizenship.

The only thing you apparently didn’t consider is how we’re supposed to fill the expansive hole you just left behind.

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OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Donald Bolte, 79

Donald B. Bolte, 79, died on Nov. 9, 2023. Born on Jan. 22, 1944, he was the husband of Linda (nee Murphy); father of Mathew (Kathrine); grandfather of Lillian and Emma; brother of Sherry (John) Martin and James (Pam); and uncle of Skyler, Blaise and Camden.

Visitation will be held on Nov. 17, 2023 at Peterson-Bassi Chapels, 6938 W. North Ave., Chicago, from 4-8 p.m. Friends and family will meet at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church, 545 S. East Ave., Oak Park, on Nov. 18 at 10 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations are appreciated to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation and Alzheimer’s Association.

Harriet Hausman, 99 Warrior for social justice

Harriet Hausman, 99, a very longtime resident of River Forest, died on Nov. 7, 2023 when her heart gave out and not a moment sooner.

Here’s the short version: She worked in the family store in Melrose Park during the Depression. Slept on a cot by the kitchen stove in the back of the store and each morning had to empty the cockroaches that nested in her shoes overnight. She helped raise her frail, 12-year-younger brother. She attended the University of Illinois, Northwestern and Rosary College (now Dominican University).

She was engaged to a soldier who was killed in France during World War II. Sometime later, an in-law talked her into going out with one of her brothers on a blind date, but he stood her up. So she went out with the other brother, Marty Hausman, who turned out to be the love of her life. They moved to River Forest even though Jews weren’t exactly welcomed back then and lived the rest of her life in the house they built in 1954. She was famous for her chicken barley soup and

O B I T U A R I E S cream sherry & poppyseed cake.

She was a social worker at County Hospital with incarcerated women from Cook County Jail — which she did without pay because she didn’t want to deprive anyone else of a job. She worked with the Black Panthers in the 1960s, helping them serve breakfast to neighborhood kids through the West Side Better Boys Foundation. She helped make the breakfasts and saw how much the Panthers cared for those kids, so she was a supporter of Black Power when most white people were deathly afraid of it because she knew it just meant black empowerment.

She and Marty joined the ACLU in the early ’80s when the Nazis threatened to march in Skokie because even though they were Jewish and their position unpopular, “We believed it was better if their ugly words were aired,” she said. She served on the ACLU board for years, for a while sitting next to a young Barack Obama who went on to bigger things, but she remained one of his biggest fans.

She helped Marty with his railroad supply business for years, and when her husband died in 1988, she ran the business on her own.

“Friends used to say I should be on that old game show, ‘What’s My Line?’” she said.

When the League of Women Voters asked her to put together a flier on River Forest history for the upcoming U.S. Bicentennial, she wrote an entire book instead. Reflections – A History of River Forest, won an award from the Library of Congress. And she wrote for the Viewpoints section of Wednesday Journal, claiming the title of “World’s Oldest Weekly Newspaper Columnist in her final two years.

“Harriet is my social justice rock star,” said her daughter Barbara, “my very best friend, my role model, and most importantly, my mom. Her dedication to our family, to her friends, and to so many causes that help others is steadfast. She consciously lives the legacy she wants to leave, guided by her genuine kindness, keen wit, sharp mind and her love, hope, and positivity for the world. We should all want to be like her when we grow up.”

Harriet’s family includes the following, along with countless others to whom she was like a mom and her many friends whom she considered family: Her husband, Marty Hausman (deceased); her children, Dan Hausman (Cathy Kautsky) and Barbara Hausman; her grandchildren, Charlie Elkins (Heather), Liz Appel (Mark Ybarra), Jason Appel (Lizzie), Josh Hausman (Catie Almiral), and David Hausman (Emily Rong Zhang); her greatgrandchildren, Mae and Graham Elkins, Alex and Isaac Hausman; her parents, Sam and Lena Rubin (both deceased); her broth-

er, Earl Rubin (deceased); her sister-in-law, Ann Scher (Paul, deceased); her niece, Susan Elfant (Noel) and their children Nate, Griffin, and Rachel; her niece, Laura Brown and her children Julia and Ellie; her niece, Mary Manaster (Alfred); her dog, Patti Girl (and the following, all deceased, Freckles, Peanut, Fuzzy, Snoopy, Danny, Bubski, Louie, Skipper and Flash).

Private interment was held on Nov. 10.

In the future, Barbara said, the family “will host a joyous celebration of my mom’s life which will also serve as a call-to-action, brainstorming session in which she will charge us to find concrete ways to promote social justice and buffer voting rights. There is no better way to honor her.”

In the meantime, donations to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), are much appreciated.

John Anderson, 86 Loved learning, teaching and mentoring

John Dennis Anderson, at 17-year resident of Oak Park, died peacefully on Nov. 1, 2023 surrounded by family. Born on June 3, 1937, in Maumee, Ohio, his life was dedicated to service, education, and the betterment of others. The son of the late LeRoy B. Anderson and Margaret Anderson McGovern. Known as “Jack” to his family, he was raised in Rocky River, Ohio. His academic journey took him to Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, and later to the Jesuit seminary.

He taught history, religion, and politics at St. John Jesuit High School in Toledo, Ohio, and Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. He entered the Society of Jesus on June 3, 1973, and served until September 8, 1993. His love of learning continued throughout his life; every day he read and discussed topics relating to history, religion, and politics.

Following his departure from the Jesuits, he embarked on a new chapter, making a significant impact on the lives of students at the University of Illinois Chicago.

He served as the internship director for the Business Career Center for over two de-

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

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cades, guiding students in choosing career paths, securing internships, and finding employment after graduation.

He retired in 2019. Throughout his life, he touched the hearts of many as the husband of Christopher Bell and sibling to Thomas (Anne), the late Don (Diane), the late Barby, Mary Beans (Harry), and the late Richard and numerous nieces and nephews.

A service to celebrate John’s life will be held later in the spring of 2024. Details to be announced later. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to John’s alma mater, St. Edward High School, 13500 Detroit Road, Lakewood, OH 44107, in his honor.

Joseph Krickl, 99 Ascension parishioner, UCP-Seguin supporter

Joseph L. Krickl Jr., 99, of Oak Park, died on Nov. 6, 2023. Born on July 18, 1924, he was a U.S. Navy veteran, a longtime member of Ascension Parish, and a dedicated advocate and supporter of UCPSeguin and SRCA. He enjoyed spending time with family, classical music, birdwatching, fishing, and woodworking. He cherished time with his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and his greatest love, his wife Catherine.

Joe was the husband of the late Catherine (nee McGarr); the father of Catherine (Katie) (the late Drew) Rutz, the late Joseph M., the late David (the late Celeste), Paul (Donna), Raymond (Nancy), Thomas (Amy) (the late Cathleen Magill), John (Nancy), and Mary (Timothy) Flanagan; grandfather of 11 and great-grandfather of 4; brother of the late John E. (Maureen) and the late William (Dolores); and the uncle of many nieces and nephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial was held at Ascension Church on Nov. 14, followed by interment at Queen of Heaven cemetery in Hillside.

In lieu of flowers, donations to UCP-Seguin are suggested.

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

Please include a photo if possible.

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Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

SPORTS

Fenwick’s Doherty goes distance for all-state honors Junior finishes 6th in two events; 200 medley relay takes 12th

By BILL STONE Contributing Reporter

Junior Anna Doherty truly went great lengths this season to become the greatest 500-yard freestyler in Fenwick High School girls swimming and diving history.

“I did a lot of distance sets with [first-year head coach Ben Munster] and a lot of pacing,” Doherty said. “I swam up to 5,000, 6,000 yards a day sometimes and I think that really helped me improve. I also matured more as a swimmer, which I think helps.”

Doherty completed her improved season by finishing a first-team, all-state sixth in the 500 free (5:03.26) during the state finals at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont.

She also finished sixth in the 200 individual medley (personal-best 2:04.55) and contributed the butterfly leg to the 200 medley relay with junior Evelyn Mulvihill (backstroke), freshman Maggie Raniere (breast stroke) and senior Cailey Peele (free), which came in 12th (1:47.23) in the consolation finals.

Before Doherty, Fenwick’s only other 500 state finals finish was 12th by Veronica Gibson in 2011.

In Friday’s 500 preliminaries, Doherty swam the seventh fastest time (5:01.59) to break her 5:01.80 school record from sectionals.

“It was my first year [in finals] individually so I was really excited about that and although [Saturday’s 500] wasn’t the way

STEVE JOHNSTON

Fenwick’s Anna Doherty competes in the 500 Yard Freestyle during the IHSA Girls State Championships, Nov. 11, in Westmont.

I wanted to swim, I had an amazing IM,” Doherty said.

“It was really exciting to do the [200 medley final]. I am really proud of my teammates.

We all worked really hard this season. My best friend Cailey, this was our last meet together so having a medal around our necks together is really great.”

Junior diver Viktoria Castillo, sophomore Claire Wood, and freshman Maeve Ryan also got state experience Friday. The 400 free relay of Mulvihill, Wood, Peele and Doherty had the 12th fastest preliminary time (season-

best 3:32.38) for the consolation finals but was disqualified.

Peele and Alex Lefko were the only seniors in the Friars’ sectional lineup.

“I’m pretty pleased with the swims. Our relay improved and Anna in the IM. She got up one spot (in the 500 free too),” Munster said.

“A lot of our team is young. To have those swimmers returning should make for a fun season next year.”

For the first time this year, the top 16 performances in preliminaries advanced to Saturday’s finals instead of 12. The top eight

times competed for the state title. The other eight times competed for ninth.

Doherty previously reached in the 2021 state finals with the 10th-place 200 medley relay. She made significant improvements from 2022, finishing 15th at state in the 500 free (5:06.73) and 17th in the 200 IM (2:08.96).

“I think it’s a credit to her vision of how she sees herself as a swimmer and what she wants to accomplish,” Munster said.

“She sees herself as a swimmer who goes under 5:00 in the 500 freestyle and I think that’s the first part of it, believing that you can do it. She also backs it up in the technique to make it successful and the hard work to make it happen.”

Doherty handles the 500 free while competing in the maximum four events per meet.

“It’s a hard event, but I think once you swim it enough, you get used to it,” Doherty said.

At her third state meet, Peele advanced in four events but the 200 medley relay was her first final. Thanks to expanded finals, the Friars advanced with the No. 15 time (1:47.27) and then posted their second-fastest time Saturday. “[Finals] was so fun. I’ve always wanted to place,” Peele said. “It was definitely a mix of emotion. I was so excited because we were in the finals but also so sad because it was my last race. Definitely my favorite relay.”

Among other Fenwick state entries who did not advance, the 200 free relay of Ryan, Raniere, Wood and Peele was 19th (1:37.69), Mulvihill (100 back in 57.83) was 20th, Peele (50 free in 24.77) was 35th and Mulvihill (100 free in 53.40) and Castillo (180.80 points) were 38th. OPRF High School junior Kate Welby was 29th in the 100 breast stroke (1:08.49).

OPRF girls basketball seeks bounce back New coach Brantley looks to build Huskies’ winning culture

By MELVIN TATE Contributing Reporter

As the interim Oak Park and River Forest High School girls basketball head

coach, Renee Brantley is well aware of the challenges she faces.

The Huskies won just two of 32 games last year and have not posted a winning record since the 2015-16 season, when they

finished 17-14.

Moreover, the program is in need of stability. Brantley is OPRF’s third head coach this calendar year, having replaced George Shimko, who stepped down in September

after being hired in June. Shimko, who ultimately became head coach at Joliet Catholic Academy, had been tapped to replace See BASKETBALL on page 33

Wednesday Journal, Journal, November November 15, 15, 2023 2023 25 Wednesday 33

S P O R T S

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

CLASSIFIED BY PHONE: (708) 613-3333 BY FAX: (708) 467-9066 BY E-MAIL: EMAIL@GROWINGCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG BASKETBALL A new era from page 32 Carlton Rosemond, who resigned in March after two seasons.

Despite the daunting circumstances, Brantley, who was an assistant under Rosemond, is confident of a turnaround.

“The girls have bought in and expectations regarding the standards we want to set,” she said in an interview with Wednesday Journal. “There’s a lot of learning that we’re doing; we have upperclassmen taking leadership as they should. People are overlooking us, [but] we’ve got a lot to prove.”

Senior guard Taylor Smith, one of six returnees from last season, is very familiar with Brantley and likes her.

“I’ve known Coach Brantley since I was in eighth grade,” she said. “I’ve known her a lot longer than anyone else. She’s a great coach, and I love the coaching staff; they’re all very supportive.”

OPRF has five other returnees: senior guard Shardae Spruille; junior forwards

SARA JANZ

Huskie Shardae Spruille during basketball preseason.

Anna Breuer and Genevieve Simkowski; and sophomores Gabriella Chesney and Leia Hammerschmidt. All saw playing time last season except for Spruille, who missed the year with an ACL injury.

“Shardae’s come a long way,” Smith said.

“We’ve been friends since freshman year

and have always played together. I know she went through a lot with her recovery, but she looks good, in great shape. Shardae isn’t going to let her injury stop her from realizing her dream, which is college.”

The Huskies’ newcomers are sophomore Yvette Thrasher; juniors Siena Alfonsi, Claire Detmer, Jennifer Keane, Sonia Lavery, Maya Mossell, and Jada Noyes; and senior Daria Kelley.

OPRF’s non-conference scheduling highlights include the Brenda Whitsell Thanksgiving Tournament at Hinsdale South, Nov. 16-21; the Sha Hopson Memorial Classic at Hyde Park, Dec. 2; the Loyola Academy Christmas Tournament, Dec. 26-29; and the MLK Showcase at Trinity, Jan. 15. The Huskies also face both of their neighborhood rivals on the road to end the regular season: at Trinity, Feb. 6, and at Fenwick, Feb. 8.

OPRF won’t get any breaks, competing in the West Suburban Conference Silver Division, one of the state’s best leagues.

“It’s a tough conference,” Brantley said.

“Every game is going to be a battle, and I’m excited to see how we match up.”

As far as this year’s goal, the Huskies say it’s building a comprehensive, winning culture that sets the foundation for success

Deadline is Monday at 5:00 p.m.

R E N TA L S

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

Qualifications include high school diploma (or equivalent), a valid driver’s license, knowledge of basic parking regulations, and good verbal and written skills.

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

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PART�TIME CIVILIAN CALL TAKER FOREST PARK, IL

The Forest Park Police Department, seeks a Part-Time Civilian Information Management Call Taker. Eligible candidates will be required to pass an aptitude test and an extensive background check. Qualifications include high school diploma (or equivalent), good verbal and written skills, working knowledge of the computer and Windows, ability to type accurately, a good working knowledge of the English language, the ability to treat customers and co-workers in a polite manner and the ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines. Data entry skills and experience answering telephones/operating a switchboard are preferred.

EVENING AND OVERNIGHT HOURS ARE MANDATORY. Open until filled. $18.25/hour. Applications are available at Village Hall, 517 Desplaines Ave. and should be returned Attn: Vanessa Moritz, Village Clerk, Village of Forest Park, 517 Des Plaines Avenue, Forest Park, IL 60130. Email: vmoritz@forestpark.net

HOUSING PRGRAMS COORDINATOR

The Village of Oak Park is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Housing Programs Coordinator in the Neighborhood Services Department. This position is responsible for coordinating and participating in the more complex and difficult work of staff assigned to the Village’s single-family and multi-family rehabilitation, multi-family housing incentives programs, and lead programs; serves as a liaison between financial institutions, property owners, tenants and contractors; and performs a variety of technical tasks relative to assigned areas of responsibility. This position also supervises the community development/property maintenance inspector assigned to the rehabilitation program at the direction of the Neighborhood Programs Manager.

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

not just this year, but the following years as well.

“We’re all trying our best to make sure the environment is different from last year.

I want the season to be more inclusive with the community and with less pressure,” Smith said. “We don’t want to feel like we’re walking on eggshells with little confidence; I want us all to have confidence.

“Obviously, we want to win games, but if we don’t, that’s completely understood because we’re rebuilding the program,” she added. “But in the next couple of years, we’ll definitely improve, and I also know we have potential this year.”

“We want to be better than the day before,” Brantley said, “but we also want to build a culture that gets girls excited about OPRF basketball. We can’t do anything about the past, but what we can do is control our present and set the ground for the future. The girls are holding each other accountable as well as themselves, and they’re understanding what it takes to be great. “[Winning] is a process that doesn’t happen overnight,” she added. “It’s not going to be easy, but anything that comes easy isn’t worth having. I’m excited, and the girls are ready for the challenge.”

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34 Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

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PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS, COUNTY DEPARTMENT, PROBATE DIVISION

There are other legal requirements.

You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services Web site (www. lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), or by contacting your local court or county bar association. NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for waived fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case. The court’s lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case.

ESTATE OF RITA QUILLE, DECEASED. NO. 2023 P 007191 Notice is given to creditors of the death of the above named decedent. Letters of office were issued to BRIAN QUILLE, 1957 W RACE, CHICAGO, IL 60622, as Independent Executor. The estate will be administered without court supervision, unless under section 5/28-4 of the Probate Act (Ill. Compiled Stat. 1992, Ch. 755, par. 5/28-4) any interested person terminates independent administration at any time by mailing or delivering a petition to terminate to the clerk. Claims against the estate may be filed in the office of the clerk in Room 1202, Richard J. Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St., Chicago, IL, or with the representative, or both, on or before April 9, 2024, or, if mailing or delivery of a notice from the representative is required by section 5/18-3 of the Probate Act, the date stated in that notice. Any claim not filed on or before that date is barred.

Copies of a claim filed with the clerk must be mailed or delivered by the claimant to the representative within 10 days after it has been filed. E-filing is now mandatory for documents in civil cases with limited exemptions.

To e-file, you must first create an account with an e-filing service provider.

Visit Http://efile.illinoiscourts.gov/service-providers.htm to learn more and to select a service provider. If you need additional help or have trouble e-filing, visit http://www.illnoscourts.gov/FAQ/ gethelp.asp.

Published in Wednesday Journal November 1, 8, 15, 2023

PUBLIC NOTICES SUMMONS (CITACION JUDICIAL) NOTICE TO DEFENDANT: (AVISO AL DEMANDADO): SHEKI D. WELCH, an individual and DOES 1 to 25 YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLAINTIFF: (LO ESTÁ DEMANDANDO EL DEMANDANTE): EB HALEM, LLC d/b/a DRIVE LA, a California Liability Corporation NOTICE! You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below.

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 • RBLandmark.com • ForestParkReview.com • AustinWeeklyNews.com PublicNoticeIllinois.com

You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and legal papers are served on you to file a written response at this court and have a copy served on the plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you. Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response. You can find these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court.

¡AVISO! Lo han demandado. Si no responde dentro de 30 días, la corte puede decidir en su contra sin escuchar su versión. Lea la información a continuación.

Tiene 30 DÍAS DE CALENDARIO después de que le entreguen esta citación y papeles legales para presentar una respuesta por escrito en esta corte y hacer que se entregue una copia al demandante. Una carta o una llamada telefónica no lo protegen. Su respuesta por escrito tiene que estar en formato legal correcto si desea que procesen su caso en la corte. Es posible que haya un formulario que usted pueda usar para su respuesta. Puede encontrar estos formularios de la corte y más información en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California (www. sucorte.ca.gov), en la biblioteca de leyes de su condado o en la corte que le quede más cerca. Si no puede pagar la cuota de presentación, pida al secretario de la corte que le dé un formulario de exención de pago de cuotas. Si no presenta su respuesta a tiempo, puede perder el caso por incumplimiento y la corte le podrá quitar su sueldo, dinero y bienes sin más advertencia.

Hay otros requisitos legales. Es recomendable que llame a un abogado inmediatamente. Si no conoce a un abogado, puede llamar a un servicio de remisión a abogados. Si no puede pagar a un abogado, es posible que cumpla con los requisitos para obtener servicios legales gratuitos de un programa de servicios legales sin fines de lucro. Puede encontrar estos grupos sin fines de lucro en el sitio web de California Legal Services, (www.lawhelpcalifornia. org), en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California, (www.sucorte. ca.gov) o poniéndose en contacto con la corte o el colegio de abogados locales. AVISO: Por ley, la corte tiene derecho a reclamar las cuotas y los costos exentos por imponer un gravamen sobre cualquier recuperación de $10,000 ó más de valor recibida mediante un acuerdo o una concesión de arbitraje en un caso de derecho civil. Tiene que pagar el gravamen de la corte antes de que la corte pueda desechar el caso.

CASE NUMBER: (Número del Caso): 23VECV00177 The name ad address of the court is: (El nombre y direccion de la corte es): Superior Court of California County of Los Angeles, Northwest District Van Nuys Courthouse 6230 Sylmar Avenue, Van Nuys, CA 91401 The name, address and telephone number of plaintiff’s attorney or plaintiff without an attorney is:

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

(El nombre, la direccion y el numero de telfono del abogado el demandante, o demandante que no tiene abogado, es):

PUBLIC NOTICES LEGAL NOTICE/PUBLIC NOTICE

Keith M. Davidson, Esq. (SBN212216) Tel: (323)658-5444 KMD Law 2629 Townsgate Road, Suite 205 Westlake Village, CA 91361 Date (Fecha): 3/20/2023 Clerk (Secretario): David W. Slayton, Executive Officer/ Clerk of Court

By Deputy (Adjunto): A. Salcdeo Published in Forest Park Review November 1, 8, 15, 22, 2023

PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICE OF COURT DATE FOR REQUEST FOR NAME CHANGE STATE OF ILLINOIS, CIRCUIT COURT COOK COUNTY Request of BILLY MICHAEL SMITH Case Number 2023 CONC001645 There will be a court date on my Request to change my name from: BILLLY MICHAEL SMITH to the new name of: CASEY WILLIAM STEWART III The court date will be held: On January 25, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. on Zoom.

Zoom Meeting ID: 91404109299 Passcode: 407193 Published in Wednesday Journal November 15, 22, 29, 2023

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

In re the marriage of MARIA CONCEPCION MUNOZ, Petitioner and AGUSTIN CHINO PEREZ, Respondent, Case No. 2023D003396.

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

Now, therefore, unless you, the said Respondent, file your response to said Petition or otherwise make your appearance therein, in the Office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Room 802, Richard J. Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street, in the City of Chicago, Illinois, on or before December 18, 2023, default may be entered against you at any time after that day, and a judgment for Dissolution of Marriage entered in accordance with the prayer of said Petition.

DOROTHY A. BROWN, Clerk.

Published in Wednesday Journal November 15, 22, 29, 2023

Hephzibah Children’s Association is soliciting bids from a Window Replacement Company to remove and replace 74 windows at the residential home located in the Village of Oak Park, Illinois.

A Complete Bid Packet can be obtained by contacting Nancy Dorfman Schwartz at: nschwartz@hephzibahhome.org.

Pre-bid site inspection is mandatory and will be scheduled by appointment only. Please contact Nancy Schwartz at (708) 649-7081.

Bid Deadline is 10 am on 12/15/2023 This is a Federally Funded (Community Development Block Grant) Project and is subject to all applicable Federal rules, regulations, and guidelines, including but not limited to payment of Prevailing Wage.

MBE and WBE contractors are encouraged to bid on this project.

Published in Wednesday Journal November 15, 2023

PUBLIC NOTICES NOTICE TO BIDDERS Processed USDA Commodities and Commercial Food Products The Northern Illinois Independent Purchasing Cooperative (NIIPC) will be receiving Offers on its Request For Proposals for: Direct to Manufacturer Processed USDA Commodities and Commercial Food Products. RFP’s must be received by Wednesday, December 13, 2023 at 9:00 AM, in the Business Office, Room 270A, of The Oak Park and River Forest High School, 201 North Scoville Avenue, Oak Park, Illinois. RFP documents may be obtained by contacting Micheline Piekarski at niipcinfo@ gmail.com or (708) 434-3142. RFP’s should be placed in a sealed envelope marked: Processed USDA Commodities or Commercial Food Products ATTENTION: Micheline Piekarski, Food Service Director.

Published in Wednesday Journal November 15, 2023

LEGAL NOTICE The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed proposals from qualified laboratories at the Public Works Center, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302 Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time until 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 30, 2023 for the following: Village of Oak Park Drinking Water Laboratory Services Project Number: 24-108 Proposal documents may be obtained from the Village’s website at http://www.oakpark.us/bid.

For questions, please call Public Works at (708) 358-5700 during the above hours.

Published in Wednesday Journal November 15, 2023

Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023 35

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

LEGAL NOTICE The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed bids from qualified vendors at the Public Works Center, 201 South Boulevard, Oak Park, Illinois 60302 Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time until 3:00 p.m. on Monday, December 01, 2023 for the following: Village of Oak Park 2023 Emergency Vehicle Equipment Bid Number: 23-137 Bid documents may be obtained from the Village’s website at http://www.oak-park. us/bid. For questions, please call Public Works at (708) 3585700 during the above hours.

Published in Wednesday Journal November 15, 2023

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS CALENDAR NUMBER: 017-23-Z HEARING DATE: December 6, 2023 TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits LOCATION OF HEARING: Room 201 (Council Chambers), Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, 60302 APPLICATION: The Zoning Board of Appeals (“ZBA”) will conduct a public hearing on a special use permit application filed by the Applicant, Magic Forest Daycare, to operate a day care center pursuant to Section 8.3 (Table 8-1: Use Matrix) of the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance at the property located at 917 S Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park, Illinois, Property Index Numbers 16-18-307-0035-0000 (“Subject Property”) 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.

All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. Interested persons may also sign up to participate in-person in the hearing to cross examine the applicant and its witnesses by submitting a cross-examination form or by emailing Zoning@oak-park.us before 5:00 PM on the day prior to the public hearing.

The public hearing may be adjourned by the Board to another date without

Published in Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

LEGAL NOTICE The Village of Oak Park will receive sealed bids from qualified contractors at the Public Works Center, 201 South Blvd., Oak Park, IL 60302 Mon thru Fri, 7:30 am to 4:00 pm until 11:00 am on Fri., Dec. 15, 2023 for the following: Village of Oak Park Public Works Center Domestic Water Booster Pump Replacement RFP # 23-138 Issuance Date: 11/15/2023 There will be a mandatory pre-bid meeting at the Public Works Center, 201 South Blvd., Oak Park, IL on Mon., Nov. 27, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. Bid documents may be obtained from the Village website at http:// www.oak-park.us/bid.

For questions please call Public Works at (708) 358-5700.

Published in Wednesday Journal November 15, 2023

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS CALENDAR NUMBER: 21-23-Z HEARING DATE: December 6, 2023 TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits LOCATION OF HEARING: Room 201 (Council Chambers), Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, 60302 APPLICATION: The Zoning Board of Appeals (“ZBA”) will conduct a public hearing on an application filed by the Applicants, Roman Stavniichuk and Svitlana Kryzhanovska, seeking a variance from Section 4.3 (Table 4-1: Residential Districts Dimensional Standards) of the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance, requiring multi-family dwelling units to have a minimum lot area of 5000 square feet of land for the first two units, and an additional 700 square feet of land for each dwelling unit in excess of two units. The subject lot is 40 feet by 125 feet totaling 5000 square feet of land which is 700 square feet less than the required 5,700 square feet to allow the Applicants to construct a third dwelling unit in the basement of an existing two-family dwelling unit

building at the premises commonly known as 140 S. Austin Blvd., Oak Park, Illinois, Property Index Number 16-17-115-0220000 (“Subject Property”), in the R-7 Multiple-Family 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.

All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. Interested persons may also sign up to participate in-person in the hearing to cross examine the applicant and its witnesses by submitting a cross-examination form or by emailing Zoning@oak-park.us before 5:00 PM on the day prior to the public hearing.

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

Published in Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICES

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS lot line; and CALENDAR NUMBER: 20-23-Z 3. Section 10.4 (Table 10-2: HEARING DATE: December 6, Off Street Vehicle and Bicycle 2023 Parking Requirements) requires TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon there10 off-street parking spaces after as the Agenda permits for a 5000 square foot dental LOCATION OF HEARING: Room clinic; The proposal seeks to 201 (Council Chambers), Oak reduce the number of required Park Village Hall, 123 Madison off-street parking spaces from Street, Oak Park, Illinois, 60302 10 spaces to eight (8) parking APPLICATION: The Zoning Board spaces. of Appeals (“ZBA”) will conduct a A copy of the application and public hearing on an application applicable documents are on filed by the Applicant, Murphy file and are available for inspecDental Group, seeking a variance tion at Village Hall, Development from the following sections of Customer Services Department, the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance: 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, 1. Section 8.3 (Table 8-1: Use Illinois 60302, Monday through Matrix) prohibits dental clinics Friday between 8:30 a.m. and from being located within the 5:00 p.m. first 50 feet of the street lot line All interested persons will be at grade level or on the ground given an opportunity to be heard floor of any building within the at the public hearing. Interested DT-1 and DT-2 Sub-Districts persons may also sign up to parof Downtown. Murphy Dental ticipate in-person in the hearing Group, PLLC plans to operate a to cross examine the applicant dental clinic on the ground floor and its witnesses by submitting (and add a 2600 square foot a cross-examination form or by ground-floor addition) within emailing Zoning@oak-park.us 50 feet of the South Boulevard before 5:00 PM on the day prior street line; and to the public hearing.

2. Section 11.8 (Buffer Yard ReThe public hearing may be adquirements) (A)(2) (a-d) requires journed by the Board to another a seven (7) foot wide interior date without further notice by Buffer Yard for the addition along public announcement at the the south lot line; The proposal hearing setting forth the time features a 2600 sf addition that and place thereof. continues a zero (0’) foot existing building line along the south Published in Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION HEARING DATE: November 30, 2023 TIME: 7:30 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits LOCATION OF HEARING: Room 201 (Council Chambers), Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, 60302 APPLICATION: The Historic Preservation Commission will conduct a public hearing on an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness filed by the Applicant, Anthony and Candice Drew, to build a second-story and side addition at 631 Forest Ave, Oak Park, Illinois, P.I.N. 16-06-319-032-0000, which is located in the Frank Lloyd Wright-Prairie School of Architecture Historic District.

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.

All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard at the public hearing. The public hearing may be adjourned by the Commission to another date without further notice other than a motion to be entered upon the minutes of the hearing fixing the time and place of the date. The Commission shall issue or deny the Certificate of Appropriateness within fifteen (15) days following completion of the public hearing.

Published in Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

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REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE FOR SALE

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS COUNTY DEPARTMENT CHANCERY DIVISION JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION Plaintiff, -v.UNKNOWN HEIRS AND DEVISEES OF HENRYK KWEC, DECEASED, UNKNOWN CLAIMANTS AND LIENHOLDERS AGAINST THE ESTATE OF HENRYK KWEC, DECEASED, UNKNOWN CLAIMANTS AND LIENHOLDERS AGAINST THE UNKNOWN HEIRS AND DEVISEES OF HENRYK KWEC, DECEASED, EWA GEBICKA, 640-44 LAKE STREET CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, DAMON RITENHOUSE, AS SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF HENRYK KWEC, DECEASED Defendants 22 CH 11586 644 LAKE ST., APT. 1C OAK PARK, IL 60301 NOTICE OF SALE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on September 20, 2023, an agent for The Judicial Sales Corporation, will at 10:30 AM on December 21, 2023, at The Judicial Sales Corporation, One South Wacker, 1st Floor Suite 35R, Chicago, IL, 60606, sell at a public sale to the highest bidder, as set forth below, the following described real estate: PARCEL 1: UNIT 1, ‘’C’’ IN THE 64044 LAKE STREET CONDOMINIUM AS DELINEATED ON A SURVEY OF THE FOLLOWING DESCRIBED REAL ESTATE: LOT 11 IN C B SCOVILLE’S SUBDIVISION OF LOT 22, IN J W SCOVILLE’S SUBDIVISION OF THE WEST ¬Ω OF THE NORTHEAST 1/4 OF SECTION 7, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 13 EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN WHICH SURVEY IS ATTACHED AS EXHIBIT ‘’A’’ TO THE DECLARATION OF CONDOMINIUM RECORDED AS DOCUMENT 25033782 TOGETHER WITH ITS UNDIVIDED PERCENTAGE INTEREST IN THE COMMON ELEMENTS IN COOK COUNTY ILLINOIS. PARCEL 2: THE EXCLUSIVE USE OF PARKING SPACE NO. 5 A LIMITED COMMON ELEMENT AS DELINEATED ON THE SURVEY ATTACHED TO THE DECLARATION RECORDED AS DOCUMENT 25033782 IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS. Commonly known as 644 LAKE ST., APT. 1C, OAK PARK, IL 60301 Property Index No. 16-07-219-0281001 The real estate is improved with a single family residence.

The judgment amount was $91,216.20.

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

Upon payment in full of the amount bid, the purchaser will receive a Certificate of Sale that will entitle the purchaser to a deed to the real

estate after confirmation of the sale.

The property will NOT be open for inspection and plaintiff makes no representation as to the condition of the property. Prospective bidders are admonished to check the court file to verify all information.

If this property is a condominium unit, the purchaser of the unit at the foreclosure sale, other than a mortgagee, shall pay the assessments and the legal fees required

by The Condominium Property Act, 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1) and (g)(4).

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

IF YOU ARE THE MORTGAGOR (HOMEOWNER), YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN IN POSSESSION FOR 30 DAYS AFTER ENTRY OF AN ORDER OF POSSESSION, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 15-1701(C) OF THE ILLINOIS MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE LAW. You will need a photo identification issued by a government agency (driver’s license, passport, etc.) in order to gain entry into our building and the foreclosure sale room in Cook County and the same identification for sales held at other county venues where The Judicial Sales Corporation conducts foreclosure sales.

For information, contact HEAVNER, BEYERS & MIHLAR, LLC Plaintiff’s Attorneys, 601 E. William St., DECATUR, IL, 62523 (217) 4221719. Please refer to file number 1660117.

THE JUDICIAL SALES CORPORATION One South Wacker Drive, 24th Floor, Chicago, IL 60606-4650 (312) 236SALE You can also visit The Judicial Sales Corporation at www.tjsc.com for a 7 day status report of pending sales.

HEAVNER, BEYERS & MIHLAR, LLC 601 E. William St. DECATUR IL, 62523 217-422-1719 Fax #: 217-422-1754 E-Mail: CookPleadings@hsbattys. com Attorney File No. 1660117 Attorney Code. 40387 Case Number: 22 CH 11586 TJSC#: 43-3730 NOTE: Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you are advised that Plaintiff’s attorney is deemed to be a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

Case # 22 CH 11586 I3232820

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Wednesday Journal, November 15, 2023

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