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ForestParkReview.com Vol. 108, No. 33
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REVIEW
BEST SSMALL WEEKLY WEE NEWSPAPER NEWS ILLINOIS IN ILL
AUGUST 20, 2025
Music festival fights food insecurity PAGE 3
Community members show up to Commissioners welcome students to the new school year express concerns Will the ‘100 Men and Women Welcome’ become Proviso’s newest tradition? about budget deficit, zoning Maria Maxham brought up the topics at a council meeting; Ryan Nero and Michelle Melin-Rogovin chimed in By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
entrance to the schools were parents, Proviso alumni, community members and elected officials. “The kids were so happy,” Hobbs told Forest Park Review. “They were smiling, some of them were like ‘what is going
Following the village’s projection earlier this month of a $15 million deficit in the 2026 fiscal year — and the village council’s rejection of residential zoning changes in June — Maria Maxham, commissioner of accounts and finance, called attention to Forest Park’s dire financial and development situation at the Aug. 11 council meeting. “As you all know, we are carrying a $15 million overall deficit, and the most urgent part of that is over $6 million in our general fund alone,
See WELCOME BACK on page 7
See VILLAGE BUDGET on page 14
PROVISO TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOLS DISTRICT 209 FACEBOOK
WELCOME WAGON: Local greeters included Mayor Rory Hoskins (center) and Forest Park Commissioner Michelle MelinRogovin (center right). By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Contributing Reporter
There were high fives all around for the start of the 2025-26 school year at Proviso’s three high schools, with community members lining the hallways to welcome students back for what they
hope will be a great school year. The “100 Men and Women Welcome,” an inaugural event for the district, was held at Proviso West, Proviso East and Proviso Math and Science Academy on Thursday, Aug. 14, the first day of school. According to Cori Hobbs, parent and community engagement coordinator for D209, the 160 participants who lined the
Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
A look back in time: A butcher shop on Madison Street
Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
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IN Crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 THIS ISSUE Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Tom Holmes: Reflections on pain PAGE 15