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ForestParkReview.com Vol. 108, No. 43
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REVIEW
BEST SSMALL WEEKLY WEE NEWSPAPER NEWS ILLINOIS IN ILL
OCTOBER 29, 2025
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Elgin Avenue residents get lawyer to push Crystal Car Wash complaints
Village restructures clerk’s office, HR duties
Since the business expanded in May, locals want noisy vacuum stations removed
With Vanessa Belmonte’s retirement, staff aim to create a new HR coordinator role
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
This May, Crystal Car Wash at 901 S. Harlem Ave., was looking to expand its vacuum stations across Lexington Street for the second time in three years. But the initial Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, which would’ve been the first step of approval for the expansion, and the following one were cancelled, leading village staff and residents to believe the extension of the car wash is once again dead in the water. Crystal Car Wash did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Also in the spring, three Elgin Avenue residents who live behind the car wash got legal representation in an effort to decrease the sound of new vacuums in a potential expansion, and to argue that See CAR WASH on page 6
Great Chefs raise money
By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter
TODD BANNOR
Mark Denny, Sukrat Baber and Mitchell Ashcroft in front of the vacuum stations across the alley from their homes on the 900 block of Elgin Avenue.
With the retirement of Village Clerk Vanessa Belmonte last month, the village is now hiring for her replacement. With the changing of the guard, Forest Park is looking to restructure the clerk’s office and create a finance department. At the Oct. 14 village council meeting, commissioners unanimously passed a resolution to contract a human resources consultant from MGT Impact Solutions through February. The consultant will help manage the clerk’s office during critical year-end operations, like those for insurance open enrollment and income tax documents for staff. The consultant will also See FINANCE on page 10
Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
A look back in time: Undertakers and upholsterers
Tom Holmes: Compassion and law enforcement
Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
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IN Crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 THIS ISSUE Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15