W E D N E S D A Y
April 8, 2026 Vol. 46, No. 40
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JOURNAL @oakpark
of Oak Park and River Forest
West Sub owes nearly $5 million in unpaid Oak Park property taxes
Page 24
President Adduci meets Pope Leo XIV
Property owners haven’t paid taxes over the last year, per township assessor By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN
Pontiff meets with Chicagoarea civic leaders in Rome
Staff Reporter
West Suburban Medical Center ownership owes nearly $5 million in local property taxes, according to analysis by the Oak Park Township Assessor’s Office. Hospital ownership has not paid any property taxes over the last year, with unpaid bills from the 2024 tax year, the 2025 tax year and mounting late fees bringing the outstanding balance to $4,984,308, according to Oak Park Township Assessor Ali El Saffar. The hospital closed indefinitely on March 27, as Resilience Healthcare CEO Manoj Prasad cited a failure in the hospital’s billing software leading to monthly revenue shortfalls resulting in the hospital being unable cover payroll expenses. Hospital owners owe over $3.08 million in 2024 property taxes due last year, over $1.69 million from the first installment of 2025 taxes due this year and over $200,000 in interest from last year’s unpaid taxes, El Saffar said. The first installment of property taxes that West Sub owners
Blackberry Market coming to Buzz Cafe
By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter
TODD BANNOR
West Suburban Medical Center’s president and CEO Dr. Manoj Prasad speaks at a press conference with State Rep. La Shawn Ford at the hospital on April 1. missed last year were due on March 1, 2025, El Saffar said. Altera Digital Health, the company that builds the software Prasad blamed for the revenue shortfall that closed West Sub, told Wednesday Journal it started
April 1-30
working with the hospital in “mid-2025.” The hospital is one of the village’s largest taxpayers, with its current unpaid tax balance equivalent to close to 2% of Oak See WEST SUB on page 23
Once in a while, the actual event exceeds intense anticipation. For River Forest Village President Cathy Adduci and a practicing Catholic, that moment was April 6, when she met Pope Leo XIV in Rome. As a member of a delegation of over 20 mayors and civic leaders from across the state, Adduci met the pontiff in Clementine Hall, located on the second floor of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. The event was coordinated by the Illinois Municipal League There are a few moments in life that stand out from the rest, and this was one for Adduci. The obvious question: What was he like? “He was very gracious, he was very engaging,” Adduci said. “He acknowledged everything.” See POPE on page 12