Wednesday, May 23, 2018 || By Local News Curator || @maywoodnews 

Featured image: Screenshot of body-cam footage showing the Milwaukee Police tasing and arresting Sterling Brown in January. | Screenshot 

The Milwaukee Police Department has released video footage of the Jan. 26 arrest of Maywood native, Proviso East graduate and Milwaukee Bucks guard Sterling Brown.

There was significant buildup to Wednesday’s release of the footage, with even Milwaukee’s mayor, Tom Barrett, calling the video “disturbing” and “disconcerting,” according to a report by SBNation.

The footage shows police approaching Brown as he leaves a Milwaukee Walgreen’s at around 2 a.m. on Jan. 26. The footage shows an officer forcefully questioning Brown.

“Hi you doing? You got a driver’s license?”

Brown’s response is largely inaudible until the officer pushes brown while aggressively telling the player to “back up.”

“Don’t touch me,” Brown says. “Don’t touch me.”

The officer then chides Brown for parking across multiple handicap spaces and asks to see his ID. Some minutes later, at least four other officers arrive and question Brown, who stands in the same spot before the officers taser him.

According to a CBS News report: “Officers had been checking on a vehicle parked across two handicap spaces. Brown was not charged.

“Officers initially claimed Brown threatened them while they were writing him a ticket. At no point in the video does Brown appear to be threatening or violent to the officers before he was tased and arrested.”

According to a USA Today report, Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales said in a prepared statement that the “department conducted an investigation into the incident which revealed members acted inappropriately, and those members were recently disciplined.”

On May 22, Brown’s attorney announced that his client is planning to file a civil lawsuit against the Milwaukee Police Department.

The Milwaukee Police Department’s body-cam video showing the arrest of Sterling Brown. | Milwaukee Police Department 

On May 23, the Milwaukee Bucks posted a statement that Brown drafted to their website. Brown’s full statement can be read below or by clicking here.

Statement From Sterling Brown

My experience in January with the Milwaukee Police Department was wrong and shouldn’t happen to anybody.  What should have been a simple parking ticket turned into an attempt at police intimidation, followed by the unlawful use of physical force, including being handcuffed and tased, and then unlawfully booked. This experience with the Milwaukee Police Department has forced me to stand up and tell my story so that I can help prevent these injustices from happening in the future.

Situations like mine and worse happen every day in the black community. Being a voice and a face for people who won’t be heard and don’t have the same platform as I have is a responsibility I take seriously. I am speaking for Dontre Hamilton of Milwaukee, Laquan McDonald of Chicago, Stephon Clark of Sacramento, Eric Garner of New York, and the list goes on. These people aren’t able to speak anymore because of unjust actions by those who are supposed to “serve and protect” the people.

The common denominator in all of these situations has been racism towards the minority community, the abuse of power, and the lack of accountability for officers involved. The lack of repercussions for the police officers involved in so many of these cases is offensive. This is a slap in the face to the victims’ families and communities.

Black men shouldn’t have to have their guard up and instantly be on the defensive when seeing a police officer, but it’s our reality and a real problem. There must be mutual respect and both sides have to figure out how to accomplish this.

There are no easy solutions to this problem, but there are strides that can be made to create change. I will do my part in helping to prevent similar incidents from happening to the minority community in the future.

This is bigger than me. My family, friends, legal team, Priority Sports, Milwaukee Bucks, the black community and the communities of all who stand against injustice plan to continue the fight. Peaceful support to ensure no further damage to our community is the only way to respond. I know many of you will share my anger and frustration, but for our community to progress and grow, we need to build on what we already have and not destroy it. I will take legal action against the Milwaukee Police Department to continue forcing change in our community. VFP

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Thursday, May 24, 2018 || By Shanel Romain || @maywoodnews 

Featured image: Darrell Edwards shows off the inner workings of a battery–powered car he made during Irving Middle School’s ENCORE Spotlight Showcase on May 23. | Shanel Romain 

Students at Irving Middle School, 805 S. 17th Ave. in Maywood, showed off their many talents during an ENCORE Spotlight Showcase on May 23.

The school’s ENCORE classes are elective courses designed to “foster students’ emotional awareness, self-expression, critical thinking, visual and media literacy, and civil responsibility,” according to the program’s web page.

James Harmon, Darrell Edwards and Leodan Venegas tend to their car on May 23. | Shanel Romain 

Susan Abraham-Henderson, a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) teacher at Irving said that she trained for two weeks in Project Lead the Way, a nationally recognized STEM curriculum, in order to facilitate the ENCORE program.

On Wednesday, ENCORE students displayed some of the projects they pulled off with the skills they developed in the classes.

The projects included 360-degree rotating catapults, custom-made locker room organizers, miniature battery-powered cars, landscape paintings, pastel drawings inspired by famous street artist Keith Haring and original music compositions.

Oil pastels based on the style of street artist Keith Haring. | Shanel Romain 

One class of students was required to bring a bunch of items to school that they put in a pile. They then were told to roll a dice to ensure their selections were random, pick items randomly out of the pile and build a model with whatever items they were fated to work with.

The result? Some dolls with blue hair and glass legs.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the majority,” Irving student Jaylen Jackson said, recounting one of the lessons he got out of the demonstration. “This could be the new normal in the future.”

Irving Principal Michelle Hassan said that this was the first year of the ENCORE Spotlight Showcase. The unique instruction has the potential to change students’ lives, she said.

Original musical compositions by Irving Middle School students. | Shanel Romain 

And the data is compelling.

According to U.S. Department of Commerce data, people who work in STEM careers earn roughly 26 percent more than non-STEM workers and those who have degrees in STEM, whether they work in a STEM field or not, typically earn more than people with non-STEM degrees.

In addition, “Employment in STEM occupations grew by 10.5 percent, or 817,260 jobs, between May 2009 and May 2015, compared with 5.2 percent net growth in non-STEM occupations,” according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

STEM instruction also encourages students to think creatively and holistically, school officials said. Perhaps a case in point?

Jainna Eckles stands near her presentation on leopards during Irving’s ENCORE Spotlight Showcase on May 23. | Shanel Romain 

Irving student Jainna Eckles’ Showcase presentation was all about the science of how leopards move their legs. But could the leopard that Eckles illustrated on her presentation board have been inspired by Keith Haring? VFP

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Friday, May 25, 2018 || By Community Editor || @maywoodnews 

Featured image: Members of Triton’s men’s track and field team on the medal stand at the NJCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. | Submitted 

The Triton men’s track and field team finished fourth in a 25-team during the NJCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held May 10 through May 12 at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, N.Y.

“Coming into the season we knew we had a top-five program,” said Triton head coach Mike Olsen in a statement the college released earlier this month. “But we had to put in the work and being successful at the national championships was on our minds throughout the season. We had to make sure the team was peaking at the right time and based on the results, we definitely peaked when we needed to.”

The successful showing started with sophomore Gustavo Alvarez repeating as national champion in the pole vault while freshman Sam Cravatta took third in the event.

During Saturday competition, freshman DeMariye Carpenter anchored the 4 x 100-meter relay which placed second. The team, which also featured Jacques Hayes, Antwane Thigpen and Joseph Hoffman, notched a time of 43.93.

Carpenter would eventually earn individual All-American status, along with the status as the NJCAA’s fastest man, claiming both the 100- and 200-meter dash national championships.

“We knew when DeMariye came to Triton that he was a very special sprinter,” Olsen said. “Going into the meet we weren’t sure what we would get out of him. He had battled some injuries in high school and also early this season. It just seemed that everything came together for him at the national championships.”

To read more about the men’s and women’s track and field teams’ showing at the 2018 national championships here. VFP 

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Friday, May 25, 2018 || By Bob Uphues/Riverside-Brookfield Landmark || @maywoodnews 

Melrose Park and Bellwood were recently listed as plaintiffs with about a dozen other municipalities in a lawsuit against more than 20 pharmaceutical companies and their subsidiaries, drug distribution companies and three doctors who formerly ran an alleged opioid “pill mill” out of a now-shuttered pain clinic in Riverside. Before that point, they’d operated in Melrose Park for many years.

The 163-page, eight-count lawsuit filed May 23 in the Chancery Division of Cook County Circuit Court, asks the court to award monetary damages to the municipal plaintiffs, including “treble and punitive damages,” as a result of the drug firms’ and doctors’ “civil conspiracy” to create an opioid epidemic through negligence, deceptive marketing and fraud.

The municipalities are being represented by Chicago-based Edelson PC, a law firm which, according to its website, is one of three “leading a coordinated multi-state opioid litigation coalition.”

According to Ari Scharg, a partner at Edelson PC, the firm plans to file many more cases in state courts in the coming weeks.

During a May 1 regular meeting, Alfred Murray, a senior litigator with Edelson PC, presented the firm’s plans before the Maywood Board of Trustees, most members of which expressed an interest in signing onto one of the lawsuits. The board still hasn’t voted to join any of the suits.

“We really commend the mayors for working with each other cooperatively throughout the state to put a stop to this crisis,” Scharg said. “We are very much looking forward to presenting this case to a jury.”

While most of the cases brought against drug manufacturers and distributors likely will be consolidated in a federal multidistrict litigation action being handled in U.S. District Court in Cleveland, this latest suit is different in that it specifically identifies individual local doctors as defendants, providing a way to prevent the suit from being consolidated in the multidistrict litigation in Cleveland.

“Our clients want to maintain control over their litigation,” Scharg said.

According to the lawsuit, there have been more than 351,000 opioid-related deaths since 1999 and that opioids account for more than 60 percent of drug overdoses in the nation.

While there are individual people whose lives and whose families’ lives are impacted by opioid abuse, villages, towns and cities across the country also a pay price, said Scharg, in terms of fire, police and hospital costs as well as the cost for rehabilitation.

“It does affect individual people, but it also affects the communities taking care of those people,” Scharg said. “[The lawsuit] is also about stopping this crisis and the flow of pills into these neighborhoods.”

Among those being sued are pharmaceutical giants Purdue Pharma, Cephalon Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Insys Therapeutics, Endo Health Solutions, Allergan and Mallinckrodt and distributors AmerisourceBergen Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corporation.

But the lawsuit also zeroes in on a pain clinic formerly located in both Melrose Park and Riverside, which was run by Dr. Joseph Giacchino, whose medical license was revoked by the state of Illinois in 2011 for improperly prescribing controlled substances and providing medications to female patients in exchange for sex.

The pain clinic operated for many years out of an office inside a shopping center on North Avenue in Melrose Park. In 2013, Giacchino moved the clinic to an office at 28 E. Burlington St. in downtown Riverside.

Scharg called the pain clinic “one of the biggest pill mills in the country.”

Stripped of his medical license, Giacchino claimed to be the “administrator” of the clinic. Prescribing pain medications to patients were a pair of doctors, Paul C. Madison and William McMahon.

The state suspended McMahon’s medical license in October 2016 for prescribing controlled substances for non-therapeutic purposes. A month later McMahon’s status as a physician was made permanently inactive.

Madison had his medical license suspended in November 2016 for “unprofessional conduct” and improperly prescribing controlled substances. It remains suspended.

In addition to that disciplinary action, Madison is under a federal criminal indictment for insurance fraud.

In 2012, the U.S Attorney’s Office charged Madison with submitting more than $3 million in false medical bills to 10 insurance companies and a federal workers compensation program.

That case is still pending in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

Madison is also named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a federal criminal case filed in December 2016 in Massachusetts against top executives at Insys Therapeutics, one of the defendant companies in the most recent Cook County lawsuit.

The Cook County lawsuit summarizes Madison’s dealings with Insys, which ranged from arranging “sham speaking engagements” to promoting a fentanyl spray that was created to provide breakthrough pain relief for cancer patients.

Madison himself, the lawsuit states, was an anesthesiologist until 2016 but billed himself as a “pain management specialist.” Most of his patients, however, were suffering from chronic non-cancer pain.

Madison’s speaking engagements, according to the lawsuit, largely were attended by Insys sales representatives or “occasionally” by doctors who were not cancer treatment specialists.

He allegedly was paid $87,000 by Insys which, according to the lawsuit, saw him as a “go-to physician.” Madison until 2016 was the top prescriber of the company’s fentanyl spray in Illinois, accounting for almost 60 percent of all of Insys’ fentanyl spray prescriptions in the state.

But, Madison didn’t confine his prescriptions to Illinoisans. In the state’s petition to suspend Madison’s medical license in 2016, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation’s top prosecutor stated that Madison’s opioid prescriptions were dispensed to patients in 11 states and that between Jan. 1, 2015 and Oct. 11, 2016 he had prescribed roughly 1.6 million doses of controlled substances.

The pain clinic, known as Riverside Pain Management, closed its doors in Riverside in 2017. VFP 

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Friday, May 25, 2018 || By Community Editor || @maywoodnews 

Featured image: A Garfield student is greeted by community members as she enters school on May 22. | Photos by Shanel Romain 

On May 22, Garfield Elementary School hosted its annual Fathers Bring Your Child to School Day.

The event, created by the school’s PTO, is designed to strengthen relationships and bonds between parents, community members and students.

“I’ve learned from working with kids that when you have a male presence, especially first thing in the morning, kids have a different attitude throughout the day,” said PTO President Vernell Brown during the event in 2016.

Below, the morning in photos:

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Saturday, May 26, 2018 || By Michael Romain || @maywoodnews || Updated: 6:01 p.m.

Featured image: Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at 215 N. 2nd Ave. in Maywood on Saturday. | Courtesy Michael Rogers 

Firefighters worked to extinguish a 1-alarm fire that broke out in an apartment building in Maywood on late Saturday afternoon.

The fire happened at 215 N. 2nd Ave., at around 4:28 p.m., according to emergency dispatch records. By around 5 p.m., the fire seemed to be contained.

Maywood Fire Chief Craig Bronaugh said that the fire started on the first floor of the building.

“We looked at a 14-year-old to make sure she wasn’t injured,” Bronaugh said on Saturday evening. “She wasn’t transported to the hospital. The family refused treatment.”

Bronaugh said that a fire tech held the fire to the first floor, but the damage was so extensive that the tenants who lived on that floor were displaced. They’re currently being attended to by the Red Cross, he said.

Bronaugh added that, so far, his department has not determined an official cause of the fire, which is still under investigation. VFP 

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Saturday, May 26, 2018 || By Community Editor || @maywoodnews 

The village of Maywood has issued a request for proposals for summary abatement vacant lawn care maintenance.

The village is seeking vendors that can provide a landscaping crew to “address mowing and clearing of nuisance high grass, etc. in excess of 6″ from front and rear yard areas along with removal of garbage and debris located at assigned sites by the Village of Maywood Community Development Department,” according to a statement by village officials.

Proposals should be submitted to the village clerk’s office at 40 Madison St. in Maywood no later than 11 a.m. on Friday, June 1. See more info below or click here. VFP 

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Saturday, May 26, 2018 || By Michael Romain || @maywoodnews 

Featured image: The Maywood Park District’s 809 W. Madison building. | File 

During a May 15 regular board meeting, Maywood Park District officials requested that the Maywood Board of Trustees reimburse $19,453 in building permit fees associated with the renovation of the park district’s 809 W. Madison building.

The request put some board members in an awkward position, particularly when park district officials admitted that the request is the result of mistakes made by past park district employees while applying for grant funding necessary to complete the renovation.

The park district broke ground on the renovations to the building back in April and architects said that the work could be complete by September.The new recreation center will feature numerous multipurpose rooms, meeting space and conference rooms, among many other amenities.

The renovations are being funded by a $1.62 million state grant that the park district was given back in 2014, when former governor Pat Quinn was still in office, and $285,000 in TIF funds allocated to the park district by the village of Maywood last year.

Park district officials told board members at the meeting earlier this month that none of the grant money they had secured had been earmarked to pay for building permit fees.

The fees included more than $3,000 to pay for the village to send out plumbing, electrical and plan review inspectors to the construction site (plumbing and electrical contractors are outsourced). In addition, the village charges general construction and HVAC permit fees of $20 for every $1,000 of the overall project.

Since the park district’s overall project costs are projected at around $1.2 million, those latter fees amount to $15,605, said David Myers, the village’s director of community development.

Lonette Hall, the park district executive director, said that the district had already paid the village the permit fees from parts of the grant that were earmarked for other purposes. They were just asking for the village to reimburse the money.

“We’re asking that it be refunded back to us,” Hall said. In a board memo, Hall explained that the refunded dollars would “allow [us] to better plan for contingency situations that may occur as this construction project continues.”

Myers said that if the board decides to refund the park district the amount it paid to secure the permits, the village would have sent “multiple inspectors out at no charge.” He added that the village would need to take money out of its general fund to pay back the park district .

Trustee Ron Rivers asked why the park district, a separate taxing agency, did not pay for the permit fees from the money it obtained from the grants.

“Is this an oversight?” Rivers asked.

“Yes, it was,” Rone said, adding that at the time the grant was being processed, the district “had other people who were working on it as well who are no longer with us at the park district.” 

Hall said that she had “inherited” a flawed process, explaining that “some things I know we should have done beforehand that weren’t done.” She said that the district paid for the permit fees out of grant money that wasn’t allocated for that purpose so that the renovations would not be delayed.

But some board members were not comfortable with giving back all of the permit fees, with Rivers saying that he would be open to refunding only a portion of the nearly $20,000 total.

Trustee Kimyada Wellington, however, said that she wasn’t comfortable with giving the park district more money, particularly after the village already approved $280,000 in TIF funding for the renovation project.

“It’s like we keep throwing money at the park district and we’re not helping the village,” Wellington said.

“It’s been said before that we’re not in the recreation business, but we seem to keep being involved,” she added. “I don’t feel comfortable with this request. I would lean toward loaning them the money and doing some kind of repayment.” 

Hall pushed back, arguing that the park district “is not asking for the village to keep bailing us out because that’s not what we’re here for. We’re trying to accomplish one thing — to have a decent facility that is run efficiently and effectively to provide services for the entire community.” 

Trustee Isiah Brandon said that the situation was less than ideal for both the village and the park district.

“This puts you guys in a jam and it puts us in a jam,” he said. “[We have to] figure out how this whole ordeal is going to work. It’s a situation.” 

Trustee Henderson Yarbrough made a motion to table the matter so that staff can calculate the costs to the village of repaying all, or a portion, of the permit fees back, and “whether or not we can share the costs.”

The motion passed 6 to 1, with Mayor Edwenna Perkins providing the only dissenting vote. The board is expected to take the matter up again at its next regular meeting on June 5. VFP 

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Sunday, May 27, 2018 || By Community Editor || @maywoodnews 

Featured image: African American soldiers. Wikimedia 

As the great folks at Hines VA Hospital note, on Memorial Day, “it’s important to understand why we pause to remember our fallen service members. Memorial Day, which is May 28, represents a day of national awareness and reverence, honoring Americans who died while defending the nation and its values.”

The following is a list of some major Memorial Day events happening in or near Proviso Township.

(Note: All of the events take place on Monday, May 28. If you know of a significant event in the area that is not included in the list below, please write the relevant info in the comments section or email us at thevillagefreepress@gmail.com):

Riverside Ceremony

St. Mary’s Parish Center, 126 Herrick Rd. in Riverside, 10 a.m. An afternoon program will take place at 1 p.m. in Guthrie Park at the Gold Star Memorial Flagpole. The event will include placing the Navy wreath in the Des Plaines River in honor of all American veterans killed in action and buried at sea. | Source: hines.va.gov

River Forest Memorial Day Parade 

Constitution Park, at Ashland and Division in River Forest, 9:30 a.m., will mark the starting point and time of that town’s 93rd Annual Memorial Day Parade. The parade is presented by the River Forest Service Club, the River Forest Parks Foundation, the River Forest Park District and the village of River Forest. The parade will travel from Constitution Park south on Ashland Avenue to Lake Street, then west to Keystone Park. Top it off with a FREE hotdog lunch. | Source: rfparks.com.

Elmhurst Memorial Day Parade

York and Third Streets, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The village of Elmhurst’s 100th Memorial Day Parade begins near Elmhurst City Hall, 209 N. York Rd., goes south on York to bypass, returns on York to Church Street and west on Prospect Avenue to Wilder Park. Top it off with a military ceremony. This year’s parade is presented by the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Elmhurst American Legion T.H.B. Post 187, Veterans of Foreign Wars Villa Park Post 2801, the city of Elmhurst and the Elmhurst Park District. | Source: elmhurstchamber.org.

Naperville Memorial Day Parade

Starting west from Mill Street along Jackson Avenue, at 10:30 a.m., Naperville’s annual Memorial Day Parade will proceed north up Washington Street to Benton Avenue and into Central Park. Top it off with a 30-minute observance beginning at 12:15 p.m. at the Naperville Community Concert Center in Central Park.  | Source: downtownnaperville.com.

Centennial Commemoration of the Battle of Cantigny

Cantigny Park, 1 S. 151 Winfield Road in Wheaton, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This FREE event commemorates the 100th anniversary of America’s first key battle in World War Watch as costumed performers read letters from soldiers spanning from World War I to Operation Desert Storm. Meet some feathered friends and get hands-on with World War I themed activities fun for the whole family. | Source: cantigny.org.

Westchester Flag Raising Ceremony 

Mayfair Park, at the corner of Mayfair and Wakefield Streets in Westchester, 10 a.m., experience a FREE flag-raising ceremony. | Source: mykidlist.com. VFP

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Monday, May 28, 2018 || By Michael Romain || @maywoodnews 

Featured image: Firefighters responded to two fires at 420 S. 21st Ave. in Maywood twice on Memorial Day. | Courtesy Maywood Fire Chief Craig Bronaugh 

One Maywood family has been temporarily displaced after two fires broke out in their home in the span of several hours on May 28. No injuries were reported.

According to Maywood Fire Chief Craig Bronaugh, at around 3:10 a.m. on Monday, Maywood firefighters responded to a call for assistance at a home at 420 S. 21st Ave.

“Someone in the residence awoke to a smoke alarm going off in the house and those inside quickly exited, escaping unharmed,” Bronaugh said. “A person next door called the fire department.”

Bronaugh said that the origin of that first fire started in a basement living space inside of the house.

Several hours later, at around 8 a.m., Bronaugh said that Maywood firefighters were called back to the home. Fire departments from Bellwood and Broadview assisted with the response.

“There was some smoldering in a plumbing wall, so [firefighters] had to come back out and extinguish that,” the chief said. “There were no injuries, thankfully, because the home had smoke alarms that were present and operable at the time.”

Bronaugh said that the American Red Cross was called out to assist the family with finding temporary shelter and providing other resources.

“There is some extensive smoke and water damage to the basement and there’s damage to the bathroom floor,” Bronaugh said. “The space where the plumbing for the bathroom was also damaged.”

He said that the causes of both fires are still under investigation, adding that he did not have enough information to confirm whether the two incidents — which happened at two different places in the home — were connected.

This is at least the second fire that’s happened in Maywood within three days that has resulted in residents being displaced.

The damage from a fire that happened at 215 N. 2nd Ave., at around 4:28 p.m. on May 26 was so extensive that a first-floor apartment unit was made temporarily uninhabitable and tenants had to find emergency shelter.

“Fires seem to happen in spurts,” Bronaugh said. “We were quiet for a while and at one point, we had quite a few. Hopefully, these recent fires aren’t part of a streak where we’ll be seeing lots of them.” VFP 

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Tuesday, May 29, 2018 || By Tim Inklebarger/Wednesday Journal || @maywoodnews 

Featured image: Nhemya Ward, a funeral director and embalmer, left, and Ilene Johnson, general manager, funeral director and embalmer inside of Johnson Funeral Home in Chicago on May 25. | Alexa Rogals

As the director of Smith & Thomas Funeral Home in Maywood, Ilene Johnson has participated in countless funeral processions, and in every one she sees the same thing — motorists attempting to get past the long line of cars, so they don’t have to be held up.

“I see the expression on people’s faces,” she said with a laugh, describing the exasperated looks some give when they know they have to wait for the procession.

Some don’t wait, swerving around the line of vehicles or breaking into the procession, she said. It’s one of the most dangerous moments in a funeral for everyone involved.

“I call it ‘Beat the hearse’,” she said.

Johnson and others say the processions are made even more dangerous when they involve the death of a slain gang member. Law enforcement officials have dubbed them “rowdy processions” — many of which pass through Oak Park and Forest Park along Roosevelt Road and Jackson Boulevard — because of gang members blocking traffic, threatening other motorists, hanging out of car windows and, in some cases, firing weapons.

Hillside police arrested four suspected gang members on Dec. 5, 2017, following a funeral at Oakridge Cemetery that passed through Oak Park. It was reported that the men discharged a firearm after Forest Park Police Chief Tom Aftanas redirected the procession to the Eisenhower Expressway as it headed from the West Side of Chicago to Hillside.

The frequency of such dangerous processions has increased over the last few years, prompting the Cook County Board of Commissioners to establish a task force to find ways to reduce the trend. Those in the so-called “death care” industry are also looking for solutions to keep their staff and patrons safe, but they worry that the effort could result in fines and increased regulatory burdens for funeral home operations.

Cathlene Johnson, Ilene’s sister, who serves as director of Johnson Funeral Home, 5838 W. Division St., about three blocks east of Oak Park, says characterizing the processions as “rowdy” has gotten the conversation off to a rough start.

“We’re really sensitive about the language we’ve been hearing at these meetings. And the funerals being associated with violence,” she said, noting that those in the industry refer to them as “high-risk funerals.”

She told the Forest Park Review that the vast majority of funerals in and around Chicago are incident free, and it’s only a few people who are causing trouble. “Part of our role and responsibility as funeral directors is to bring that risk down,” she said.

Cathlene and Ilene Johnson attended a roundtable discussion in Forest Park on May 23, in preparation for the new task force, which has not yet held its first meeting.

Cook County Detective Sergeant Jason Moran told those at the roundtable that Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has tasked him with finding solutions to reduce the risk at gang-related processions. “The first thing we said is we cannot criminalize funerals and wakes, so that is something that is very important,” he said.

Moran said the Glenn Oak-Oakridge Cemetery in Hillside is the “primary cemetery that we’re currently having problems with.” The county, he said, is attempting to deal with the problem immediately by establishing a police detail of two county officers every Friday and Saturday at the cemetery’s expense.

The sheriff’s department also is calling on funeral directors to self-report gang-related funeral processions. It’s been a challenge to understand the scope of the problem, he said, adding, “There isn’t necessarily a funeral-related or a death-care industry-related code that we can just stick into a computer and have it spit back out how many incidents we’ve had.”

Brian Pickett, owner of Pickett Funeral Group, said he keeps law enforcement officials apprised of potential high-risk funerals. A police presence can help reduce the potential for violence, he said at the meeting.

“Generally when I’m coming through Oak Park, I’ll call Oak Park, I’ll call Forest Park and let them know we’re coming through. Most of the time Chicago [police] talks to them, but other times they haven’t,” he said.

Pickett said he discourages families from directing the processions through areas where rival gang members might be present. Pickett said he recently had to tell a family that it wasn’t safe to run the procession through an area where their loved one was killed because of the potential for retaliation.

“He got killed over there and they wanted to go back through there because he was from there,” he recalled, telling those at the roundtable that he rerouted the procession because he wanted to keep his staff and attendees safe.

“If they go back through there and they get to shooting, you’re gonna get hurt,” he told the family. “Now we’re dealing with another service, so it’s better to take the ride on out to the cemetery.”

Nhemya Ward, a funeral director and embalmer with the Johnson and Smith & Thomas funeral homes — all of which are owned by Mary Smith — said her operations also contact police when they know a high-risk funeral is expected.

Cathlene Johnson said funeral directors often know if the burial is gang-related because of information they collect in the obituary and from social media. They sometimes find gang-related tattoos on the body of the deceased, she said.

A gang shooting took place outside of the Johnson Funeral Home, 5838 W. Division St., on May 12, she noted.

No one was injured in the shooting as family members and loved ones left the funeral home. Both Cathlene and Ilene were taken by surprise; it was the first shooting that’s ever taken place at the 10-year-old facility, they said.

Cathlene said one of the problems with such processions is a lack of police presence and few consequences for dangerous behavior. She wants to warn those in the procession that their cars can be impounded for bad behavior, and she’s also encouraging police to enforce the law.

“We don’t want it to go too far, but we want to let them know this is serious,” she said. “There’s some decorum that’s required here, and if you can’t follow the guidelines or the procedures, there’s consequences that can happen.”

Ward said she’s concerned that law enforcement will take action against funeral homes by way of fines for dangerous funeral processions.

“You’ve got to be careful with that because it starts off with fining the cemetery today, but then they’ll be looking to fine the funeral home, and then you’ll have a predicament where no funeral home would want a high-risk  funeral, so now you have a family that can’t … bury their loved ones,” she said. VFP

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Tuesday, May 28, 2018 || By Michael Romain || @maywoodnews 

The consensus at the fifth and final facilities master plan community engagement session — held May 15 at Proviso Math and Science Academy in Forest Park — was loud, clear and expressed most stridently by Jose Espin, a PMSA parent.

“I’m really concerned about this idea of moving PMSA into East or West,” said Espin, the father of a current PMSA student and of a graduate of the magnet school.

“I’ve been trying to wrap my head around how this is even an idea. … We will be literally killing PMSA and what it stands for,” he said. “Everyone has told me, ‘If they move PMSA to either East or West, we’ll pull our kids out of PMSA [and] take them to private school or move to another town.'”

Espin said he has “a 12-year-old studying hard to make it into PMSA,” then told the district, “There is no more debate to have. Drop this today. This is it.”

Although Proviso Township High Schools District 209 school board President Ned Wagner said the meeting was designed to give community members a platform to share specific facility-related ideas with board members, most of the roughly two dozen people who offered public comment at the meeting echoed, in one way or another, Espin’s sentiment.

“This [meeting] is not necessarily designed to talk about whether we’re closing or combining schools,” Wagner said, before pointing out that those in attendance nonetheless “have the right to talk about what you feel is important to talk about.”

At the fourth community engagement session, held April 24 at PMSA, architects from Perkins + Will — the firm hired last year to facilitate the master facilities planning process — presented three concepts for each school.

Two of the nine concepts — which were also the most unpopular among those in attendance at the meeting — called for Proviso East and Proviso West to absorb PMSA, which would be relocated from its current campus in Forest Park to either of the two other schools.

The architects, district administration officials and board members have repeatedly stressed that the facilities master plan process is still in the preliminary phases and that the board has not yet formally weighed in on the matter one way or another. They’ve also stressed that there has been no talk of actually closing PMSA as a selective enrollment institution.

But those who spoke against the idea of relocating PMSA’s physical campus said closing the school and relocating the campus is a distinction without a difference.

“When PMSA families ask if the school will be closing, the standard response from the district is, ‘No one is talking about closing the school.’ Yet, the opposite is true,” said Eddie Tam, a PMSA parent.

“Moving PMSA to another host campus is the same as closing the school,” Tam added. “Splitting PMSA so that it can be relocated on two separate campuses is the same as closing the school. Either of these options will destroy the culture, learning environment and mission of the school.”

During the nearly three-hour meeting, some PMSA students and faculty members lamented what they felt was the hostility between PMSA and its two facility counterparts during the master plan’s early stages. They said the hostility would be exacerbated if relocating PMSA were actually carried out.

“We believe [relocating PMSA to East or West] may cause more dismay and segregation,” said Maddy Norton, a PMSA sophomore and student leader. “How would you monitor who is going into the PMSA wing?”

Norton presented the results of a recent student-conducted survey administered at the three schools that showed that between 70 and 80 percent of PMSA students who responded believe their school is friendly, said that they are involved in extracurricular activities and believe themselves and/or their peers to be hardworking.

Among respondents at East and West, Norton said, the percentages were significantly lower. At East and West, respectively, 46 percent and 42 percent of students felt their school was friendly; 54 percent and 46 percent said they are involved in extracurricular activities; and 46 percent and 27 percent believe themselves and/or their peers to be hardworking, Norton said.

Fernando Ortiz, another PMSA student, said a student-conducted survey administered to 100 respondents at PMSA revealed that 75 percent of freshmen who were surveyed “reported that they’d want to leave the district if the merger happens.”

Samantha Chavez, a sophomore at PMSA who described herself as a “quirky, nerdy individual,” said she feels a sense of confidence at PMSA that she wouldn’t feel while attending the magnet school at East or West.

Neal Rutstein, a PMSA math teacher, said the “animosity that has now grown up against this issue, where one school is being pitted against another, will be exacerbated” if PMSA is relocated.

Rutstein, along with some PMSA students and community members, said their descriptions of PMSA as a more welcoming educational environment shouldn’t be construed as a putdown directed to East or West; rather, they argued, the aspects at PMSA that have made it one of the best schools in the county and state, according to multiple rankings, should be duplicated at its two sister schools.

Some PMSA faculty members said that relocating the magnet school, which first opened nearly 15 years ago, would risk upsetting a dynamic that, to this point, has been rather successful.

“I’ve gotten distressed from all of this talk about moving PMSA,” said Sylvia Foti, a PMSA English teacher.

“You cannot take what has been working so well against so many odds and propose such a radical change,” she said. “I was a journalist for 29 years before becoming a teacher and I believe that if you move the school, it will be a public relations disaster. Please don’t move the school.”

Peter Scheidler, a PMSA math teacher, said he once worked at a small high school located in a former elementary school building in Chicago. That high school, he said, was moved into another school and “within two years that school was gone.”

“To me, hearing a school within a school concept floated is a little bit like a bad dream. I’ve watched students go through this terror of finding out that their school was on the chopping block,” Scheidler said.

“Thanks for having these meetings,” he added. We had these meetings and people said the same line, ‘No one is talking about closing schools.’ That wasn’t true in Chicago. It was already a done deal. The meetings were a formality. This isn’t just a formality. Thank you.”

Scheidler, who said he’s worked at a Proviso Township feeder district, said the prospect of getting accepted into PMSA gave his eighth-grade students something to aspire to.

But some people weren’t satisfied with the narrative being focused solely on PMSA.

“Why should I choose between paying for a private institution and crossing my fingers, hoping she’s accepted into PMSA?” said Pia Davis, a Hillside resident who noted her 11-year-old granddaughter is preparing for high school. “That should not be an alternative. That is unacceptable.”

Wagner said the district will be conducting “a lot more analysis,” including demographic and real estate analysis, during the summer before a final facilities master plan recommendation is possibly brought to the board sometime in November. VFP 

Watch YouTube video of the complete meeting below:

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Tuesday, May 29, 2018 || By Michael Romain || @maywoodnews 

Featured image: Thomas Jefferson Woods, on the east side of Proviso East’s campus. | Google Earth 

Amid the public dialogue about the future of Proviso Math and Science Academy, some attendees at the May 15 master facilities plan community engagement session also presented some explicit facilities-related ideas and concerns.

Robert Cox, a 1972 graduate of Proviso East and Forest Park resident, presented the 2018 Proviso Lab Initiative — a project Cox started in October. Cox said the initiative was the product of “six teachers, a couple of administrators and a Cook County Forest Preserve representative” engaging in a plan to transform the eastern border of Proviso East.

The Thomas Jefferson Woods constitutes a shared border between East and Cook County. Cox and other stakeholders want to see that area transformed into an “open and sustainable boys and girls cross country trail” that would be meet IHSA requirements and be used by multiple school sports and PE courses, as well as by community members.

Cox said the initiative also envisions a transformation of the wooded space that’s similar to public improvement projects in places like New York City — where government, nonprofit officials and other stakeholders collaborated to transform a 1.45-mile piece of defunct elevated rail track into a linear park, greenway and trail.

Cox added that the initiative could also include the construction of a building for Proviso students dedicated to science, technology, engineering, art and technology (STEAM) programs.

Hillside resident Roger Romanelli, a 1985 Proviso West graduate, said he’d like to see the district install a bike repair shop in all three schools, along with indoor bicycling facilities. He said he’d also like the district to look into solar panels, wind turbines, biomass and other reusable, alternative energy sources.

“There’s a lot of green space at all of the schools,” Romanelli said. “I’d like to see potential arboretums.”

Romanelli added that there’s currently no way for interested residents to find out the district’s basic capital needs — such as air conditioning (which neither East nor West currently has, he said), roofing repairs and other upgrades. He also said the district should consider adding more detailed narratives about certain aspects of the facilities master plan process.

He pointed out that the civic group he leads, called Hillside Forward, will be hosting meetings about the facilities master plan process, among other education and community related issues, throughout the summer. VFP 

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Wednesday, May 30, 2018 || By Community Editor || @maywoodnews 

Featured image: Graduates of Proviso East High School celebrate during commencement 2018. | Courtesy District 209 

The Proviso High Schools District 209 Class of 2018 graduated earlier this month. Below is a full list of the names of those graduates provided by D209 officials:

Proviso East

 A

Abusaimeh,  Ali

Adams,  Deiontay

Aguirre,  Edgar

Ajayi,  Jasia

Aldaco,  Abraham

Alvarez,  Joshua

Alvarez,  Yovan

Alvarez-Quiñones,  Juan

Arias,  Kevin

Aristy, Jaime  Hazel

Arita,  Edwin

Armenta-Ramirez,  Daniel

Arredondo,  Elisarelly

Austin,  Brian

Avelar,  Isabel

Avitia,  Francisco

Avner,  Christopher

Ayala,  Gisella

B

Baca,  Luis

Banks,  Jermaine

Barajas,  Emma

Barbosa,  Brandon

Barraza-Rodriguez, Elias

Barrett,  Theodore

Barrios,  Kevin

Bates,  Tyrin

Bautista,  Damian

Beavers,  Robert

Beavers,  Daja

Bennett Jr,  Quinlan

Bennett Jr,  Richie

Bernal,  Ana

Biosah,  Moses

Blach,  Donna

Blue,  Tremel

Borjas,  Alex

Boyce,  Stephen

Boyd,  Morrisa

Brown,  Cameron

Brown,  Daliyah

Brown,  Donovan

Brown,   Jenelle

Brown,  McKassidy

Brown,  Tavares

Burley,  John

Butler,  Bryanna

C

Cano,  Lizbeth

Carrera,  Lorena

Castellanos,  Rachel

Castro-Romero,  Brissa

Cepeda,  Lesley

Chavez,  Jonathan

Cisneros,  Brianna

Claudio,  Kasandra

Colin,  Vanessa

Collier,  Symone

Cooke,  Antawn

Cooper,  Danny

Coronado-Solorio,  Ricardo

Cortez,   David

Crout,   Jay’Lan

Curry,   Starlette

D

Davis,  Juwan

De Los Angele,  Jose

Deschryver,  Vanessa

Diaz,  Jose Armando

Diaz-Ocampo ,  Daniel

Dobbs,  Dajah

Dorsey,  Karen

Douglas,  Joseph

E

El-Barbarawi,  Raneen

English,  Senari

Escutia,  Eileen

Espindola,  Josue

F

Fajardo,  Emily

Featherston,  Marcus

Felton,  Olivia

Flores,  Jose

Flores,  Jesus

Flores,  Adan

Flores,  Ricardo

Fowler,  Justice

Fowlkes,  Keenan

Fulgencio-Pintor,  Jennifer

G

Garcia,  Erick

Garcia,  Jesus

Garcia,  Maritza

Garrett,  Daija

Gibbs,  Nadia

Gomez,   April

Gomez-Marcelo,  Ildeberto

Gomez-Palacio,  Johan

Gonzalez,  Daniel

Gonzalez Jr,   Anthony

Gonzalez-Garcia,  Jesus

Greer,  Aamya

Grigsby,  Kierra

Guadarrama,  Alberto

Guzman,  Ariana

Guzman,  Hector

H

Hall-Valentine,  Malik

Harden,  Kurtisha

Harris,  Abigail

Harvey,  David

Hatley,  Dushawn

Hawkins,  Jamari

Hayes,  Bryant

Haynes,  Aaron

Haynes,  Deonte

Hearan,  Trinity

Henry,  Ashley

Hernandez,  Cintia

Hernandez,  Jovanny

Hicks Jr,  Theodore

Hood,  Jaelon

Hood,  Keisha

Hudson,  Ayinda

Hudson,  Tamela

Huggins,  Dauane

Huggins,  Deonte

Hughes,  Jaivese

Humphries,  Dejah

Huskey,  Dakota

I

Iniguez,   Enrique

Ivery,   Daetreon

Ivy,  Cameron

J

Jacob,  Essence

Jamison,  Roquan

Jimenez,  Jasmin

Johnson,  Deterrius

Johnson,  Jayla

Johnson,  Jauron

Johnson,  Jermaine

Johnson,  Kewon

Johnson,  Najja

Johnson,  Marqiese

Johnson,  Marshawon

Jones,  Jeremiah

Jones,  Miyah

Jordan-Turner,  Stantasia

Jurado,  Yerty

K

Kelly,  Kenneth

Kemp,  DaJa

King,  Raeshawn

L

Latimer Jr,  Grovell

Lawson,  Nadou

Leiva,  Maynor

Lindsey,  Joseph

Logan,   Keion

Lopez,  Eli

Lopez,  Jocelyn

Loya, Celeste

M

Madlock,  Jaelan

Martinez,  Addison

Martinez,  Adolfo

Martinez,  Freddy

Martinez,  John

Mason,  Kania

Mason,  Tatyana

Matias-Garcia,  Rocio

McCain,  Nija

McClinic,  Tiana

McGee,  Marcus

McKenzie,  Khristina

McMahan,  Ryan

Medina,  Gustavo

Mejia,  Melissa

Mendez-Delazaro,  Elizabeth

Mendoza-Corral,  Ivetth

Mendoza-Palomares,  Nayely

Mendoza-Rojas,  Andy

Mills,  Latrell

Montalvo,  Yohn

Montes,  Gabriela

Morales,  Hector

Morales,  Mariela

Moreno-Cordova, Ivan

Morens,  Raneisha

Morgan,  Ramie

Morgan,  Rayman

Morris,  Jordan

Muniz,  Karla

Munoz,  Nayely

Murillo,  Angel

Murphy,  Darius

Murry,  Shamont

N

Nance,  Bianca

Navarro,  Irene

Nicanor-Orozco, Pablo

Nichols,  Lauryn

O

  Ochoa,  Caroline

  Oliver J,  Kwesi

Onofre,  Christian

Ortega,  Karina

Ortega-Perez,  Juan

Ortiz,  Marian

Ospina,  Steven

Oviedo,  Viridiana

P

Padilla-Leanos,  Alondra

Patino,  Mayra

Perez,  Jeanette

Perez,  Eduardo

Pinela,  Samuel

Poorman, Samantha

Porter,  Aylisha

Potts,  Derrick

Powell,  Kolbi

R

Ramirez,  Jaime

Ramos-Mesa,  Laura

Ramos,  Kiana

Randle,  Chanel

Randolph,  Melissa

Redd,  Chrishaun

Reyes,  Cindi

Reyes,  Izac

Reyes,  Jonathan

Reyes,  Lizzette

Richardson,  Kyla

Richardson,  Yasmine

Rios,  Alexandra

Rivas,  Alan

Robinson,  Aleshia

Robinson,  Jasmine

Robinson,  Terry

Robinson,  Ashley

Robles,  Ariana

Rodriguez,  Emily

Rodriguez,  Gianella

Rodriguez,  Imelda

Rodriguez,  Mario

Rodriguez,  Daisy

Rogers,  Jaylen

Rojo,  Maira

Rollins,  Geno

Ross,  Cameron

Ross,  Samuel

Rouse,  Nachelle

Rubio,  Vanessa

Rufino-Cortes,  Nicolas

Ruiz,  Jazmine

Ruiz-Avalos,  Eduardo

Ryan,  Semaj

S

Salgado,  Elliott

Sanchez,  Lourdes

Sanchez,  Misael

Santander,  Julia

Sashington,  Emmit

Saucedo,  Isabel

Sharif,  Omar

Shelwood,  Karina

Shorter,  Harquesha

Simmons,  Jamal

Smith,  Kesha

Smith,  Latisha

Smith,  Terrence

Smothers,  Alexis

Sowell,  Jeramia

Spain,  Sierra

Stackhouse,  Angel

Suarez,  Alexiz

T

Talmadge,  Dasia

Talmadge,  Ciana

Tankson,  Biance

Tapia,  Lesley

Tarver,  Kiara

Tejada,  Kevin

Toney,  Tiera

Torres,  Cristian

Townes,  Charrell

Trujillo,  Ericka

Trujillo-Lopez,  Nayeli

Turner,  Regina

Tyler,  Kiante

V

Valdez,  Charlie

Varela,  Arnold

Vasquez-Ramirez,  Jaquelin

W

Wallace,  Jermaine

Washington,  Damion

Washington,  Darnell

Washington,  Emani

Weston,  Rahkya

Williams,  Darnell

Williams,  Porsha

Williams,  Victor

Williams,  Nitaya

Wollenschlager,  Cameron

Woods,  Marquise

Wright,  Michael

Y

Yanez,  Deztynie

Young,  Justine

Z

Zaragoza,  Giselle

Zaragoza,  Marisol

Zaragoza,  Sebastian

Zarco,  Aracely

Zollicoffer,  Rickia

Zuno-Duran,  Stephanie

PMSA

A

Aceves,  Jailine

Aguero,  Carolyn

Aguilar,  Cassandra

Aguilar,  Jose

Alarcon,  Raquel

Allen, Ebonee Khalina

Alonso,  Abraham

Amaya,  Jesenya

Andrade,  Jonathan

Aquino,  Kevin Omar

Aragon,  Kimberly

Arroyo,  Alitzel

Ayala,  Diamond

Ayala,  Paoly

B

Baca,  Cesar

Beltran,  Steve Ethanicholas

Bibian,  Joselyn

Blaylock,  Troy Devon

Bowen,  Sierra LeNae

Brennan,  Alison Marie

Brooks,  Devin

Bryant,  Deonte Marquise

Buenrostro,  Elena Maria

C

Canelo,  Jason Francisco

Cano,  Abigail

Canut-Salto,  Daniel

Carreno Ayala,  Brian

Carreon,  Daniel

Carrera,  Evelyn Garcia

Chavez-Cesario,  Esteban

Conrad,  Lydia Simone

Contreras,  Saul

Cordero,  Yarizet

Coronado,  Emanuel

Covelli,  Marylouise

Craine,  Lauryn

Cuevas,  Jocelyne

D

Dawson,  John Michael

Delatorre,  Seth Zion

Denton,  Jasmine Rossie

Dhillon,  Prabhjot

Diaz,  Diana Laura

Diaz,  Edgar

Diaz,  Paulina

Dominguez,  David Augustin

E

Echeverria,  Jaquelyn

Esparza,  Leonardo

F

Fernandez,  Giselle

Figueroa,  Betsy

Flowers,  Whitney Aaliyah

Fluker,  Briance

G

Garcia,  Melissa

Garcia,  Perla

Gibson,  Dadrianna

Godinez,  Jessica

Godinez,  Jose Antonio

Greer,  Cayla

Gurga,  Jonathan Robert

Gutierrez,  Nestor Daniel

Guzman-Aguirre,  Ariana

H

Henriquez,  Leslie Sabrina

Heredia,  Sofia

Hernandez,  Iyleah

Hernandez,  Jose

Herring,  Anthony Jalen

Hodges,  Jaide Renee

J

Jackson,  Marcedes

James,   Chelsea Nicole

Johnson, Jeffrey Jose

K

Kassar,  Suha

Khan,  Sadiya

L

Lara, Yamil

Lightford,  Isaiah L

Limon,  Eduardo Felipe

Loggins,  Kaylen

Lopez,  Marisol

Lopez,  Miguel Angel

Love,  Donte B

Lynch,  Larry

M

Mancha,  Benito

Mancha-Mireles,  Joanna

Manuel,  Lacey

Marquez,  Emily Elexia

Martinez,  Carolina

Martinez,  Maria D

Matten,  Tyler Leeann

Maxwell,  Adrianna Sharnice

Melchor,  Eduardo

Mendiola,  Jennifer

Mendoza,  Kaya C

Mendoza-Garcia,  Diana Victoria

Mendoza-Vega,  Edgar

Miranda,  Ailynn

Molden,  Dajah R

Montanez,  Rebekkah Nohemi

Moore,  Kasharii Lnee

Moore, Trever DavidHuey

Moraga,  Mark

Morales,  Eduardo

Mosquera,  Robert

Munoz,  Gustavo

N

Nava,  Ariana

Nukunya,  Eli Yawa

O

Ocampo,  Brittany Angelika

Ocegueda,  Eduardo

Ocegueda-Aldape,  Cornelio

Oyetayo, Omolabake Oluwaremilekun

P

Padilla,  Andrea

Pagan, J essica Jeanette

Palacios,  Anthony P

Palomino-Gomez,  Andres

Paredes,  Pablo Alexander

Patel,  Hemali K

Peaches,  Nyah Shaevon

Perdomo,  Oliver Alexander

Perez,  Ana Karen

Pickett,  TaJae

Pope,  Tyler

Porter,  Sela

Puente,  Karly Nicole

R

Ramirez,  Emily

Ramos,  Daniel

Ray,  Kwinece Briae

Reda,  Juliana Marie

Redmond,  Taylor Janee

Reyes-Jaimes,  Monserrat

Rivas,  Karen

Rivera,  Estevan

Roberson,  Lonyea Renee

Robinson,  Amari D

Robinson,  Talia M

Roby,  Jalen J

Rodriguez,  Jocelyn

Rodriguez,  Valeria

Rolling,  Jasmine R

Rollins,  Antonio Omar

Rosario,  Alex

Rubio,  Gisselle Lynette

Ruelas,  Marieli Irazema

Ruiz,  Daniel

S

Salinas-Zavala,  Joshua

Sanders,  Linda K

Sapitula,  Michael Joshua

Sigaran,  Christian

Silva, E velin

Simmons,  Micayla AshlinDaray

Solis,  Luis Armando

Stec,  Gabriella Joanna

Stubblefield,  Valerie Mashell

Sykes,  Kyra Denise

T

Thomas,  Jared E

Turner,  NeeYonna Latrice

V

Valencia,  Daniela N

Valtierrez,  Emmanuel Jonathan

Vazquez-Rodriguez, Sergio Brayan

Vega,  Damian

Vera Valdez,  Yajaira Alida

W

Williams,  Akeia Nicole

Williams,  Tiaja Eunique

Z

Zaragoza,  Luis Antonio

Zenteno,  Alejandro

Zepeda,  Omar J

Proviso West

A

Acencio, Arturo

Aceves, Melissa

Adger, Ernestine

Aguirre, Brianna

Alcocer, Rodrigo

Alexander, Dashae

Alexander, Michael Xavier

Alexander, Jada

Alexander, Arielle

Alfaro, Christopher

Allen, Alicia

Allgood, Ronnie

Amador, Angelina

Amaro, Maria

Anderson, Gianna

Anderson, Tyler

Anderson, Tyrek

Anderson, Taylor

Anthony, Jordan

Arceneaux, Dennis

Armstrong, Raypheal

Armstrong, Deshawn

Arreola, Molina Leslye

Arroyo, Angel

Arroyo, Alexis

Avendano, Ivette

Avitia, Ricky A

Ayala, Alexis

Ayala, Kimberly

B

Baez, Melissa

Bailey, Amaiya

Banks, Kayla

Banks, Jamille

Banks, Jeremy

Banuelos, Alondra

Barns, Keyera

Barrera, Guadalupe

Bautista, Junior

Bautista, Justin

Bibiano, Daniela

Blackwell, Zaire

Blount, Isaac

Bodor, Amber

Body, John

Botello, Eduardo

Branch, Jamal

Bridge, D’Ahnie

Brown, Gabriella

Bruns, Justin

Bryant, Deveon

Bryant, Felicia

Buchanan, J’mya

Burbridge, Roshaun

Burbridge, Johnathan

Burtin, Demetrious

Busby, DNaria

Byrdlong, Jahnari

C

Cabantog, Luigi Miguel

Cabral, Erick

Caldwell, Ambrielle

Caldwell, Alex

Campbell, Dayja

Campos, Rojo Cynthia

Campoverde, Laisha

Casimiro, Alondra

Castaneda, Tatiana

Castillejo, Alondra

Castillejo, Eduardo

Cazares, Raul

Cervantes, Cristal

Chatman, Zion

Chavez, Amaranta

Chavez, Samantha

Chavez, Angelica

Christian, Tyrese

Clay, Tamila

Coleman, Davin

Collins, Aniya

Colon, Javier

Conley, Kemion

Contreras, Dayana

Conway, Vernesha

Cooper, NyJah

Cordon, Portillo Katherine

Corona-Balois, Yamilet

Cosby, Briana

Crawley, Alyssa

Crosby, Jr. Derrick

Cruz, Omar

Cruz, Eduardo

Cubrilo, Filip

D

Damian, Vanessa

Daniel, Geraldine

Daniels, Tyshaun

Davis, Dakare

Delgado, Sergio

Delgado, Cruz

Delgado, Andres

Dias, Giovonni

Dismukes, Mieisha

Dorado-Cooremans, Yolanda Vanessa

E

Edwards, Nicholas

Edwards, Mya

Elder, Hallah

Elery, Ashley

Ellis-O’Neal, Trevell

Espinoza, Sonia

Esquivel, Diana

Estrada, Javier

Estrada, Jaime Alexis

F

Falls, Fabian

Favela, Maria

Felix, Sahian

Fentress, Deonte

Fields, Bryant

Fierro, George

Fisher, Cameryn

Fisher-Porties, Zacaria

Flores, Leonardo

Flores, Jesus

Foster, Rihanna

Fox, John

Frazier, Javien

G

Gallegos, Edwin

Gamble, Zacchaeus

Gaona, Aide

Garcia, Tomas

Garcia, Yasmin

Garcia, Fernando

Garcia, Janette

Garcia, Lisbev

Garcia, Valerie

Garcia, Manuel

Garcia, Francisco

Gardea-Hita, Samuel

Gegeanis, James

Gibson, Kiara

Godoy, Nora

Granados, Maria

Green, Justin

Greene, Jermaine

Grove, Cameron

Guerrero, Gustavo

Guzman, Liana

Guzman, Kassandra

Guzman, Baltazar

H

Haggerty, Alexis

Harper, Deja

Harper, Teja

Harris, Erica

Harris, Leonard

Hawkes, Curtis

Hayes, Amani

Haywood, Dejah

Head, Devon

Henriquez, Jeffrey

Henry, Keeva

Henry, Jarayah

Hernandez, Arlene

Hernandez, Adriana

Hernandez, Lourdes

Hernandez, Maricruz

Herrera, Davin

Herrera, Emily

Herrera, Diego

Herring, Jaydin

Hester, Shannon

Hill, Matthew

Hodges, Vershon

Hoggan, LaMonica

Holmes, Joseph

Horton, Nyree

Hudson, Kyle

Hunt, Ayana

J

Jacobo, Perla

Jefferson, Kristen

Jenkins, Keanu

Jennings, Deja

Jimenez, Erika

Johnson, Alexis

Johnson, Jasmine

Johnson, Kaneasha

Jones, Jane

Jones, Chantel

Jones, Jelis

Jordan, Asia

Juarez, Jailene

K

Kelly, Darian

Kimble, Jakyra

Kimbrough, Tanayea

King, Emily

Kirkendall, Jaylyn

Kwasniewski, Annette

L

Latham, Fabian

Lawrence, Tatyana

Laws, Mia

Lazaro-Sanchez, Ashley

Le Faire, Annalyse

Lee, Louis

Lewellen, Alexis

Lindsey, Tamika

Lizama, Brian

Lopez, Estefany

Lopez Jr., Jose

Lozano, Roberto

Lucas, Victor

Lucero, Alexa

M

Macasero, John

Mackey, Essynce

Manard, Dejah

Martin, Kidada

Martinez, Emily

Martinez, Brenda

Matthews, Tahmia

McBride, Jermaine

McDaniel, Joshawn

Mena, Angelica

Mercado, Carolina

Miller, Aniya

Miller, William

Miranda, David

Mireles, Alfredo

Montes, Jesus

Montoya, Frances

Mora, Leslie

Moreno, Jose

Moreno, Rafael

Morris, Kenn

Morrison, Kyle

Moss, Arianna

Mundo, Bryan

Myers, Tyler

N

Navarrete, Edgar

Newson, Eric

Nichols, Alexis

Nimock, Dion

Nolen, Jayla

Nunez, Uriel

O

Ocampo, Jennifer

Ocampo, Nidia

Ocampo, Joshua

Ochoa, Julissa

Onipede, Shania

Onofre, Tony

Ornelas, Raul

Ortega, Luis

Ortega, Melissa

Ortega-Clara, Samantha

Ortiz, Jaqueline

Ortiz, Yesenia

P

Palma, Alexis

Palmer, Deonte

Pantoja, Cristian

Patton, Eria

Payton, Tretale

Pegues, Jaron

Pena, Jesus

Pena, Jacquez

Penge, Kelsey

Peoples, Amiya

Peoples-Hargrett, A’Shunti

Perales, Roberto

Perez, Angel

Pierce, Demeco

Pointer, Charnae

Powell, Sharonda

Prewitt, Nicholas

R

Rajput, Sonali

Ramirez, Alexis

Rankins, Jovon

Raygoza, Krystal

Reedy, Bianjhane

Reedy, Jamel

Rene, Chresner

Reyes, Guadalupe

Reynolds, Teejay

Rhyne, Taylor

Richmond, Jade

Riley, Reena

Riley, Latavia

Roa, Orlando

Robinson, DeJonna

Robinson, Darius

Robinson, Tamia

Robinson, Daija

Rocha, Tanya

Rodriguez, Madeline

Rodriguez, Mersade

Rodriguez, Raul

Rodriguez, Francisco

Roman, Francisco

Romero, Eder

Romero, Lucy

Rosario, Yezenia

Ruffin, Jackson Shekinah

Ruiz, Jesus

Ruiz-Fonseca, David

S

Salas, Agustin

Salazar, Leslie

Salgado, Jonathan

Salinas, Stephanie

Sampson, Brooklyn

Sanchez-Gonzalez, Paula

Sanders, Kenterrius

Sandoval, Jasmin

Sandoval, Hernandez Perla

Santos, Marc

Sapp, Kayvon

Sarabia, Jessica

Scott, Eryka

Scott, Sharina

Semmes, Kyle

Servin, Guadalupe

Servin, Maria

Shelton, Korrey

Sierra, Reyes Marlen

Skinner, Adrianne

Smiley, Miles

Smith, Deja

Smith, Jamylah

Smith, Alexis

Smith, Beriyah

Smith, Daijane

Smith, Kelsey

Smith, Tia

Smith, Albert

Smith, Tyshoun

Smith, Wiliam

Solano, Kevin

Solano, Jose

Solano, Pasquale

Stanciel, Mikhaila

Stenhouse, Diamond

Stevenson, Lakita

Stigger, Starrelle

Strickland, Jalen

Suarez, Veronica

Sutton, Jaylenn

Swanigan, Joshua

Sykes, NiAndre

T

Taylor, Qunitrell

Teran, Arley

Thomas, Tyvon

Thomas, DaMillion

Thurmond, Curtis

Tiggs, Tennile

Turner, Tiarah

Turner, Jonathan

Twyman, Shayne

U

Urbano, Alejandro

V

Valle, Anett

Valle, Briana

Varelas, Jailine

Varney, Kevin

Vazquez, Joel

Velazquez, Valeria

Vera, Isaac

Verdin, Jazmin

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W

Wakefield, Taylor

Walker, Keierra

Waters, Anthony

Watson, Avriel

Webb, Jade

Webb, Anthony

Wells, Shiheim

White, Jalen

Wideman, Kyra

Wilborn, Jada

Wilkins, Trevon

Williams, Kayla

Williams, Kevon

Williams, Sean

Williams, Willante

Williams, DaSean

Wilson, Ciera

Wilson, James

Wilson, Antonio

Wilson, Alantis

Winters, TeArra

Woulard, Shawn

Wright, Danielle

Wright, Dangelio

Wright, Telly

Y

Young, John

Young, Constance

Young, Ahrianne

Young, Burrell

Wednesday, May 30, 2018 || By Michael Romain || @maywoodnews 

Featured image: Maywood Mayor Edwenna Perkins, far right, the mayor’s administrative assistant Jonette Greenhow and store manager Debra Glover pack a box of burgers at White Castle in Maywood on May 30. | VFP

The employees at White Castle, located at 211 W. Roosevelt Rd. in Maywood, got creative for National Hamburger Month.

On May 30, they invited Maywood Mayor Edwenna Perkins to cook and serve up those famous miniature burgers that are, quite literally, “steam-grilled on a bed of onions,” explained John Littig, a district supervisor with the restaurant who oversee nine White Castle locations.

The beef patties are punctured with five holes so that both sides of the meat can cook thoroughly without being flipped over (the holes allow the steam to cook the side that isn’t on the grill).

Perkins hands a customer their order at the window of White Castle in Maywood. | VFP 

“We’re celebrating National Hamburger Month and so we’ve asked dignitaries and village officials to come out, learn the process and meet our team,” Littig said. “It’s also good for the store managers to meet the mayor and officials, and to get some community involved. It’s all about developing those relationships.”

Perkins said that store manager Debra Glover, who has been employed with White Castle for 30 years, approached her about the opportunity.

On Wednesday, the Roosevelt Road restaurant was turned into a scene out of “Undercover Boss” (with obvious exceptions) as the mayor and Littig blended into a small crew of roughly five.

Perkins gets a lesson on cooking White House burgers on May 30. | VFP 

Littig said that the store, which was once a Checkers, employs 22 people — 95 percent of whom live in Maywood and surrounding villages.

Littig himself worked his way up to his position over a 30-year career. Another crew member, 29-year-old Rosheda Brownridge, has been working at the store for 14 years. It was her very first job. They all said that they stayed because of the work environment and the people.

Perkins, third from left, with her assistant, Jonette Greenhow, and White House crew workers during a visit on May 30. | VFP 

“This is awesome,” said Perkins. “To have them here for so long, and for them to enjoy it so much, is awesome. That’s why the service is good. They work with a smile.”

Perkins, a former post office employee, said that she’s never worked in the fast food industry, but her son and husband both did.

“I have a fond admiration for what they do,” Perkins said. VFP 

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Wednesday, May 30, 2018 || By Community Editor || @maywoodnews 

There’s a lot happening in the Proviso Township area this week. Here are just a sampling of the big events going on near you:

Let your voice be heard 

On Wednesday, May 30, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Bellwood Municipal Building, 3200 Washington Blvd. in Bellwood, representatives from Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s administration will be looking for input from residents. The county is developing a four-year strategic plan and would like to hear from residents.

Take in a book signing

On Friday, June 1, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., at AfriWare Books, 1701 W. 1st Ave. in Maywood (Suite 503 of Eisenhower Tower), Jessica Key, the author of Confessions of a Buddafi: Relationships, Food and Self-Esteem, will be host a book release event.
Two years ago, Key was 319 pounds. She’s since lost nearly 100 pounds. The book discusses here experience of overcoming and self-acceptance.

Participate in a 5k Walk/Run

On Saturday, June 2, 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. (registration) and 10 a.m. (start time), at Miller Meadow, located on the corner of 1st Ave. and Roosevelt Rd. in Maywood (Grove 6), Eternal Light Community Services will sponsor a 5K Run/Walk fundraiser.
Adult registration is $25 (or $30 if paid on the day of the event), $100 for a group of 5 adults ($120 on the day of the event) and $10 for children 12 and younger.

Attend a job fair 

On Saturday, June 2, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Proviso Math and Science Academy, 8601 W. Roosevelt Rd. in Forest Park, state Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch (7th) will host his annual job fair. This FREE event is open to the public. Call (708) 450-1000 for more info.

Get your state ID/license renewed

On Thursday, June 7, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Maywood Multipurpose Building, 200 S. 5th Ave. in Maywood, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White will host an event for anyone who needs vision screening, a driver’s license/state ID card (renewal, replacement, corrections), organ/tissue donor information, motor vehicle registration and more.

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Wednesday, May 30, 2018 || By Michael Romain || @maywoodnews 

Featured image: The intersection of Madison St. and 9th Ave. in Maywood, where a new left turn signal is slated to be installed. | Google Earth 

Driving on Madison Street in Maywood could get a lot easier now that the village’s Board of Trustees unanimously gave the green light for the installation of traffic lights with left turn signals at the intersections of 5th, 9th and 17th Avenues.

The trustees approved the matter at a regular meeting on May 15. The issue was brought to their attention by the village’s Traffic and Safety Commission and Maywood Police Chief Valdimir Talley.

The commissioners voted in March to send the recommendation before the village board after Commissioner Joe Wilson conducted a study on three intersections.

“The intersections are already configured to have left turns, so there was money spent to setup the intersections to make left turns,” Wilson said to board members during the May 15 meeting.

Wilson said that the absence of left turn signals at the three intersections slows traffics and increases the likelihood of accidents. He said that installing the signals would make the street safer for emergency vehicles, in particular.

“Since the intersection is already configured to have a left turn and the [left turn lane] is there, we should have lights set up,” he said. “That way, it’s safer for those who live here, as well as those who travel through Maywood.” 

Village officials did not discuss how soon the new signals would be installed or how much the installation would cost, but explained that the cost of installing the signals would come out of the Madison St./5th Ave. TIF budget. VFP

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Thursday, May 31, 2018 || By Nona Tepper/Forest Park Review || @maywoodnews 

Featured image: Student Edgar Guerro talks about how he came up with the layout for his model on May 16 at Proviso East High School in Maywood. | Alexa Rogals 

Cesar Martinez remembers making his own toys when he was young, stacking blocks into tall towers, deconstructing mechanical equipment and pressing Legos into one another.

“I’m very creative,” he said. “I love creating with my hands.”

A drive to create led Martinez to explore architecture, and he decided in sixth grade that he’d like to design modern houses.

During the most recent school year, he learned about a unique opportunity offered through Proviso East’s Fine Arts and Languages Department called the Reimagining Space Project, which explored ways to repurpose the long-shuttered girls pool at the school, and immediately signed up to be a part.

Senior McCassidy Brown shows off her pool model on May 16 at Proviso East. | Alexa Rogals 

As District 209 thinks about the future of its facilities, Martinez is part of a group of students who have already come up with a solution for how to reinvent the old pool: Make it into a chill room.

“So many kids are stressed about a lot of things. It’s just a space for kids to come, take any problems off their mind, be alone, think to themselves for a bit, lay down for 10 minutes or have movie nights,” said Martinez, 17.

He joined about 20 students who spent the year researching and creating scale foam models of new uses for the old pool space. Ideas included a movie screening area inside the empty pool tank and a kitchen, cellphone charging station and ping-pong table on deck.

Surveys with suggestions on what students would like to see in the area where the women’s pool is currently are posted up on the wall on May 16 at East. | Alexa Rogals 

Decorated with checkered wallpaper, Martinez’s model also offers speakers for karaoke nights, places to play videogames and a hockey table.

“I think it’s a good opportunity for the future if I do become an architect,” Martinez said.

Students started the year by surveying classmates about what kinds of spaces they believed Proviso East lacked. After reviewing the surveys, the group found their classmates wanted somewhere to spend free time and relax.

“The big idea behind socially engaged art projects is you have to involve the community,” said Marcia LaPorte, the Fine Arts and World Languages Department chairwoman, who headed the project.

The group created about 10 models for how the pool could be remade into a relaxation area. When LaPorte realized the district was reviewing its facilities, she felt a sense of serendipity.

She contacted the school district’s architecture firm and, in February, students presented their ideas to Michael Dolter and Jessica Wagner, architects from Perkins and Will, the firm leading D209’s facilities master planning process.

A group of seniors talk about how they came up with the ideas for the women’s pool ideas on May 16 at Proviso East. | Alexa Rogals 

In April, students travelled downtown and toured the architecture firm’s offices in the Wrigley Building.

“The next step, I think for architects involved in the project, is to use students’ ideas,” LaPorte said. “Nobody’s made any decisions right now on which it would be, but eventually.”

Kamya Sutton, 16, said Perkins and Will liked her group’s idea — a movie theater that includes a bed, study hall, bean bag chair and more. When she toured their office, she said she was inspired by all the foam cutouts of modern homes she saw. She’s since made a foam model of what she wants her future home to look like.

“When you have nothing to do, you could come here on your own time and chill in here,” she said of her group’s pool design. “It gives you a break, and allows you to do something on top of having fun. I really love the model.” VFP

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Thursday, May 31, 2018 || By Michael Romain || @maywoodnews 

Dozens of residents gathered inside of the gymnasium of the Maywood Multipurpose Building, 200 S. 5th Ave., on May 26 for the official kickoff of the village’s Safe Summer Initiative.

Headed up by Maywood Mayor Edwenna Perkins and Maywood Trustee Isiah Brandon, each year, the initiative compiles a list of summer activities for young people to participate in during the summer months — young people like Lamaris Smith, 15.

Smith plays football at Proviso East High School in Maywood and basketball with Danka’s Basketball League (DBL), the largest organized amateur basketball organization in the village.

The teenager said that activities such as DBL or football “are very important” and that, if he didn’t have them, he’d “probably be in the house or outside doing stuff I ain’t supposed to be doing.”

Maywood Mayor Edwenna Perkins addresses young people and other community members on May 26 for the official launch of the village’s Safe Summer Initiative. | VFP

Proviso East student Anahi Soto, who is part of Brandon’s Youth Delegation, urged students to take advantage of the free activities.

“It’s the connections you make now that affect who you are later on,” she told a crowd of roughly 20 young basketball players who were milling about, anxious to play a game that day which was organized as part of the Safe Summer launch. The young people were also given a free lunch.

“It’s good to connect with people who are older than you,” Soto said. “Summer is the time to start [making those connections].”

Denise McDermott, the local group leader for Moms Demand Action’s Oak Park chapter, urged the young people gathered to join the fight for stricter gun laws, measures that could directly affect their own livelihood and the well-beings of their loved ones.

When Phyllis Duncan, the founder of Mothers of Murdered Sons — an organization based in Proviso Township for grieving women who have lost children to gun violence — asked if any of the kids had lost relatives to gun violence, at least nine raised their hands.

“We want to encourage you all to do productive activities this summer,” Duncan said, a sentiment that Perkins echoed.

“As we launch our Safe Summer Initiative, the safety of our citizens in this great village of Maywood is my number one priority,” Perkins said. “I am thrilled that so many people and organizations have put forth a range of programming for our young people to take advantage of.” VFP 

Below is a photo of a flyer listing all of the Safe Summer-related programming: 

Friday, June 1, 2018 || By Community Editor || @maywoodnews 

Featured image: Proviso East Boys Track & Field members competing in an indoor meet earlier this year. | File 

The Proviso East and Proviso West Girls and Boys Track & Field teams made their presence felt during last month’s IHSA state finals competitions.

At the Boys Track & Field state finals meet, held May 24-26 in Charleston, the Proviso West Panthers came in 30th, while the East Pirates Pirates came in 56th, out of 78 teams.

Proviso West took first place in the 4 x 400-meter relay. The state championship relay team featured junior Gregory Williamson, seniors Kevon Williams and Derrick Crosby and sophomore Katrell Askins.

East senior Moses Ikechukwu Biosah took fifth place in the 400-meter dash.

At the Girls Track & Field state finals meet, held May 17-19 in Charleston, the Proviso West Panthers  came in 35th out of 70 teams.

The Panthers came in fourth in the 4 x 200-meter relay. The team featured all seniors: Zacaria Fisher, Talia Robinson, Cameryn Fisher and Tanayea Kimbrough.

For complete results of the IHSA Boys Track & Field state finals meets, click here. For complete results of the IHSA Girls Track & Field state finals meets, click here. VFP 

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