Oak- Park- Journal

River Forest making final payment 
on property for new Town Center

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that River Forest village government is making its final payment on a
key piece of land in the Lake Street corridor to make way for River
Forest Town Center phase two near Lake Street and Bonnie Brae?
After a judge's ruling, village hall finally agreed to pay $945,000 for
the former O'Connor Cleaners property at 7320 W. Central Ave. Initially,
village government seized control of the property for $650,000 and then
a judge determined the final price after legal proceedings that
concluded after the cleaners building was demolished. So after approval
by the village board Monday night, village government is cutting a check
to pay the final $295,000.
As with everything regarding Seymour Taxman's developments in River
Forest, village hall's Tax Increment Financing (TIF) fund foots the
bills, not general tax revenues.

-- that the 30-day time period opened Wednesday to see if there will be
a referendum on Forest Park Elementary School District 91's plans to
issue $6 million in bonds?
Under the plan by school district officials, District 91 would issue
$6,060,000 in funding bonds to pay for certain obligations. Without the
bonds, property taxes in Forest Park would go down, but if signatures
from 10 percent of the registered voters are gathered in the next month,
the bonds won't be issued until voters say so in a referendum on Nov. 7.

-- that a recent survey at Fenwick High School in Oak Park showed that
76 percent of students participated in sports in the past school year?

-- that there's some good news in this week's annual ranking of banks by
Crain's Chicago Business paper?
Listing Chicago-area banks by percentage return on assets, Crain's, as
is typical, placed, First Bank of Oak Park, 11 Madison St., in second
place. The additional good news comes from the improvements in two
relatively new banks with Oak Park ties: Community Bank of Oak Park
River Forest, 1001 Lake St. in Oak Park, and PrivateBank and Trust
Company, which was founded in Chicago by a group of mainly Oak Park and
River Forest residents.
But improving the most among local banks was Austin Bank of Chicago,
which saw improvement of more than 6 percent from 1998 to 1999.

-- that River Forest Village Administrator Charles Biondo chairs the
Intergovernmental Committee of the West Central Municipal Conference and
that River Forest Public Works Director Gregory Kramer chairs the Public
Works Committee for the same organization?
WCMC is an intergovernmental cooperative that includes municipalities in
Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park and other near-west Chicago suburbs?

-- that the Park District of Oak Park is planning have some new
playground equipment installed near the recreation centers at Carroll,
Kenilworth Avenue and Fillmore Street; Field, Woodbine Avenue and
Division Street; and Stevenson, Taylor Avenue and Lake Street?

-- that the Oak Park village board has approved a $12,240 grant for the
owners of the new shoe store coming to Downtown Oak Park?
The store, called The Men's Store, will be owned by Oak Park resident
Frank Kelly at 134 N. Marion St.

-- that Mary Daly Lewis of Oak Park on July 1 will become Provost at
Benedictine University in suburban Lisle?
Lewis, who formerly was school board president of Oak Park Elementary
School District 97, has been  vice president of academic affairs at
Benedictine since 1988, and she will maintain that post while adding
Provost duties.

-- that West Suburban Health Care in Oak Park and the West Side Health
Authority in the Austin community of Chicago have started a community
and technology program called Every Block a Village?
The Austin Communication Project, as it's known, is designed to assist
organizations in Austin through the communication technology and "the
sharing of technical expertise."
The web site EBVOnline is sponsored by AT&T.

-- that Park Avenue Coin Laundry has opened at 910 S. Oak Park Ave.?

-- that the web site of U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis, whose district
includes River Forest, the area of Oak Park north of the Eisenhower
Expressway and other suburban and city areas, has links to municipal
governments in Oak Park and Chicago but none to River Forest's?

-- that one year ago this week, 40 Oak Parkers traveled to Philadelphia
for the All America City award ceremony?
Oak Park was one of 30 semifinalists, but didn't make the final cut of
10 communities that got awards from the National League of Cities. The
village didn't enter this year.

-- that the JETS team from Fenwick High School in Oak Park this year
placed second in the nation in the academic contest.?

-- that a Fun Fest in Oak Park, Mich. is on this week, beginning last
Sunday with a Taste of Oak Park and including a fireworks show at 10
p.m. on Friday, June 29?
Oak Park, Ill. holds its public fireworks on July 4, and the annual
Taste of Oak Park will be held by the American Women of Oak Park and
River Forest on Aug. 20. But Oak Park, Ill. has no parade, which the
Michigan town will have on the Fourth of July at 11 a.m.

-- that River Forest Police Officer John Galassi has taken over as the
foot patrol officer in the Lake Street corridor in the village?
Galassi was named to the post to replace Roger Zawacki, who was promoted
to sergeant. Zawacki had replaced Gary Linden, who also was promoted to
sergeant.

Downtown Oak Park health club
sets closing date of June 30

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that Powerhouse Gym/Club West has set June 30 as its last day of
business at 1132 Lake St. in Downtown Oak Park?
Owners Rosemary and Jerry Juravic are selling the building where the
business operates, reportedly to a developer interested in bringing
retail business to the site. Members in the club, which has been in the
Lake Street space for seven years, will receive refunds prorated as of
the closing date next Friday. Previously, Club West was at a space on
South Boulevard near Marion Street, also in Oak Park.

-- that the Afro-Info Search Directory that offers listings of
"Afrocentric websites and links on the web is based in Oak Park?
At www.afroinfo.com, users can link on to African American and other
black organizations in business and finance, education, entertainment,
health and nutrition, history and culture, newspapers and magazines,
political organizations, radio and television, religion, sports and
other categories.

-- that Studio Pardes Art for the Soul, which is to offer art classes
and exhibits, is set to open soon at 350 Harrison St. in Oak Park.

-- that the report from the intergovernmental committee studying racial
integration and other aspects of diversity in Oak Park has been delayed
until November?
Officials originally had said that the task force would have results
ready to present at the regional Oak Park Exchange Congress to be held
in September.

-- that the Friends of ACT-SO 2000 will hold their final fund-raiser
this Saturday, June 24?
Hosted by the NAACP Oak Park branch, the gala at 100 Forest Place in Oak
Park will raise money to send the Oak Park and River Forest High School
students who won in the local ACT-SO academic, artistic and science
contest to the national ACT-SO competition at the NAACP national
convention in Baltimore.

-- that Oak Park village government is now offering automatic payment of
bills to its utility customers?
In an announcement, village hall said many residents have been asking
for the system, in which water bills and some other bills can be paid
automatically with amounts taken out of accounts without residents
having to write checks. Village hall also said that the system wasn't
done earlier because a computer conversion was needed.

-- that the Austin Farmers' Market will start another season on Saturday
in the Chicago community to the east of Oak Park?
The market had been held at Byford School, Central Avenue and Iowa
Street, but with a new school under construction at Byford, the market
has been moved to the playground of Emmet School at Madison Street and
Central Avenue. The market will start on June 24 and then will be held
every Saturday morning until Oct. 21.

-- that a video of this year's River Forest Memorial Day parade was
shown four times on the AT&T Cable Services local access channel?

-- that as the crow flies, Oak Park is 177 miles from the state capitol
in Springfield?

-- that there's an Oak Park Motel in Lincoln, Neb.?

-- that the latest tentative budget for Oak Park Elementary School
District 97 is now available for public inspection and that a public
hearing on the budget has been scheduled for July 19?
The hearing will take place at 7:30 p.m. that Wednesday at the district
headquarters, 970 Madison St., where residents can examine the budget
for the 2000-2001 fiscal year that starts July 1 and ends June 30 next
year.

-- that Patricia Ireland, the president of the National Organization for
Women, was born in Oak Park on Oct. 19, 1945?

-- that Karen Yarbrough, the Democratic candidate for election as state
representative from the 7th Illinois House District that includes part
of Oak Park, Forest Park and other near-west suburbs, has promised to
learn to speak Spanish in deference to the Latino residents of her
district?
No Republicans ran in the 7th District primary in March and a deadline
passed for the party to name a candidate for November's election, so it
is all but assured that Yarbrough will run unopposed in the fall.

-- that, in my opinion, the parking spaces in the two Taxman retail
developments at Lake Street and Harlem Avenue in Oak Park and River
Forest are too small?
Especially when River Forest Town Center was conceived, developer
Seymour Taxman and village government officials saw a market for more
compact cars and used smaller parking space dimensions to gain more
parking spaces in the development. Oak Park officials pretty much
followed suit when the Shops of Downtown Oak Park later was developed
later across Harlem.
Since then, however, the sports utility vehicle craze has come on the
scene and the vehicles often are tight fits into the spaces of the
developments.

Forest Park caters to River Forest 
swimmers again

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that again this year, River Forest residents can get reduced-price
nights at the Forest Park Aquatic Center?
As has happened for the past two summers, River Foresters can get in to
the Aquatic Center for $1 on Thursday nights between 8:15 and 10:15 p.m.
A reduced season pass also is available through the River Forest Park
District at 366-6660.

-- that Forest Park National Bank has joined the Oak Park Development
Corporation?
The bank at 7348 W. Madison St. in Forest Park becomes the 11th bank in
OPDC, which is a private, not-for-profit corporation that is funded
through its members and Oak Park public funding and which exists to
promote and improve economic development in Oak Park.
The other banks who pay dues to belong to OPDC are: Bank One's Oak Park
branch at 1048 Lake St. in Oak Park; Charter One at St. Paul Federal,
6700 W. .North Ave. in Chicago, across from Oak Park; Community Bank of
Oak Park River Forest, 1001 Lake St.; Corus bank's branch at 7727 W.
Lake St. in River Forest; the Firstar Bank branch at 104 N. Oak Park
Ave.; First Bank of Oak Park, 11 Madison St. in Oak Park; LaSalle Bank,
which has branches at 6720 W. Roosevelt Road in Oak Park and 7601 W.
North Ave. in River Forest; Midwest Bank and Trust at 1606 N. Harlem
Ave., near North Avenue across from River Forest and Oak Park in Elmwood
Park; the Old Kent branch at 840 S. Oak Park Ave.; and the TCF branch at
7208 W. Chicago Ave. in River Forest.

-- that Oak Park and River Forest High School recently won a $259,890
grant to focus on improving African American achievement and "school
climate"?
The Goals 2000 Grant came from the Illinois State Board of Education
largely through the efforts of OPRF staff members Mary Bennett, Rich
Deptuch and Don Vogel. State Superintendent Glenn W. "Max" McGee said
the program at OPRF, 201 N. Elmwood Ave. in Oak Park will have "a
positive impact on student learning in the 21st Century."

-- that all the altar servers graduated this month from Ascension School
in Oak Park?
The 23 young men and women next year will attend high school next school
year at either OPRF in Oak Park, Fenwick in Oak Park, Trinity in River
Forest, Morton West in Berwyn, Notre Dame in Chicago, St. Patrick in
Chicago or Immaculate Heart of Mary in Westchester.

-- that Edward P. De Lorenzo of St. Edmund Church was ordained a deacon
in 1975 and celebrated his silver jubilee on June 10 this year?

-- that work on the restoration-renovation at St. Edmund School is
scheduled to continue at a fast pace to be ready when classes resume in
the fall?

-- that FitzGerald's, the landmark nightclub on Roosevelt Road in Berwyn
across from Oak Park, will be closed on Father's Day?

-- that in the school year just completed, students at Oak Park and
River Forest High School went on three out-of-the-area field trips with
teachers?
>From Oct. 1 to 4, seven students went with Mark Woods to southern
Wisconsin and northwest Illinois.
>From Nov. 11 to 14, 21 Geology students went with Woods to southeast
Missouri.
>From March 24 to April 12, 16 students went with Marlene Spicuzza and
Andrew Grieve to Italy. That was the 10th cultural exchange between OPRF
and ITC "Alessandro Viola" High School in Florence.

 -- that John Paxson, currently a radio color man for Chicago Bulls'
basketball game broadcasts and a former player with the team, has taken
over for Doug Collins, the current NBC color man on NBA television
broadcasts and a former Bulls coach, to run the youth basketball camp at
Concordia University this summer?

-- that Manfred B. Boos has been named the new Provost at Concordia
University?
Boos, who has been chairman of the Math Department at the university,
7400 W. Augusta St. in River Forest, succeeds Norman Young, who retired
from the position and who on July 1 will become provost emeritus.

-- that one of the newest members of the Board of Trustees at Dominican
University in River Forest is Michael E. Kelly?
Kelly, a River Forest resident, is chairman of the board of Oak
Park-based FBOP Corporation, which owns First Bank of Oak Park, 11
Madison St., and seven other banks and one thrift in Illinois,
California and Texas.

-- that another area school-related board local board is the Triton
College Foundation, which raises money for education programs at the
community college that serves Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park and
other near-west Chicago suburbs?
Among the noted names on the foundation board are college president
George Jordnt; David King, the Oak Park commercial real estate broker
who lives in Forest Park and whose mother used to work at Triton; Eugene
Moore, now the Cook County Recorder of Deeds and the former state
representative from the 7th House District that includes parts of Oak
Park and Forest Park; Mark R. Stephens, the current elected chairman of
the Triton College board; and Donald Stephens, Mark Stephens' father and
the all-powerful mayor of northwest suburban Rosemont.

-- that those in Oak Park Temple B'nai Abraham Zion takes sandwiches,
other food and clothes each month to the Outreach Mission on Chicago's
West Side?
On the first Sunday of each month, congregation members take the
supplies to the mission, a shelter for women near Madison Street and
Western Avenue.

-- that River Forest Elementary School District 90 is undertaking
construction to provide every classroom in the district's three school
buildings with access to the internet?

-- that the public schools in Maywood and Melrose Park last week turned
down a charter school?
The New Horizon Math and Science Charter School made the proposal for a
new charter school and had earlier inquired about opening such a school
in Oak Park.

-- that this passage off a particular community's web site sounds
familiar?
"You may have visited Oak Park before, or you may be planning a
first-time visit. Whatever your interest, we have a lot to offer in Oak
Park. Excellent, award-winning schools; highly involved citizens;
bright, friendly businesses; diverse, spirited churches; and more.
"Make Oak Park your choice for a visit or a permanent lifestyle choice."

That's from Oak Park, California.

June 12, 2000

Some Maywood residents study Oak Park 
in effort to get rid of partisan politics

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that a group of residents in Maywood have been studying the Village
Manager Association political group in Oak Park and considering fielding
slates for village government offices just like the VMA does in Oak
Park?
The recent move was organized by Maywood resident Karen Yarbrough, the
Democratic candidate for November election as state representative from
the 7th Illinois House District, which includes parts of Chicago's
Austin community next to Oak Park, parts of the suburbs of Forest Park
and Oak Park and areas in other near-west suburbs. Yarbrough and others
involved in the Maywood move were interested in how the VMA beginning in
the 1950s and since has able to keep partisan politics out of Oak Park
village government. That's something Maywood could use.
At a recent meeting in Maywood, several VMA leaders shared their
experiences with the Maywood residents. Yarbrough asked the VMA members,
on behalf of the Maywood group, "to mentor them in their efforts."

-- that the Committee to Elect Karen Yarbrough on Wednesday, June 28
will hold a fund-raiser at Mar-Lac Banquets, 104 S. Marion St. in Oak
Park?

-- that the ComEd transformer that blew in Oak Park last Thursday and
caused power outages in parts of Oak Park and River Forest is located
near the Oak Park main fire station near Euclid Avenue and North
Boulevard ?

-- that another local acronym organization, H.O.U.S.E., meets once a
month at the Forest Park Public Library, 7555 W. Jackson Blvd.?
The local branch of Home Oriented Unique Schooling Experience is part of
a statewide organization that supports families that are home schooling.
The group meets on the second Friday of every month from 11 a.m. to 1
p.m. at the library at Jackson Boulevard and Desplaines Avenue. HOUSE
serves homeschoolers from Oak Park, Forest Park, River Forest, Berwyn,
Cicero, Elmwood Park, Maywood and the West Side of Chicago.

-- that there is a documentary about Frank Lloyd Wright playing on
Wednesday, June 14, at Conrad Sulzer Regional Library in Chicago?
The 1984 film about the former Oak Parker and world-famous architect
starts at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the library, 4435 N. Lincoln.

-- that the Growing Place Consumer Empowerment Center, which is based in
the Alliance for the Mentally Ill Drop-In Center at 815 S. Oak Park Ave.
in Oak Park, manned two tables at the June 10 flea market held at the
Berwyn Park District?

-- that one of the most clever performances during "A Day In Our
Village" on Sunday was from Cresta Verde, whose rock 'n' roll string
quartet performed at 11:25 a.m. on the main stage in Scoville Park?
On Sunday, the quartet did classics like "Smoke On The Water" with a
viola, violin and cello. Cresta Verde from Oak Park also does strolling
music with classics like "Our Love is Here To Stay," popular music like
"Satin Doll" and classical.

-- that the Association of Young Artists and Musicians shared space with
the Oak Park Area Arts Council at "A Day In Our Village"?

-- that Community Bank of Oak Park River Forest, 1011 Lake St.,
sponsored the performance by Stuck in the Fifties on Lake Street during
"A Day In Our Village"?
The group specializing in 1950s oldies music recently performed at the
May Madness street festival and at a awards dinner dance held by the Oak
Park Education Foundation.

-- that officials with the U.S. Postal Service maintain that the main
Oak Park post office at 901 Lake St. is sturdy enough to last almost 200
more years?
The art deco structure was completed in 1936.

-- that the Oak Park Police Department's General Order against racial
profiling has a specific and detailed purpose?
Here is the direct quote from the order, which was drafted by Police
Commander Keenan Williams, also an attorney:
"The criminal justice process is dependent upon the cooperation, respect
and conformity of the public at large. All law enforcement personnel
play an integral role in maintaining that fabric of society that holds
our country together: the law. When an officer engages in conduct that
is perceived by the public as detrimental to their fundamental rights,
the erosion of our basic social contract begins. All officers must
adhere to standards of professional conduct that furthers and promotes
the integrity, honesty and fairness of the law enforcement profession."

-- that Oak Park is 12.186 square kilometers?

-- that Forest Park has a web home page through Community Profile
Network at http://www.villageprofile.com/tour/illinois/index.htmlgovern?

-- that it's easier to access River Forest and Oak Park through
www.oprf.com and click on the "Government" line?

-- that Stanley Buford, co-president of APPLE, the education group
African Americans for Purposeful Leadership in Education, is an
education and business consultant who owns Terkat Consultants Inc.,
which offers workshops to teachers, school administrators, students and
parents?

June 8, 2000

Efforts starting for `mini-police academy' 
at OPRF High School

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that the Oak Park Police Department is working with Oak Park and
River Forest High School officials to start a mini-police academy at the
high school?
As part of the community policing strategy, the Oak Park department each
year offers village residents a chance to work with police to learn
about and train in police work and safety programs and to interact with
officers. Police Sgt. Jacques Conway, the Oak Park resource police
officer at OPRF High, said police want to work toward the same general
results with students at the high school, 201 N. Scoville Ave. in Oak
Park.

-- that, speaking of police at OPRF, Oak Park police resource officer
Conway is instructed to mainly be a resource to students and to not make
arrests, "unless forced to," according to Oak Park Police Chief Joseph
Mendrick.

-- that 917 S. Oak Park Ave., the site of the former south branch of the
Oak Park Post Office, is currently on the market for sale?
The 4,300-square-foot building on a 10,300-square-foot site is available
from the Chicago real estate firm Benj. E. Sherman & Sons. People
interested can call Oak Parker Kelly Frank of Sherman at 312-795-6371.

-- that the graduation for eighth-graders from Emerson and Percy Julian
Junior Highs in Oak Park was held last night, June 7, at Oak Park and
River Forest HIgh School?

-- that it is illegal for two people to ride at the same time on the
same bicycle in Oak Park?

-- that Mambo Unites began its six-week presentation of Afro-Cuban
performers in the Chicago area last week with Angel Luis Bandell & Nueva
Charanga at the Carleton Hotel in Oak Park?

-- that Jason Girard, an Oak Park resident has started a web site
"dedicated to the research and exploration of South cuisine"?
Also known as Bubba, Girard currently is executive chef of Buddy Guy's
Legends in Chicago. Among his other qualifications, Girard earned a
culinary degree from Triton College, the River Grove community college
serving Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park and other near-west Chicago
suburbs.

-- that coming soon to the Herbally Yours business that sells its wares
each week at the Oak Park Farmers' Market will be Santa Fe Rub, Dilly
Fish Rub, the Bam! Cajun Essence Herb blend, garlic balsamic vinegar,
horseradish stone ground mustard, herbal soaps and Tex Mex salsa
booster?

-- that Borders Books & Music in Oak Park will be among the collection
points for used musical instruments as part of VH1's Save the Music
program?
Drop-off dates at the Oak Park Borders, 1144 Lake st., will be June 12
through June 18.

-- that the APPLE organization has the following officers?
Wyanetta Johnson and Stanley Buford, co-presidents; Ojo Osaigbobo, vice
president; Raynelda Thompson, treasurer; Belinda Gaylord, corresponding
secretary; Andrea Mance, recording secretary; Burcy Hines, Sergeant at
Arms; and the chaplain, Mark Vance, who's a teacher at Oak Park and
River Forest High School.

-- that River Forest Youth Softball won the award for the best float in
the River Forest Memorial Day parade?

-- that the Oak Park-River Forest Chamber of Commerce on June 13 will
hold the grand opening of its new offices at 1110 North Blvd. in Oak
Park?
The chamber earlier this year moved from offices at 1010 Lake St. in Oak
Park. The grand opening of the new offices will be held next Tuesday
from 5 to 7 p.m.

-- that Tri-Village PADS finished its season of offering overnight
shelter for homeless persons more than one month ago but began a lunch
program for homeless people on June 6 in Oak Park?
The lunches are presented Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
at Vineyard Christian Fellowship Church, which is at 705 Jackson Blvd.
in Oak Park and which last year began offering a Saturday night
overnight shelter for PADS, Public Action to Deliver Shelter.

-- that this passage is the official definition of the Regional Exchange
Congress in Oak Park: "a not-for-profit organization concerned with
goals and strategies to achieve economic development and racial
diversity"?
The congress is to feature representatives from Oak Park and other
Chicago-area communities who will be discussing the subjects and is
scheduled Sept. 20 and 21 at Oak Park village hall, Lombard Avenue and
Madison Street. Among other details, "Embracing Change: the Vision of
Diversity Moves Foreword" is the theme, and Sherlynn Reid, the former
director of Oak Park village government's Community Relations
Department, is this year's Conference Coordinator.

-- that any Oak Park police officer found to have engaged in racial
profiling is subject to discipline, up to dismissal from the force?

-- that the River Forest Fire Department sent mutual aid units to Oak
Park on June 4 to help fight the early morning fire at Everest Health
Care Corp. at 101 N. Scoville Ave. in Oak Park?
The cause of the fire reportedly is being investigated by the insurance
company for Everest, which, at Scoville Avenue and North Boulevard, is
one of the properties that Oak Park and River Forest High School wants
to acquire for further development of athletic fields across Lake Street
from the school.

-- that at last unofficial count the population of Oak Park is 53,468?

-- that an Illinois Lottery ticket good for a $150,000 prize was sold
last month at the 7-Eleven store at 1140 N. Harlem Ave. in River Forest?

The store gets a 1-percent cut of the winnings, which were unclaimed at
the time this note was posted.

-- that the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board is now considering
a request by Arrise Inc. in Franklin Park to close the group home at 702
S. Maple Ave. in Oak Park?
Arrise, which serves developmentally disabled residents in several
suburbs, has long operated the five-bedroom intermediate care facility
on Maple for young adults with Autism. Persons who want to review the
request to close the home's medical care aspects or to ask for a public
hearing on the matter need to contact the Facilities Planning Board by
mail at 525 W. Jefferson St., second floor, Springfield, Ill., 62761 or
by phone at 217-782-3516 or--for the hearing impaired--800-547-0466.

-- that there are no minorities on the Festival Committee or among the
liaisons who planned and will head up this year's "A Day In Our
Village," which will be held this Sunday, June 11 at Scoville Park and
other sites in Oak Park?

Next year, OPRF High School graduation
to bump up against Oak Park's `Day in Our Village'

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that beginning in 2001, something's going to be changing on the
second Sunday in June?
As it stands now, the Oak Park and River Forest High School graduation
will be held on that Sunday beginning on June 10, 2001, which, of
course, is when Oak Park is scheduled to hold its annual "A Day In Our
Village" celebration.

-- that Mark W. Lingen is quarreling with the accuracy of the report
last week about the billboard of his employer and that he's right?
My statement that "Loyola University Health System ... last year backed
out of a merger-type agreement with West Suburban Hospital Medical
Center in Oak Park" was incorrect. As Lingen wrote, "On the contrary, it
was West Suburban who backed out of the agreement" because of, he added
later "irrational fears concerning programmatic issues as well as a
perceived loss of autonomy ..."
I don't know about that last part, but I do acknowledge the mistake and
say thanks for the correction.

-- that Taxman & Associates wants to add a two-story health club and a
two-story parking structure to the River Forest Town Center II retail
development to be built on land bounded by Lake Street, Bonnie Brae,
Central Avenue and Clinton Place?
A hearing on the request will be held by the on Thursday, June 15 at
7:30 p.m. at village hall, 400 Park Ave. by the village government's
Development Review Board, a volunteer panel of residents that advises
the village board.

-- that home-buying seminars are being held days apart at Merrill
Becker, Knoll & Associates Inc. real estate and at the LaSalle bank
branch in Oak Park?
Merrill Becker's were held last night, June 2 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and
this morning, June 3, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the office, 508 S. Oak
Park Ave. LaSalle Bank, 6720 W. Roosevelt Road, will host its seminar on
Thursday, June 14, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

-- that Joseph Crace, long-time owner of J Press, which sells religious
and funeral cards at 18 Lake St. in Oak Park, died May 11 after
open-heart surgery?

-- that Oak Park village government is exploring the possibility of
installing a traffic signal at Oak Park Avenue and North Boulevard?
That's on the north side of the Lake Street el tracks, and there's
already a signal on the south side of the tracks. There's also a signal
at Lake Street and Oak Park Avenue, about a block to the north.

-- that the Lake Theatre again will show free "Three Stooges" short
films during "A Day in Our Village" on June 11?

-- that State Sen. Thomas Walsh is estimating that a new Proviso magnet
school would cost between $20 and $25 million to build?
Walsh, who district includes most of Oak Park south of the Eisenhower
Expressway and part of Forest Park, is a resident of Westchester, where
the school board of the Proviso East and Proviso West High Schools wants
to build the new middle school, which is designed to attract Proviso
Township residents, including Forest Parkers, who currently send their
children to private schools.

-- that Borders Book Music Cafe holds story time every Saturday at 11
a.m. at the new Oak Park store, 1144 Lake St.?

-- that entertainer Bob Newhart was born on Sept. 5, 1929 in Oak Park
with a given name of George Robert Newhart?
The family soon moved to Austin, the Chicago community to the east of
the village, but the young Newhart attended St. Catherine of Siena
elementary school, which is now St. Catherine-St. Lucy School at 38 N.
Austin Blvd. in Oak Park.

-- that another  in the growing list of acronym names of local
organizations is MAGIC, which stands for Major Aspects of Growth In
Children?
The national not-for-profit organization, which has a location at 1327
N. Harlem Ave. in Oak Park, works to provide support and educate on
growth disorders in children, of which there are more than 100. Also,
the organization will holds its annual convention July 20-23 this year
at the Oak Brook Marriott .

-- that George McGuire of the Oak Park chapter of Harley Owners Group
was top point collector in Illinois in the HOG ABCs of Touring contest
for motorcyclists?
McGuire, also known as Big Mac, also was number two in the entire
contest.

-- that customers of Community Bank of Oak Park River Forest soon will
have free access to more than 350 ATMs in Chicagoland, including one at
the bank, 1001 Lake St. in Oak Park, one at the Osco store at 6209 W.
North Ave. and one at Concordia University, 7400 W. Augusta St. in River
Forest.

Details of an Oak Park charter school 
might surface in Melrose Park

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that New Horizon Math and Science Charter School Inc. will hold a
hearing on June 8 at the Jane Addams School in Melrose Park on a
proposal to create a new charter school in that village?
That's of interest locally because New Horizon reportedly has contacted
officials from Oak Park Elementary School District 97 about setting up a
charter school in Oak Park. Charter schools need permission from the
local public schools to open because the charters would gain some of the
local schools' property tax money.

-- that Bethel Christian Fellowship, which for years has offered Bible
classes and services at 6235 W. North Ave. in Oak Park, has changed its
name to New Life Christian Fellowship?

-- that Proviso school board is seeking comment from feeder
districts--including Forest Park Elementary School District 91--about a
magnet school that might be built in west-suburban Westchester?
The Proviso school board sets policy for Proviso West in Hillside and
Proviso East in Maywood, where Forest Park students attend public high
school. Some residents of Forest Park and of Westchester have over the
years made efforts to get out of the district because they don't like
the Proviso high schools' education record or racial makeup, and the
current school board has tried to accommodate those people by trying to
set up a magnet school--which is different from the aforementioned
charter school. A magnet school is for the best and brightest
students--something like Whitney Young in Chicago.
Anyway, the Proviso school board has filed suit to gain control by
eminent domain of about 50 acres in Westchester, west of Wolf Road at
31st Street. Under the current and preliminary thinking, the magnet
school would be built on that Westchester site, would serve about 300
students and would offer, among other programs, the International
Baccalaureate system that schools like Trinity High School in River
Forest have.

-- that while negotiations continue, the River Forest village board has
extended the village's cable television franchise with A.T. & T. an
extra three months until Aug. 4?

-- that the annual Seniors' Senior Prom at the Oak Park Arms Retirement
Community has been scheduled for Friday, June 16?
The theme of this year's prom is Island Paradise and will be held from 7
to 11 p.m. at the Arms, 418 S. Oak Park Ave.

-- that day after the Seniors' Senior Prom, the River Forest village
government will hold an auction of public property similar to the one
held by Oak Park village hall last month?
Once again, the River Forest auctioneer will be Harold Blesy, the former
River Forest police lieutenant who now conducts such actions regularly.
He'll be offering, among other items, 33 bicycles and one case of
laundry detergent. Laundry detergent? Who knows?
Police departments take control of a lot of items that, said River
Forest Police Chief Michael Holub, are "lost, mislaid, abandoned or of
no evidentiary value."

-- that last Thursday the finishing touches went up on a billboard for
Living Word Christian Center in Forest Park at Harlem and Harrison in
the village?
"Your Search Has Ended," reads the billboard that faces the Forest
Park/Eisenhower Expressway side on the corner. The church, you'll
recall, is in the former Forest Park Mall at 7600 W. Roosevelt Road.
On the flip side, facing Oak Park, is a billboard for Loyola University
Health System, which is based in Maywood and which last year backed out
of a merger-type agreement with West Suburban Hospital Medical Center in
Oak Park.

-- that a parking space near Marion and Ontario streets in Oak Park is
available on the open market for $45 per month?

-- that the $300,000-plus house in southeast Oak Park we've been keeping
track of is again under contract for sale at $309,000?

-- that the River Forest Park District's summer Concerts in the Park
series this year includes the Dooley Brothers, the River Forest natives
who perform folk, Irish and old-time rock 'n' roll; Blue Prairie, which
does country swing; the Charlie Hooks Chicago Jazz Band, which is headed
by Hooks, a River Forest resident and which performs jazz classics; and
Synod, a pop/rock group whose members met in 1971 at Concordia
University in River Forest?

-- that "significant corporation and foundation gifts" went to the
Community Chest of Oak Park & River Forest's 1999-2000 campaign from
Bank One's branches in Oak Park; Corus Bank in River Forest;
Cosmopolitan Bank & Trust, which is headed by River Forest resident Dan
Watts; First Bank of Oak Park, which is chaired by River Forest resident
Mike Kelly; the Helen Harrison Foundation; Old Kent Bank and its
predecessor in Oak Park, Pinnacle Bank/Oak Park; and the Seabury
Foundation?

-- that the principal, Sister Jeanne Bessette, and Bridget O'Malley,
dean of students, will be leaving Trinity High School in River Forest at
the end of the school year?
Sister Bessette, who has been at Trinity for eight years, will leave to
serve with the governing board of the Joliet Franciscans, a religious
community. O'Malley, who has been at Trinity for nine years, will become
principal of Immaculate Heart of Mary High School in west suburban
Westchester.

-- that Nancy Teclaw is the new executive director of the Senior
Citizens Center of Oak Park & River Forest?
Teclaw for years was director of the Oak Park Township Senior Services,
and she replaces Doris Gruskin who was let go in a disputed action by
the Senior Center board last year. Barbara Heine, former membership
director with the Oak Park-River Forest Chamber of Commerce had been the
Senior Center's interim executive director, which is now a part-time
position.

-- that Prestige Liquors, the carry-out store in Chicago on the
southeast corner of Chicago Avenue and Austin Boulevard, has a sign in
the window that should make neighbors happy?
The sign on the store, which has faced allegations that it regularly
sells alcoholic beverages to underage persons, is a single sheet of
paper with printing in magic marker that says, in capital letters,
"Picture ID is required for purchases of liquor by all persons under 30
years of age"--Pestige Liquors.
 
 
 

First pants suit graduation on
the OPRF High horizon

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that the first Oak Park and River Forest High School graduation to
allow female graduates to wear white paints suits will be held on
June 8?
After the upset last year over a graduating senior's decision to forgo
the ceremony when her wish to wear a white pants wasn't granted,
subsequently hired superintendent/principal Susan Bridge ended the high
school's tradition by allowing pants suits to be worn by female
graduates who choose to do so.
Others can still wear the long white dresses that had been required
throughout OPRF's 126-year history, while males still have to wear navy,
charcoal gray or black suits with red ties and black shoes and socks.
It'll be interesting to see what happens on graduation night.
G-Day this year is on Thursday, June 8, at 6 p.m. in the OPRF stadium on
Lake Street near Scoville Avenue or in the field house if there's
inclement weather.

-- that the following Oak Park and River Forest High School students
were finalists in the ACT-SO competition and will be heading to the
national competition held during the NAACP national convention in
Pittsburgh this summer?
The list is Michael Ashford, third for drama; Kathryn Buford, third for
essay; Jessica Hurt, second for painting and third for drawing; Bethany
Jackson, third for poetry; Lori McDonald, third for instrumental music;
Nivea Mullins, second for poetry; William Walden, first for poetry;
Nicole Williams, second for vocals; and DeAntwon Woodward, first for
drawing.

-- that the Oak Park village board has passed a 25-mile-per-hour speed
limit on Lake Street between Austin Boulevard and Ridgeland Avenue and
has outlawed left turns by motorists on weekdays between 3 and 7 p.m.
from Euclid Avenue onto Lake Street?

-- that the River Forest Service Club, a prime sponsor of Monday's
Memorial Day parade, was founded 65 years ago this year and continues as
"a civic welfare organization" in the village?

-- that Oak Park Festival Theatre plans to hold a benefit on July 15 at
the landmark, Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Heurtley House on the 200
block of North Forest Avenue in Oak Park?
By the way, to correct an error here recently, Festival Theatre's 2000
production will be "Twelfth Night."

-- that Camille Wilson-White, executive director of the Oak Park Area
Arts Council that works to promote arts and artists in Oak Park, River
Forest and Forest Park, was guest speaker at the 19th Annual 7th
Congressional District High School Art Competition held May 12 at the
United Center?

-- that the annual All School Picnic will be held in The Park and Beloit
and Harrison in Forest Park this Thursday, May 25?

-- that as part of its continuing spending to improve infrastructure and
other public property, Oak Park village government this year is planning
improvements to four buildings it owns: the Dole Library Learning Center
at 255 Augusta St., the public works center at 131 South Blvd., village
hall at Lombard Avenue and Madison Street and the Westgate Professional
Building at 1145 Westgate St.

-- that Borders Books, Music, Cafe, which opened at 1144 Lake St. last
Saturday, also has Chicago-area stores in Crystal Lake, Deerfield,
Evanston, Geneva, Mt. Prospect, Naperville, Oak Brook, Orland Park,
Rockford, Schaumburg, Wheaton, Wilmette and the Chicago shopping areas
in Beverly and  Lincoln Park and on Michigan Avenue.?

-- that when the Oak Park Farmers' Market opens on June 3, organizers
expect to have available asparagus, baby carrots, beans, broccoli,
cheeses, ciders, early peas, early tomatoes, flowers, greens, honey,
lettuce, mushrooms, plants, sprouts, strawberries and vinegar?

-- that the Alain Zerbini Circus will be returning to Longfellow School
on Sunday, June 4?
The one-ring circus that features trapeze acts, clowns, animals and
other circus attractions again this year is a fund-raiser for the
Longfellow PTO.

-- that work is proceeding on the space of the former Ambrosia
restaurant at 7600 W. Madison St., the southwest corner with Desplaines
Avenue in Forest Park?

-- that, as a close to the OPRF High beat, the prom will be held this
Saturday, May 27?
The prom is on for that evening in the Regency Ballroom of the Hyatt
Regency Chicago hotel, 151 E. Wacker, and it won't be cheap. Tickets are
$65 each, with parking in the hotel costing either $13 or $16 (for valet
parking). Juniors and seniors and their guests up to age 22 can attend
but must arrive by 6:30 p.m. Those who come later won't be let in, as
will anyone not dressed properly--either suits with ties (no bow ties)
or tuxedos for boys and prom dresses for girls. Nope, no pants suits
allowed.
 
 
 

Big hole in Oak Park street 
snarls traffic for days

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that traffic in southeast Oak Park is still being detoured following
the appearance of big hole in the street at the corner of Harrison
Street and Humphrey Avenue?
Crews from village hall's Water and Sewer Division worked on Thursday to
block the deep hole from traffic and then put sand over the top. Still,
Harrison has been closed for days at Lyman Avenue for eastbound traffic
and at Humphrey Avenue for westbound traffic.

-- that Concordia University wants to build an education and early
childhood center on the southwest corner of its River Forest campus?
The plans by Concordia, 7400 W. Division St., are scheduled to go to a
June 1 public hearing by the Development Review Board, a volunteer panel
of River Forest residents that advises the village board on planned
developments. The hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. that Thursday at
village hall, 400 Park Ave.

-- that the annual Painted Ladies contest will open on Memorial Day?
During the previous 13 years of the contest, homeowners in Oak Park and
River Forest have placed well in the contest, which is held between
Memorial Day and Labor Day each year by the Chicago Paint & Coatings
Association to encourage quality use of paint.
But Forest Park residents also are eligible to enter and win, as is any
community without 50 miles of Chicago. For more rules and how to enter,
call the Paint & Coatings Association at 847-755-9850.

-- that Unity Church of Christ in Oak Park, 405 N. Euclid Ave., is
seeking donations for a church rummage sale?

-- that following Saturday's bike rodeo held by the Oak Park Police
Department in Oak Park, the River Forest Police Department will follow
suit next Saturday?
At bike rodeos, police invite young people to show up for fun, prizes
and talks about bicycle safety and registration. While Oak Park's was
scheduled for today at Carroll Recreation Center, the River Forest event
will be held May 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Constitution Park and on
the Willard School grounds, which are both on Ashland Avenue north of
Division Street. The River Forest rodeo is sponsored by Oak Park Cyclery
at 1113 Chicago Ave. in Oak Park.

-- that Oak Parker Sy Bounds continues to host Monday Jazz Cafe each
week that night from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at Brothers Coffee in the River
Forest Town Center, the southwest corner of Lake Street and Harlem
Avenue?

-- that Living Word Christian Center holds services at the Forest Park
Mall, 7600 W. Roosevelt Road, on Sundays at 9 and 11 a.m. and on
Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.?

-- that Sept. 1 is the target date for opening of a men's shoe store at
134 N. Marion St. n Oak Park?
Frank and Janice Kelly of Oak Park plan to open the store in the space
formerly occupied by Crescent Moon, which moved from 134 to 111 N.
Marion St., the space occupied for many years by Cain Gallery.

-- that the Park District of Forest Park's Aquatic Center will open for
another season on May 27 at 7501 W. Harrison St.?

-- that movies or television shows that are filmed in Oak Park can only
be shot between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.?

-- that Bethel Christian Fellowship, which offers services and classes
at 6235 W. North Ave. in Oak Park, has changed its name to New Life
Christian Fellowship?

-- that the Chicago Area Runners Association is holding running clinics
from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays until June 28 at Lindberg Park,
LeMoyne Parkway and Marion Street?

-- that the school board of the Forest Park Elementary School District
91 wants to undertake a $2.7 million construction program at Grant-White
School, Randolph Street and Circle Avenue, and Garfield School, Jackson
Boulevard and Hannah Avenue, and that they want to do it without a tax
increase referendum?
The school district officials would issue bonds to do the work on the
schools and then pay off the debt over time. Officials said property
taxes would not increase over current levels, but taxes also would not
decrease, as they would if the new expenditures were not undertaken.
There could still be a referendum on the construction plan, however.
Under Illinois law, if signatures from 10 percent of Forest Park voters
are filed with the school district a month after official public notice
of the bond sale, the bond issue and the Forest Park schools' plan would
go to referendum.
 
 

One census projection gives 
Oak Park some breathing room

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that the final results won't be in until the 2000 census is complete,
but Oak Park gets some good news in population projections from the
Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission?
The NIPC group works on urban affairs topics like population projections
and originally forecast that Oak Park after the 2000 census would see
the population drop to 50,646. That worried a few village government
officials because it was perilously close to the magic 50,000 number. A
community's population as determined by the census sets the funding
levels for plenty of programs, and communities stand to lost some money
if they get a census under-count.
But if Oak Park were to fall below 50,000 official resident, it would
lose out on federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding.
That's more than $2 million per year that goes toward important programs
like the Oak Park Regional Housing Center, a bunch of other local
not-for-profit social service organizations, street repairs, a couple of
village government departments and other departments. Without the CDBG
money, a bunch of the services would have to be cut or--gulp--property
taxes would have to be jacked up again.
That funding is a big reason why village hall is encouraging all
residents to participate in this year's census count. But village hall
is breathing a bit easier these days because NIPC has revised its
original population projection to 54,076--a little more room from the
magic 50,000 number.

-- that the contestants and winners of the ACT-SO competition in Oak
Park will be honored at a ceremony on Friday evening?
The winners of the academic and cultural competition sponsored by the
NAACP Oak Park branch's ACT-SO committee and Oak Park and River Forest
High School will compete in the national competition during the weekend
of July 6-9.

-- that once again for "A Day In Our Village" Oak Park Township Senior
Services will have its senior citizen transit system buses giving people
of all ages free rides to the various sites?
The "Day" this year runs from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 11.

-- that the Thumbs feature in the Trapeze, the student newspaper at Oak
Park and River Forest High School, had only three local items out of
nine items in the May 12 edition?
The "thumbs up," for things the editors like, included "going stag to
the prom," and "thumbs down," for things not liked, had the "wacked out
(or inconsistent) temperature" in the OPRF building and the May Madness
street festival.

-- that, even though the Trapeze didn't mention it, there were no
African Americans or other minorities on the committee that planned this
year's May Madness event?

-- that Albert Sye, the soon-to-be-former assistant superintendent for
pupil support services at OPRF High, has three grown children: a
daughter who recently graduated from Stanford University; a son who is a
senior at Moorehouse College in Atlanta; and a son who is a junior at
the University of Louisville?
Sye on July 1 is to start as principal of Michigan City High School in
Michigan City, Ind.

-- that commencement at Triton College, the community college serving
Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park and other near-west Chicago suburbs,
will be held this Saturday, May 20, at 3 p.m. in the Robert Collins
Building auditorium on the River Grove campus?

-- that the Oak Park-River Forest Chamber of Commerce will hold its
annual sports outing on June 27 this year?
Golf, tennis, lunch, dinner and a silent auction will be featured that
Tuesday at Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale. For more information or
to make reservations, contact the chamber, 1110 North Blvd., by phone at
708/848-8151 or by fax at 708-8182.

-- that Borders Books Music and Cafe is now getting ready to open at
1144 Lake St. in Oak Park this Saturday?
A formal grand-opening ceremony will be held later.

-- that River Forest police have dropped their investigation into the
mysterious incident of an alleged car-jacking of an Oak Park teenager
from the village on April 29?
The 16-year-old's parents originally reported their son missing to Oak
Park police who dropped their own probe after coming to believe nothing
was amiss. Subsequently, the teen said he was taken at gunpoint from
North and Thatcher avenues in River Forest to Nashville, Tenn., where he
reported that story to Nashville police, who also subsequently dropped
any criminal investigation.

OPRF administrator Albert Sye hired as 
principal in diverse Michigan City, Ind. 
high school

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that Albert G. Sye, an administrator at Oak Park and River Forest
High School for the last seven years, has signed on to be principal at
Michigan City High School in Michigan City, Ind.?
Sye, 49 and an Oak Park resident, will take over July 1 in a district
that resembles Oak Park's racial diversity. Sye told reporters he has
always wanted to be a principal and was attracted to a diverse community
such as Michigan City and Oak Park.
The Michigan City High School board on May 9 unanimously chose Sye after
he also was recommended by a selection committee of Michigan City High
School staff members, PTO members and community representatives.
Michigan City is 60 miles east of Chicago and barely south of the
Michigan-Indiana state line. The 1990 census reported that the community
had 33,822 residents with 25,628 whites and 7,625--or 22.5 percent
blacks. That same census reported Oak Park with about an 18-percent
black population.
Sye had been associate principal for six years at OPRF High until being
named assistant superintendent for pupil support services in an
administrative reorganization that came with the hiring of
superintendent/principal Susan Bridge last year. He reportedly has
agreed to a two-year contract as Michigan City High School principal and
was chosen for the new post over Steve Martin, the high school's
assistant principal who was the interim principal since the recent
firing of previous principal Tim Bietry. Martin plans to stay on as
assistant principal.

-- that the traditional hot dog picnic to be held in Keystone Park after
the River Forest Memorial Day parade is being sponsored by Corus Bank?
The bank, with a location at 7727 W. Lake St. in River Forest, is one of
four local banks involved in the May 29 parade that starts at 11:30 a.m.
at Willard School, 1250 Ashland Ave., and ends at Keystone Park,
Keystone Avenue and Lake Street.
Other banks involved as "benefactors" of the parade are First Bank of
Oak Park, 11 Madison St., which is headed by chairman and River Forest
resident Mike Kelly; Forest Park National Bank, 7348 W. Madison St.,
which employs as a vice president River Forest resident Donald
Offermann, the former Oak Park and River Forest High School
superintendent/principal; and TCF Bank, which has a location at 800 N.
Harlem Ave.
The Memorial Day parade will proceed from Willard south on Ashland
Avenue and west on Lake Street to Keystone Park. The route is shorter
than last year, when the parade began at Priory Park, Division Street
and Harlem Avenue.

-- that Oak Park village government has paid another consultant to
produce another public relations piece about how wonderful the village
is?
"The Village of Oak Park, Illinois ... community, opportunity,
education, culture, recreation, commitment and convenience" came off the
presses last week.

-- that it costs $2 to park all day in a surface open space adjacent to
the Lake Street el in Forest Park?
The lot is a bit west of Harlem Avenue off Circle Avenue and on the
south side of the embankment there.

-- that Jim Wilson, the postmaster of Melrose Park, also attended last
week's grand opening of the new south Oak Park post office station at
1116 Garfield St.?

-- that the southeast Oak Park home referred to here last month for its
unusually high price is still on the sale market but at $309,000--down
from the original asking price but still over the magic $300,000 figure?

-- that the River Forest Public Library is holding an Anniversary
Scavenger Hunt to mark this month's 100-year anniversary of the
library's founding?
Until May 31, families are asked to look in the library, 735 Lathrop
Ave., and on the surrounding grounds to find items that answer 20
questions about the library. The questions range from "how many puzzles
in the children's room?" to "how many gargoyles protect the library?"
The answers must be turned in to the library by May 31, and a drawing
will be held among the sheets with the correct answers the next day to
determine the winner.
Grand prize for the winners is an ice cream social for the family at
Oberweis Dairy at 124 N. Oak Park Ave. in Oak Park.

Past Stories Continued

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