FINAL DAYS: MATCH DOUBLES DONATION Details on page 65
RIVERSIDE-BROOKFIELD $1.00
Vol. 40, No. 25
Zoo’s new habitat Page 3
June 25, 2025
Riverside’s farmers market centers makers and growers
Brookfield may approve local 1% grocery tax for 2026
‘We wanted a producer-only market,’ says manager Amy Jacksic By TRENT BROWN Staff Reporter
Most days, Riverside’s Centennial Park is empty and free for pedestrians to enjoy. But on Wednesdays from 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in June through October, vendors from near and far set up their booths at the farmers market, where residents can find fresh produce and meat alongside delicious snacks and other goods. Nearly every item up for sale at the market has been crafted or prepared by the vendors selling them. That’s intentional, said Amy Jacksic, the market’s volunteer manager who helped found it in 2009 before the village got involved in 2016. “There are other communities that allow multi-level marketing vendors and lots of crafts and stuff, but we really See MARKET on page 10
The village earns $50K each year from the expiring state-levied tax By TRENT BROWN Staff Reporter
TRENT BROWN
The Riverside farmers market takes place at Centennial Park every Wednesday from June through October.
Brookfield officials are considering passing a 1% tax on grocery items that the state of Illinois is set to retire on Jan. 1, 2026. The tax, which Illinois lawmakers agreed to eliminate last summer, has been collected by the state since 1990 and distributed to local municipalities. Each year, Brookfield earns about See GROCERY TAX on page 4
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