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ForestParkReview.com Vol. 108, No. 23
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BEST SSMALL WEEKLY WEE NEWSPAPER NEWS ILLINOIS IN ILL
JUNE 11, 2025
Pride … and glamor at Constitution Court PAGE 6
Welch gets credit, and blame, as state funds Police awarded $40 million sports complex at Proviso West grant for more Grant could benefit the whole community, says superintendent license plate readers
The $37,645 grant will fund scanners on Harlem at Randolph and Washington intersections By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
ing favorites.” At ground level in D209, the superintendent is expressing gratitude for the invest-
Forest Park will soon have two more license plate readers. One will be near the intersection of Harlem Avenue and Randolph Street, and the other will be at Harlem Avenue and Washington Boulevard. Unanimously approved at the June 9 village council meeting, the license plate readers will scan plates and alert Forest Park police when they identify a car that is stolen or associated with a person of interest. They are funded by a $37,645 grant from the Illinois Office of the Attorney General for the 2026 fiscal year and will be overseen by the Forest Park Police Department.
See SPORTS COMPLEX on page 15
See PLATE READERS on page 9
JILL WAGNER
East vs. West football games could be played in a new arena. By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ
Proviso West High School could soon be home to a new sports complex as part of the state’s recently passed $55 billion budget for 2026. And Speaker Emanuel
“Chris” Welch, a 1989 graduate of West and later the powerful school board president at the District 209 Proviso Township High Schools, is taking credit for the funding and also receiving criticism for “play-
Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
In Memoriam: Betty Peaslee and Garnet Griffin
Alan Brouilette: Ah, summer, welcome back
Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
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IN Crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 THIS ISSUE Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16