Oak- Park- Journal

Dec. 5, 2000

DID YOU KNOW ...?

Historic coach house now open for 
rental by Oak Park tourists

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that Oak Parkers Robert and Christine Vernon have opened a new inn
for tourism rentals called the Roberts Stable in Oak Park?
The Roberts Stable is an eight-room, four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath
coach house in the Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District in Oak Park. It
was built in 1879 by the architects/builders Daniel Burnham and his
partner, John Root. In 1896, Wright remodeled the house and added a
second floor.
There are sleeping accommodations for six people. The house rents for
$2,200 a week, with a minimum stay of a week. Also, pets and smoking are
not allowed in the coach house because the owners want, they say, "an
allergen-free environment and the good health of all occupants."

-- that a new stop sign went up this morning on Jackson Boulevard and
Lombard Avenue in Oak Park?
The intersection had been a two-way stop with north and south traffic on
Lombard having to stop before crossing Jackson, but now it's another
four-way stop with east-west traffic on Jackson having to stop at
Lombard.

-- that the educational cooperative FDSE will close its offices at Oak
Park and River Forest High School next June?
FDSE stands for Federation of District for Special Education and is a
group of public school districts in River Forest, Forest Park and some
other nearby suburbs who pool some resources to deliver special
education services to students. The organization's administration has
been based at OPRF High, 201 N. Scoville Ave. in Oak Park.
While OPRF, River Forest Elementary School District 90 and Forest Park
Elementary School District 91 are FDSE members, Oak Park Elementary
School District 97 pulled out of the cooperative several years ago.

-- that Oak Park multifamily building owner George Schneider is being
taken to court by village hall again on an obscure law called "Failure
to Raise a Submerged Inlet"?
Village government took Schneider to court citing the same plumbing code
violation early this year, but the charges were dismissed by a Cook
County Circuit Court judge who declared that the fixtures cited by
village hall had been grandfathered in and pose no health risk. Now, the
charges have been resurrected.
What else village hall has presumably will be known when the case goes
to court at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, Dec. 6, at the Fourth
District Circuit Court branch in Maywood.

-- that Oak Park might have lost out on a new business when the Forest
Park village board last week agreed to give financial incentives to an
expansion of the Trage Bros. appliance store on Madison Street in Forest
Park?
Trage has wanted to do a $500,000 expansion to the storefront adjacent
to his store at 7440 W. Madison St., but Trage's owners wanted financial
help from village hall or they said they would consider moving to Oak
Park. Further details have not been revealed, so it's possible the Oak
Park move maybe was a negotiating ploy.
In any case, the Forest Park village council on Nov.  27 entered into a
"tax-sharing" arrangement similar to the one worked out previously when
Famous Liquors moved from a location in Forest Park to a larger new
store at 7717 W. Madison St. The Trage deal was negotiated by attorney
Robert Senechalle, an Oak Park resident whose offices are in Forest Park
and who also represented Famous in their deal, and the package gives
Trage Bros. up to $100,000.
Trage officials said they expected annual sales to increase from $3.5
million to $8 million.

-- that Oak Park Township government has announced a property tax
increase for next year of 2.7 percent?

-- that work has begun on the long awaited expansion of the Jewel food
store at 7036 W. Roosevelt Road in Oak Park?
The store is being converted to a Jewel-Osco and will include carry-out
liquor service that was granted by the Oak Park village board last year.

-- that the Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. investment firm has opened an Oak
Park office in Suite 240 at 1100 Lake St., which is also known as the
Shaker Building?

-- that the Dec. 17 holiday show at the Oak Park Arms Retirement
Community will be the "Now-stalgia Holiday Show" featuring songs and
dances of many different cultures?

-- that Sarah's Inn, the Oak Park-based agency that assists battered
women and their families, will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year
and will hold a "Birthday Bash" at its annual gala on May 6, 2001?

-- that pretty much bypassed recently was news that Mercantile
Bancporation Inc. in St. Louis recently merged with Milwaukee,
Wis.-based Firstar Corporation, which has a branch bank and other
facilities in Oak Park?
Officials with the new company, which is called Firstar Corporation,
said it is now the second largest banking franchise in the Midwest, with
about 1,200 branch locations in nine Midwest states and Tennessee,
Arkansas, Florida and Arizona, including locations at 104 N. Oak Park
Ave., 835 Lake St. in Oak Park and at 5201 W. Madison in Chicago's
Austin community east of Oak Park.
Firstar Corporation also now is the 14th largest bank holding company in
the United States, with assets of more than $74 billion. Firstar's
corporate headquarters remain in Milwaukee, with St. Louis being the
headquarters for corporate banking and Cincinnati, Ohio, continuing as
the headquarters for consumer banking.

-- that enrollment has been growing greatly at Forest Park Elementary
School District 91, although it's projected to drop in the next school
year?
In 1985-1986, District 91 had 826 students and this year has 1,310.
School district officials predict the 2000-2001 enrollment to be 1,285.

-- that in the community survey commissioned by Oak Park village
government recently the 802 residents talked to by telephone had the
following demographics?

Here are the leaders in the demographic categories.

* Lives south of Lake Street: 60 percent
* Lives west of East Avenue: 54 percent
* Lives in a building with four or more apartments: 43 percent
* Owns their home (including condominiums): 59 percent
* Has an average of 2.37 persons in the household
* Has a graduate or professional degree: 35 percent
* Makes $100,000 a year or more: 22 percent
* Is in the category of white/caucasian: 66 percent
* Is between 25 and 34 yeas old: 33 percent
* Is female: 55 percent

-- that West Suburban Hospital Medical Center in Oak Park has announced
that Jay Kreuzer will take over on Jan. 15, 2001 as the president and
CEO of West Suburban Health Services, West Sub's parent company.
Kreuzer, 48, has been president of St. Francis Hospital & Health Center
in south suburban Blue Island. He is married with two children, and the
family plans on moving soon "into the community served by West
Suburban," the hospital's news release said.
Among those passed over for the president's job was Robert Landsman,
West Sub's senior vice president of finance and administration, who had
been serving as the health agency's interim president and CEO, since the
departure of David Cecero from the head post last year.

-- that The Pampered Chef Ltd., the company that is the nation's premier
direct-seller of professional quality kitchen tools and pantry food
items and that was founded by River Forest resident Doris Christopher 20
years ago, is getting ready to build a new
warehouse-distribution-corporate headquarters facility in suburban
Addison in DuPage County?
Pampered Chef, which Christopher still heads, now has more than 1,100 on
its corporate staff, more than 60,000 independent Kitchen Consultants,
some 13 million customers and annual sales of some $600 million. The new
780,000 campus-like facility at Swift and Army Trail roads in Addison is
expected to create about 500 new full-times jobs, according to the State
of Illinois, which is assisting company officials through a number of
assistance programs administered by the state's Department of Commerce
and Community Affairs.
The Village of Addison is also in the process of reviewing an incentive
proposal to assist The Pampered Chef with its expansion plans.
 
 

Memorial service on Saturday for
Forest Park icon Dr. Frank Orland

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that a memorial service will be held this Saturday in Forest Park for
Dr. Frank Orland, a community leader and the founder of the Forest Park
Historical Society, who died Nov. 25, 2000 in Oak Park Hospital?
Dr. Orland, who was 83, impacted many areas of Forest Park life during a
long career in the medical, historic and public service fields. He was
founder of the Historical Society and its president until an election
last month in which he was voted out of that post and was named
president emeritus. Some members of the society had risen up against Dr.
Orland's suggestion earlier this year that the Forest Park society merge
with the Historical Society of Oak Park & River Forest.
Until 1966, Dr. Orland, a respected microbiologist, was director of the
Zoller Memorial Dental Clinic at Billings Hospital at the University of
Chicago, where Dr. Orland also had served as a professor emeritus.
In Forest Park, Dr. Orland's public service was extensive. Among other
things, he was chairman of the 1984 committee to celebrate the village's
centennial and Forest Park's celebration of the 200th anniversary of the
Bill of Rights and was instrumental to the burying of a time capsule
that will be opened in the year 2084. He won Forest Park's Citizen of
the Year award in 1989.
Professionally, Dr. Orland was past president of the Society of Medical
History of Chicago, won numerous awards and authored countless books,
papers, articles and professional journals. Dr. Orland was once
president of the International Association of Dental Research, among
other posts.
Dr. Orland is survived by his wife and constant companion of more than
50 years, Dr. Phyllis Mrazek Orland, M.D.;  by three sons, Dr. Frank R.
(Carla), Dr. Ralph M. (Anna) and Carl P.; by a daughter, June Rose
(Jack) Kibruz; and by eight grandchildren.
The memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. on Dec. 2 at the Forest Park
Community Center, 7640 Jackson Blvd. in Forest Park. A service and
cremation following the memorial will be private.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested for the Forest Park
Historical Society, in care of the Forest Park Library, 7555 Jackson
Blvd., Forest Park, Ill., 60130.

-- that the River Forest Employee Holiday Party will be held on Dec. 15?

Employees of village government will party from 7 p.m. to midnight that
Friday at Elmcrest Banquets on Grand Avenue in Elmwood Park. The party
is free for employees but guests--except those of employees receiving
service awards--will pay $10 to attend. The evening features a
four-course dinner, cash bar, dancing and live entertainment.

-- that George Vaselakos, owner of Poly Cleaners at 600 Madison St. in
Oak Park, is vice president of the Illinois State Fabricare Association,
which regulates and oversees dry cleaning businesses in the state?

-- that the telephone number of C&M Towing at 619 Madison St. in Oak
Park is 386-TOWS?

-- that the Environmental Network's listing of environmental consultants
in Illinois includes six in the three villages?
There's Beckwith Enterprises at 111 Thatcher Ave. in River Forest,
Nyberg & Zinser Eco at  323 S. Humphrey Ave. in Oak Park, 
Bischof & Vasseur Inc. at 130 S. Oak Park Ave. in Oak Park, 
Katz Associates at 715 Lake St. in Oak Park, National Environmental with a mailing address of
PO Box 5131 in River Forest 
and EM-Kay Engineering Co., Inc.  P.O. Box 42 in Forest Park.

-- that GroupPro, the Oak Park firm that represents pro baseball
players, Olympic athletes, pro softball players, sports media
personalities, coaches and pro sports trainers, in 2001 will sponsor
clinics conducted by persons in various sports-related fields?
On the docket so far is instruction for various ages in fastpitch
softball; baseball hitting, pitching and fielding; softball pitching;
performance training; and more. Among those giving the instruction
starting next summer are 1996 Olympic gold-medal winners Dani Tyler and
Michelle Venturella; performance trainer Jim Fannin, who works with
several major league baseball starts including Frank Thomas of the
Chicago White Sox and prize free-agent shortstop Alex Rodriguez; and
others.
For details like schedules and costs, contact GroupPro at 318 S.
Humphrey Ave. in Oak Park, by phone at 312-816-7299 or by fax at
708-848-2432.

-- that the Dominicans, also known as the Province of St. Albert the
Great, have the following facilities in the villages?

 
* A Provincial House for the Dominican Community 
   of St. Martin de Porres at 204 S. Humphrey Ave. Oak Park
* Fenwick High School at 505 Washington Blvd. in Oak Park
* The St. Thomas Aquinas Priory at 7200 W. Division St.
   in River Forest
* The St. Vincent Ferrer Priory at 1530 Jackson Ave.
   in River Forest

-- that the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust's Wright Plus
architectural tour for 2001 will include a ticket to visit Wright's
Robie House in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood?
The Wright Plus Housewalk on May 19, 2001 will, as in prior years, offer
tours to properties in Oak Park, but next year's event also will include
admission to tour Wright's Robie House landmark on the campus of the
University of Chicago in Hyde Park. The Preservation Trust runs the
Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in Oak Park and the Robie House, both
of which are national landmarks.
The 2001 tour and Robie House package will cost $85 per person or $70
each for members of the Preservation Trust, formerly the Frank Lloyd
Wright Home and Studio Foundation. People who buy the package will have
until the end of 2001 to use the Robie House tickets. Proceeds benefit
the Preservation Trust's educational programs, and those interested can
call Jennifer Walstra at 708-848-1976 to be put on the mailing list.

-- that Gov. Ryan today, Nov. 28, gave $269,861 to the Oak Park Area
Visitors Bureau in part of more than $17 million in statewide tourism
grants?
The funds come from four tourism-related grant programs administered by
the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs.
Additionally, the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust got $19,870.99
to design and print 285,000 English, German, Japanese, French, Italian
and Spanish brochures; and place an ad in the 2001 "IL Weekend Escapes"
brochures.
And also, the Oak Park Area Visitors Bureau also will receive a
$27,540.43 grant to promote the Oak Park tourism area with placements of
ads in Midwest Living Magazine, Home & Away Magazine, the Chicago
Official Visitors Guide, the IL Visitors Guide, and the 2001 IL Weekend
Guide.

Oak Park schools lead local tax hike, 
but OPRF High leads decreases

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that most of the taxing bodies in Oak Park, River Forest and Forest
Park have announced their plans for next year's property tax levies,
with the highest increases coming from Oak Park Elementary School
District 97 and the biggest decrease from Oak Park and River Forest High
School?
Here's the proposed property tax levies announced so far and the dates,
times and places where public hearings on the taxes will be held.

* 8.7 percent increase: District 97, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m.,
district Administrative Building, 970 Madison St., Oak Park
* 7.91 percent increase: Village of Oak Park, Monday, Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m.,
village hall, 123 Madison St., Oak Park
* 5 percent increase: Village of Forest Park, Monday, Dec. 4, 6:30 p.m.,
village hall, 517 DesPlaines Ave., Forest Park
* 3.4 percent increase: Proviso Township High Schools, Wednesday,
Tuesday, Dec. 6, 7 p.m., board room of Proviso East High School, 807 S.
First Ave., Maywood
* 3.39 percent increase: Forest Park Elementary School District 91,
Tuesday, Dec. 5, 7 p.m., district Administrative Office, 424 DesPlaines
Ave., Forest Park
* 2.9 percent increase: Park District of Forest Park, Monday, Dec. 4,
6:45 p.m., park district headquarters, 7501 W. Harrison St., Forest Park

* 2.8 percent increase: River Forest Elementary School District 90,
Tuesday, Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m., Roosevelt Middle School, 7560 W. Oak St.,
River Forest
* 1.53 percent increase: Park District of Oak Park, Monday, Dec. 4, John
Hedges Administration Center, 218 Madison St., Oak Park
* No change: River Forest Township, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 7 p.m., River
Forest Community Center, 8020 W. Madison St., River Forest
* .29 percent decrease: Triton College, Friday, Dec. 1, 2 p.m., Board
Room R-300 in the Learning Resource Center Building at Triton, 200 Fifth
Ave., River Grove
* .47 percent decrease: Village of River Forest, Monday, Dec. 4, 5 p.m.
village hall, 400 Park Ave., River Forest
* 29 percent decrease: Oak Park and River Forest High School District
200, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 7:30 p.m. OPRF High, 201 N. Scoville Ave., Oak
Park

-- that political campaign signs on lawns are against the law in River
Forest?
In an effort to control the village's appearance, River Forest
ordinances allow campaign signs only in windows of homes and other
private buildings. If police officers or other village government
employees see a sign on a private yard or--heaven forbidden public
property, they are supposed to contact the property's owner and instruct
that the signs be removed.

-- that Forest Park village government has hired a 28-year-old former
Oak Park resident with no municipal experience to be Forest Park's new
village administrator?
That's one way to look at it, probably, but specifically village hall
has hired as its administrator, or chief administrative officer, Matthew
O'Shea, who for the last five years has been the chief of staff to State
Rep. Jim Durkin, a Republican whose 44th District includes parts of Oak
Park and Forest Park, among other areas.
O'Shea, a resident of Westchester who recently passed the bar and whose
wife is expecting their first child in mid-December, is scheduled to
start work at Forest Park village hall on Dec. 11. Like Durkin, O'Shea
also graduated from Fenwick High School in Oak Park.
Forest Park has been without an administrator since James Thomas
resigned to take a similar job in Wisconsin. Forest Park Village Council
Tim Gillian has been serving as unpaid acting administrator for the last
several weeks.

-- that the Oak Park Quilters meet at 7 p.m. on the last Thursday of the
month at the Dole Branch Library, 259 Augusta St. in Oak Park?
The Oak Park Quilters is an informal group that meets to discuss,
practice and promote quilting and to create quilts for various community
groups in Oak Park. Dues are $10 per year.
The Quilters meet next on Nov. 30 and on Dec. 14 for their Holiday
Party.

-- that officials from the village governments in Oak Park and River
Forest are working on a plan to combine their information technology
systems?
Here's how it's supposed to work: Oak Park has a stand-alone Information
Systems Department that oversees most technology functions, while River
Forest hires a consultant to perform those services for about $30,000 a
year. Under the new setup, though, Oak Park village government staff
would be paid about the same money to work for River Forest village
hall. Final details are still pending, but River Forest Village
Administrator Charles Biondo said River Forest village hall should
receive about twice as much service from the Oak Park employees for the
same amount of money paid to the private consultant. Oak Park Village
Manager Carl Swenson also recently endorsed the intergovernmental
arrangement.

-- that the Web site for Oak Park village government is being redesigned
and with the help of Purple Monkey Studios in Oak Park?
The firm, which provides interactive development services, opened
earlier this year at 124 S. Marion St.

-- that the Oak Park Fire Department is look to hire a new
administrative secretary?
The position pays between $27,000 and $36,000 per year, and the new
employee would start on Jan. 2, 2001.

-- that Buona Beef restaurant and catering, based at Roosevelt Road and
Oak Park Avenue in Berwyn across from Oak Park, now has a new location
in Hanover Park?
Buona Beef also has a location at 7025 W. North Ave. in Oak Park and
other locations in the suburbs of Lombard, Naperville, Glendale Heights
and Hoffman Estates.

-- that the West Cook County Solid Waste Agency and the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency are now offering home pick-up of
household hazardous waste?
River Forest residents can call 1-800-449-7587 to arrange at-home pickup
of cleaners, degreasers, fungicides, herbicides, hobby chemicals, lawn
and garden chemicals, oil and latex paint, pesticides and poisons. The
fee is $10 for River Forest residents.
More information is available from the agency's Web site,
http://www.curbsideinc.com

-- that the Oak Park and River Forest Day Nursery is looking to put new
fencing around the playground at its facility, 1139 Randolph St. in Oak
Park?

-- that on Saturday, Dec. 2, Fellowship Christian Church of Oak Park
will present a program on the ongoing violence in the Sudan?
According to Rev. Dr. M. Randolph Thompson, senior pastor of the church
at 1106 Madison St., Sudanese Christians are being persecuted by members
of the Moslem faith in the Sudan. "These horrific stories in the lives
of black people of the Sudan are the result of `black on black' violence
in the name of God and religion," Thompson said.
So at 10 a.m. a week from Saturday, Fellowship Church will present James
Tang, a Sudanese refugee now living in the United States, to share
stories on incidents that have happened and how local residents can help
end the murder and other violence.
For more information, call Fellowship at 386-5790

Five-day holiday weekend for local 
public school students

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that with no classes for an Institute Day this Wednesday, students in
Oak Park Elementary School District 97, River Forest Elementary School
District 90 and Oak Park and River Forest High School will have a
five-day weekend off for Thanksgiving?
Also at OPRF, parent-teacher conferences will be held on Tuesday and
Wednesday.

-- that Education First, the Oak Park citizens group interested in
District 97 issues and next spring's school board election, will hold
another public forum the evening for Nov. 27, the Monday after
Thanksgiving?
All residents are invited to the Education First meeting, which will
take place from 7:30 to 9 p.m. that Monday in the Veterans' Room of the
main Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St.
Education First met previously on general topics, finances and
governance and on Nov. 27 will address racial diversity in the Oak Park
schools.
For further information, contact Scott Klapman at 848-3556.

-- that the birthday of Marjorie Judith Vincent, who was an Oak Park
resident when she was chosen Miss America of 1991, is Nov. 21?
She was born in 1964, on the same day in the same year as Olden
Polynice, a center-forward with the Sacramento Kings of the National
Basketball Association and Thomas Everett, a safety with the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers of the National Football League.

-- that John Philbin, the Oak Park resident who was a village trustee
for a time and was village president from 1989 to 1993, has resurrected
an old commentary on what the Village Manager Association should look
for as they select candidates for election to the village board?
Philbin was asked to run for village president by the VMA when a version
of the commentary first appeared publicly, and the piece is now posted
on the VMA's Web site.
"Naturally, the quality most desirable is absolute perfection. Since,
hard as it is to believe, that is not available even in Oak Park, we
must pass along to reality," Philbin writes in his typically droll
style. "However," he continues, "it is worth mentioning that the
candidate who presents himself or herself as God's perfect gift to the
community should be avoided."
Becoming more serious, VMA selection committee, which is currently
meeting to pick candidates for the April 2001 election, should look for
the following traits.

* Breadth of Interests.
* Self-Awareness.
* Knowledge.
* Time Commitment.
* Modest Level of Ambition.
* Knowledge of Organization Structure.
* Communication Skills
* The Light Touch.

-- that the first tournament of the Cook County High School Lawn Tennis
Association was held in Oak Park?
Participating in 1894 were Lake View, Englewood, English, Evanston and
Oak Park high schools and a team from the tennis organization called
North Division. The singles and doubles championships both were won by
Oak Park, which later became Oak Park and River Forest High School.

-- that chicago.citysearch.com needs to update its list of "alternative
plans" for people visiting Oak Park because most of their
recommendations are out of business?
"Maybe you've seen the Frank Lloyd Wright houses already and you thought
"Old Man and the Sea" (a book by famed Oak Park native Ernest Hemingway)
was a snore. There's still plenty to do in Oak Park—like shopping," the
Web site advise--and then lists "some of the suburb's most unique
shops."
Antiques etc., the mall of antique dealers at 125 N. Marion St. is
listed, as is Barbara's Bookstore at 1100 Lake St. and John Toomey
Gallery of art at 818 North Blvd., but the following stores are also
included--even though they're gone from the village.
* Centuries & Sleuths Bookstore, which specializes in history and
mystery books, moved from Oak Park this fall to 7519 Madison St. in
Forest Park.
* EarthLodge, the store that centered on environmentally friendly
products and is called a "tree-hugger's paradise at 121 N. Marion St."
by chicago.citysearch.com closed there last year and was replaced by The
Pot You Paint, a store that sells pottery and lets customers paint what
they've purchased.
* Gateway to Santa Fe had Native American and Southwestern United States
artwork, rugs, pottery, tapestry and jewelry at this store at 115 N. Oak
Park Ave. until the owner moved away.
* Magpie Studios' retail outfit was closed at 177 S. Oak Park Ave. by
owner Veronica Fremont, who moved the jewelry-making side of the
business to the rear of the new retail outfit at the same location.
* Legends of London sold Doc Martens footwear, clothing and accessories
at 1116 Lake St. until closing earlier this year.

-- that the youth and early career of Frank Lloyd Wright provide the
basis for the novel "The Architect" by Meyer Levin and is set primarily
in Chicago and Oak Park?
"The Architect" tells the fictional story of architect Andrew Lane.

-- that Trigon Productions in Canoga Park, Calif. is purporting to sell
a tape of prank phone calls made by "the Oak Park kids"?
The tape lasts for 60 minutes and includes, according to Trigon,
"youngsters in Oak Park, Illinois call everywhere using a sampler to
repeat a nonsense phrase such as `Let's play golf!' Amazingly the
callers actually converse with the sampler."
There are other prank-call tapes available, which kind of surprises the
California company.
"With the advent of Call Return and Caller ID, you would think the fine
art of the Prank Phone Call (would) probably go the way of the 2400 bps
modem and the dial telephone. But no,
Prank Calls are alive and well."

For president, Bush narrowly 
carries River Forest

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that while Democrat presidential candidate Al Gore carried all of Oak
Park's 70 precincts to win in the village, Republican rival George W.
Bush unofficially won the River Forest vote by a close 3,010 to 2,827
total?

-- that Mary Ruth Coffey has taken over as executive director of Sarah's
Inn?
Coffey has replaced Faye Hesberg as chief administration of the Oak Park
agency that assists battered women and their families.

-- that there are nearly 30,000 cars in Oak Park and a residential
population--all ages--of about 53,000?

-- that Robert Dallas already is preparing to run again against U.S.
Rep. Danny K. Davis for election to the U.S. Congress from Illinois' 7th
District, which includes River Forest and most of Oak Park?
Dallas, a Republican from Chicago, lost the Nov. 7 election resoundingly
to Democrat Davis, a resident of Austin east of Oak Park in Chicago.

-- that  26 faculty members at Oak Park and River Forest High School are
included in the sixth edition of "Who's Who Among American Teachers"?

-- that the wrestling team at Oak Park High School in Kansas City, Mo.
this week won that state's wrestling 4A title?

-- that it takes 50 petition signatures from registered voters to run
for election to an area school board?

-- that in the new contract worked out after a strike, teachers in High
School District 209, the public school for Forest Park and other parts
of Proviso Township, teachers will receive extra financial compensation
if they live in Proviso Township?
"We think it is important for teachers to be part of the community they
serve," said school board president Michael Manzo, a resident of Melrose
Park.

-- that Heaven on Earth Yoga studio recently opened at 7755 W. Lake St.
in River Forest?

-- that Borders Books, Music & Cafe at 1144 Lake St. in Oak Park, will
hold a Family Game Night on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m.?

-- that with its revenue higher than expected, the Oak Park village
government will increase publication of the OP/FYI newsletter from six
issues to 12 issues next year?

-- that the Web site of the Council of Mayors associated with the the
Chicago Area Transportation Study still lists the mayor of Forest Park
as Lorraine Popelka?
Popelka was defeated in the 1999 election by current Mayor Anthony
Calderone.

-- that Oak Park Village Clerk Sandra Sokol is on the public relations
committee of the organization the Municipal Clerks of Illinois?

-- that the May resolution approved by the Cook County Board and
praising two local school districts was sponsored by Commissioners Peter
N. Silvestri, Allan C. Carr and Earlean Collins?
Colllins and Silvestri represent districts that include different parts
of Oak Park and Carr's county board district includes River Forest.
The resolution honored "the Academic Accomplishments of River Forest
School District 90 and Oak Park and River Forest High School District
200" and commended the two school districts n receiving the the Bright
A+ Award for academic excellence.

-- that with both First Bank of Oak Park and Community Bank of Oak Park
River Forest both bragging that they are the area's "true community
bank" the answer may lie in the definition of a community bank by the
Community Bankers Association of Illinois?
"A Real Community Bank is one which takes its commitment to its
community seriously. This is a bank in which decisions are made locally,
for the betterment of the home area in mind," according to the
association.
Or maybe not, First Bank and Community Bank both seem to qualified, even
if the other banks in the community might not be.

 -- that the band Stuck in the Fifties, which performs classic rock 'n'
roll tunes in the area--including most recently at Artful Object held by
the Oak Park Area Arts Council--has the following 10 members?
* Peggy Goodman, singer, arranger and, occasionally, keyboard player
* Mary Ann Krupa, keyboardist
* Don Southworth, lead and background vocals, arranger
* Frank Schwerin, singer
* Jim Stickler, singer
* Steve Saliny, lead and backup vocals
* Michael Swisher, lead and backup vocals
* Bill Bunkers, drummer
* John Leahy, lead and rhythm guitar
* Bill Steed, bass player

-- that Oak Parker Hipolito (Paul) Roldan, CEO of the Hispanic Housing
Development Corporation in Chicago, on Wednesday received a leadership
award from Casa Central, the largest Hispanic social service agency in
Chicago?

-- that every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Domino's pizza is served for
lunch to students at Oak Park and River Forest High School?

-- that James Kimo Williams, the composer of the Continental Harmony
music project that will be presented in Oak Park next January, visited
Oak Park to attend Artful Object?
The piece, part of a national program, now also includes a dance
portion.

-- that meetings to plan "ACTSO 2001" started this week?
ACTSO is the Afro-American Cultural, Technological and Scholastic
Olympics, a multi-media competition for African American students. ACTSO
includes local competitions in which the students involved work to gain
places in the national ACTSO competition held at the national convention
of the NAACP.
ACTSO is sponsored locally by the NAACP Oak Park branch and by Oak Park
and River Forest High School. A local Coordinating Committee works to
raise money for the students' trips, to plan the local competition and
to coordinate other details. The committee met for the first time
Thursday night and is to meet on the third Thursday of the month through
May of 2001.

Nov. 14, 2000

Homeowners, businesses and more 
honored with Oak Park `Pride' awards

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that the remodeling of the Borders Books, Music & Cafe store in
Downtown Oak Park and of the Jewel-Osco store on Madison Street in Oak
Park were the two businesses to win this year's Cavalcade of Pride
Awards for property improvement and upkeep?
The commission, a volunteer panel of Oak Park residents, gives out the
awards each year to honor renovations by homes, multifamily buildings,
commercial property, gardens, a residential block in Oak Park and a
property in an adjoining community. And this year, a separate award went
to what was called by village hall "a nonresidential, non-commercial
structure."
That award for 2000 went to Pilgrim Congregational Church, 460 Lake St.
and the other winners were:
* Single-family homes at 641 N. Kenilworth Ave., 606 Iowa St., 1214 N.
Harvey Ave., 318 N. Forest Ave., 309 N. Linden Ave., 406 N. Ridgeland
Ave., 712 S. Maple Ave., 832 S. Gunderson St. and 542 S. Lyman Ave.
* Commercial property at 1144 Lake St., which was converted to hold the
Borders, and at 438 Lake St., which was converted into a prototype
Jewel-Osco store.
* Multifamily buildings at 1019-1029 Washington Blvd. and 326-34 S.
Austin Blvd.
* The garden awards went to those at 633 N. Marion St. and at 500
Washington Blvd.
* The property honored in an adjacent community was Dominican University
at 7900 W. Division St. in River Forest.

-- that representatives of the Oldani Group, the consulting firm hired
by Oak Park village government to recruit candidates to be the new
police chief, is in Oak Park this week to start preparing for the search
to replace Police Chief Joseph Mendrick, who will retire next June?
Deputy Police Chief Rick Tanksley said he will be a candidate for police
chief and plans to talk with the Oldani Group at some point.

-- that Dr. Katherine Walsh, program director of the West Suburban
Family Practice Residency Program in River Forest, won last week's
Athena Award given by the Oak Park-River Forest Chamber of Commerce to
the top business and professional woman in Oak Park and River Forest?
Walsh's program is one of many offered by West Suburban Hospital Medical
Center in Oak Park, which was a sponsor of the Athena Award ceremonies.
Walsh beat out nine other nominees from the villages at a Nov. 9
luncheon at the Oak Park Country Club in Elmwood Park.

 -- that Oak Park and River Forest High School superintendent/principal
Susan Bridge has moved to Oak Park?
When she was named to the OPRF post in 1998, Bridge said she and her
family would move to OPRF District 200 after her son graduated from
Glenbard West High School, where Bridge had been principal before
getting the OPRF job. Now, Bridge and her husband Nick, an Oak Park
artist and former park board member, have moved to North Kenilworth
Avenue in Oak Park.

-- that Etta Worthington, the founder of River Oak Arts, has given up
her post as editor of River Oak Review, the literary magazine put out by
River Oak Arts?
Worthington, an Oak Park resident, told readers of River Oak Review that
she will "pursue my interest in film-making." The magazine's new editor
is Marylee McDonald.

-- that the fee to Oak Park residents for pick-up of solid waste will
increase in 2001 to $11.80 per household--a 95-cent increase?

-- that the president and CEO of Forest Park National Bank & Trust Co.,
is former Chicago Bears general manager and Mike Ditka confidant Jerry
Vanisi?
The bank has locations at 7438 W. Madison St. and at 7331 W. Roosevelt
Road in Forest Park.

-- that the Forest Park Main Street Redevelopment Association this
evening will host its annual recognition party for its volunteers?
Today, Nov. 14 from 5 to 7 pm at Doc Ryan’s on Madison Street in Forest
Park, the volunteers who attend get complimentary wine, beer, soft
drinks and pizza.
 “Volunteers are an essential part of our organization, because they
help pul the whole community into the downtown revitalization process,”
said Nancy Svoboda, Main Street board president. “The recognition party
is one of several ways that we keep our volunteers productive and
happy.”
Also at the reception, Main Street is unveiling a new eight-page
volunteer handbook, which provides a profile of the role of the
volunteers in the Main Street’s efforts. Main Street volunteers logged
more 1,700 hours for the period between October 1999 and September 2000.

-- that Buona Beef has opened in Hanover Park?
The restaurant-and-catering business is based at Oak Park Avenue and
Roosevelt Road in Berwyn, across from Oak Park, and has a restaurant at
ADDRESS W. North Ave. in Oak Park, among other locations.

-- that Oak Park and River Forest have seen more-than-healthy increases
in home values and family income in the recent years?
Here are figures from the last three U.S. census tallies, as compiled by
River Forest Elementary School District 90.
 

         But healthy increases also were reported by several other communities
and jurisdictions.

-- that Joan Kelly, the 52-year-old ultra-successful Realtor at Pilgrim
Realty in Oak Park, had moved from Oak Park to Oak Brook, where she died
on Nov. 1, 2000?

-- that Laura Maychruk, co-owner of Buzz Cafe, the restaurant and
gathering place at 905 S. Lombard Ave. in Oak Park, is a Republican?

-- that the Historical Society of Oak Park & River Forest and Soweto
Press Inc. in Oak Park will collaborate to publish in 2002 a book about
the history of Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, which was an all-black church
in Oak Park, early in the 1900s?

Gore takes Oak Park vote in election

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that Democrat Al Gore easily won Oak Park on election day?
The village clerk's office reports that Gore got 17,569 votes, or 72
percent of the total, to George W. Bush's 5,615, or 23 percent. Ralph
Nader? 1,099 or five percent. Pat Buchanan got 31 votes for a
statistical 0 percent.
And finally, 24,4109 of Oak Park's 31,816 registered voters went to the
polls.

-- that in yesterday's elections, the Chicago wards to the east and
north of Oak Park both went for Al Gore in big ways?
The 29th Ward to the east of Oak Park went this way: Gore, 17,879 votes;
Bush, 918; and the other candidates trailing badly. In the 29th Ward,
Ralph Nader got only 91 votes, while Pat Buchanan received support from
30 souls from that ward's part of Chicago's Austin community.
In the 36th Ward, to the north of Oak Park, turnout was even heavier,
but the vote not quite as lopsided. 13,770 for Gore, followed by Bush
with 7,668. Nader had 769 votes and Buchanan had 71.

-- that the 28th and 34th precincts of the 29th Ward voted in Nov. 7
referendums to prohibit the sale of liquor in the precincts?

-- that in Melrose Park, to the west of north River Forest, voters
turned down the idea of building a third Proviso Township high school,
but okayed expanding the public library?

-- that the German company that recently bought Everest Healthcare
Services in Oak Park, now wants to acquire two more dialysis facilities
in Oak Park?
As noted here Nov. 3, Fresenius Medical Care Agency AG is Germany bought
out Everest, 101 N. Scoville Ave., and now is interested in buying WSKC
Dialysis Services Inc., which operates facilities in West Suburban
Hospital Medical Center, Erie Street at Austin Boulevard, and Oak Park
Dialysis Center, 733 Madison St.

-- that an item about Oak Park was carried in a recent edition of the
Washington Post?
For the writer of the piece, the village's "hot restaurant" is
Petersen's Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor at 1100 Chicago Ave. and the
"hot nightspot" is LaMajada, the Mexican restaurant at 226 Harrison St.

-- that Rev. Robert Botthof, the pastor of St. Vincent Ferrer Church in
River Forest and the former principal of both Oak Park and River Forest
High Schools and Fenwick High Schools in Oak Park, is a 1950 graduate of
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota?

-- that probably not many people reading this remember WGLD-FM radio
broadcasting from the Oak Park Arms?
The station played some fine rock 'n' roll until it closed in 1975.

-- that The Jesus Forum, a reading-and-discussion group, meets every
other Sunday at 2 p.m. at Borders Books, Music & Cafe in Oak Park?
The next session will take place on Nov. 12 at Borders, 1144 Lake St.
The book to be discussed is "Jesus Among Other Gods" by Ravi Zacharias.
The book, according to one account, defends "the uniqueness of the
Christian message."

-- that an Oak Park resident recently co-authored one new book and
edited another one about public policy topics?
Wim Wiewel, a college dean of urban planning, wrote and edited the books
on behalf of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a kind of a think
tank. In "When Corporations Leave Town: The Costs and Benefits of
Metropolitan Job Sprawl," Wiewel and co-author Joseph Persky, an
economics professor, analyze and develop a cost-benefit analysis of
employment deconcentration.
Persky is a professor of economics at the University of Illinois at
Chicago. Wiewel is the dean and a professor at the College of Urban
Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago and
is a Fellow of the Urban Land Institute.
Wiewel also has edited, with Rosalind Greenstein, senior fellow and
director of the Program in Land Markets at the Lincoln Institute, the
recently published "Urban-Suburban Interdependencies." This book is a
collection of works by several policy experts and aims, according to the
Lincoln Institute, "to understand how cities and their suburbs are
dependent on each other" and to propose regional policies to increase
cooperation.

-- that West Suburban Hospital Medical Center has introduced the Center
for Integrative Medicine?
The center offers "alternative solutions" in health care, and an open
house will be held this Saturday, Nov. 11, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. the
Center for Integrative Medicine, which is in West Sub's office at 1011
Lake St., Suite 300, in Oak Park.

-- that Mike Manzo, president of the Proviso Township High School board,
which sets policy for Forest Park's public high school, is running for
mayor of Melrose Park?
Manzo, whose Proviso East and Proviso West High Schools' teachers remain
on strike over salaries in a proposed new collective bargaining
contract, also in next spring's Melrose Park elections, wants a
referendum on a plan to ask the Melrose Park voters if village hall
should apply for a state loan to improve a water main project.
A decision on the referendum is expected Nov. 14 by the Melrose Park
Electoral Board, which is headed by Manzo foe and current Mayor Ron
Serpico.

-- that according to Prudential Premier Realty in Oak Park, typical
single-family homes in Chicago's Austin community to the east of Oak
Park sell for between $74,900 and $130,600?

-- that four other communities this week will present their Continental
Harmony performances?
Continental Harmony is the national program aimed that only a few
communities, including Oak Park have been chosen for. This week's
schedule finds Harmony performances on Nov. 12 in Gadsden, Ala.,
Madison, Miss. and in Piedmont, Calif. and next Friday, Nov. 17, in
Kennesaw, Ga.

-- that Kimo Williams, the composer of Oak Park's Continental Harmony
performance next year on Nov. 9 is premiering another of his
compositions: "Quartet for the Sons of Nam"?
Williams will present the music in honor of Veterans Day at 6 p.m. in
the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum, which is on the corner of 18th
Street and Indiana in Chicago.

Nov. 3, 2000

Crime in Chicago's Austin neighborhood 
dropping in a major way this year

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

 -- that Part One, or major, crime in the Austin community of Chicago
adjacent to Oak Park on the east is down 16 percent so far this year,
according to the Chicago Police Department?
The department reports that in 2000 murders are down from 4 to 10 in
Austin's 15th Police District and all the other major crimes--criminal
sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, theft, motor
vehicle theft and arson--are reported down during the first 10 months 
of the year from 1,520 to 1,280 in the same time last year.

-- that Everest Healthcare in Oak Park has been making plenty of news
recently?
Last month, the company that operates dialysis clinics throughout the
country and that has a location at 101 N. Scoville Ave. in Oak Park,
lost a big contract with Priority Healthcare Corporation, a national
distributor of specialty pharmaceuticals and related medical supplies.
Then last week, Everest sold its Oak Park location to Oak Park and 
River Forest High School, which has been trying to acquire the whole block
bounded by Lake Street, Scoville Avenue, North Boulevard and East 
Avenue to develop new athletic fields.

And finally, yesterday, Everest was bought by Fresenius Medical Care 
AG, a company based in Germany that is the world's largest provider of
dialysis products and services.

-- that Oak Parker Wyanetta Johnson, among other things the co-chair of
APPLE, the African American parents group in the village, is featured 
as "Someone You Should Know" in the recent newsletter from 7th District
state representative candidate Karen Yarbrough?
Democrat Yarbrough, a Maywood resident, is unopposed for election in 
the 7th District, which includes parts of Oak Park and Forest Park.

-- that Oak Park-based radio station WPNA-AM will broadcast live from
the ballroom of the Oak Park Arms Retirement Community during a polka
party to be held at the Arms on Thursday,  Nov. 16?
The radio station, 1490 on the AM dial, normally broadcasts from 
studios on the fifth floor of the Arms, 414 S. Oak Park Ave.

-- that with the mini-controversy this week over the Pledge of
Allegiance at Chicago City Council meetings, you might like to know 
that the Oak Park village board does not say the Pledge to start its
meetings, but the village boards in River Forest and Forest Park do?

-- that a selection committee of River Forest residents is scheduled on
Nov. 13, 14 and 15 to interview prospective candidates for election to
the next River Forest Elementary School District 90 school board?
Residents interested in running for the school board and in being
interviewed for slating by the Community Caucus of residents are being
asked to fill out applications, which are available at the River Forest
Public Library, 735 Lathrop Ave.; Lincoln School, 511 Park Ave.;
Roosevelt School, 7560 W. Oak St.; and Willard School, 1250 Ashland 
Ave.

The candidates endorsed will be on the election ballot on April 3, 2001
and the people elected would begin serving four-year terms on the 
school board next November.

-- that Education First will hold a public forum on Wednesday, Nov. 8,
at Carroll Center, 1125 S. Kenilworth Ave., from 7:30 to 9 p.m.?
The recently formed group wants to spotlight issues in Oak Park
Elementary School District 97 and to endorse candidates for election
next April. Members of the group and other residents who attend the 
Nov. 8 forum will discuss the topics of finance and governance. All
interested persons are encouraged to attend. Those interested in 
further information should Scott Klapman at 848-3556.

-- that 600 runners participated in Concordia University's annual 
Makin' Tracks 5K run on Oct. 14?

--that the United Way of Forest Park provides assistant to a roster of
agencies that serve Forest Park residents including the Boy Scouts of
America's Des Plaines Valley Council and the Community Nursing Service
West and the Oak Park/River Forest Day Nursery in Oak Park?
The United Way can be contacted at Forest Park National Bank, 7438
Madison St. or by calling 771-3700.

-- that Toni E. Armando has been named vice president of technical
services at Food Marketing Support Services, 902 S. Oak Park Ave. in 
Oak Park?
The firm, owned by Nancy C. Rodriguez, specializes in new product 
design and optimization and features custom designers of model flavor and
texture systems.

-- that the Chicago City Council is acting to give financial assistance
to benefit a business with a location in the Austin community?
Allied Metal Co. will use a $7.5 million Industrial Development Revenue
Bond for an expansion of its facility in Chicago at 4528 W. Division in
Austin. AMC officials want to expand the company onto the adjacent
vacant land at 1300 N. Kostner with construction of a facility to be
used in scrapping metals and producing aluminum alloys.
The project would retain 120 jobs and add 15 more, and by using the
city's bond, AMC would save about $4.7 million in financing over 20
years.

--  Dr. Valerie Raskin, academic director of psychiatry at the MacNeal
Health Network in Oak Park was among the speakers Thursday at the
Illinois Women's Health Conference in Rosemont?
Dr. Raskin spoke on the management of anxiety disorders at the second
annual health conference at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in
Rosemont. Sponsored by the Illinois Department of Public Health, the
two-day conference covers a range of topics including the latest
findings in hormone replacement therapy, anxiety and depression,
cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus disease, and
mind/body health.
The MacNeal Health Network is at 965 Lake St. on the ground floor in 
the 100 Forest Place residential complex.

-- that Mrs. Marguerite Maggette, the mother of Fenwick High School
alumnus and current NBA player Corey Maggette is on the Board of
Trustees of Fenwick, 505 Washington Blvd. in Oak Park?
Corey now plays for the Los Angeles Clippers, and Mrs. Maggette's term
on the Fenwick board is to expire in 2002.

-- that I had a brain lock recently and reported erroneously that there
are only five Wright Buildings in Oak Park?
Check out the 24 Prairie style buildings during a guided tour to be 
held this Sunday by the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio Foundation. The
tour begins at 2 p.m. at Ridgeland and Chicago avenues.

Oak Park students head to Ohio to 
discuss minority achievement gap

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that five Oak Park and River Forest High School students this week
will attend a national conference on how to close the minority
achievement gap between black and white students in public schools?
Meredith Brooks and Robert Collins, seniors at OPRF, 201 N. Scoville
Ave. in Oak Park; Jordan Palmore and Rachel Smith, OPRF juniors; and
sophomore Wesley Leggette will attend the Minority Student Achievement
National (MSAN) conference Oct. 5 to 7 in Ohio. MSAN, founded in
February 1999, is a group of 15 school districts across the country who
make minority achievement an issue. OPRF hosted the conference last year
on a pilot basis.

-- that Windy City Video has closed at 6820 W. Roosevelt Road in Oak
Park?
The building has been for sale for months and still is listed with
Merrill Becker Knoll & Associates in Oak Park.

-- that President Clinton's People Reaching Out for Unity and Diversity
(PROUD) program is based on the Oak Park Exchange Congress?
PROUD was born after officials studied the Exchange Congress, which was
held in Oak Park again last month and is an exchange of ideas for
achieving and enhancing racial harmony and economic growth in a
community.
According to the White House, PROUD follows the Oak Park congress "by
celebrating the diversity of its community and by actively addressing
the patterns of resegregation, where a community gradually shifts from
all white to all black. PROUD positively embraces diversity of its
residents by promoting shared values and by developing, encouraging and
acknowledging the connection between cultural activities, neighborhood
stability and economic development."

-- that approval of the condominium development proposed for 7366 W.
Lake St. in River Forest is scheduled to be decided by the village board
at its Oct. 10?
The condo project has received a 4-1 recommendation from the Development
Review Board, a volunteer panel of residents that advises the village
board. The village board will meet next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. because its
regular Monday meeting day is the Columbus Day holiday.

-- that Oak Park icon and celebrated chemist Percy Julian is one of the
Men of Omega, cited by the Phi Beta Kappa black college fraternity?
The other Men of Omega are legendary military leader Col. Charles
Young,; Dr. Carter Goodwin Woodson, who's called the father of black
history; pioneering physician and surgeon Charles Drew; astronaut Ronald
Ervin McNair, the second African American to fly in space; Jesse
Jackson, the civil rights leader; and celebrated 20th Century black
writer Langston Hughes.

-- that West Suburban Health Care, the parent organization of West
Suburban Hospital Medical Center in Oak Park, now offers Rapid CT Heart
Scans for $290?
The Rapid CT Heart Scan takes images of the coronary arteries to
determine the presence of heart disease. The scan takes between 20 and
30 minutes to complete, and is especially for people 40 to 70 years old
who have any of the following risk factors:
People with a high risk of coronary heart disease, with a family history
of heart attack, with a high cholesterol level, with a high LDL greater
than 160, with a low HDL less than 35, who are smokers, who have high
blood pressure, have diabetes, have an inactive lifestyle, are
overweight, have chronic stress, who have had a stress test and were
told some risk factors identified and who are on anti-lipid therapy and
may not be on a therapeutic dose.
Younger people should consider taking the Heart Scan if they have
multiple number of the risk factors, but the test is not for people with
known coronary artery disease or who have had previous coronary artery
bypass surgery.

-- that River Forest village government is announcing a recall on the
gun locks it has been selling at a discount to residents?
To encourage fewer accidents from handguns in the home, village hall has
been selling gun locks at reduced prices. Now, all the Smith & Wesson
gun locks in the 90 series have been recalled because they could open
without a key. Those owning one of the locks can receive a free
replacement lock by calling 1-800-944-1380.

-- that U.S. News & World Report magazine again ranked Dominican
University in River Forest in the "top tier" of Midwest universities?
Dominican, which is at 7900 W. Division St., gained the top-tier ranking
out of 505 universities based on, the magazine said, academic
reputation, retention, graduation rate, faculty resources, student
selectivity, financial resources, how well the school is educating its
students and the rate of alumni donations.
In addition, Dominican ranked as one of the top schools for campus
diversity for the university's 12 percent Hispanic student population.

-- that Urban Resource, the Oak Park architecture firm owned by Ade
Onayemi, an elected member of the Oak Park Elementary School District 97
board, earlier this year was one of 40 firms hired to design projects in
the Illinois Capital Board's Groundbreakers program, which was aimed at
expanding opportunities for design firms in the state?
Of the 40 firms selected to design projects, four, including Urban
Resource, are minority-owned firms, and 11 are female-owned firms. The
Capital Board is the state's construction management agency and has a
budget of approximately $2.8 billion. The agency works with other
governmental bodies and private companies to contract for the design and
construction of state-funded improvements throughout Illinois.
Onayemi's firm was hired to design miscellaneous improvements to an
facility owned and operated by the Illinois Department of
Transportation..

-- that Oak Street on the south side of Roosevelt School is now closed
during lunch?
Officials from District 90, village government and the police department
worked to close the street as a safety measure for students at the
school, 7560 W. Oak St.

-- that demolition has begun to the apartment building on Austin
Boulevard south of Harrison Street that was acquired this year by
village government?
The site will become a parking lot.

-- that 17 of the 25 students who recently were named National Merit
Scholar semi-finalists at Oak Park and River Forest High School attended
Oak Park Elementary School District 97?
 

Sept. 29, 2000

Oak Park village hall looks down 
under for overnight parking

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that Oak Park village hall is taking action on a proposal to put
parking in the basement of a multi-family building?
Seen by some officials as a way to alleviate the village's chronic
overnight parking shortage in multi-family corridors like those near
Washington Boulevard and Austin Boulevard, village hall, chiefly Village
Trustee Gus Kostopulos, wants to try out the basement parking in a
building on South Harvey Avenue between Washington Boulevard and Madison
Street.
In a wonderfully cozy arrangement, the Harvey building is owned and
managed by the Oak Park Residence Corporation, the agency that owns and
manages residential and commercial property, whose current executive
director once served on the village board and where Kostopulos once
served on the board of directors.
Anyway, under the basement parking plan, the Harvey building's basement
would be replaced by some parking for residents of the building. Bids
from contractors interested in doing the work on this one building are
due to the village engineer's office by Oct. 19.

-- that there's a local connection to the Chicago newspaper stories
you've been reading about the minority-owned movie house chain that had
some theaters shut down this week by the City of Chicago?
Barely a week after she appeared on a panel at the Regional Exchange
Congress in Oak Park about doing business in a diverse community, Alisa
Starks and her husband Donzell, owners of the Meridian Entertainment
Group in the city, saw city hall close several of the movie houses
because the company owes back amusement and sales taxes to the city.
Alisa Starks has said her plan is for the Meridian theaters to reopen
after a pay-back plan for the taxes is negotiated with city hall.

-- that there is a Fitness Factory Outlet at 1900 S. Des Plaines Ave. in
Forest Park?
The company sells a variety of fitness and work-out equipment both in
the store and by mail.

-- that new rooms for the hockey teams will be built this year at
Ridgeland Commons?

-- that Santa is scheduled to arrive in Downtown Oak Park on Nov. 24 for
the start of the holiday shopping season?

-- that the Hales Mansion at the northwest corner of Chicago and Oak
Park avenues in Oak Park, which is the ASID Showcase House this year, is
on the sale market for $2.25 million?
The 10-bedroom Gothic Revival mansion from Oct. 1 through Oct. 22 will
be open for public tours in the 29th Annual Designer Showcase House to
benefit the Oak Park-River Forest Infant Welfare Society.
Local members of the American Society of Interior Designers have
redesigned the mansion's inside, and beginning on Sunday, the mansion,
designed by famed architect H.G. Fidelke, will be open on Sundays and
Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
and on Thursdays and Fridays from both 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 7 to 7 p.m.

Before Sept. 30, advance tickets are available by mail for $15. Or
tickets at the door can be purchased for $20 each, with proceeds going
to Infant Welfare, which provides well-baby and well-child care for
needy children.
For information on group tours or anything else about the Showcase
House, call 848-0528.
In the meantime, Gagliardo Realty in River Forest is listing the mansion
for sale, and it might be a deal at $2.2 million because it has, among
other features, 10 bedrooms, five-and-a-half baths, oak and mahogany
paneling, art glass throughout, a coach house with five bedrooms and
four baths and a four-car garage.

-- that also now on the market is the historic, Frank Lloyd
Wright-designed Hills-DeCaro House on the 400 block of Forest Avenue in
Oak Park?

-- that Salvador's restaurant recently opened a location at 7700 W.
North Ave. in Elmwood Park across from River Forest?
Salvador's about two years ago left its location at 134 N. Ridgeland
Ave. in Oak Park, a commercial space that is still vacant.

-- that River Forest is now hiring firefighter/paramedics?
Applications are available from the River Forest Municipal Complex at
400 Park Ave. and have to be returned by Oct. 26. Applicants have to be
between 21 and 35 years old, have a high school diploma or equivalent
and a valid drivers license and other rules to be obtained from village
government.

-- that the commercial space at 116 N. Oak Park Ave., which has been
vacant since Whole Food and Grain Depot moved out, is being gutted and
remodeled by Restorations by Bushouse, the firm of James Bushouse, who
owns the whole building on the southeast corner of Lake Street and Oak
Park Avenue?

-- that in the most recent fiscal year River Forest Township government
took in nearly $40,000 more than it spent during the year?

-- that First Bank of Oak Park has a current advertisement proclaiming
it to be "Your Community Bank," while Community Bank of Oak Park River
Forest has an ad that states, "There's only one Community Bank"?
Community Bank is at 1001 Lake St. in Oak Park, while First Bank has its
main location at 11 Madison St. and branches at 6011 W. North Ave., also
in Oak Park, and at 4909 W. Division St. in the Austin community of
Chicago adjacent to Oak Park on the east.

-- that there are more than 80 different activities, clubs and sports
teams operating for students Oak Park and River Forest High School?

-- that McCollum Realty, Ltd., which will celebrate 25th anniversary
next year, is still exploring construction of an
office-retail-residential project adjacent to its building at 1010 Lake
St. in Oak Park?

-- that the Community Chest of Oak Park & River Forest, the local United
Way in the villages, probably noticed the news out of Evanston this
week, where the Evanston United Way voted to terminate funding for the
2000-2001 year to the local Boy Scouts because of their policy of
prohibiting openly gay people from being boy scout troop leaders?
The Evanston United Way is the first known agency in the Chicago area to
stop funding because of the Scouts' gay policy. For the year, the
Northeast Illinois Council of the Boy Scouts got $5,000 from the
Evanston United Way. The OPRF Community Chest gives money to the Des
Plaines Valley Boy Scout Council, which includes the local villages.

-- that Oak Park Village Trustee Rick Kuner, who recently declared he
would seek slating by the Village Manager Association to run for village
president in next April's election, was featured for his Oak Park
"traffic calming" efforts in the Sept. 27 Chicago Tribune
advertising/feature-story section about Oak Park and River Forest?

-- that the Tribune section's funniest line was this bit of
understatement in a feature on new economic development locally?
"Parking is becoming a problem in some areas of Oak Park."

By ERIC LINDEN

Did you know ...?

-- that according to memo circulating around Oak Park village hall,
Police Chief Joseph Mendrick plans to retire next June?
Mendrick in 33 years on the department has held every rank and
position--officer, detective, sergeant, lieutenant, deputy chief, acting
chief and police chief. He has been chief for 10 years and took and has
taken several steps to straighten out a department once racked by racial
bias and what Mendrick last week called other "friction."
It's only my opinion, of course, but Deputy Chief Rick Tanksley seems
like the natural successor, if government officials want to appoint a
new chief from within the ranks. Also high-ranking are Deputy Chief
Richard Toll and Commanders Anthony Ambrose, Frank Kennedy, Robert
Scianna and Keenan Williams.
It should be noted that Tanksley--or Williams for that matter--would be
the first African American police chief for Oak Park, which only got its
first black police supervisor of any rank little more than a decade ago.

I realize the village manager appoints the police chief and other
government staff, but with new village board members being elected next
April, appointment a new chief sounds worthy of discussion in any
election campaign.

-- that at last week's Regional Exchange Congress in Oak Park, Sherwen
Moore, a panelist on the law enforcement session, drew quite a reaction
when he said the emergence of hip-hop culture has done as much to
encourage black-white relations as the Civil Rights movement in the
1960s?
Here was his point: young people interested in hip-hop today gravitate
to the culture--music, the clothes, the attitude--and really relate
across racial lines more than any other area of society.
The heated reaction came from people who pointed out the offensive
lyrics often produced by rap artists. Moore said he didn't endorse any
offensiveness in rap lyrics, but he maintain the interracial reaction is
more than welcome.

-- that Project Unity, the cross-cultural organization organization
group in Oak Park, will sponsors the fourth annual Community Kwanzaa
Celebration on Dec. 30?
Kwanzaa is the African holiday observance held near Christmas time.
Project Unity works, according to its mission statement, "to provide a
model of mutual respect and friendship for children and adults through
education, communication and social interaction within our community;
thereby affirming the dignity, equality and acceptance of every racial
group."

-- that the proposed new Comprehensive Plan in Forest Park calls for,
among other things, village government to "take the actions necessary
for (Forest Park) to be designated a Tree City"?
The Tree City USA designation goes each year from the National Arbor Day
Association to communities who devote resources and attention to public
trees, commonly called "the urban forest." Oak Park has been a Tree City
for many years, while River Forest gained the designation for the first
time in the last year.
The first Comprehensive Plan in Forest Park history was formally
proposed this month and with hearings and public meetings on many
controversial economic development measures is a long while from
implementation.

-- that Whole Foods Market will celebrate the company's 20th year in
business on Oct. 7 at its stores, including the one at the River Forest
Town Center?
The River Forest store, in Town Center on the southwest corner of Harlem
Avenue and Lake Street, also celebrated its own sixth anniversary last
Saturday, Sept. 23, with many activities and giveaways. Included in the
festivities was the famous cash booth, in which a shopper with the lucky
ticket got to spend 15 minutes in the booth and grab all the swirling
U.S. currency possible.

-- that the Oak Park Parking and Traffic Commission at its meeting on
Tuesday, Sept. 26, is to hear a proposal to put a new four-way stop sign
at Jackson Boulevard and Lombard Avenue?
Currently, only north-south traffic has to stop on Lombard, but with
traffic counts showing high numbers and accidents occurring on the
corner, the commission, a volunteer panel of Oak Park residents that
advises the village board is being asked to recommend an "all-way stop"
system. A final decision would be made later by the village board.

-- that "A Symphony of Place," the musical work that is part of the
national music program that picked Oak Park for participation, will be
performed on Jan. 21, 2001 at Oak Park and River Forest High School?
As part of the national Continental Harmony program, the Oak Park Area
Arts Council picked renowned composer James Kimo Williams to conceive
the work on the theme of Diversity and the Arts, and Williams has, after
research, come up with a piece that focuses on Oak Park's 1960s Fair
Housing Ordinance, its increased racial diversity and other areas
impacting diversity.
"When you attend this concert," Williams said, "you should be able to
travel from  the serenity of Oak Park before integration, the
apprehension the community had about the change, the acceptance of new
and different people,  the new community members thanking God for their
new home, the animosity  towards new faces, the realization that change
is inevitable and not as disruptive as first thought and the whole
community coming together to sing to their future."

-- that because a new water system was installed, water was shut down on
Sept. 13 in the area of Lake Street and Keystone Avenue in River Forest?

-- that Oak Park Isuzu Suzuki, the auto dealership at 6440 W. Roosevelt
Road in the village, will host an auto loan purchase approval program on
Friday Sept. 29 and Saturday, Sept. 30?

-- that on Sunday, Sept. 24, a group of Oak Park residents met for
dinner and an informational meeting at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 61
Randolph St. in Oak Park, to discuss and raise money to assist the
African national of Eritrea, which is in heavily in need?

-- that, as declared at the Sept. 21 Regional Exchange Congress in Oak
Park, the south suburban community of Park Forest has a municipal sign
up that declares there is No Racial Profiling allowed in the community?

-- that the web site for Oak Park and River Forest High School won the
"Cool School of the Week" designation for the week of Sept. 18?
Each week, the site Education World at www.educationworld.com reviews
hundreds of school Internet web sites from across the country and picks
one site as the Cool School of the Week. The award goes to a site that
best illustrates the qualities of visual appeal, creativity,
originality, community involvement and connection, use of technology,
value to the students and school, use of curriculum on-line and
practical applications in the educational setting.
At OPRF, Webmaster, Mary Ann Gini and Assistant Webmaster Tom Cieplak
develop and maintain the school's site, and students contribute by
developing and publishing pages for class projects.
The OPRF web site can be reached at www.oprfhs.org. Education World’s
Cool School program is sponsored by Cisco Systems, Inc., a worldwide
leader in networking for the Internet.
“Being on the Internet demonstrates to the school community our
commitment to technology integration. Our stakeholders regularly go to
our site for information about the school,” Gini said.
In gaining the Cool School award, OPRF receives Cool School T-shirts and
mouse pads, two commemorative plaques, Cool School award certificates,
plus a Cool School award winner button for their Web site. All Cool
School award winners are also eligible to compete for the title to be
awarded later of “Cool School of the Year.”