Oak Leaves

Baby Derby bet: I’ll have another ... bottle

Fri, 25 May 2012 18:38:13 -0500

Oak Park-area babies raced to the finish line during the recent Baby Derby at the Oak Park Public Library. Prizes were awarded for the fast crawler. More photos online at oakpark.suntimes.com. …

Entertainers perform at zoo

Sat, 26 May 2012 12:14:53 -0500

PBS entertainers perform at Brookfield Zoo …

Retired Oak Park cop stops El robbery

Thu, 24 May 2012 05:06:11 -0500

Clemet Harbour was known as a no-nonsense cop during his 32 years on the Oak Park police force. Friday morning, during a violent robbery attempt on another passenger on the Green Line elevated train, the 62-year-old showed he’s still got it. As the train slowed at a station, a teen boy started beating up a 17-year-old female student as he tried to steal her iPod. “He’s punching her with one hand and grabbing with the other,” Harbour said. “I think everyone was in shock, it happened so fast.” But Harbour didn’t flinch. “I was like, ‘Uh-uh, this can’t happen,’” he …

Julian’s LeDeaux named Mann School principal

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:48:01 -0500

After going outside the district to find principals for its two middle schools last month, District 97 tapped in-house personnel for the Mann School principal position. Sam LeDeaux, who is currently assistant principal of Percy Julian High School, was named the new Mann School chief at the Tuesday school board meeting. He starts July 1, with a one year contract calling for a base salary of $110,000. LeDeaux, 35, replaces Mann principal Nimisha Kumar, who resigned in March in the wake of reported irregularities with the administration of the ISAT achievement test. Superintendent Al Roberts said in his two years …

1.5 million people to use Midway, O’Hare this holiday weekend

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:24:01 -0500

About 1.5 million people are expected to pass through Chicago’s two airports this Memorial Day weekend, city aviation officials say.

Cusack chosen as grand marshal of parade

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:16:01 -0500

The 87th annual Memorial Day Parade rolls through River Forest on Monday, May 28. The procession starts at Constitution Park, at 10 a.m. Then it heads south on Ashland Avenue to Lake Street, and goes west to Keystone Park. The parade will honor someone who for decades was synonymous with the event, longtime River Forest Service Club member and former River Forest Village President Tom Cusack. Cusack will serve as honorary grand marshal. Club member John Hagensick said Cusack oversaw the development of the parade from a simple event into something that drew people from half a dozen towns. “When …

Oak Park, River Forest to honor veterans

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:16:01 -0500

Veterans, their families and all residents are invited to attend the Memorial Day Commemoration at 9 a.m. Monday, May 28, at the Peace Triumphant statute in Scoville Park, located at the corner of Lake Street and Oak Park Avenue. Sen. Don Harmon and Virginia Cassin will participate in the ceremonies. Redd Griffin, U. S. Army, Berlin, 1961-64, will be the keynote speaker. The History Singers, John and Kathryn Atwood, will lead patriotic singing. In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, Brian Flora, U. S. Army, Vietnam, 1969-72, with his wife, Kay Kuhlman, will portray Union veteran Wilbur …

Veteran counsels wisdom of listening

Thu, 24 May 2012 13:16:01 -0500

Redd Griffin has been many things in his 73 years. A teacher, soldier, legislator, news reporter, patriot. But mostly he considers himself a student. Of history and his own life. Seeking answers more than conclusions. For the Oak Park resident and Triton College philosophy teacher, the past is prologue. “The past is very relevant to the present,” he said. “I want to keep the continuity with the past alive.” As he grows older, Griffin said life is getting better for him. “I feel more involved, better prepared, more optimistic than I’ve ever felt in my life,” he said. In a …

Veteran counsels wisdom of listening

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:54:00 -0500

Oak Park man arrested for battery

Thu, 24 May 2012 05:07:12 -0500

A 62-year-old homeless man was charged with battery for an alleged incident in Austin Gardens, Oak Park. John G. Stigailo, who lists his address as residence in Maywood but who is reportedly homeless, was arrested on the first block of South Harlem Avenue in Forest Park at 2:29 p.m. May 13 and charged with a battery that occurred earlier that day. Stigailo allegedly punched a man during an argument in Austin Gardens, near Forest Avenue and Ontario Street. Stigailo has a history of arrests in Oak Park dating back to at least 2006. In January 2006 he was charged with …

Norridge man charged with DUI after allegedly smashing into Oak Park tree

Thu, 24 May 2012 05:07:21 -0500

A Norridge man was arrested in Oak Park for allegedly driving into a tree while under the influence of heroin. Damian Tarnowski, 29, of the 4900 block of N. Overhill, was found unconscious at 2:30 a.m. May 20 in a car that was smashed against a tree in the parkway on the 1000 block of North Linden Avenue in Oak Park. Police said they observed four clear plastic baggies and two foil wrappers containing white powder that field tested positive for heroin. Tarnowski was treated at West Suburban Medical Center, where blood was taken for drug and alcohol testing. He …

Study says Chicago traffic congestion actually got better

Tue, 22 May 2012 17:50:34 -0500

Drivers in the Chicago area were stuck in traffic an average of 36 hours in 2011, 12 fewer than the 48 wasted in traffic in 2010, according to INRIX, a company that studies traffic patterns.

NATO spouses slip in to tour Wright studio

Thu, 24 May 2012 05:06:02 -0500

While First Lady Michelle Obama was hosting dignitaries at a South Side youth center Sunday, another group of out-of-town NATO guests were visiting an Oak Park landmark. About 40 spouses of NATO officials toured the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio on the 900 block of Chicago Avenue on Sunday. They stayed for two hours, viewing the master architect’s original home and workplace and enjoying a brief walk through the neighborhood immediately adjacent to the studio. “They were mostly ambassador’s spouses and a few foreign minister’s spouses,” said Laura Dodd, director of guest experience and program operations for the Wright …

Oak Park protest vets still feeling purpose

Thu, 24 May 2012 05:07:32 -0500

The NATO protests this week were nothing new for a small group of civil rights advocates from Oak Park. Most had witnessed history in the making during the 1963 March on Washington and the 1968 Democratic Convention demonstrations. On Friday, armed with picket signs and banners, the members of the Oak Park Coalition in Truth & Justice headed back into the fray. Mixing their voices with thousands of others — again — they hoped their messages of peace and equality would be heard. “Nuts to this one percent stuff,” said Truth & Justice leader Tom Broderick about the 1 percent …

Commuter lots nearly empty on Monday

Thu, 24 May 2012 03:55:24 -0500

On a normal Monday, the Metra commuter lot in downtown Franklin Park is full with perhaps a latecomer or two driving in circles and hoping for a miracle. Not so on this Monday morning. With the NATO summit in Chicago, many commuters opted to stay home. At least half the parking spots in Franklin Park were empty. “A lot of people are getting the day off or something,” speculated Al Huczek, a reserve officer with the Franklin Park Police Department who was collecting parking fees. “This seems like a weekend,” said Kim A (who declined to give her last name), …

Rally-goers endorse ‘Robin Hood tax’

Thu, 24 May 2012 05:07:41 -0500

NATO protesters this week invoked a legend with hopes of effecting economic parity. Calling it the Robin Hood tax, marchers at the National Nurses United rally in downtown Chicago on Friday want the federal government to enact a tax on the transfer of financial instruments like stocks, bonds and commodities. Bill Barclay, an Oak Park economist who worked for 22 years trading stocks and commodities in Chicago, knows a thing or two about the concept of taxing financial transactions. At Friday’s rally, he said it’s past time for a tax to help pay for efforts to recover from the recession …