Wednesday Journal

Wednesday Journal Weekly newspaper in Oak Park and River Forest, IL. Published by NEWSWELL. https://linktr.ee/wednesdayjournal

As far as Irma Baker is concerned, yes, progress regarding living conditions at Heritage House has been made. The questi...
07/29/2026

As far as Irma Baker is concerned, yes, progress regarding living conditions at Heritage House has been made.

The question for her, though, is how long will that last?

“Are they going to keep it up?” said Baker, president of the residents’ council, when speaking of Pacific Management, the property management company which oversees the senior housing midrise. “They shouldn’t have to be told to do stuff when they know it has to be done.”

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As far as Irma Baker is concerned, yes, progress regarding living conditions at Heritage House has been made.

Carl Olson has a long history with LemonAid – since his literal birth in August 2001.That was a few weeks before the 9/1...
07/29/2026

Carl Olson has a long history with LemonAid – since his literal birth in August 2001.

That was a few weeks before the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York. The residents on the 700 block of Bonnie Brae Place in River Forest wanted to do something – anything – to respond to the tragedy.

The next year, six families launched LemonAid, a literal lemonade stand that raised $400 for Hephzibah Children’s Association.

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Carl Olson has a long history with LemonAid – since his literal birth in August 2001. That was a few weeks before the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York.

On July 21 the River Forest Township Board met in closed session to interview the three finalists for the position of Ri...
07/28/2026

On July 21 the River Forest Township Board met in closed session to interview the three finalists for the position of River Forest Township Supervisor, a position that will become vacant next month when current River Forest Township Supervisor John Becvar officially resigns.

The supervisor is the highest office in township government. The township supervisor serves on and presides over the township board and is also the chief executive of township government. The supervisor position is considered part time but requires significant work. River Forest’s supervisor is currently paid an annual salary of $49,382 and the supervisor is expected to work at least 1,000 hours annually. Becvar has said he typically works about 30 hours a week.

The three finalists for the supervisor position are believed to be current River Forest Township Clerk Mark Hosty, former township clerk Vanessa Druckman, and Jessica Iverson, a former member of the River Forest Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Committee.

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The River Forest Township Board met in closed session to interview the three finalists for the position of River Forest Township Supervisor.

Oak Park village staff, the Citizens Police Oversight Committee, Pivot Consulting Group and the Oak Park Police Departme...
07/28/2026

Oak Park village staff, the Citizens Police Oversight Committee, Pivot Consulting Group and the Oak Park Police Department will work together to draft and review new policy within 60 days restricting the use of pretextual traffic stops after a unanimous vote by the village board on July 21.

Trustee Derek Eder, seconded by Trustee Chibuike Enyia, motioned to consider this proposal following the death of Christian Wallace in May. Wallace was shot and killed by Oak Park police during a struggle after he was pulled over for failing to signal a lane change. Video footage of the incident was released in June and a state police investigation is still on-going.

“The leading cause of car crashes and roadway deaths are speeding and drunk driving, not broken taillights or expired registration stickers,” said Eder. “When police spend time pulling over people for minor violations, they have less time to focus on reckless driving and other behaviors that actually put lives at risk.”

Read the full story here:

Oak Park's village board unanimously voted for Citizens Police Oversight Committee to review policy on restricting pretextual traffic stops.

For the sixth year, Forest Theatre Company is hosting an outdoor production of a Shakespeare play. But for the first tim...
07/28/2026

For the sixth year, Forest Theatre Company is hosting an outdoor production of a Shakespeare play. But for the first time, the performance will take place at the Moore-Dugal House in Oak Park, instead of at the Altenheim in Forest Park.

Starting Aug. 7, the company will put on three free weekend productions of “All’s Well That Ends Well” on the front lawn of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed private residence at 333 Forest Ave.

Though the Moore-Dugal House had been vacant for years, last spring Michael Roush moved in. Roush is the stepson of Jim Dugal, whose parents bought the home in 1962. Now, Roush is working to restore the house to its state in 1923, when Wright designed it.

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Forest Theatre Company performs annual Shakespeare play for 1st time in Oak Park, and at historic Moore-Dugal House beginning Aug. 7

Court filings in the lawsuit filed by the lender controlling a now $33.8 million note on the landlord of West Sub’s Rive...
07/27/2026

Court filings in the lawsuit filed by the lender controlling a now $33.8 million note on the landlord of West Sub’s River Forest Medical campus show that one of the facility’s largest tenants has declared itself “constructively evicted” from the premises, due to a litany of maintenance failures.

The disclosures are contained in a motion filed prior to a July 16 court date scheduled to hear arguments on a request for a receiver to be appointed for the three-parcel medical campus property on Lake Street.

The latest in a series of letters lawyers for Romano Orthopaedics’ have sent landlord Reddy Rathnaker Patlola’s Ramco Holdings refers to “constructive eviction.” It is one of at least four letters Romano has sent over the past year and a half in an effort to remediate numerous problems at the 7411 Lake St. building.

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Court filings in the lawsuit filed by the lender controlling a now $33.8 million note on the landlord of West Sub’s River Forest Medical campus.

The Oak Park village board unanimously voted to adopt a new ordinance on e-bikes, e-scooters and other micromobility dev...
07/26/2026

The Oak Park village board unanimously voted to adopt a new ordinance on e-bikes, e-scooters and other micromobility devices on July 14. That ordinance goes into effect immediately.

This ordinance mirrors Senate Bill 3484 which passed the state legislature unanimously in June and now awaits action from Gov. JB Pritzker. If he signs the bill, it will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027. The bill proposed more comprehensive regulations on higher power and speed devices that do not fall within the three classes already defined.

For class 1 and 2 low-speed e-bikes which are peddle or throttle assisted and only go up to 20 miles per hour, one must be 15 to ride. The age requirement goes up to 16, or 18 if there is a passenger, for class 3 e-bikes.

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The Oak Park village board unanimously approved a new ordinance on e-bikes and e-scooters to go into effect immediately.

Hollywood brought us Love and Basketball, the 2000 motion picture starring Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan. But Hollywood has...
07/26/2026

Hollywood brought us Love and Basketball, the 2000 motion picture starring Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan. But Hollywood has nothing on basketball at Fenwick with Dave and Lenae Fergerson.

Call it, “Love and Coaching.”

It’s rare to have a husband-and-wife team coaching two sports at any school, but the same sport, at the same school? Welcome to the Fergerson household, which consists of Dave and Lenae and their two daughters, Leianna (9) and Zoie (7).

“It’s constant basketball (and) sometimes we have to say, ‘Let’s separate it,’” Lenae said in a relaxed interview last week with her husband in the Fenwick library. “Sometimes we have to tell each other, ‘No basketball talk.’”

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Hollywood brought us Love and Basketball, the 2000 motion picture starring Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan. But Hollywood has nothing on basketball at Fenwick with Dave and Lenae Fergerson.

The OPRF school board voted 5-2 last week to pay $712,500 to the school’s architectural firm, FGM Architects, for the cr...
07/25/2026

The OPRF school board voted 5-2 last week to pay $712,500 to the school’s architectural firm, FGM Architects, for the creation of design documents for what school officials are calling Act 3, a major demolition and reconstruction of the southwest portion of the school to build new and larger classrooms and facilities for music programs, a blackbox theater and some physical education spaces as well as other upgrades.

However, one board member, Jonathan Livingston, who voted for the creation of the design documents, said he opposed moving forward with a tax increase referendum in 2027, the date that had been targeted, to ask voters to authorize the school to issue bonds to pay for Act 3.

“I do not think Spring of 2027 is a good option,” Livingston said. “I would definitely prefer spring of 2028.”

Read the full story:

The OPRF school board voted 5-2 last week to pay $712,500 to the school’s architectural firm, FGM Architects.

At the IHSA Class 3A girls basketball state finals at Illinois State University in March, Trinity High School enjoyed tr...
07/25/2026

At the IHSA Class 3A girls basketball state finals at Illinois State University in March, Trinity High School enjoyed tremendous support from fans rooting on the Blazers in the program’s fourth downstate appearance, the first in 10 years.

Among those watching was Trinity alum Caprice Smith, Class of 2004. In an interview with Wednesday Journal, she said being at ISU brought back fond memories.

“I sat right behind the bench. It was definitely a cool moment,” Smith said. “They hadn’t been there in a while, so it was exciting being able to go down and cheer the girls on a little bit.”

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At the IHSA Class 3A girls basketball state finals at Illinois State University in March, Trinity High School enjoyed tremendous support from fans rooting on the Blazers.

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