W E D N E S D A Y
July 1, 2026 Vol. 47, No. 1
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@wednesdayjournalinc
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JOURNAL @oakpark
of Oak Park and River Forest
Police release bodycam video of shooting Page 4
Books are back as Barnes & Noble opens About face: Book Loft braces for impact with big corporation down the street OPRF pivots on tutoring By SYDNEY LOVAN Reporting Intern
After an almost year-long wait, the new Barnes & Noble location is set to officially open on Wednesday, July 1, at 10 a.m., in the historic but long vacant Marshall Field & Company building at 1144 Lake St. This is the third of four new Barnes & Noble locations opening in the Chicagoland area this year as the company expands rapidly after a 15-year decline in bricks and mortar stores. The new location offers two-stories filled with books and a unique cafe with an atrium. The bookstore chain’s CEO called the Oak Park store “extraordinary” and compares it favorably to the chain’s well received store in Wicker Park. “We have one of the most beautiful bookstores in the United States in Wicker Park and now challenge it for sheer drama with this extraordinary bookstore in Oak Park,” said James Daunt, the CEO, in a press release. The Wicker Park store is housed in an architecturally significant former bank on Milwaukee Avenue. The Marshall Field’s department store building is no stranger to selling books as it was once home to Borders. It will not be the only bookstore on Lake Street as the locally owned Book Loft is just a block to the east.
Facing criticism, supt. says tutors will be added this fall By BOB SKOLNIK Contributing Reporter
two booksellers on the same street just offers more to give different customer experiences, she said.
Reacting to a frustrated school board, pointed criticism from a member of the Oak Park and River Forest High School Community Finance Committee and mounting anger from equity advocates, OPRF Supt. Greg Johnson has switched course and will bring a recommendation to the school board by mid-July to hire additional tutors or academic support staff at OPRF for the upcoming school year. The school board will vote on the recommendation at a newly scheduled July 16 special meeting. The school board was not originally scheduled to meet in July. Johnson made the announcement at the beginning of last week’s June 25 school board meeting. At the May 28 school board meeting Assistant Superintendent for Student Learning Jen Hester made a presentation that did not include increased tutoring and a new instructional coaching program until the 2027-28 school year. That timeline did
See BARNES & NOBLE on page 8
See TUTORING on page 14
SYDNEY LOVAN
The new Barnes & Noble sign is up on the historic building as the company readies for the grand opening in Oak Park. Janine Flanigan, Barnes & Noble vice president of store design, said store managers at the chain are encouraged to connect with the community to make the store more specific to the area. Having