WednesdayJournal_082725

27, 2025

of Oak Park and River Forest

Why did Shah resign?

Dr. Ushma Shah resigned superintendent of Oak School District 97 due to a “confluence of reasons,” according to her resignation letter obtained Monday via a mation Act request.

The letter, addressed to the D97 Board of Education, stated a central reason “is that tual respect and mutual confidence that I need in order to continue in this role.”

Further, she said that the board had made it clear immediately following its Au move be puniti back in terms of trust and collaboration.

“The board has direction you ha outside legal counsel will not be and is non-ne Shah did not respond to a Journal text Mond sights tion was to be meted out.

The district provided what it termed its only statement on the matter after

SHAH RESIGNATION on pa ge 10

rest School District 90 teachers ing without a new contract g. 15, but the co-presidents of the rest Education Association say it and t” in collective

enlisted a mediator to int mediation Monday and dnesday Jouruestions concerning the status gotiations, RFEA co-presidents Lauren Baiocchi and Cindy Crannell, both district

D90 CONTRACT on pa ge 11

Oak Park sta ers spotlight ECHO at national conference

Oak Park sta lead a panel discussion on how municipal public works departments can synch with alternative response workers to coordinate care for homeless people

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter

Two Oak Park village staffers joined local non-profit leaders for a panel discussion about the village’s homelessness abatement strategies.

Oak Park’s Community Services Manager Vanessa Matheny and Oak Park’s Public Works Director Rob Sproule joined Housing Forward CEO Lynda Schueler and Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County Executive Director Jennifer Hill for a panel discussion at the American Public Works Association’s Annual Conference held in Downtown Chicago earlier this month.

The panel, titled “The Suburban Unhoused Dilemma: Public Works as a Partner,” focused on how the village’s new alternative response social services program has worked in collaboration with Oak Park’s public works department and local non-profit agencies. Oak Park launched ECHO in June 2024 following both community interest and consultant recommendations supporting the development a villagerun alternative police response program.

Sproule and Matheny described how E.C.H.O works with the village’s public works department in detail in an article they co-wrote ahead of the conference, published by the American Public Works Association.

“In Oak Park, public works crews are frequently the first to encounter encampments or respond to sanitation needs in areas where unhoused individuals gather,” they wrote. “Historically, their work focused on cleaning public buildings and grounds, particularly around transit stations. Today, their responsibilities include coordinating with ECHO to safely clear

(Le to Right) Housing Forward CEO Ly nda Schueler, Oak Park Community Services Administrator Vanessa Matheny, Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County Executive Director Jennifer Hill and Oak Park Public Works Director Rob Sproule led a panel discussion on homelessness abatement strategies at a national public works conference earlier this month. Cour tesy of Village of Oak Park

The discussion was a follow-up to an on

“This inte gration of public works into the broader care strateg y has been critical to Oak Park’s success. It ensures that public spaces remain safe and clean while maintaining the dignity of those in crisis,” the article said.

Earlier this summer, the village hired Mary Naughton as the new manager for the program, which employs two full-time care coordinators, to work under Matheny.

Last month, Matheny gave a presentation to Oak Park’s village board on the program’s first year of operation. According to the board presentation, ECHO has received referrals to clients from a wide variety of sources, although they are most commonly connected to clients via the Oak Park Police Department, the Oak Park Fire Department and through people walking in for service.

Of the many types of issues that ECHO staffers help provide services for, staffers most often helped clients needing help with senior services issues, homelessness, housing instability and mental health issues, according to the presentation.

ernmental agencies to address its homelessness crisis. The conference chose Oak Park as a case study to highlight because “homelessness in not just an urban issue.”

“As a densely populated suburb of Chicago, the Village of Oak Park has experienced a significant increase in the number of unhoused individuals since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic due to less af fordable housing and access to public transportation,” American Public Works Association said of the panel.” “Through a blend of local governance, public health initiatives, and collaborative ef for ts with community organizations, this presentation will share Oak Park’s multi-faceted response to the homelessness crisis, balancing humane assistance to those in need with the broader community’s concerns about safety, public health, and the use of public spaces.”

Sproule also appeared on another panel discussion at the conference with Oak Park Forestry Superintendent Grant Jones, which focused on how the village manages its tree canopy, according to the village

WEDNESD AY

JOURNAL

of Oak Park and River Forest

Interim Executive Director Max Reinsdorf

Senior Audience Manager Stac y Coleman

Sta Repor ter Brendan He ernan

Viewpoints Editor Ken Trainor

Real Estate Editor Lacey Sikora

Contributing Editor Donna Greene

Columnists Marc Bleso , Nicole Chavas, Jack Crowe, Vincent Gay, Mary Kay O’Grady, John Stanger, Josh VanderBerg

Shrubtown Cartoonist Marc Stopeck

Design/Production Manager Andrew Mead

Editorial Design Manager Javier Govea

Designers Susan McKelvey, Vanessa Garza

Senior Media Strategist Lourdes Nicholls

Marketing & Adver tising Associate Emma Cullnan

Development Manager Mary Ellen Nelligan

Circulation Manager Jill Wagner

Operations Associate Susan Babin

Social Media and Digital Coordinator Maribel Barrera

Special Projects Manager Susan Walker

Chairman Emeritus Robert K. Downs

Senior Advisor Dan Haley

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chair Eric Weinheimer | Treasurer Nile Wendor f Deb Abrahamson, Mary Cahillane, Steve Edwards, Judy Gre n, Horacio Mendez, Charles Meyerson Darnell Shields, Audra Wilson

REACH

150th birthday celebration for Tarzan author with Oak Park link

Be Proactive: Plant Large Trees & Evergreens

Some of the cooler weather over the past week has offered a refreshing glimpse of the fall season that is quickly approaching.

This shift in seasons raises an important question: what does it mean to take a truly proactive approach to landscaping at this time of year?

The best answer is simple yet highly effective: plant large trees and evergreens.

Fall provides some of the most favorable conditions of the entire year for establishing new plantings— lower ground and air temperatures, resulting in rates of evaporation that decrease significantly. This allows more moisture to be retained over a longer period of time—a critical factor in helping new trees develop a strong, healthy root system that will sustain them for years to come.

Also keep in mind that before the ground freezes, it is important to apply anti-desiccant sprays �Wilt-Pruf is recommended) to minimize the moisture loss to transpiration, as cold winter winds are able to pull moisture out of the still-living plant tissues. When spring rolls around, as the ground unfreezes (along with the snowpack), this early-season hydration is what allows them to “wake up” strong, fueling new growth and giving your landscaping a vibrant head start for the year.

Event this Saturday includes a Tarzan yelling competition and lm screening

By LEAH SCHROEDER Contributing Reporter

Don’t be alarmed if you hear Tarzan yells coming from the Lake Theatre this Saturday – it’s just author and Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs’ 150th birthday celebration. The Oak Park Historical Society has joined forces with Downtown Oak Park and Lake Theatre for this special occasion to provide Oak Park residents with a screening of a 1984 Tarzan film, remarks about Burroughs and, of course, a Tarzan yell competition.

Burroughs was originally born on the West Side of Chicago in 1875, but he and his young family resided in Oak Park during several of his formative years as a new author

“He spent this really important time in Oak Park where he’d write stories for magazines,” Frank Lipo, executive director of the Oak Park Historical Society, said. “Then he would reserve the rights and then publish them as novels. Then he would work with the movie industry to have movies made.”

At the time Burroughs was a “self-described failure,” Lipo said.

But the Chicago-born author quickly found success as an author of his legendary 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes, and other adventure, science fiction and fantasy pieces.

However, Lipo said, it’s still a relatively unknown fact that the prolific author called Oak Park home for a time.

“We’re just trying to use a milestone birthday to shine a little bit of light on this author and one of his characters that a lot of people know, but they don’t quite know the story,” Lipo said.

Burroughs’ written contributions and life in Oak Park. Attendees will then have the opportunity to participate in the Tarzan yell contest and watch Greystoke: The Le gend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes at 11 a.m.

“I think a lot of people have grown up reading these stories and watching these movies, and because of that, it ’s sor t of become part of their own personal mythology.”

MIKE SCHINDLER

Film

programmer, Classic Cinemas

Lipo hopes the celebration taking place Saturday, Aug. 30 at 10 a.m. will help spread awareness about the author’s Oak Park roots. The event will begin with a conversation led by Lipo about

Mike Schindler, a film programmer at Classic Cinemas, said seeing this film on the big screen is a rare opportunity. Despite being released more than four decades ago, the film continues to stand the test of time, Schindler said.

“I think a lot of people have grown up reading these stories and watching these movies, and because of that, it’s sort of become part of their own personal mythology,” Schindler said. “It becomes a big deal for people, because it was a big deal for them when they were kids, and they’ve just grown with the material, and maybe see it differently now

than they did when they were younger, but it’s still a big part of their lives.”

Henry Franke, editor of the Burroughs Bibliophiles, agrees that Burroughs remains a relevant figure today, in part because of his stories.

“He just had a significant imagination, the ability to create new worlds, and yet when he wrote about them, they seemed very plausible and exciting to readers,” Franke said.

“He was about adventure. He was about romance… Most fundamentally, he was an outstanding storyteller.”

Tickets for the screening can be purchased for $5 at classiccinemas.com/tarzan or at the door. Lipo encourages Oak Park residents to attend the event to learn more about a member of their own community.

“I’d say to people, have fun with the movie, maybe be goofy and do a Tarzan yell and have a little hoopla, but also learn about some of these people,” Burroughs said. “A guy like Burroughs walked the streets of Oak Park, his kids went to local schools here. He was actually very involved with the community.”

Oak Park to host tenant rights workshop with legal aid group

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter

T he village of Oak Park is hosting a series of workshops on tenants’ rights law in collaboration with a local leg al aid charity.

T he first of three events is set for 6 p.m. Aug. 27 at Oak Park Village Hall, with follow-up workshops scheduled for Se pt. 24 and Oct. 22, according to the village Oak Park’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is r unning the events with the CARPLS organization, a decades-old nonprofit that provides le g al assistance to low-income people in Illinois.

T he events are free but space will be limited, according to the village. Residents can re gister for the event ahead of time via the village’s website.

One of CARPLS key areas of work is helping r un Illinois’ state-funded eviction help hotline, which connects tenants and landlords with free le g al aid, mediation services and other resources during an eviction.

“Mediation is an opportunity for landlords and tenants to resolve issues with the help of a knowledgeable and neutral person” the group said of that work T hese services are funded via a partnership between the Illinois Department of Human Services and the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation. ”

T he Oak Park events will be focused on unpacking the details of the sprawling Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance that Cook County ratified in January of 2021.

“The Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance is designed to protect and promote public health, safety, and welfare, establish the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords, and encourage both parties to maintain and improve housing quality,” the village said of the county-wide ordinance. “The ordinance

provides le g al safeguards when either tenants or landlords fail to act in good faith.”

T he first of the events will focus on how to use the Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance for lease compliance, the second will focus on how to use the ordinance for code compliance and the final session will cover how tenants can obtain le g al resources, according to the village.

T he sessions follow recent consideration by villa ge leadership to update Oak Park’s own local fair housing ordinances

At its June 17 meeting, the village board heard from Oak Park Neighborhood Services Director J ohnathon Burch during a study session covering updates to a series of village ordinances involving tenant and landlord relations, many of which focus on how rental staf f must be trained on tenants’ rights issues. The session followed a re port submitted to the village board last October by HOPE Fair Housing Center, which said its independent investigation had found that intake processes at several local housing providers discriminated against people receiving housing voucher assistance.

T he discussion was an early step for the village as it looks toward for malizing a set of refor ms to its residential rental licensing code, which it hopes will promote fairer tenant-landlord relations in the village, in line with its stated commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

In addition to new requirements for training progr ams, the package that will go before the board also involves code changes updating on-the-books provisions related to such issues as landlord responsibilities in the eviction process, the village’s residential rental license revocation and suspension processes for negligent property managers, and r ules on what information landlords are required to provide to tenants about community resources.

Climate Plan progress re port at

Residents will hear from village leaders on sustainability goals

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter

Residents will soon have an opportunity to hear from Oak Park leaders about how the village is progressing toward its sustainability goals.

Oak Park’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience will host an educational event about the village’s progress towards the goals laid out in the Climate Ready Oak Park Plan.

T he event, wh ich will feature a “community co nversation,” will be held T hursd ay, Sept. 4 at 6 p. m. in the Veterans Room on the second floor of the Oak Pa rk Public L ibrary’s main branch, a ccording to the village

“Following a brief progress re port, community members and groups will have an opportunity to converse, listen and share,” the village said of the event. “Come for the conversation and stay for the community and the climate! ”

T he Climate Ready Oak Park Plan, which the village ratified just over two years ago, features a number of ambitious emissions-reduction goals. The plan tasked the village with cutting its greenhouse g as emissions by 60% by 2030 in a bid for net-zero emissions by 2050, as w ell as other goals like increasing the village’s biodiversity.

T he village held a similar community conversation event in August of 2023 before publishing a progress re port document later that year

Village leaders have previously said that Oak Park will likely not hit the 60% reduction mark by 2030, but the village has re gularly introduced new initiatives to inte grate the plan into village policy.

River Forest matches Oak Park on EV charging rates

Increased commercial lming fees also discussed by village board

By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter

River Forest officials dealt with fees, fireworks and freight trains at the Aug. 25 village board meeting

A new fee structure for village-owned electric vehicle (EV) charging stations was approved and changes to the commercial filming permit re gulations, including the fee structure, were discussed. Officials also approved a change to the ordinance regarding fireworks and a revised settlement ag reement with the Union Pacific Railroad. The settlement ag reement was approved without discussion as part of the consent agenda. Other changes were approved by 4-0 votes. Trustees Erika Bachner and Katie Brennan did not attend.

Assessment of EV charging station fees will change from the length of a charging session to the amount of energy used to charge a vehicle. Instead of $10 per hour, the fee will be 25 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), according to a memo from Seth Jansen, management analyst, to Matt Walsh, village administrator.

The change, recommended by the Sustainability Commission, stems from the for thcoming installation of 13 additional village-owned EV charging stations at the West Metra Commuter Lot at 400 Thatcher Ave., the village lot at 418 Franklin Ave. and the village lot at 7929 W. North Ave.

increase in fees if permit re gulations are revised. Although no action was taken at the Aug. 25 meeting, officials directed staf f members to work toward revising the village’s film permit process and presenting a revised ordinance in the near future.

Changes being considered would increase the base application fee from $100 to $300 per location; the fee per day from $250 to $500; and the daily fee for each police vehicle used from $50 to $200. The hourly rate for security by a police officer, which is paid directly to the officer, would increase from $70 to $100.

In a memo to Walsh, Luke Masella, deputy clerk and management analyst, estimated the fee changes would generate annual revenue of $20,000, an increase over $8,000 under the current fee structure and based on 20 film permits.

Under the changes, the fee would range from $9.50 to $10.40 per vehicle depending on the type of charging station used and size of the vehicle’s batter y.

In proposing the addition of a fireworks related section to the village code, police Chief James Greenwood explained that the change would allow for a local charge for violations. Previously, charges were filed under state law, which carry more serious consequences. He said the revised ordinance prohibits the storage of high explosives and the possession, sale or use of fireworks within village limits without a permit. Fines for violations range from $50 to $750.

Unleash Your Inner Artist

Under the changes, the fee would range from $9.50 to $10.40 per vehicle depending on the type of charging station used and size of the vehicle’s battery.

Jansen said the 25 cents per kWh fee would be equal to the fee currently assessed by the Village of Oak Park and the Park District of Oak Park at their respective charging stations. A $10 per hour overstay fee would be assessed 15 minutes after full charge to encourage vehicles to move from the charging spot after gaining a sufficient charge. When these changes will take effect was not announced

Commercial film crews would see an

The village and the railroad were at odds re garding noise complaints stemming from idling freight trains for most of 2024. The village issued 84 citations, which led the railroad to file a federal lawsuit. The settlement ag reement that resolves the issue was originally approved at the July 14 village board meeting. However, Walsh explained in a memo to the village board that railroad officials requested the addition of a confidentiality provision. At the July 14 meeting, Walsh explained that the primary settlement provision was the establishment of a g rievance protocol for noise violations. Under the ag reement, the railroad ag reed to pay $40,000 in outstanding fines. He also noted that no documented complaints re garding train idling had been received in 2025.

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U.S. News ra give good marks high school

OPRF, Lyons Township, Riverside-Brook Proviso Mathematics and Science among state

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Re porter

Several area high schools measured up among the state’s best in the latest set of annual rankings published by U.S. News & World Re port.

Oak Park and River Forest High School, Lyons Township High School, RiversideBrookfield Township High School and Proviso Mathematics and Science Academy ranked in the top 100 of Illinois high schools, according to the mag azine.

T he rankings are calculated using six metrics based on data like the percentage of students in at least one AP class, the percentage of students who pass at least one AP exam, the school’s rate of mathematics proficiency, the school’s rate of English proficiency, the school’s rate of science proficiency and the school’s graduation rate. T he publication also weighs the performance of underserved students in its rankings.

“A great high school educates all of its students from different social and economic back grounds, exposing them to challenging coursework on the path to graduation.” the publication said of its anking for mula. “The highest anked

U.S. Re po rankings are those onstrated outstanding outcomes expectations in math, ence state assessments, earned scores on an ar and

T he top-ranked school in the state thi year was High School in score of Public School’s other selecti schools and top magazine

Locally the results

■ OPRF High School was ranked 34th in the state and 793rd in the United States with an

■ Lyons Township High School was ranked 39th in the state and 884th nationally, with an overall score of 95.06.

■ Riverside-Brookfield Township High School ranked 42nd in Illinois and 983rd in the country with its overall score of 94.51.

■ Proviso Mathematics and Science Academy ranked 84th in the state and 2,299th nationally with a score of 87.16.

The publication ranked more than 700 schools in Illinois, and more than 18,000 nationally.

High Schools from Metro Chicago dominate the rankings, as only six schools from outside the region were ranked higher than Proviso Mathematics and Science Academy

using the magazine’s for mula. The top five suburban Cook County public schools were New Trier High School in Winnetka, John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, Glenbrook North and South High Schools in Northbrook and Glenview and Maine South High School in Park Ridge.

Main

SHAH RESIGNATION

providing the resignation letter to Wednesday Journal.

“We appreciate the vision Dr. Shah brought to District 97 and extended her contract this past spring with the intent to continue our work together,” the district statement said. “Consistent with that intent, the board sought to provide timely support and feedback on aspects of her leadership. The board did not seek to take any punitive action, and we did not ask her to resign. Her decision on Aug. 12 to step down was unexpected and we wish her well in her next chapter

“We understand that the news of Dr. Shah’s departure came as a surprise and has raised questions within our community. We are sharing what we can while striving to respect Dr. Shah’s privacy, as we do with all personnel matters. We remain focused on supporting our students, staf f and families, and our priority as a district continues to be a strong start to the 2025-26

school year.”

Shah said in her letter she planned to leave the district “in a respectful way.”

“I imagine you would like to employ a superintendent that you see and believe in just as much as I would like to be employed under those kinds of positive conditions. I am resigning in hopes that we might both get closer to what we are seeking.”

The board voted to accept Shah’s resignation at a special board meeting Aug. 18 and also voted to appoint Dr. Grif f Powell and Dr. Patricia Wernet co-interim superintendents for the 2025-26 school year, beginning Sept. 15. The board also appointed Patrick Robinson, district assistant superintendent of elementary schools, as acting superintendent until Powell and Wernet begin.

Shah had received a two-year contract extension in May and the matter was not discussed at the Aug. 12 re gular board meeting, where Shah was in attendance.

A prior district press release said that her accomplishments included guiding the district through post-pandemic challenges, ne gotiating a new contract with the Oak Park Teachers Association (OPTA), and creation of the Portrait of an Oak Park 8th Grade Graduate.

Fourth-grade students participated in a guided writing session with Janeen Walsh, teacher at Willard Elementary School last year.

D90 CONTRAC T Frustrating process

from page 1

teachers, said salary compensation and leave/benefit days are keeping both sides from a tentative agreement.

“We have been ne gotiating in good faith, but the process has been frustrating,” Baiocchi and Crannell said. “We are disappointed to begin the school year without a contract. We have consistently demonstrated our commitment to reaching a fair offer in order to continue serving the students of River Forest but have not been able to make progress towards a tentative ag reement over the summer.

“The district needs to reco gnize that costs have increased and in order to maintain their Exemplary rankings in the state, the district needs to do the right thing for its teachers, staf f and students.”

All three district schools – Lincoln Elementary, Willard Elementary and Roosevelt Middle School – were designated Exemplary in the annual Illinois Re port Card 2023-24 that was made public last October.

Exemplary schools are those that rank in the top 10% of the state, while Commendable schools rank in the next 67%.

The sides have been ne gotiating since April 8, the pair said at the Aug. 19 board of education meeting.

In a prepared statement, the district said it “periodically engages in a collective bargaining process to negotiate successor

labor contracts with the local teachers’ union, the River Forest Education Association.

“Negotiation teams re presenting District 90 and the RFEA began discussions in April 2025 for a new collective bargaining ag reement, and the parties are continuing to work toward reaching a final negotiated ag reement,” the statement said. “To support an efficient and productive negotiation, district leaders are not discussing the proposed terms outside the ne gotiating table.”

Additionally, the district said District 90 schools will operate as usual while negotiations continue under the terms of the 202125 collective barg aining agreement.

Baiocchi and Crannell said that in terms of salary compensation, RFEA continues “to demonstrate how the salaries of fered are well below comparative districts.

“We also see that wages have not ke pt up with the market while River Forest has been preparing for costs to rise,” they said.

“According to its 2024 Annual Financial Report submitted to the Illinois State Board of Education, District 90 has more than 460 days of cash on hand while the state recommends having just 180 days.”

Baiocchi and Crannell further said it has been “discouraging” to start the school year without a contract but ag reed to open schools without a contract to “prioritize the learning and growth of our students in District 90.

“We continue to negotiate with the district in hopes of reaching a fair ag reement soon in order to avoid any prolonged complications,” they added.

Delivering that ‘wow’ factor and joy to sippers

River

Forest man turns dream into unique tea business

By JACKIE PISANO Contributing Reporter

For as long as he can remember, Maxwell Blessen has felt a calling to create an exceptional, unrivaled product — something which would excite others by its one-of-akind experience, packaged and delivered with a smile.

And eight years ago, the River Forest native and Fenwick High School graduate was finally able to channel his energy into what he loved.

It was in a dream that Blessen first envisioned the idea of Joy Tea — a mission of concocting teas with extraordinary flavors and delivering a healthy, feel-good drink to consumers.

For Blessen, what he’s consistently found frustrating is the fact that mass-produced teas in the U.S. seem to lack a certain joie de vivre, and that the beverage world has heavily focused solely on quick jolt sources like coffees and energy drinks, leaving teas silently kicked to the curb

“Tea in America is boring, which is a terrible tragedy,” Blessen says. “The typical tea experience in America is ordering some random generic tea like black tea or green tea, getting a little sachet and water that’s way too hot for that tea … [and] everyone wonders why more people don’t drink tea?

Simply put, Blessen says, Joy Tea is essentially a movement to shine the spotlight on tea — specifically ancient Chinese teas — and reveal the abundance of hidden culture, stories and flavors these teas hold

“I don’t say this with any romantic exaggeration — tea (Camellia Sinensis) is one of the most influential plants on Earth,” he explained. “It is the basis of early global trade, it was an early precursor to medicine in China with history dating back to about 5,000 years ago, and it fueled both wars and peace, emperors and people alike

“There is so much more out there, so our job is to bring those flavors, experiences and stories to you with fun, healthy, delicious drinks.”

Blessen’s precursor to Joy Tea started back in late 2017, when he first created Joy Milk

Tea. He was tired of drinking coffee every day and wished there was a great milk tea in the market instead. Having grown up in an Asian family, he had discovered milk tea at a young age, and frequently wished there were comparable options for the drink like the variety of coffees out on the beverage market.

After finding the market fell short of his expectations, Blessen took matters into his own hands and started making his own tea. Quickly, Blessen said, his product grew to become the largest American canned milk tea brand

Using real tea, no powders and all-natural ingredients, Joy Milk Tea blossomed to being sold in retail stores including Meijer and Whole Foods, while selling simultaneously at local farmers markets across Chicago.

In 2024, Blessen decided to turn things up a notch.

With the of hope of serving a newer, more refined product and developing a brand-new vision for his brand, he decided to wind down operations of Joy Milk Tea and pivot to focusing more on tea broadly, dialing in to Chinese tea and rebranding as Joy Tea.

Establishing a mobile tea trailer, Blessen’s new enterprise has popped up daily this summer at various sites across the Oak Park and River Forest, including outside the Oak Park Public Library, Keystone Park, the Marion Street business district and the Oak Park Far mers Market.

“I feel like this idea has always been somewhere deep in my subconscious,” he said, “but the clarity of [my] vision has never been as crystal clear as it is now, with the experiences I’ve had in the tea business and the time I’ve had to observe and lear n.”

As for the name of his business, Blessen says the idea was simple — tea makes people happy and his flavors bring customers joy.

“It just works,” he said. “Tea is one of the only clinically proven drinks to lower stress (cortisol), so basically, drinking tea makes you less stressed, which is kind of like being full of joy.”

On Instagram, Blessen promotes Joy Tea as using ancient tea to make modern drinks, boasting options including jasmine green silk tea, green mango jasmine green tea and grapefruit jasmine green tea.

“People would generally feel a lot better if they drank more tea,” Blessen said. “Our products are designed to be the perfect afternoon drink, a great morning ritual or a little treat at the end of your day.”

The teas he sells today have been in development for close to a year, but are the result of years of experimentation. He’s tasted hundreds of teas, worked with dozens of farms and estates all over China, and experimented with time, temperature and concentrations across hundreds of different variables to land on his new products.

“For our first product line, we don’t just use green tea,” Blessen explained. “We use a special, seven-times scented jasmine green tea, grown 1,800 meters above sea level in Fujian, China — the birthplace of jasmine green tea over 1,000 years ago. This specific jasmine flower only opens at night, and when it does, it releases its beautiful, delicate fragrance.”

Blessen says Joy Tea’s mission is to provide teas that impress customers with a healthier option making them feel good, all while preserving ancient Chinese tea traditions.

“We don’t just use any tea, we use ancient tea; tea with rich history — centuries, if not millennia, of tradition and cultivation,” he said. “We are not chasing perfection; I don’t think that’s attainable. We want you to drink a Joy tea and uncontrollably say the word, “wow” — which happens quite a lot, much more than you’d think or I imagined. I think we are on the right track.”

With Joy Tea, Blessen zeroes in on flavor and tea integrity with caffeine and Ltheanine, fueling customers with a savory drink without the crash of traditional coffees and energy drinks, and the added benefit of stress-reduction that comes from tea consumption.

Joy Tea also doesn’t incorporate syrup water like other teas branded as “refreshers;” rather, Blessen makes layered and flavorful drinks, which he says evolve with dilution, open up and become more fragrant.

“The more people drink tea, the more we can share these wonderful stories and flavors, and the more we can support the farmers and people that have preserved these ancient teas for thousands of years,” he said. “Tea is the antidote for moder n life.”

Though Blessen is the only person working the Joy Tea trailer, he feels immensely supported, from family and friends to investors and customers.

“I’m just the driver, I guess, but I would actually say I’m more in the passenger seat with God, family, friends, customers and supporters in the driver seat,” he said. “I knew I needed to bring the story to the customer, and not wait for them to come to me.”

After months of success and frequent days of selling out of product completely, Blessen says his new, long-term goal for Joy Tea is to open a physical location. He’s currently scouting the Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park business districts for the ideal location to launch a 2026 store opening

“We want to be the Starbucks of tea, meaning when someone thinks “tea,” they think “Joy,” he said. “When you come to Joy, you’re going to get a short story, a tea that makes you say ‘wow’ and a better day — simple.”

For more information about Joy Tea, including the trailer’s rotating location schedule, visit @joy_tea_usa on Instagram.

HEAL—Wellness + Longevity brings biohacking to Forest Park

The new facility o ers infrared saunas, cold plunges and a hyperbaric ox ygen chamber – which owner Jam Alker says alleviated pain from his chronic illness

By JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporter

There’s now a one-stop shop in Forest Park for biohacking — the process of improving performance and health by combining traditional wellness practices and modern technology

The inside of HEAL—Wellness + Longevity looks like a spa, but offers the use of infrared saunas, cold plunge bathtubs and a hyperbaric oxyg en chamber. The facility aims to help customers, whether they have a chronic ailment or want to feel more energized, to rid the body of toxins, plus improving cardiovascular, metabolic and autoimmune health.

Oak Park resident Jam Alker, owner of HEAL, is opening the first-of-its-kind facility just blocks from where he lives after he found himself travelling to Naperville or downtown Chicago to access similar offerings. HEAL’s grand opening is on Thursday, though the location is already open to about 150 people who have signed up for one of 250 founding memberships.

HEAL’s core services are provided in its seven contrast therapy suites. Firsttime visitors can rent the suites for $35 an hour, and $49 a session after that. In that 60 minutes, they have access to a dry infrared sauna that heats up to 175 degrees and a rain shower with a filter that removes traces of fluoride, chlorine, pesticides and heavy metals in the village’s water. T he shower has toxin-free shampoo, conditioner and body wash made in-house, plus organic cotton towels that are washed at HEAL with toxin-free products. After a shower, customers can use the suite’s cold plunge bathtub Alker says he usually does three rounds of the sauna, shower and cold plunge within the hour. The contrast therapy, he says, allows the body to burn a significant

amount of calories when its core temperature drops, then rises, re peatedly. Alker added that the cold plunges make the body feel more energized by increasing dopamine and norepinephrine.

“You get cardiovascular benefits from you warming up so much that your body has to pump so much oxyg en, so much blood to cool you down that you have a lowkey cardio workout when you’ re in there,” Alker said. “It’s a very luxurious, calming, peaceful experience, and you’ re burning more calories than if you spent all of that time killing yourself on a treadmill.”

At the back of HEAL, there’s a “glam lab” where visitors can get ready after their time in the contrast therapy suites

The clinic side of HEAL will be fully up and running come next month or October. It includes a wellness-grade hyperbaric oxyg en chamber — which Alker says helps expand lung capacity and increase oxyg en in the blood — and a red light therapy room with a pulse electromagnetic frequency map, recommended in the wellness industry to improve cellular function, boost collagen production and improve blood circulation. The clinic also includes an office for a functional medicine doctor who will work out of HEAL a couple days a week. Alker said the doctor will start offering free wellness consultations next month.

“I’m not sh*tting on traditional medicine. If you have a broken bone, if you have a heart attack, if you have a car accident, by all means go to the doctor, go to the hospital,” Alker said. “But if you talk candidly with many doctors and healthcare providers, they’re going to tell you that they are not properly trained to handle autoimmune, chronic fatigue, and chronic inflammation.”

In the middle of the HEAL building is a recovery and meeting room. Seats provide a resting place for those doing an IV drip or

red light face masks. But Alker also plans to hold events in the space, including lectures or workshops.

Alker said he hopes the room can cater to “a wellness party. Rather than going to a bar, you’ re actually doing something good for yourself, but in the social environment.” Last week, for example, he hosted an event with BODYBAR Pilates in Oak Park, where a coach taught meditation and breath work

“It’s very important to me that we build community here with the whole wellness community of Oak Park, Forest Park and River Forest,” Alker said. “We very much complement what it is they’re doing with the additional recovery and wellness services that we offer here.”

Jam’s journey

Alker said his upbringing was traumatic, as he grew up in a household of violence. He started playing guitar as a teenager and later became a touring musician while working as an entrepreneur with his own real estate development company.

“The combination of the rock’n’roll lifestyle and that unresolved trauma led to a decades-long drug addiction,” Alker said. He got clean after the birth of his daughter over a decade ago and came away with a life lesson: “One of the cornerstones or foundations of my recovery has always been being of service to others . . . I felt a very strong pull towards this being the latest way that I could be of service to other s, by providing this to the community.”

Service, through biohacking specifically, became even more of Alker’s mission after a chronic illness sidelined his musical career following his first major record deal

with Sony. Early during the Covid-19 pandemic, Alker contracted a bacterial infection that led to chronic pain, inflammation and fatigue. He found solace in the types of remedies he of fers at HEAL

“I went to several doctors in the traditional healthcare system, and they just weren’ t able to heal me. They just wanted to give me more drug s. So I decided to seek help in the holistic community instead,” Alker said. “I had a really profound healing experience when I started to incorporate these other healing modalities into my protocol.”

“I’m now 54, and I feel like I did in my 30s,” Alker added. “This is what I’m hoping to bring to the community — if some people can feel even remotely close to the way I feel now, I feel like I will have fulfilled that mission to help others.”

Alker shares the story of a new client who came on the first day HEAL was signing up founding members. He said the woman has ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic autoimmune inflammatory arthritis.

“She mentioned that she’s been in chronic pain since her childhood. There’s never been a time where she can’t remember being in pain,” Alker said. “She came back literally the next day and she said, ‘I got out to my car, and I sat down in my car, and I thought about it again, and I realized that I was 100% pain free for the first time in my adult life.’”

Alker said the woman now comes in every morning and can get through most of the day without pain.

“That is the ‘why’ behind this,” Alker said, “and why I called it HEAL.”

HEAL—Wellness + Longevity’s grand opening is Aug. 28 from 4 to 8 p.m. at 7210 Circle Park Av e.

Sample 10 vineyards varieties

Elmwood Park’s Sip N’ Stroll brings them all together in one location

SBy RISÉ SANDERS-WEIR Contributing Reporter

ome say it takes a village, but in Elmwood Park’s Central Park, 7508 W. Fullerton Ave., you get a vintage.

Sample 10 wines, as well as two spirits, while you amble through the evening on Friday, Sept. 5, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

A $50 ticket to Sip ‘N Stroll grants access to all the pours as well as a commemorative glass to take home. You must be at least 21 in order to partake in the party.

Girls night out? Guys night? Meet up with friends you haven’t seen in a while? Or the crowd you see regularly? No matter who you go with, it’s a great way to discover a new favorite vino.

“Whether you’re a wine connoisseur or just looking for a different kind of evening out with friends, this event is sure to satisfy,” said Angelo “Skip” Saviano, Elmwood Park’s mayor.

To keep the party progressing perfectly, pair snacks with your samples.

Food will be available for purchase from Elmwood Park’s own Massa Café Italiano and Elmcrest Banquets. In previous years food offerings included antipasto skewers, antipasto trays and Italian sausage skew-

ers, prepared by the catering specialists at Elmcrest, as well as Italian-twisted sliders filled with chicken parmesan or the classic beef tenderloin sliders, served with blue cheese aioli and caramelized onions. Gelato options from Massa are sure to please the palate, refreshing your tastebuds for another round of spirit samples.

For the fourth year running, this event captures the essence of hospitality that is evident throughout the village. The area has an abundance of restaurants that seemingly encompass the entire world’s food cultures and many bars where friends meet.

“People in Elmwood Park are passionate about good food and drink,” said Saviano.

And they want to share it with you. The outdoor event, held at 75th Avenue and Fullerton, features wine varieties from 10

Wine connoisseurs and the wine curious sample vino for all tastes at a past Sip

different vineyards as well as samples of tequila and whiskey from the Sazerac Company of New Orleans.

After a swig or two, you can swing to the sounds of the Bill O’Connell Trio.

Maybe you will like all the offerings or

just one or two will becomes new go-tos. Once you’ve decided, you can gather information on how to purchase bottles from each of the vendors.

Raise a glass to the end of summer!

Good times await Tickets at: epsipnstroll2025.eventbrite.com

Date: Sept. 5

Time: 5-9 p.m.

Location: Central Park, 2430 N. 75th Ave., Elmwood Park

• Weddings & Receptions

• Cotillions & Quinceañeras

•

• Bridal & Baby Showers

• Proms & School Dances

Why Elmcrest?

• Customizable Event Packages

• On-Site & O -site Catering

• Elegant spaces for any occasion

• Convenient Location & Ample Parking

Elmcrest Banquets 7370 W Grand Ave Elmwood Park, IL 60707 (708) 453-3989 • ElmcrestBanquets.com

Harmon lawyer says ‘ambiguous’ election law was misinterpreted by state o cials

Kasper goes deep in defending Harmon against $9.8M ne

By BILL DWYER Contributing Reporter

In arguing Wednesday for the dismissal of $9.8 million in fines and forfeitures brought by the I llinois State Board of E lections against State S enate President Don Harmon, veteran election lawyer Michael K asper wo rked to offer a tutorial on why wo rds matter when w rit ing a statute

Harmon, an Oak Pa rk resident, did not attend the hearing wh ich was held in downtown Chicago. Barbara Goodman, an attorney from Northbrook, presided at the hearing. S he said she will take K asper ’s arguments under advisement and then forward her findings to ISBE General C ounsel Marni M. Malowitz.

and the distinction in meaning b etween “election” and “election cycle. ”

K asper b asically said the law Harmon co-sponsored years ago was at b est ambiguous on the matter at i ssue, saying, “I do n’ t think it c an reasonably be arg ued that this statute is not ambiguous I mean, there’s all kinds of per mutations about that.”

T he statute’s ambiguity, K asper said, arose from a c onflict b etween two clauses: section 9-8.5(b) and section 9-8.5(h).

Section 9-8.5(b), he said, “imposes c ont ribution limits, speaks in ter ms of ‘election cycles.’”

Section 9-8.5(h), K asper said, “which a ddresses the remova l of c ontribution limitations, speaks not in terms of election cycles, but in terms of elections’ wh ich the whole c onflict here is about the fact that they ’re not necessarily the same thing.”

Michael Kasper, state Senate President Don Harmon’s attorney, argues an appeal before the Illinois State Board of Appeals.

While no date certain was given, the hearing officer ’s re po rt c ould be released prior to the next ISBE b oard meeting on Se pt. 16.

K asper, re presenting Harmon, argued b oth that the ISBE “misinterpreted” the law as w ritten and that the law as w ritten is ambiguous

T he ISBE did not make any further for mal arguments during the hearing, although Goodman, the hearing officer, had the b oard’s previously filed brie f on her desk.

K asper noted that “about 35 page s of briefs” had b een filed “on the i nterpretation of a relative ly small amount of wo rds.” A mong those subject wo rd s we re “duration,” as well as “candidate”

T he i ssue, K asper said, is “What is the effect of a c andidate self-funding their election. Th e q uestion is wh at is the duration.” Th e answe r, he said, involved b oth time and money.

“There’s a financial limit that g ets remove d by self-funding,” K asper said. “A nd there’s a time limit – election cycle. So there’s two limits according to the (ISBE’s) analysis of subsection (b), (and) the self-funding removes only one of those limits, the financial one, but not the time one.”

“But subsection (h) says ‘any c ontribution limits,’ if there’s b oth a financia l and a time limitation. And section (h) removes any limitations,” K asper said. “W hy d oes (the time element) not g et remove d too? Th at would be entirely c onsistent with all c andidates for the offic e. ”

“So it seems to me the operat ive wo rds… the operat ive clause here, is … 9-8.5(h):

‘If a public official c ontributes durin g the 12 months prior to an election an aggregate amount of more than $100,000 all c andidates for that office shall be pe rm itted to a ccept c ontributions in excess of any c ontribution limits imposed by subsection (b).

”

T he operat ive phrase, K asper said, “i s ‘candidates for that office.’” He argued that p eople do not r un for “election cycl e, ” but for “election,” saying, “You ca n only be a c andidate for offic e. Once yo u become a c andidate for an offic e, you remain a c andidate until the election fo r that of fic e. ”

K asper also said that the ISBE ’s i nterpretation would effect ively treat Stat e House c andidates and State S enate c andidates differently, d ue to the i nherent differences in their elections cycles; re presentatives are up for election every two year s, wh i le senators are up for election twice for four year terms and once for a two year ter m, every decade

Fo r House c andidates, K asper said, “i t has the effect of removing the cap fo r the primar y. If they win the primar y, the caps stay of f for the g eneral. So the

whole shooting match the caps are off. ” If the senator self-funds “on Jan.13th in the m iddle of a two-year term,” (it’s) exactly the same outcome. Caps are of f through the election, primary and g eneral,” Kasper said.

But if a senator “self-funds on Jan. 13th of a four-year term – oh, no – a ccording to the b oard, different analysis, di ff erent r ule,” K asper said. “Caps are of f for half the election, for the first half, but not the second half. Th at c ompletely defeats the pu rp ose of treating the legislative c andidates the same

Harmon, who was not present at We d nesd ay ’s hearing, took seve r al actions in December 2022 and January 2023 that led to the current state of af fairs

In December 2022 his c ampaign paid him back for 214 incidental c ampaign expenses Harmon had incu rred over the c ourse of 2 decade s, r anging from a few d ollars to seve r al thousand dollars. Rather than be reimbursed, Harmon had opted to have the expenses re ported to the ISBE as small loans, wh ich we re listed as c ampaign debt .

On Dec. 30, 2022, Harmon rece ived re -

D90 launches digital civics course for troubled times

Focus

is on

how students conduct themselves in physical, digital

world

By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter

The objective of a new course developed by River Forest School District 90 is empowering Roosevelt Middle School students to navigate increasingly complicated face-to-face and online interactions.

Digital Civics is a 10-week exploratory course that r uns for 37 minutes daily and is mandatory for all students in fifth through eighth grades

Course goals include developing social and emotional skills focusing on assertiveness, responsibility, self-control and empathy in face-to-face interactions. It also helps apply social, emotional and communication skills so students can be ethical, safe and productive in the online environment.

“It’s very timely and relevant, from a curriculum standpoint,” said Christine Trendel, District 90 director of curriculum and instruction, who was a co-

pay ments from his c ampaign totaling $295,653.43; they we re re ported on the c ampaign committee’s quar terly re po rt .

Harmon then sent a large pa rt of that money back to his c ampaign on Jan. 13, 2023, as individual contributions, triggering the funding limitation suspension.

“He filed a contribution above the limit, slightly above the minimum threshold to remove the contribution limits, we all ag ree with that,” Kasper said.

In fact, Harmon contributed $101,329.51 of the returned money to Friends of Don Harmon. On that same day, according to ISBE records, he gave another $66,822.92 as an itemized contribution and sent a “Notification of Self-Funding Letter” to the ISBE, listing the total $168,152.43 in selfcontributed funds, and listing the election date as “Nov. 5, 2024.”

The effect of the self-funding move was nearly immediate. On Feb. 17, the Chicago Land Operators Joint Labor Management PAC contributed $262,000. A month later, it sent another $200,000 to Harmon’s campaign. Between mid-February and late December 2023, in addition to millions of dollars in smaller contributions, Harmon’s

presenter about the course at the Aug. 19 board of education meeting. “It covers our Inter net safety mandates from the Illinois State Board of Education that used to be taught in other classes, but it’s embedded in this course.

“This class is really personal and intentional and timely with relevant topics for pre-teens and teens, how they conduct themselves in a physical and digital world.”

Roosevelt principal Tina Steketee said middle school students are growing up in an increasingly digital world, which can be challenging. Applying in-person skills like self-control, empathy and assertiveness online supports students in operating safely as productive digital citizens.

“Beyond the advisory progr am, we’re looking for ways to inte grate these practices throughout the school day, so students can apply them in real and meaningful ways,” she said.

T he course is made up of two primary resources, Trendel said. Fly Five, from Re-

campaign fund received $3.9 million from six large unions and two healthcare organizations. That included $1,518,000 from the Chicago Land Operators Joint Labor Management PAC and $1,105,000 from the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) Chicago Laborers’ District Council PAC.

Those specific contributions eventually led to the finding by the ISBE that the Harmon campaign had raised funds above the allowable contribution limits.

Toward the end of Wednesday’s hearing, Goodman queried Kasper, “I think that it’s very clear to me that the issue is – the issue is when is the limitation, you know, well, how long does (the campaign contribution li mit) remain lifted essentially, right? ”

K asper re plied, “Cor rect. Co rrect. Right.” Goodman then asked him to give the dates he believed we re applicable.

“March 17, 2026,” K asper re plied. “Bec ause that is the election for wh ich the self-funded c andidate (Harmon) is a c andidate.” He a dded that “9-8.5(h) says ‘ all c andidates for that office.’ T he first opportunity someone c an be a candidate for that of fice is March 17, 2026.”

sponsive Classroom, features interactive learning structures and dedicated time for discussion and reflection.

Cyber Civics is a middle school digital literacy progr am from CyberWise, which features interactive lessons that promote conversation, critical thinking and collaboration.

“We’ re using Fly Five as foundational work, and the second half of the course is Cyber Civics,” Trendel said. It delves into safety, respectful online communications, understanding privacy and the impact of one’s digital footprint and understanding the dangers of ne gative communications long term.

Each fifth- through eighth-grader must complete a final project for their Digital Civics course. For example, fifth graders must create a public service announcement presentation that shows how students can use technology in ways that are safe, respectful and responsible in order to make a positive impact online.

Conversely, eighth graders’ final project should show how their relationship with media changed as a result of the class, in a format of their choice. It is separate from a capstone project that all eighth graders complete at the conclusion of their four years at Roosevelt.

“In District 90, we approach everything from the standpoint of ongoing learning,” Trendel said, and the course will be updated based on student feedback at the end of each quarter. “I see this course as a work in progress because the digital world is changing.”

Of course, Digital Civics can’t re place key conversations that parents should proactively have with their students about online behavior.

“It’s a really important question,” “Trendel said. “As a parent myself, talk about what they are doing online, make sure you know the spaces they are participating in and keep the conversation as open and judgment-free as possible.”

CRIME

Oak Park police investigate armed robberies

By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter

Oak Park police are investigating several recent incidents of armed robbery that were re ported in the village, according to police activity re ports.

On the afternoon of Aug. 16, a Chicago resident was walking in the 300 block of South Taylor Avenue in Oak Park when a man exited from the passenger seat of a Honda Civic with tinted windows and drew a knife on them. The man re por tedly demanded money from the victim, who handed over an estimated $400, according to police.

The man then stepped back into the car, which fled eastbound on Randolph Street, according to police.

On Aug. 17, a man entered a convenience store in the 600 block of South Boulevard and demanded money while displaying a firearm. The victim re por tedly turned over $625 to the man who fled on foot, ac-

cording to police.

Police are also investigating an incident in which an Oak Park woman was walking in the 300 block of North East Avenue when a man approached her and stole her phone from her hand, according to police.

The man then shoved the woman to the ground and ripped away her purse before fleeing the area. The total value of the stolen goods is estimated at $550, according to police.

Battery arrests

Oak Park police arrested several people from around the area in connection with battery incidents last week.

Just after 6:30 p.m. Aug. 24, police arrested a 23-year-old Evanston woman on charges of battery and criminal trespassing in connection with an incident at a fastfood restaurant in the 7100 block of North Avenue.

Police arrested a 39-year-old Chicago man on charges related to an alle ged al-

tercation with officers in the 1000 block of South Lombard Avenue just before 9 a.m. Aug. 23. The man was booked on charges of aggravated battery of a peace officer, attempting to disarm a peace officer, obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest, according to police.

Just before 5:30 p.m. Aug. 16, police arrested a 54-year-old Summit man on battery charges in connection with an incident in the 7100 block of Roosevelt Road, according to police.

These items were obtained from Oak Park’s Police Department re ports dated Aug. 15 – 25 and re present a portion of the incidents to which police responded. Anyone named in these re ports has only been charged with a crime and cases have not yet been adjudicated. We re port the race of a suspect only when a serious crime has been committed, the suspect is still at large, and police have provided us with a detailed a description of the suspect as they seek the public’s help in making an arrest.

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PROPER TY TR ANSFERS

The following property transfers were re ported by the Cook County Clerk from May 2025. Where addresses appear incomplete, for instance where a unit number appears missing, that information was not provided by the clerk.

OA K P ARK

RIVER FOREST

Home and garden

Italianate house on

Linden

has a not-so-secret garden

By LACEY SIKORA Real Estate Reporter

When Gigi and Taze Rowe bought their Italianate Home at 333 Linden in Oak Park in 2016, one of the draws was the beautiful yard. Over their years in the home, they discovered some local lore about their lot and optimized the yard to create a home and business that connected them to the community in more ways than one.

Oak Park River Forest Historical Society board member Frank FioRito researched the house and told Gigi Rowe that it appears their lot was once the site of a thriving garden and greenhouse. FioRito discovered an article from the Oak Park Vindicator published on June 12, 1896, covering the gardens and greenhouses of Nathan Freer at the corner of Superior and Linden Avenues in Oak Park

An attorney and philanthropist, whose father L.C. Paine Freer was deemed a “Chicago pioneer,” Nathan Freer was born in 1845 and grew up in the family homestead at the corner of Clark and Monroe in Chicago. As an adult, Freer lived with his sister, Mrs. C.A. Sharpe, who had a house on the 300 north block of Euclid in Oak Park.

When he died in January 1901, Freer’s obituary declared him a “Martyr to Blooms” and stated that his cause of death was consumption contracted years earlier in one of his Oak Park hot houses.

A fellow flower lover, Gigi’s business plan was seeded in 2020, during the pandemic. When collecting donations for Beyond Hunger at local grocery stores, she also picked up rescue flowers which she gave away to friends and neighbors.

Noticing that the flowers made people happy, she combined her love of plants with her commitment to local not-for-profits and began a party planning and flower arrangement business, Pickle Hill Parties.

Over the past five years, her business has grown and she hosts flower arranging parties, makes floral arrangements for delivery and has a thriving garden in the back yard of her house. Rowe donates to a local not-for-profit organization with every arrangement she sells.

Time for a change

As corporate nomads, the Rowes have moved many times throughout their marriage, and with their son of f at colle ge, the couple are returning to their east coast roots. They’ve listed the house for sale with Bethanny Alexander of Baird & Warner for $1.295 million.

Built in 1872, the home was originally located at 333 N. Euclid and was moved to its current location in approximately 1897. Over the years, subsequent owners added onto the house though it retains much of its historic char m.

See ITALIANATE HOUSE on pa ge 22

ITALIANATE HOUSE

from page 20

A designer at heart, Gigi transformed much of the house, including renovating the kitchen and family room, the primary suite bathroom and another second-floor bathroom.

Alexander says of the home, “I think they’ve done some beautiful restoration work on the house. What they really excelled at is keeping the historic feel of the house. By incorporating some contemporary elements that are still very classic, it makes the house sing. The vintage and historic and the new and modern blend seamlessly.”

A for mer butler’s pantry at the back of the house is now a pantry and mudroom combination, sporting a fresh green paint hue and graphic wallpaper. A moody wet bar in the family room includes cabinets with custom, patterned glass inserts, and the under-the-stairs powder room is a vibrant shade of red. Alexander notes that these small touches add a bit of fun to the historic home.

The first floor of the home includes two gas fireplaces — one in the for mal living room and one in the family room. A side porch lined with three walls of windows makes a great spot for entertaining and offers access to the side yard.

In the yard, beyond Gigi’s Garden, a patio and pergola strung with festive lights

invite lingering outside. In the rear of the house, Gigi’s greenhouse offers a place for the next owner to hone their own green thumb. A custom chicken coop comes with the house: chickens available upon request.

Upstairs, the second floor boasts five bed-

rooms, with a primary suite that includes a walk-in closet and a separate room for an office. In the basement, a rec room is joined by an unusual addition: a walk-in cooler for Gigi’s flower business that could be adapted to wine storage

Alexander notes that the entire house is a testament to honoring the history of the house while also bringing in new conveniences in just the right dose. “They had the vision to realize this house is going to be special, and it really is.”

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS FRIDAY 5 P.M.

Call Viewpoints editor

Ken Trainor at 613-3310

ktrainor@wjinc.com

VIEWPOINTS

Which part of ‘history’ will we preserve?

When Oak Park talks about “historic preservation,” we usually mean our world-renowned architecture — a legacy certainly worth protecting. But what if our singular focus on building design is holding us back from addressing urgent challenges? What other Oak Park’s history could we seek to restore that might also help us tackle issues like fordability, traffic , and climate

At the turn of the 20th century, the “tranquil suburb” of Oak Park became a highly desirable place to live, especially for middleclass families who couldn’t afford its single family homes. The only way to meet their demand was to build apartments, which residents welcomed with open ar ms

CHAVAS

Just kidding! They called them “out of character,” while the Oak Leaves ran alar mist editorials warning of an “impending calamity” that would reduce their property values. Sound familiar?

And yet, Oak Park chose to build. The 1920s apartment boom helped Oak Park reach 64,000 residents by 1930 — 10,000 more than today. The courtyard apartments that once stirred controversy are now celebrated as cornerstones of Oak Park’s character, and we owe our diversity and vitality to those bold decisions

This boom happened long before car culture took hold, when our streets prioritized pedestrians, cyclists and trolley riders, and our homes were designed to shelter people, not cars To me, these are the historic design choices that make our buildings so char ming and our tree-lined streets so attractive We may not have a modern day Frank Lloyd Wright in our midst, but we can carry for-

ward his people-centered spirit

Unfortunately, preservation today often feels rigid and out of step with our values Where I live, in the ginormous Ridgeland Historic District, a neighbor’s dilapidated squirrel nest — I mean garage — is considered a “contributing structure,” requiring money, time and red tape to replace. Meanwhile, a modest, well-maintained house deemed a “non-conforming structure” was demolished and replaced with the Oak Park version of a McMansion that received — wait for it — a Historic Preservation Award. What if the Historic Preservation Commission evaluated buildings through a broader lens? Imagine them telling a developer: “Based on Oak Park’s history of inclusion and mobility, we’re worried this apartment building prioritizes cars more than people. Can you design it with less parking and more units? That should also make it cheaper to build, with more affordable rents for our future residents.”

I love my 1890s-era house. But what makes it truly special is not the woodwork or stained glass. It’s that it sits on a block with a mix of single-family homes and apartments, where kids take over the street on their bikes, neighbors have spontaneous conversations on the sidewalk, and block parties thrive because there are so many residents to join in the fun. That’s the Oak Park character I hope we will not just preserve, but expand.

History is made not by sticking with the status quo, but by making bold choices that meet the challenges of the moment. As we face our biggest problems, we should ask ourselves: Which part of Oak Park’s history will we turn to, and what new history can we make?

References:

https://oprfmuseum.org/brief-historyoak-park

https://www oakpark.com/2007/03/06/ oak-parks-catholic-century

Nicole Chavas, an Oak Park resident, writes a monthly column for Wednesday Journal. She owns a sustainable planning and design firm.

D97’s AI gets dissey

Flock cameras: an essential tool

Recently, in the day Jour a story titled, “W immigration concer Flock cameras’ futur in Oak Park debated” [News July 30]. After reading the article, it seemed that Oak Park is on the eliminating the Flock cameras or significantly reducing the Oak Park P ment’s ability to utilize the camera, which would ha the same effect as eliminating them.

I have been a longtime supporter of street cameras When I was police chief in Riverside, we put in the first street camera program in the village’s history. As you can imagine, this was not without debate. We went with a system at that time called Griffin Systems Inc.; the River Forest police used the same system. It was my job as chief to convince our village president, board of trustees, and the residents that these cameras were a worthwhile investment. I would be judicious in using them, and we would have solid policies and procedures. I did just that.

You can trace my support for street cameras back to 2015, when I wrote a let-

Park leadership that elimi nating the Flock cameras is not the right move. The debate surrounding immigration is not relevant here. In Mount Prospect and other places, police were asked to check their camera systems for legitimate criminal activity or missing persons with immigration status. The goal was not to target immigrants specifically; it was to locate missing individuals, sometimes victims of sex trafficking, or to identify offenders of violent crimes who happened to be in the country illegally. The only way to prevent misuse is to have a clear policy that prohibits target-

Shah’s resignation

Well now we know more about Supt. Ushma Shah’s abrupt resignation from District 97 elementary schools, just days ahead of the school’s opening for the fall.

The Jour nal obtained her letter of resignation via a Freedom of Information Act filing. And it is not the standard issue “Thanks and I wish you well” sort of resignation letter. There was some fire in this one as Shah cited a lack of “mutual trust and mutual confidence that I need in order to continue in this role.” Shah went on to cite what she perceived as a threat of imminent punitive action by the board toward her that involved outside legal counsel. Any such action, she wrote, “will further set us back in ter ms of trust and collaboration.”

The school board may have learned some lesson over the past difficult week of public questioning as it moved slightly away from the “superintendent was a great visionary but we’ll have no comment on this personnel matter” strategy. Instead, alongside the release of Shah’s resignation letter the board issued a statement pointing out that it had extended the superintendent’s contract by two years last May and that her resignation on Aug. 12 took them by surprise. The statement said the board was not considering any punitive action against the superintendent.

The money line in the board’s crafted statement is that it was working to “provide timely support and feedback on aspects of her leadership.”

And again, we have the board’s declaration that this will be its only statement on the matter. We shall see.

Ranking OPRF

We’re not fans of national rankings of schools, universities, or health-care systems We’re always dubious of the metrics.

That said, if you take the widest lens in considering such rankings, there can be a bit of value and it is a contrast to the very narrow band in which locals often look at their schools. This is all about the recently released U.S. News rankings of American high schools. More than 18,000 schools were ranked across the nation. In Illinois 700 high schools were evaluated on metrics of AP classes passed, graduation rates, etc Oak Park and River Forest High School placed 34th in Illinois out of those 700 schools. On the scoring rubric, it measured out at 95.57. For the nostalgists among us who clamor for the days when OPRF might have ranked higher, we’ll make this point again: This is a more complex and a more ambitious high school than it was in the last century. The school has a very diverse student body with a wider range of needs than ever and a much more conscious effort to address those many needs.

Far from perfect, always subject to critique, OPRF remains a core institution for these villages.

Saturday afternoon, I experienced a most unusual sensation out my windows: Silenc After a raucous couple of months on our tree-lined streets, our urban forest suppo ing a full-screech reproductive orgy, the cicadas are finally finishing their business and mercifully dying off. They’re not completely gone but the stillness was a soothing surprise and balm to the ears, almost as big a shock as another unusual sensation last Wednesday evening: Coolness to the point of chilly.

We have tipped into a new season: Late Summer/Early Fall.

There is no denying that climate change is upon us. The summers we knew, and that some of us cherished, are rapidly being replaced by 90-degree days, intense humidity, and wildfire smoke from elsewhere. You could feel it coming each summer, little by little, but this summer it arrived in force.

We are the go-betweens

w that Artificial Intelligence is taker, we are Late Homo Sapiens/Early Homo Algorithm — that is to say, Late Human/Early AI.

And here in the community news busiwe are officially a Late Newsroom/ emote publication.

e living on the cusp, Late Now/ y Next, the threshold of a Brave/ ot-So-Brave New World. And we have een chosen by destiny to serve as the go-betweens. The transitionals. The torch-

The Nextras

TRAINOR

The changing climate has reconfigured our seasons There are still four, but they have morphed into overlapping hybrids: Late Summer/Early Fall (AugustSeptember-October), Late Fall/Early Winter (November-December-January), Late Winter/Early Spring (February-March-April), and Late Spring/Early Summer (May-June-July).

Deep Winter, relatively snowless, has shrunk to January (or Late January/Early February) and High Summer has been reduced to July (or Late July/Early August). Summer this year became an inverted Winter, shutting us up in our homes as we took refuge in our air-conditioned shelters, producing a new kind of cabin fever.

It’s not just the weather. We seem to be perpetually in between. Late Baseball/Early Football. Late Childhood/ Early Adolescence (my grandsons and, in many ways, our entire culture). Late Young Adult/Early Middle Age (my son). We are a shifting population of Late Boomers/ Early Gen Alphabet Soup We are becoming a nation of “go-betweens.”

Now that we have wrecked the climate, we find ourselves between Holocene and Anthropocene (human-centered) epochs. Late Earth Dwellers/Early Planetary Colonizers

Now that the Visigoths and Vandals have sacked D.C., we are sandwiched between a once-civilized nation and a broken, fractured mess, yet to be determined. Late Democracy/Early Autocracy. Late Lincoln/Early Trump. Or in the evangelical language of MAGA, Late Christ/Early Anti-Christ. The Church of the Latter-Day Ain’ts.

A dubious distinction, Late Rock/Early Hard Place.

We may object to living in a world on the verge, but change is in motion. What’s coming is coming. Ready or not, here we go

But Next World is not quite here yet. So as betweeners, we live in two worlds. Our task is to complete the voyage from Now to Next.

What will we take from the old and bring to the new? Will it be the best of both worlds or the worst of both … or both?

There is an upside to being between, particularly with seasons — the excitement of change and the possibility of a refresh — ripeness, leading to decline, leading to renewal in the cycle of life

But we’ve reached a point of no return. There’s no going back. We have created a new, more hostile climate. The Earth is in transition. There is no status quo. Everything is past prime or heading toward some new primetime, where extremes are the new norm.

Takes getting used to. A lot of getting used to. And being well adjusted in a dysfunctional, dehumanizing era is not exactly a virtue

The virtue we need most is balance — as we walk the tightwire across the canyon connecting Late Past to Early Future.

Our mission, should we choose to accept it: Make the most of this and fashion the best of all possible worlds.

On the bright side, the cicadas are finally settling down. At least we can hear ourselves think. And we can sleep with open windows — out of which the only sound is the ethereal stardust melody of crickets. And the siren song of ambulances.

And as Brook Benton sang, the distant moaning of a train, playing a sad refrain to the night.

Protect workers, not billionaires

Congregations Networking for Social Justice are once again hosting a rally, this one on Labor Day, Sept. 1, from 11 to 1 p.m. at Scoville Park (Lake Street and Oak Park Avenue), in solidarity with May Day Strong unions and workers everywhere. We, the People say “Workers Not Billionaires!”

Please join us and other area residents in peaceful protest with a unified voice shouting, “Enough!” Sign up at https://ow.ly/7Fnp50WMfaN Cynthia Breunlin Oak Park

SHRUB

TO WN

by Marc Stopeck

Oak Park’s $2 million question

What a giveaway! Oak Parkers I’ve talked to are justifiably incensed over the village board’s impending $2,000,000 reward to the owners of the old Marshall Field building for deferring maintenance on the building since Borders left it 14 years ago.

Based on what Wednesday Jour nal reported, it appears that the owners of the building who have not kept it up to spec — or possibly village code — for so long are about to gouge Oak Park taxpayers for as much as $2 million in sales tax revenue that should go to the village over the next 20 years. If the owner needs to spend $4 million on renovations, it looks like it has likely been caused, at least in part, by the owner deferring maintenance for more than a decade. Folks are asking why should Oak Park taxpayers have to reward such ill behavior by paying for half of those expenses?

Of course there is no guarantee that Barnes & Noble will even remain at this location for 20 years. While the Oak Park Borders and River Forest’s Books a Million (in what is now the Town Centre) were allegedly among the chains’ highest grossing stores, they still folded

I can appreciate how village leaders may want to see the site occupied and at least some sales tax revenue and higher property taxes generated. While it’s not uncommon

to provide some sort of subsidy to private-sector businesses — after all, the American credo has long been “socialism for the wealthy, capitalism for the poor (and middle class)” — it’s more than a bit dubious to subsidize a landlord who has let a building deteriorate like this.

There are a lot of unknowns here that warrant candid answers:

Will the building owner refuse to rent to Bar nes & Noble if the village does not pay it off with forthcoming taxpayer funds?

Does the building owner find it more financially beneficial to keep the building vacant without getting the village to cover half its renovation costs?

Is the village being extorted — give us the taxpayers’ money or we won’t rent to Barnes & Noble?

The owners have let this magnificent building become an eyesore. Folks cannot help but wonder whether the owner is being rewarded for failing to maintain the building by taking from the village and its taxpayers as much as $2 million they rightfully deserve

Daniel Lauber

Oak Park senior planner 1977–1979 River Forest

WEDNESD AY

of Oak Park and River Forest

Viewpoints Guidelines

e goal of the Viewpoints section is to foster and facilitate a community conversation and respectful dialogue. Responsible community voices are vital to community journalism and we welcome them. Space is at a premium and readers’ attention is also limited, so we ask that Viewpoints submissions be brief. Our limit for letters to the editor is 350 words. For One View essays, the limit is 500 words. Shorter is better. If and when we have su cient space, we print longer submissions, but when space is limited — as it o en is — we may ask you to submit a shorter version or hold the piece until space allows us to print it.

We reser ve the right to edit submissions. We do not have time to allow the writer to review changes before publication. We also do not have time to do more than super cial fact-checking, and because of our national epidemic of misinformation and conspiracy theories, when writers include statistical evidence to support their opinions, we require them to include the source of that information, such as credible websites, print publications, titles of articles and dates published, etc. Be as speci c as possible so that we and our readers have some way of assessing the credibility of your claims. Links may also be included for the online version. We follow the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics: seek the truth and report it and minimize harm. As a result, we will do our best not to publish pieces that espouse doubtful or debunked theories, demonstrate harmful bias, or cross the line into incivility. While we will do our best not to engage in censorship, we also do not intend to be used as a platform for misinformation. Your sources for fact-checking are a critical step in keeping the discourse honest, decent and respectful.

All submissions must include your rst and last name and the municipality in which you live, plus a phone number (for veri cation only). We do not publish anonymous letters. One View essays should include a sentence at the end about who you are.

If we receive your submission by 5 p.m. on Sunday, you can expect your opinion to be included in that week’s paper (and online), space permitting.

Pieces can be submitted through our online form at oakpark.com or directly to Viewpoints editor Ken Trainor, ktrainor@wjinc.com. For the latter, we prefer attached Word les or plain tex t included in the email.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

■ 350-word limit

■ Must include rst and last names, municipality in which you live, phone number (for veri cation only)

‘ONE VIEW’ ESSAY

■ 500-word limit

■ One-sentence footnote about yourself and/or your connection to the topic

■ Signature details as at left

How many times do they need to hear ‘No’?

Here we go again. Architect John Schiess — this time representing the stillmysterious owners of Sachem Building LLC — is back in front of the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC). For the fourth time. Or is it the fifth?

The proposal: a towering apartment complex attached to the historic Boulevard Arcade Building at 1031-35 South Blvd. The lot is tiny — postage-stamp small — so the plan includes a parking garage with car elevators. As for fire trucks? They’d have to squeeze through the alley on Marion between South Boulevard and Pleasant Street.

The HPC has already rejected this project three times, with a total vote count of 26–0 against giving the developers a certificate of appropriateness (COA) — or the go-ahead to build 24 high-rent apartments attached to the back of a historic building. After the first denial, the HPC told the developers to revise their plans. Instead, they returned twice to the HPC with the same design, resulting in two

more denials

Now, rather than securing the required COA, the developers are pushing to sidestep the HPC altogether. They’ve called for a public hearing on Aug. 28 (7:30 p.m. at village hall), hoping to take their case directly to the village board — where, neighbors suspect, they have friendlier ears.

The whole process feels murky at best, manipulative at worst — frustrating both commissioners and neighbors who see it as a deliberate attempt to game the system. My hope is that the public hearing brings clarity and closure to this project.

The only thing historic about this proposal is how many times it’s been rejected.

The photo shows the alley on South Marion where Boulevard Arcade apartment dwellers will have to enter with their cars. You’ll notice it’s quite crowded. And how a fire engine will get to the building if needed is beyond reasoning.

Terri Lackey Oak Park

Isn’t it

rich? e new ‘1984’

Who’d have thought, in the 1960s when reading 1984, that we’d come to see it become real?

When fact is fiction and fiction is fact.

When vaccines are dangerous and raw milk is safe.

When good people are imprisoned and bad people set free.

When citizens are snatched up and sent to foreign prisons without warning or recourse.

When facts are hidden and lies are promulgated.

When the needy are shunned and the rich favored.

When powerful friends get every advantage, and the disadvantaged are screwed.

When governmental decisions are based on: “I’ ll only do something for you if you do something for me.”

When math and science are denigrated and only words that support the powerful are allowed.

When we see cor rupted power in high office and trustworthy people fired.

When the rules of office and the law are manipulated, and all loopholes used.

When we see the highest court allows the undermining of law.

When retirement is denied so people in a job that doesn’t want them won’t get benefits.

When a violent insur rection the Capitol building is called “a friendly tour.”

When perpetrators are called victims and victims are vilified.

When things we see with our own eyes and hear with our own ears are denied.

Next stop: The leader of what was the free world, shooting someone on Fifth Avenue and not being held accountable. It’s coming.

Well, just like the clowns, maybe it’s here.

Phyllis Rubin River Forest

D97 and its pencil fetish

As Edward Bulwer-Lytton once said, “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

If this is true (and also applies to pencils) the District 97 school district is the mightiest entity of all time.

Per the school supply list for Brooks, my child is supposed to bring in 8 packs of pencils for her WIN teacher, 3 packs of pencils for social science, and 3 packs of pencils for her science teacher. Please note, there is no specification for the number of pencils per pack. It just says “packs.” A Goo gle search indicates that pencils come in packs of 10 up to 200. The lack of specificity has left me with no choice but to use both these figures for my estimates.

This means to do school, per this list, my child will need to supply between 140 and 2,800 pencils. And that estimate is for my

child alone. If we consider the fact there are an average of 25 kids in each class, the school supply list indicates a social science, science, and WIN classroom needs between 2,000 and 40,000 pencils per class

The teachers teach multiple classes per day. We are talking about six digits worth of pencils for each science, social science, and WIN teacher. Hilariously, per this supply list, the math teacher requires no pencils. They must be focusing on mental math this year.

In conclusion, what the hell is going on around here? Has big pencil infiltrated our school systems? I hope someone at D97 can find a pencil to craft a response. Rachel Stark Oak Park

Not everything needs a reset button

Like any River Forest resident who is tuned in, I’ve heard all about ter m limits for months. I listened patiently to the pitch, cast my vote (a “no”) and have observed the noise this issue has created. Since I live on the south side, I also drive by those yard signs all the time and wonder if the residents who live there can see the forest from the trees or if their disappointment due to their own personal rejection at the ballot box has put them into a blind rage that ter m limits are the only answer.

The idea of term limiting our politicians and swapping them out has a certain pull. It feels like a “reset button” for local

gover nment. But is that what we need? We can look no further than the havoc that is playing out at the RFCC right now for it to be plain to see that the first and most important component to good governing is good, smart, committed people

When you look closer at the River Forest Community Center Authority and the Township, you see the chaos that has emerged on a number of fronts. Who’s going to manage the building? Who’s going to pay for the building? Why are we in this mess all of a sudden? What’s changed? That’s easy: Leadership. We went from experienced, communityminded guidance to whatever this is now.

Competence matters, and sometimes it wears a name tag that’s been around a while.

So while the term limits pitch may be rooted in a kind of populist nostalgia that claims to herald in a hope for change and renewal (and around here, a little bit of revenge, too), it’s ultimately a poor approach for a village that thrives on thoughtful, steady leadership. Not everything needs a reset button. Sometimes, what we need is simply to vote better, not to try to legislate out the good ones.

Bev Cox Ri ver Forest

Scams and stop si gns

I am alerting you to a scam. I have received the attached letters. Neither of the cars are mine. I’m sure they just probably photographed them parked by my house. I think people should be aware that this is not legitimate and not be intimidated by it

Also, as I traverse the intersection of Hawthorne and Thatcher multiple times traveling to and from work, plus running errands or other ventures, I’ve noticed that many times drivers are confused on who should stop or yield, etc. I’ve witnessed many close calls This should be made an all-way stop (a stop sign for each direction of travel). This would not only improve safety but also improve traffic flow.

Why we need Flock cameras

T he Flock license plate readers have aler ted Oak Pa rk police to numerous violent of fenders. One of them was a man who tried to mace a UPS delivery driver who was delivering an item needing a signature to my home in December 2024.

T he UPS driver successfully ran away from the man who then jumped into his car and sped away. The UPS driver yelled out the man’s license plate and then called it into 911. T he man was quickly stopped by the Oak Park police and had

a long rap sheet. Due to the incident being caught on a Ring camera, he was arrested

Cantata Adult Life Services (formerly known as the British Home) turned 100 this year, and we’re marking this milestone with a community-wide celebration you won’t want to miss! Join us on Saturday, September 13 for the Cantata Centennial Festival, a full day of live music, delicious food, family fun, and special moments honoring our century of service. Enjoy performances from talented local musicians, explore unique vendors, and sample offerings from popular food trucks. Kids will love the family-friendly entertainment, while adults can relax with beer, wine, and great company.

We’ll also announce winners of our 50/50 raffle—supporting Cantata’s mission while giving lucky participants a chance to win big. This once-in-a-century celebration is our way of saying thank you to the community that has been part of our story for 100 years.

A ordable housing and EV stations

Despite being up in Michigan with my grandsons while they were in day-camp, I took the opportunity to watch the video of the Oak Park Zoning Board of Appeals Aug. 6 public hearing on a petitioner ’s request for a special use permit to build an EV Charging Station on the longtime vacant lot at 6104 Roosevelt Road. The parking lot will include five charging stations with perimeter fencing and landscaping, including shrubbery — think Monty Python. Imagine my sur prise to learn that the plan is for a temporary EV Charging Station parking lot.

The petitioner noted his plan is to sell the lot to The Community Builders which has its own plans to build a mixed-use building with ground floor commercial use and the upper floors, having as many as 22 af fordable apar tments. The petitioner purchased the lot from the Cook County Land Bank in 2022 for $115,000, and his sale price to The Community Builders is $450,000.

He intimated that The Community Builders is supportive of his planned EV Charging Station because the infrastructure could then be adapted for use in the new mixed-use affordable housing development. This would seem to belie the fact that the entire lot would have to be excavated for the foundation and construction of the new building. The Community Builders would also incur additional demolition expenses for the initial costs of the new affordable

housing development. Of course the ZBA commissioners unanimously endorsed the plan, now to be forwarded for approval of the special-use permit by the village board.

Earlier this year the board approved the recommendation of the village’s Housing Program Advisory Commission to allocate $700,000 of the Af fordable Housing Trust Fund to The Community Builders for their mixed-use affordable housing development at 6104 Roosevelt Road. If the village board accepts the ZBA’s recommendation for the specialuse permit, then a large portion of that trust fund allocation would go to the purchase of a temporary EV Charging Station.

The village board should deny the ZBA recommendation in order to advance The Community Builders’ redevelopment plan and meet the goal to build more affordable housing in Oak Pa rk.

The village, the Land Bank, the Housing Programs Advisory Committee, Community Builders/Interfaith Housing, and WJ may want to focus on 7100 Roosevelt (former Ino’s) as another opportunity for redevelopment on Roosevelt Road, including af fordable housing. Af fordable housing there could truly be “transit oriented” with two bus lines within a block and the Blue Line Harlem stop less than a half-mile away

Chris Donovan Oak Park

Learn about electricity options

Many of you have been hearing about a huge spike in electricity costs and also about scam electricity options which have cost Illinois residents over one billion dollars.

Oak Park Climate Action Network (OPCAN) is hosting a presentation about options available to all residents who are paying for electricity. This is not a scam. No need to install solar panels. It is based on development of solar far ms across Illinois and reduces the total cost of electricity. If you have a ComEd account, this is

an option for you.

I signed up for this option, after being skeptical, when a friend with OPCAN did a presentation at Arbor West Neighbors (AWN) about her experience.

As some of you know, there will be a nationwide celebration on the fall equinox of Sun Day, a celebration of solar alternatives. Please join us on Sept. 21, 3-4 p.m., to lear n more about this option.

Terri Powell

Oak Park

Will they remember? Yes

Thanks for sharing your time with your grandsons this summer [The summer of 11 years old, Ken Trainor, Viewpoints, Aug. 20]. It was especially meaningful to me since that was the day our second granddaughter moved into her colle ge dorm. All those summer days with her and her sister, driving of f to dance classes, camp, sports practice, or a lazy day re-creating Walnut Grove in blocks, rolling up the rug, dressing up, slipping in a CD, and putting on a dance show for the cats are all past. And your same question, will they remember any of this? I think they will when someday they unpack their emotional backpacks and see the resources left by these experiences and those who’ve loved and believed in them.

Summer outings, close to heaven

Just a line to let you know how much I enjoyed your re port of the summer outings with your grandsons [The summer of 11 years old, Ken Trainor, Viewpoints, Aug. 20]. Your colorful description took me back to the years of taking my grandchildren, now all grown up, to all of those Chicago treasures, except

Elaine Johnson Oak Park

that there wasn’t indoor rock climbing back then. Special thanks for your poetic words about how it feels to be close to heaven on the shores of Lake Michigan, our greatest Chicago treasure. Onward to middle school!

Stephanie Ferrera Oak Park

e third-party solution

The mid-terms are less than 15 months away. What choice does our electorate have in terms of voting to keep the USS United States from further listing, and possibly capsizing? Well, based on my personal experience with engaging the general public in critical conversation, I’d say our ship is very seriously in trouble

My source of cynicism was on display as recent as today’s Oak Park Far mers Market. How so? Well, as a dues-paying member of the best-known third party — the Green Party — I was offering cards and brochures that evoke the Peace, Planet, People platform of the local and national Green agenda. Some took my offering without wanting to be engaged in discussion. Others were not willing to even take the literature. I expected as much. But a few were interested and wanted to know more. My initial pitch was that the Blue and Red parties produced this current national nightmare. That is, the duopoly is responsible.

I was competing for interaction with the marketgoers by several clipboard-carrying signature-seekers. Signatures for Illinois Democrats. They were g etting plenty

of signatories. I guess they believe the Democrat Party can right the ship. That is very doubtful.

Of course, our current wannabe King is no better. But that is exactly my point! Insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results We need more choices and more voices that can be seen and heard. The duopoly cares only about itself. Spare me any retort! Just look around. What opposition party? And please dispense with being chained to the “lesser of two evils.” It is quite literally an “evil of two lessers.”

The Greens are non-corporate. As should be any third party wanting not to be owned by its donors.

We can and must think outside the decades-enduring political box that has many trapped in its confined space. Millions of potential voters didn’t show up in 2024. Lazy? Or maybe wanting better than what was of fered.

We will, as always, get the gover nment we deserve. Demand better We deserve to get just that.

Joseph Harrington Oak Park

Just put up the stop signs

It is disappointing that residents’ request for a four-way stop at Pleasant and Grove was denied and that other traffic calming measures will be installed instead, as recommended by an outside consultant. As anyone who drives, bikes, or jogs on the village streets can attest, our seemingly random patchwork of two-way and four-way stops on residential streets can be confusing and can make the two-way stops dangerous. I have personally seen one accident and dozens of near misses at the two-way stop at my cor ner

Ken Trainor, Wednesday Journal

E-mail: ktrainor@wjinc.com

Please include name, address and daytime phone number for verification.

The village should not persist in maintaining a two-way stop when residents have taken the time and energy to request a four-way stop. Two-way stops prioritize automobile travel over pedestrians and cyclists, contrary to the village’s values. The next time residents request that stop signs be installed, please don’t pay for a traffic study the residents don’t need or create traffic-calming measures the residents don’t want. Just put up the stop signs.

Doug Snodgrass Oak Park

Restoring the people’s role in governance

Why do we elect leaders? Some say it is to represent the entire community. Others believe it is to represent their supporters, donors, or simply themselves. Too often, residents are left hoping for the best once the oath of office is taken.

That disconnect has become painfully clear in Oak Park. The recent approval of the village’s bike infrastructure plan has exposed how limited and diminished resident involvement has become. Our trustees made a major decision while sidelining meaningful community input. This was more than a policy mistake — it was a failure of governance.

When I’ve spoken with neighbors, opinions about the plan and our trustees vary widely. Some support the vision, others are deeply frustrated. But most agree on one thing: the public should have had a greater role in shaping such a consequential decision. A mistake this significant cannot be smoothed over with promises to “do better next time.” It requires correction.

That’s why many residents are petitioning to place the bike plan on the upcoming ballot. A referendum would restore the community to its rightful place as decisionmaker. Oak Park’s strength has always been its willingness to listen, debate, and move forward together. Diversity here is more than a demographic — it’s a civic value rooted in dialogue and shared responsibility. What began as quiet opposition has grown into Citizens for a Better Oak Park, a grassroots movement demanding real public engagement, smarter use of resources, and leadership accountable to all residents — not just a few.

Now is our moment. By signing the petition, you are not simply weighing in on a bike plan — you are affir ming the principle that residents deserve a direct voice in decisions that shape our village

Let the people decide

Sept 29, 2025

Special Program

Sept 29, 2025

MK Pritzker

Sept 29, 2025

Sept 29, 2025

MK Pritzker

Sept 29, 2025 MK Pritzker

MK Pritzker

MK Pritzker

Sept 29, 2025 MK Pritzker

A House that made history

A House that made history

A House that made history

The Illinois Governor’s Mansion, Legacy of an Architectural Treasure

A House that made history

A House that made history

The Illinois Governor’s Mansion, Legacy of an Architectural Treasure

The Illinois Governor’s Mansion, Legacy of an Architectural Treasure

A House that made history

The Illinois Governor’s Mansion, Legacy of an Architectural Treasure

The Illinois Governor’s Mansion, Legacy of an Architectural Treasure

The Illinois Governor’s Mansion, Legacy of an Architectural Treasure

The Illinois Governor’s Mansion, Legacy of an Architectural Treasure

Join us for a special presentation by the First Lady of Illinois, MK Pritzker, sharing the story of the people who populated the Illinois Governor’s mansion over the years and her efforts to restore it to its former glory.

Join us for a special presentation by the First Lady of Illinois, MK Pritzker, sharing the story of the people who populated the Illinois Governor’s mansion over the years and her efforts to restore it to its former glory.

Join us for a special presentation by the First Lady of Illinois, MK Pritzker, sharing the story of the people who populated the Illinois Governor’s mansion over the years and her efforts to restore it to its former glory.

Join us for a special presentation by the First Lady of Illinois, MK Pritzker, sharing the story of the people who populated the Illinois Governor’s mansion over the years and her efforts to restore it to its former glory.

Tickets on Sale August 28

Join us for a special presentation by the First Lady of Illinois, MK Pritzker, sharing the story of the people who populated the Illinois Governor’s mansion over the years and her efforts to restore it to its former glory.

Lunch & Program $60 Program Only $30*

Join us for a special presentation by the First Lady of Illinois, MK Pritzker, sharing the story of the people who populated the Illinois Governor’s mansion over the years and her efforts to restore it to its former glory.

Tickets on Sale August 28

Join us for a special presentation by the First Lady of Illinois, MK Pritzker, sharing the story of the people who populated the Illinois Governor’s mansion over the years and her efforts to restore it to its former glory.

Lunch begins at noon; program to follow at 1:15 pm. Advance reservations required.

Tickets on Sale August 28

Tickets on Sale August 28

Tickets on Sale August 28

Lunch & Program—$60 Program Only—$30*

* Fee waivers available for the program; email pritkzerquestions@nineteenthcentury.org or call 708 -386-2729

Lunch & Program $60 Program Only $30*

Lunch & Program $60 Program Only $30*

Tickets on Sale August 28

Tickets on Sale August 28

Lunch & Program $60 Program Only $30*

Lunch & Program $60 Program Only $30*

Lunch begins at noon; program to follow at 1:15 pm. Advance reservations required.

Lunch & Program $60 Program Only $30*

Lunch begins at noon; program to follow at 1:15 pm. Advance reservations required.

Lunch begins at noon; program to follow at 1:15 pm. Advance reservations required.

Lunch begins at noon; program to follow at 1:15 pm. Advance reservations required.

* Fee waivers available for the program; email pritkzerquestions@nineteenthcentury.org or call 708 -386-2729

* Fee waivers available for the program; email pritkzerquestions@nineteenthcentury.org or call 708 -386-2729

Lunch begins at noon; program to follow at 1:15 pm. Advance reservations required.

* Fee waivers available for the program; email pritkzerquestions@nineteenthcentury.org or call 708 -386-2729

* Fee waivers available for the program; email pritkzerquestions@nineteenthcentury.org or call 708 -386-2729

Lunch begins at noon; program to follow at 1:15 pm. Advance reservations required.

178 Forest Avenue, Oak Park, IL 60301

708-386-2729 www.nineteenthcentury.org

* Fee waivers available for the program; email pritkzerquestions@nineteenthcentury.org or call 708 -386-2729

* Fee waivers available for the program; email pritkzerquestions@nineteenthcentury.org or call 708 -386-2729

178 Forest Avenue, Oak Park, IL 60301

178 Forest Avenue, Oak Park, IL 60301

178 Forest Avenue, Oak Park, IL 60301 708-386-2729 www.nineteenthcentury.org

178 Forest Avenue, Oak Park, IL 60301 708-386-2729 www.nineteenthcentury.org

708-386-2729 www.nineteenthcentury.org

708-386-2729 www.nineteenthcentury.org

178 Forest Avenue, Oak Park, IL 60301 708-386-2729 www.nineteenthcentury.org

178 Forest Avenue, Oak Park, IL 60301 708-386-2729 www.nineteenthcentury.org

You can lear n a lot about a person by asking them to write in your voice. You can lear n even more about yourself by asking a robot to do so.

The robot and I sat down to talk over outstanding baked goods in a newish Forest Park coffee shop that I cannot identify for strict ethical reasons. (Ironic, because before the coffee shop opened I’d been in the building many times, but never once for an ethical reason.) We discussed the robot’s ability to create my voice while retaining its own. Here’s what we landed on:

Alan: You can write like me?

ChatGPT: Absolutely. Or at least the you that’s been stitched together from your previous work and a suspicious number of Midwester n metaphors.

Alan: My style isn’t just metaphors. It’s timing. It’s like minor league baseball — deliberate, a little dusty, and if you leave early you’ll miss the best thing that happens all night.

ChatGPT: Understood. Midwest Summer League pacing, with the occasional foul ball into the beer garden.

Alan: And I want local detail. Forest Park. The dog park crowd that talks about dogs the way some people talk about their kids, except they actually like their dogs. The Pride parade where you can find “home base” by

TOM WEITZEL

Flock works, with safeguards

from page 23

ing immigration violations or using camera systems for unlawful purposes in Illinois. You probably already know that Flock cameras are closed-circuit TV cameras installed initially in various locations across municipalities. Now they can also be mounted on squad cars. Communities that regularly use Flock camera systems include Berwyn, Burr Ridge, Cicero, and Hinsdale, among others. Recently, North Riverside added Flock cameras. These cameras have been installed in more than 1,400 cities nationwide. The system operates because the cameras, whether mounted on a post or squad cars, are activated every time the vehicle moves. Fixed cameras are constantly recording, capturing license plates and vehicle details. Flock cameras do not record

An interview with ChatGPT

listening for the bartender who’ already yelling at someone for standing in the service area.

ChatGPT: And the cinnamon roll raffle from the new coffee shop in the old Doc Ryan’s spot.

Alan: Yes. A dozen rolls that make people briefly forget they’re in line behind someone who just asked if they can get oat milk “but without the oats.”

ChatGPT: I can write that. But you want more than charm — you want teeth.

ALAN BROUILETTE

Alan: Exactly. I want the kind of line that makes the local Chamber of Commerce wonder if I’m talking about them.

ChatGPT: Like: “Forest Park’s new ‘community festival’ has all the warmth of a yard sale run by hedge fund interns.”

Alan: Now you’re getting it. And don’t be afraid to jab at the people who take civic pride so seriously they ruin it for everyone else

ChatGPT: You mean the ones who write furious Facebook posts about the new trash can design on Madison Street?

Alan: Yes. The ones who say, “This town is going downhill,” as if they didn’t personally contribute by double-parking in front of Louie’s Grill.

drivers’ physical information.

Instead, they connect to databases like the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS) in Illinois and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). Usually, Flock cameras flag stolen vehicles, vehicles wanted for felony crimes, or vehicles registered to individuals wanted for violent of fenses. The system uses a searchable vehicle fingerprint — an algorithm that gathers data like make, model, color, license plate, and vehicle status

It also records features such as colored or missing plates, roof racks, or bumper stickers. Importantly, it does not collect driver information or photos. This algorithm is handy for police searching for suspects in unsolved serious crimes when vehicle descriptions are vague. Many violent felony cases have been solved using this technology and Flock cameras

Of course, privacy concer ns are always present. The Supreme Court has stated that these camera systems are legal as long as they are directed in a public manner and record incidents occur ring in public spaces.

ChatGPT: Got it. A little vinar in the frosting.

Alan: More than a little. I t want this to sound like an am caption under a latte t heart.

ChatGPT: Then let’s sharpen thm. Less “Isn’t this nice?” and more “Why is this happening?”

Alan: Now you’re starting to sound like me.

ChatGPT: And you always end with a stubborn detail — so small it’s either a joke or a grudge

Alan: That’s not a trick. That’s just being from here.

ChatGPT: So for this one, the stubborn detail is the cinnamon roll raffle.

Alan: No. The stubborn detail is the people who cut the raffle line.

ChatGPT: Cheaters.

Alan: Worse than cheaters. The kind of people who “save a spot” at the Fourth of July fireworks by leaving a single lawn chair and a roll of caution tape out at 9 a.m.

ChatGPT: Which, to be clear, is not a felony but should be.

Alan: Exactly. And if you write like me, you’ll imply that without saying it outright.

ChatGPT: I can. But you know I’m going

This does not diminish the fact that many people dislike cameras for privacy reasons

My approach to advising the Oak Park elected officials on allowing the police department to keep and use Flock cameras would be as follows: the police chief should be asked to present the program openly to the elected officials at a public board meeting, detailing the policies to be implemented Solid policies and procedures must be established and approved by the local gover nment in Oak Park. The community and elected officials should be involved at every step of policy development. Once policies are developed, they should be shared with the officials and the community, discussed during roll call with officers, and adequately enforced.

Additionally, you should review your policies and procedures with legal counsel. It’s also advisable to create an outside law enforcement agency request form for your municipality. Develop a separate policy governing the release of videos to outside agencies, specifying the circumstances

to throw in at least one thing that’s plausibly false.

Alan: Fine.

ChatGPT: Like: “The Forest Park Public Library once booked a speed-metal band for quiet reading hour, and nobody left because the band was polite enough to tune between chapters.”

Alan: I’ll allow it. It’s the kind of thing that could happen here.

ChatGPT: You know, most people ask me to write like Hemingway or Shakespeare. You’re the only one who’s said, “Make it sound like the guy who knows which bar has the cleanest bathrooms during Pride.”

Alan: And that’s why it might actually work

ChatGPT: So — what do you think? Is this “you” enough?

Alan: Close. But you’re still missing one thing.

ChatGPT: What’s that?

Alan: You need to sound like you’ve got somewhere else to be, but you’re staying here because you want to see how the raffle tur ns out.

ChatGPT: That’s the ending.

Alan Brouilette, a resident of Forest Park, writes a monthly column for the Forest Park Review, a Growing Community Media publication.

under which videos can be shared. The agency should submit a for mal request for each video. Still, it’s essential to provide the videos to the requesting agency promptly, given the critical time constraints for solving or preventing violent crimes in other communities.

I firmly believe that having a clear policy and direction will gar ner community support. Conversely, any officer caught violating the rules or guidelines when using a Flock camera or any other system should be dismissed.

For sure, many arrests nationwide, including in Oak Park, would never have been possible without a Flock-type camera system. I urge the Oak Park Village Board, citizens of Oak Park, and Wednesday Jour nal to support the proper use of Flock cameras in Oak Park

Tom Weitzel grew up in Oak Park. He retired from the Riverside Police Department in May 2021, after 37 years in law enforcement, including 13 years as chief of police. Opinions are his own.

Jack Fisher, 85 50 years at Board of Trade

John Henry “Jack” Fisher, 85, longtime resident of River Forest and Oak Park, died in Oak Park on Ju 28, 2025, at the ag of 85 after livin with Alzheimer for 10 years. He was cared for in his last year by the compassionate staff at Belmont Village. Born to the late Hazel (Sprague) and the late John Henry Fisher on Jan. 13, 1940, he grew up in the Beverly neighborhood of Chicago. He married Carol, the love of his life, in 1961. Jack enjoyed attending his children’s and grandchildren’s sport, scout and music events. He picked up his grandsons from school every day and then spent every after noon with them. In the evening he walked his dogs and gave them a ride in the car. He took his children and grandchildren to White Sox games. On Saturday nights, he ushered at St. Luke Catholic Church in River Forest and then took Carol out for supper.

Joyce Taylor, 89 Teacher, music lover

e Carolyn (Totten) Taylor, 89, died on FriAug. 15, 2025. Born in Rochelle, Illinois, to the late James and Fern er) Totten, she dedicated her life to teaching, first as a high school math teacher and later as a preschool teacher. She was a devoted enue United Method. She served many roles with the United Methodist Women such as the Member Care Committee, faithfully sending cards for bir thdays and other occasions, bringing joy and connection.

her sense of humor and her ability to find a song for any moment in life.

Relatives and friends are invited to honor Joyce in a Celebration of Life Memorial Service at Euclid Avenue United Methodist Church, 405 S. Euclid Ave., Oak Park at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6, with a rece ption to follow. Burial will be private

In lieu of flowers, donations in Joyce’s memory may be made to: Kids Above All, 8765 W. Higgins Road, Suite 450, Chicago, IL 60631, Kidsaboveall.org or Salvation Ar my, 6835 Post Road, North Kingstown, RI 02852, https://give.salvationar myusa. org/campaign/676125/donate

Visit Fag an-Quinn Funeral Home online for online condolences, www.PatrickQuinnFuneralsandCremations.com.

Joen Kinnan, 97 Writer, editor, election judge

A reader and a crossword puzzler, he read two newspapers a day. He favored hardboiled detective stories, read “A Christmas Carol” annually, and also read history, religion, politics — anything, really.

To support his family, he worked at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) for 50 years. While there, he helped many find jobs as runners or clerks. During retirement he tutored children as part of the Working on Reading in the Morning (WORM) club at Irving Elementary School in Oak Park. He had many friends and was always available to listen and encourage. He was a mentor to many and an example for those he supported.

Jack is survived by his wife, Carol; his children, Lynne, John (Jinger) and Nell (Thom); and his grandsons, Will Agnew and Matt Agnew.

A visitation and funeral Mass were celebrated on Friday, Aug. 1 at Ascension Catholic Church, 808 S. East Ave., Oak Park, followed by burial at Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery in Hillside. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Salvation Ar my, https://www salvationar myusa.org.

Arrangements were handled by Peterson Bassi Chapels

A proud fan of the University of Illinois basketball team and her beloved Chicago “Cubbies,” she also loved music. She was often heard singing and carried a “song of the day” in her heart. Two songs became especially meaningful: “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” which marked her move to Rhode Island to live near her eldest daughter, Beth, and “Amazing Grace,” particularly the third verse, which reflected her deep faith.

In the summer of 2024, she hosted a family reunion at her assisted living residence, with a beautiful view of the Chicago skyline and her church — a perfect setting for a woman whose life was rooted in faith, music, and love

Joyce was the mother of four children: Elizabeth J. Dorich (husband, Nicholas Jr.), Gwen P. Feifarek (husband, Jonathan), Julie D. Mann (husband, Charles), and Timothy D. Taylor (wife, Amy); grandmother of nine: Scott Schmalzer (wife, Melinda), Jacqueline Stackhouse (husband, Daniel), Nicholas Dorich III (wife, Patricia Mann), Tara Kitchen (husband, Joseph), Christopher Dorich (wife, Natasha), Jonathan Dorich (wife, Victoria), Heather Dorich, Alexander Feifarek, and Ella Taylor; and great-grandmother of 13: Shane, Log an, Addison, Jackson, Bodhi, Bar rett, Skylar, Ryder, Emma, Ronin, Melody, Cody, and Wyatt. She also leaves behind several nieces, nephew, and friends. In addition to her husband and parents, Joyce was predeceased by her siblings, Murlin Totten and Wanda Miensma.

She will be remembered for her warmth,

Joen P. Kinnan died peacefully at home with her cat, Shadow, lying by her side on Aug. 14, 2025. Born in Ohio on May 21, 1932, she spent the last 65 years of her life in River Forest.

After graduating from Denison University with an English de gree, she had a brief career in Michigan as a teacher. When she and her then-husband move to River Forest, she worked as an editor for Who’s Who. Eventually she found her ideal career as a freelance writer and editor who specialized in medical writing. She was very active in the group Independent Writers of Chicago for many years. Always politically-minded, she serve for decades as an election judg e. She enjoyed cooking, reading, playing bridg and watching sports, especially baseball. When her son was young, she was the manager of his Little League team. She had a particular affinity for cats, but she loved all animals, evidenced by her longtime ve ganism. Her entomolo gist father instilled in her a respect for insects, so she tried never to harm them.

Joen is survived by her daughter, Glynis (Michael Conyers, who was Joen’s caregiver extraordinaire); her son, Jason (Holly Machina); her grandsons, Joey and Neil; and her cats, Shadow and Bibi.

A Buddhist service will be held at Kadampa Meditation Center, 13 Har rison St., Oak Park, from 2 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6, with a celebration of remembrances to follow at Trattoria 225, 225 Harrison St., Oak Park, from 3 to 5 p.m. Friends are invited to attend one or both events.

SPORTS

OPRF football readies for a turnaround

Huskies aim to reverse recent decline

By MELVIN TATE

Contributing Reporter

After enduring consecutive 1-8 seasons, the Oak Park and River Forest High School varsity football team is ready to turn things around

“It’s a really good group of kids who’ve been really grinding,” said OPRF head coach John Hoerster, entering his 15th season. “It’s always fun to see how the chemistry of a new group of kids comes together, see how the leadership emerges, see how kids step up.”

OPRF junior running back Liam Smith, one of eight returning starters, feels the commitment the team made to itself after last season is paying dividends.

“This offseason was all about getting the guys together in the weight room,” said Smith, who made last year’s West Suburban Silver All-Conference Team. “I think we did a better job this year, our attendance numbers were way up.”

OPRF’s other returning starters are junior defensive lineman Ben Lambe; senior defensive lineman Caleb Collins; senior receiver/ defensive back Chris Crape; senior receiver/ defensive back Logan Gathman; senior defensive back Isaiah Gibson; senior offensive lineman/linebacker John Matz; and senior two-way lineman Pierre Nelson. Some of the Huskies’ top newcomers are junior running back Norlan Davis; junior defensive back

Richie Truelove; and junior receiver/defensive back Niko Vielehr

For the last two years, the IHSA has allowed high school football programs to conduct scrimmages against other schools the week before the season-opening games. OPRF took part in its first scrimmage at Taft, Aug. 22, and Hoerster thought it was a valuable opportunity for his team to grow.

“We’ve never done this before,” he said. “We’ve scrimmaged teams before in the summer, but nothing like this. It was nice to see the guys compete and how they respond, go through the [game] routine and get the cobwebs out before they play their Week 1 game.”

There was no official score kept, but among the highlights for the Huskies was a 45-yard touchdown run by junior Andre Steward Jr OPRF used the scrimmage to provide an equal number of reps for three players in competition for the starting quarterback position: juniors Liam Brown and AJ Porter and senior Darren Law.

“We’re going to evaluate and see who’s going to put us in the best position for Week One,” Hoerster said. “We’ll continue to evaluate as the season goes. It’s not like, “Hey, this is our starter for the rest of the year.” We’re going to be competing all year, and hopefully they’ll rise to the challenge. They’re all great kids who work really hard and I enjoy working with them.”

Smith also thought the scrimmage at Taft served as good preseason preparation.

“Tonight was a good thing for us to build on,” he said. “We have a lot to work on, but I think overall we did pretty good.”

As usual, OPRF plays a challenging sched-

e OPRF High School defense (white) in action at Ta during a football scrimmage, Aug. 22.

ule, a byproduct of playing in the WSC Silver, one of the Chicago area’s toughest conferences. Four of the Huskies’ first five games are on the road, including the East Avenue Showdown with Fenwick at Triton College, Sept. 5, at 6 p.m.

As far as the WSC Silver goes, Hoerster sees Downers Grove North as the favorite.

“They’re experienced, and talented quarterback (Owen Lansu, University of Minnesota commit), who is surrounded by weapons, makes their offense really dangerous,” he said, “and their defense is always just made up of tough, high-motor dudes. That being said, the rest of the conference, up and down, will have a lot to say about that.”

Hoerster takes a holistic view of the season’s main objective. He wants his team to celebrate its accomplishments one day at a time while building on victories and learning from losses.

“Enjoy the ride and be grateful for the opportunity to play the greatest game on Earth,” Hoerster said.

OPRF

Schedule (Home games in CAPS)

8/29 at Rich Township, 7 9/5 at Fenwick (Triton College), 6 9/12 GLENBARD WEST, 7:30 9/19 at Proviso West, 7:30 9/26 at York, 7:30 10/3 DOWNERS GROVE NORTH, 7:30 10/10 LYONS TOWNSHIP, 7:30 (Homecoming)

10/17 ADDISON TRAIL, 7:30 10/24 at Hinsdale Central, 7:30

Smith added that while he would like to repeat his appearance on the All-Conference Team, he’s more focused on the team.

“We want to make the playoffs. And we want to beat Fenwick, that’s always a big game for us,” Smith said. “I’m ready to go.”

OPRF kicks off the season at Rich Township, Aug. 29, at 7 p.m.

Friars are red up for football

Fenwick is eager to show they ’re still strong

By MELVIN TATE

Contributing Reporter

In Matt Battaglia’s time as head coach of the Fenwick High School football team, he has established the Friars as one of the Chicago Catholic League/East Suburban Catholic Conference’s top programs.

Despite the losses of key players such as Nathaniel Marshall and Jack Paris to graduation, with 13 returnees from last year’s team that went 8-3 and lost at Downers Grove North in an IHSA Class 7A secondround playoff game on a field goal as time expired, Battaglia and his players feel Fenwick

should once again be highly competitive

“This group has a lot of shared experience; many of these players have been competing together for years and have already

Continued on pa ge 33

Continued from page 32

enjoyed gr his sixth season. “What their consistency: they show up put in the wo to improve.

Last season versity of Michig of Illinois) sign with major uni grams. This NCAA Division I punter Noah Sur (Northwestern Uni ty) and senior defensi (Miami of director Scott Thie Tommy Thies to answer those w down this fall.

“I feel we been very competiti really looking forward to playing this Friday.”

5, at 6 p.m. That’s followed by a home game, Joliet Catholic, and a road contest at Class 3A champion Montini Catholic.

It’s football time

OPRF, Fenwick two of state’s leaders in all-time wins

‘Football teaches life … it instills discipline, like the importance of being on time, attention to details, and working hard … but it also teaches you how to stand up when everybody else wants to stay down. Football teaches you to never, ever give up

“Football teaches life, it teaches perspective and responsibil ity through the opportunities we have as players … a platfo that should be used to impact this world for the better …”

Thies’ brother Jake, a junior defensive back, already has several Division I offers, as does junior defensive back Josh Morgan. Other defensive returnees include senior tackle Luke Leone, senior linebacker Michael Murphy, and senior defensive back Aiden Williams.

Fenwick returns six offensive starters: junior lineman Kam Rutlin; senior linemen Adam Calicdan and Logan Schultz; senior receivers Myles Montgomery and Raphiel Stewart; and senior quar terback Jamen Williams, who missed most of the second half of last year due to a leg injury.

“I’m feeling great,” Williams said. “I’ve been blessed to get back healthy as soon as I did, and I’m ready to finish what I started It was really eating at me, not playing. But I’m just excited for this season.”

Other returnees with experience are senior offensive linemen Vince Fagiolo and Connor Wahl; senior receivers CJ Garrett and Will Tomczak; senior defensive lineman Zeke Mbewe; senior linebackers Liam Cahill and Duffy Monahan, and senior defensive back Odin Ferjak. Top varsity newcomers are junior running back/defensive back Rocco Nero; junior offensive linemen Charlie Becker and Jack Woods; junior receiver/cor nerback Jimmy Watts; and junior tight end/defensive lineman Jimmy Bonakdar Fenwick usually plays a tough schedule, and this year is no exception. The Friars open up with a challenging four-game stretch beginning at DePaul Prep, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. The Rams won last season’s Class 4A title.

Fenwick then welcomes Oak Park and River Forest High School to Triton Col-

“It’s part of playing in (the CCL/ ESCC),” Thies said. “If you don’t come ready to play, you’ re going to lose by a lot; if you come ready, you’ re going to win by a lot. It’s a fun conference; there are no cupcakes.”

Battaglia and the players don’t mention specific goals for this season. Still, they know there are internal expectations that need to be met, and if that happens, things will take care of themselves.

“Our focus isn’t on predicting a title race, it’s on making sure Fenwick football gets better every single day,” Battaglia said, “because that’s how we give ourselves the best chance to reach our team goals.”

“Offensively, we’re trying to score and have a lot more big-play execution,” Williams said. “We lacked that last year and need to get better. I want to make sure I do whatever I can to help our team get in the best position to win games.”

Fenwick Schedule

(Home games in CAPS at Triton College)

8/29 at DePaul Prep, 7

9/5 OPRF, 6

9/12 JOLIET CATHOLIC, 7:30

9/19 at Montini, 7:30

9/26 at De La Salle, 7:30

10/3 ST. LAURENCE, 7:30

10/10 BENET ACADEMY, 7

10/17 at Mount Car mel, 7:30

10/24 at Car mel, 7:30

“What makes football the greatest game in the worl us to love one another. A colle locker consists of roughly 105 members: Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, rich, poor, and middle-class…we have players who affiliate with different political parties…

“I believe football teaches life to those who play it. However, it doesn’t have to stop there. Our country could learn from the game of football because diversity is also what makes the United States special. There should be unity rather than division and football taught me that it starts with looking past the differences of those people around you and loving them for who they are.”

Those quotes came from for mer Purdue University quarterback David Blough at the 2017 Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon. Blough eloquently summed up why football has become America’s pastime Yes, other sports can accomplish the same objectives, but no other sport brings out passion like football.

The National Football League is a billiondollar professional entity, and college football is becoming more like a business with the advent of Name, Image, and Likeness But there’s nothing like being at a high school game in the fall. On Friday nights across the country in both urban and rural areas, communities unite to root on their young men to victory. Whether you’re an alum or a general fan, the smell of burgers and hot dogs on the grill and popcorn, the 50-50/split-the-pot tickets that help athletic departments, cheerleaders, drill teams, marching bands, and pom squads, all provide an escape from the real world for 2½ to 3 hours. There’s absolutely nothing like

y Night Lights

Here in Oak Park and River we’re fortunate enough two high schools that been largely successful er the years. In fact, they both are among the top 50 winningest , and the top 100 in ter ms winning percentage, all-time in Illinois, according to IHSA ootball historians Kev Var ney and Tom Sikorski

Oak Park and River Forest High School ranks 14th with 683 s. The Huskies’ overall record of 683-431-38 creates a winning percentage of .609, 81st

enwick High School’s 583 victories are . The Friars’ overall record of 583-338-11 provides a winning percentage of 631, good for 61st all-time in the state Fenwick has enjoyed much more success than OPRF this decade. In the four non-COVID seasons between 2021 and 2024, the Friars were 31-16 with a Class 5A state championship in 2021 – the first state title in program history. Conversely, the Huskies are 10-26. No question, Fenwick has bragging rights over OPRF. I anticipate the Friars once again will have a successful regular season and be a state playoff threat. Fenwick is a well-oiled machine that reloads, not rebuilds. Matt Battaglia is a young coach who relates well to his players, and he puts his team in the best position to win more often than not. But I’m also liking what I see from OPRF this year. I was at the Huskies’ scrimmage at Taft Friday night and came away with a positive impression. OPRF has good, young talent on the rise that just needs experience, and I know John Hoerster is a really good coach. He cares about his players on and off the field (as does Battaglia) and when his offense clicks, it’s hard to stop. Finally, we’re fortunate to have two good facilities to watch home games in the area. Oak Park Stadium teems with energy when the Huskies play, and Triton Colle ge does a good job of hosting Fenwick football games. And the student sections – OPRF’s Dog Pound and Fenwick’s Friar Nation –are two of Chicagoland’s best: they always bring it

It’s going to be a fun football season. I’ ll see you at the games

PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICES PUBLIC NOTICES

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: M25000761 on August 6, 2025. Under the Assumed Business Name of LISAMKEEFE. COM with the business located at: 1173 HOME AVE., OAK PARK, IL 60304. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: LISA KEEFE SCOTT 1173 HOME AVE. OAK PARK, IL 60304, USA

Published in Wednesday Journal August 13, 20, 27, 2025

PUBLIC NOTICE

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to “An Act in relation to the use of an Assumed Business Name in the conduct or transaction of Business in the State,” as amended, that a certification was registered by the undersigned with the County Clerk of Cook County. Registration Number: M25000804 on August 18, 2025 Under the Assumed Business Name of NEWLOOK DESIGN STUDIO with the business located at: 907 RIDGE ROAD, WILMETTE, IL 60091. The true and real full name(s) and residence address of the owner(s)/partner(s) is: STEVE ECONOMOU 1141 SHERMAN AVE, EVANSTON, IL 60202-1335, USA

EQUAL HOUSING

OPPORTUNITY

All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on age, race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or intention to make any such preferences, limitations or discrimination.

The Illinois Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or advertising of real estate based on factors in addition to those protected under federal law. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis. Restrictions or prohibitions of pets do not apply to service animals.

To complain of discrimination, call HUD toll free at: 1-800-669-9777.

LEGAL NOTICE NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC

The Board of Education of Oak Park Elementary School District #97 will receive sealed letters of intent for in and/or out of school time program proposals at Brooks and Julian Middle Schools located in Oak Park, IL, 60302, until 3:00 p.m. on Friday, September 19, 2025. The letter of intent should include the name of the organization, intent to submit a response, the organization’s background information and areas of documented expertise in the out-of-school time space.

Copies of the scope of services may be requested by emailing Eboney Lofton (elofton@op97. org). The cut-off date for receiving the scope of services is 3:00 pm, Friday, September 12, 2025.

Responses mailed or delivered shall be marked to the attention of: Oak Park School District 97 Attn. Dr. Eboney Lofton 260 Madison Street Oak Park, Illinois 60302

The front of the envelope should be clearly marked “In and/or Out of School Time Programs for District 97 Middle Schools”. Additional information may be obtained by contacting Dr. Eboney Lofton at elofton@op97.org. Faxed or electronically submitted bids will not be accepted. Any faxed or electronically submitted proposals will disqualify vendors.

Responses Due Date: Friday, September 19, 2025 at 3:00 P.M. Only those responses complying with the provision and specification of the response will be considered. The Board of Education reserves the right to waive any informalities, qualifications, or irregularities and/ or reject any or all responses when in its opinion, such action will serve the best interest of the Board of Education of Oak Park Elementary School District 97.

Lonya Boose, Board of Education Secretary

Published in Wednesday Journal August 27, 2025

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING VILLAGE OF OAK PARK PLAN COMMISSION

DOCKET NUMBER: PC 04-

25 - Special Use Permit, Alley Vacation, and Plat of Subdivision

HEARING DATE: September 11, 2025

TIME: 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the Agenda permits.

LOCATION OF HEARING: Room 201 (Council Chambers), Oak Park Village Hall, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois, 60302

PETITIONER / APPLICANT: QuikTrip Corporation, 50 South Main Street Ste 200, Naperville, IL 60540

OWNER(S) OF RECORD:

SEC Harlem Acquisition, 714 Enterprise Dr. Ste 103, Oak Brook, IL 60523

SUBJECT PROPERTY

ADDRESSES: 1137-1155 Garfield Street and 915 S. Maple Avenue, Oak Park, IL 60304

REQUEST FOR ALLEY VACATION

REQUEST FOR SUBDIVISION TO CONSOLIDATE LOTS AND REALIGN BOUNDARIES

LEGAL DESCRIPTIONSUBDIVISION LOTS 1 THRU 12, AND THE VACATED ALLEY, INCLUSIVE, IN BLOCK 2 OF ROBSON WEDDELL’S ADDITION TO OAK PARK, BEING A SUBDIVISION OF THE WEST 694 FEET OF THE WEST ONE-HALF OF THE SOUTHWEST ONE-QUARTER OF SECTION 18, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 13, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS, EXCEPT SAID PARCEL TAKE FOR ROAD DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: THAT PART OF LOT 3 IN BLOCK 2 OF ROBSON WEDDELL’S ADDITION TO OAK PARK, BEING A SUBDIVISION OF THE WEST 694 FEET OF THE WEST ONE HALF OF THE SOUTHWEST ONE QUARTER OF SECTION 18, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 13 EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, SAID PARCEL DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: BEGINNING AT THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF SAID LOT 3; THENCE NORTH 89 DEGREES 26 MINUTES 11 SECONDS EAST (ASSUMED) 15.00 FEET ALONG THE NORTHERLY LINE THEREOF; THENCE SOUTH 32 DEGREES 22 MINUTES 38 SECONDS WEST 27.41 FEET TO THE WESTERLY LINE OF SAID LOT, SAID LINE BEING ALSO THE EASTERLY RIGHT OF WAY LINE OF HARLEM AVENUE (ILLINOIS ROUTE 43); THENCE NORTH 00 DEGREES 48 MINUTES 23 SECONDS WEST 23.00 FEET ALONG SAID WESTERLY LINE TO SAID POINT OF BEGINNING, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

A SUBDIVISION OF THE WEST 694 FEET OF THE WEST ONEHALF OF THE SOUTHWEST ONE-QUARTER OF SECTION 18, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 13, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

REQUEST: The Petitioner seeks Village approval of a plat of subdivision to consolidate and subdivide Lots 1 through 12 of the Subject Property, and the vacated alley into two lots of record associated with the proposed development.

SPECIAL USE FOR GAS STATION

Published in Forest Park Review August 20, 27, September 3, 2025 Published in Wednesday Journal, August 27, 2025

GROWING COMMUNITY MEDIA

LEGAL DESCRIPTION – 16-FOOTWIDE ALLEY TO BE VACATED BEING A PART OF BLOCK 2 IN ROBSON WEDDELL’S ADDITION TO OAK PARK, BEING A SUBDIVISION OF THE WEST 694 FEET OF THE WEST HALF OF THE SOUTHWEST QUARTER OF SECTION 18, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 13 EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS AS RECORDED ON FEBRUARY 15, 1887 AS DOCUMENT NUMBER 798586, BEING MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: BEGINNING AT THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF LOT 1 IN SAID BLOCK 2, THENCE SOUTH ALONG THE WEST RIGHT OF WAY LINE OF MAPLE STREET TO THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF LOT 4 IN SAID BLOCK 2; THENCE WEST ALONG THE NORTH LINE OF SAID LOT 4 TO THE NORTHWEST CORNER THEREOF; THENCE NORTH ALONG THE EAST RIGHT OF WAY LINE OF HARLEM AVENUE TO THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF LOT 3 IN SAID BLOCK 2, THENCE EAST ALONG THE SOUTH LINE OF LOTS 1, 2, AND 3 TO THE POINT OF BEGINNING, CONTAINING 2,720 SQUARE FEET, OR .062 ACRE MORE OR LESS.

REQUEST: The Petitioner requests the Village vacate a 16-foot-wide Village alley bisecting the Subject Property. The vacated alley would become part of the newly created Lot 1 per the subdivision application.

LEGAL DESCRIPTION - LOT 1

LOTS 1, 2, AND 4 THRU 8, INCLUSIVE, PART OF LOT 3, PART OF LOT 9, AND THE VACATED ALLEY IN BLOCK 2 OF ROBSON WEDDELL’S ADDITION TO OAK PARK, BEING

A SUBDIVISION OF THE WEST 694 FEET OF THE WEST ONEHALF OF THE SOUTHWEST ONE-QUARTER OF SECTION 18, TOWNSHIP 39 NORTH, RANGE 13, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS,

LEGAL DESCRIPTION - LOT 2

LOTS 10 THRU 12, INCLUSIVE, AND PART OF LOT 9 IN BLOCK 2 OF ROBSON WEDDELL’S ADDITION TO OAK PARK, BEING

REQUEST: The Petitioner seeks Village approval of a special use permit to allow the construction and operation of a gas station pursuant to Section 8.3 (“Table 8-1: Use Matrix”) of the Oak Park Zoning Ordinance on a portion of the Subject Property located at 1141 Garfield Street, Oak Park, Illinois, Property Index Number 16-18-300-003-0000, in the GC General Commercial Zoning District. The Plan Commission may also consider any related and additional relief that may be discovered during the review of this docket.

The proposed development is located at the southeast corner of Harlem Avenue and Garfield Street. The proposal includes construction of a 6,609 square foot building with eight fueling dispensers (16 fueling stations). The site plan depicts 48 parking spaces (including two handicapped parking stalls) located along the north, east, and south sides of the site.

Copies of the applications and each of the applicable documents are on file and are available for inspection at the Village Hall, Development Customer Services Department, 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Persons with disabilities planning to attend and needing special accommodations should contact the Village Clerk’s Office at 123 Madison Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60302, or call (708) 358-5670.

ALL PERSONS INTERESTED IN THESE PROCEEDINGS ARE INVITED TO BE HEARD.

Michael Sturino, Chairperson OAK PARK PLAN COMMISSION, Sitting as a Zoning Commission Oak Park, Illinois 60302

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