THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020

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Advocate will distribute vaccines in the fight against COVID-19

By Joe Boyle

Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn is one of 10 hospitals in the state to serve as a regional distribution center that will receive vaccine doses to combat COVID-19.

Administrators at Advocate said that they will be working with other hospitals to distribute

and vaccinate the first recipients. The 50 counties with the highest death rates per capita will be the first to receive the vaccine, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.

On Monday, the Illinois De-partment of Public Health report-ed 7,214 newly confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 103 new deaths.

Currently, IDPH is reporting

a total of 856,118 cases, includ-ing 14,394 deaths, in 102 coun-ties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Within the past 24 hours, laboratories have reported 92,256 specimens for a total 11,869,088. As of Sunday night, 4,951 in Illinois were re-ported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 1,070 pa-

tients were in the ICU and 621 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.

The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total tests from De-cember 7 – December 13, is 8.7%. The preliminary seven-day state-wide test positivity from Decem-ber 7 – December 13, is 10.3%.

Officials are expecting an

opening shipment of 109,000 vaccine doses this week. Advo-cate Christ Medical Center, 4440 W. 95th St., has also seen a rise in COVID-19 cases the past month. As of Friday, the number of pa-tients discharged from Advocate medical facilities were 14,509.

The number of positive cases

See ADVOCATE, Page 16

Santa visits Bedford Park

Supplied photo Santa came calling in Bedford Park on Dec. 9 in a horse-drawn sleigh. Residents Susan and Robert Erklin greeted him as he went down their street in the village. Santa also visited neighboring Summit on Satur-day, see photos on page 10.

Lyons Township adds $60,000 to pension fund By Steve Metsch

In an attempt to stay ahead of debt, the Township of Lyons is contributing $60,000 to help pay down what it owes to the Illinois Mu-nicipal Retirement Pen-sion Fund.

The board unani-mously approved the payment at its Dec. 8 meeting in the township hall. Trustees Timothy Sprague and Thomas Wm. Garrette attended over the phone.

Township Supervisor Christo-pher Getty had suggested making the payment.

“For the most part, we are

funded very close to 100 percent,” Getty said. “That always seems to be a moving target. It showed on our previous tax bill there was a

$57,160 shortfall.” To make sure the

township is 100 percent funded, Getty requested the additional payment of $60,000 to cover the shortfall.

“After consulting with the pension fund, they said there still might be a deficiency, but something you have to work at year after

year to be 100 percent funded,” Getty said.

Summit asks residents to sound off on April 6 By Carol McGowan

Summit residents will go to the polls in April and village officials decided last week to seek their input on three issues facing the village.

In addition to electing new school, park and library board members and village officials,

residents will find three advisory questions on the April 6 Consoli-dated Election ballot.

Village officials at their Dec. 7 board meeting decided to ask res-idents whether Summit should es-tablish a road maintenance fund and dedicate money to spend on

See LYONS, Page 16

Getty

See SUMMIT, Page 16

Willow Springs police host Shop with a Cop

See Page 4

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2 DESPLAINES VALLEY NEWS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020OBITUARIESRAUL ADAME

Raul Adame, age 76, passed away No-vember 15.

Visitation was held at Szykowny Funeral Home Ltd. 4901 S Archer Ave, Chicago. Fu-neral Mass was held at Immaculate Concep-

tion Church. Cremation Private.

ADAM BORZECKIAdam Borzecki, age 69, passed away

November 14.Beloved husband of Maria (nee Jablons-

ka) Borzecka; loving father of Peter (Don-na) Borzecki, Monika (Stanislaw) Rusin,

Joanna “Barbara” Jaskolski and Frank Borzecki; dear grandfather of Anna Borzecki, Peter Borzecki, Eva Rusin, Tomasz Rusin, Dawid Rusin and Taylor Jaskol-ski; cherished son of the late Bronislawa (nee Kruzel) and the late Franciszek Borzecki; fond brother of Anna (Jan) Smoter, Malgorzata (Wlaclaw) Topor and Marek (Teresa) Borzecki. Also survived by nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

Visitation was held November 17 at Damar-Kaminski Funeral Home & Crematorium, 7861 S. 88th Avenue, Justice. Funeral was held November 18, prayers and procession from the funeral home to Our Lady Mother of the Church Polish Mission, 116 Hilton Street, Willow Springs for Mass. Interment Resurrection Cemetery, Justice.

CHRISTINE M. CERMAKChristine M. Cermak, age 55, of Chicago,

Clearing community, passed away Decem-ber 4, one week after her 55th birthday.

She was the beloved daughter of Helen and the late Edward Cermak; loving sister

of Russell Cermak; dear niece of Ted and Bonnie Gann, the late Therese (late Edward) Throwbridge and the late Betty (late Vernon) Schoeing. She will be fondly remembered by her many cousins and friends.

A mass in Celebration of Christine’s life was held De-cember 9 at St. Rene Goupil Church, family and friends met at the church for mass, then procession from the church to Resurrection Cemetery where Christine was buried in the family graves.

FRANCISCO CISNEROS Francisco Cisneros, age 64, passed away

November 15.Services were held at Szykowny Funeral

Home, 4901 S Archer Ave, Chicago. Final resting place is St Casimir Catholic Ceme-

tery. To pay a tribute, please visit our website at www.SzykownyFuneralHomeIL.com.

KATHERINE CULENKatherine Culen (nee Soltis), of Lemont,

passed away December 3, five days before her 101st birthday.

She was the beloved wife of the late Rob-ert; loving mother of Kathleen (William) Os-trowski, Gerald (Nancy Peterson) Culen and

the late Robert (late Janice) and (Jeanne) Culen; dear grandmother of Rob (Kate) Culen, Patrick (Wendy) Cu-len, Karen (Nathan) Viers, William Ostrowski, Joseph Culen, Kathleen Culen (Gabe) Gallo; proud great grand-mother of four and two step great grandchildren. The youngest of 7 children born to Stefan and Pauline Soltis, Katherine was a devoted member of St. Joseph Ladies of the Rosary and a resident of Franciscan Village.

She will be buried next to her dear husband at Resurrection Cemetery. Funeral services were private. Arrangements entrusted to Foran Funeral Home.

DOUGLAS E. HUEBNERDouglas E. Huebner, age 84.

U.S. Air Force Veteran of the Korean War.

Beloved husband of Mary Ann (nee Waraner); loving father of Keith, Kim

(Bob) Burch and Cindy Huebner; dear grandfather of Kristen, Melissa, Kevin, Corey, Vinnie, Brenden and Gianna; great grandfather of Haley, Alexis and Melody; dear brother of Pearl (George) Hresil and Harvey Hueb-ner. Fond uncle of many. Douglas was a Business Asso-ciate of the Roofers Union Local # 1112 and a member of the Marvin Seeman Garfield Ridge American Legion Post # 1112.

A mass of Christian Burial was offered December 10 at St. Faustina Kowalska Church, located at 53rd & McVicker Ave. (formerly St. Jane de Chantal Church). Family and friends met directly at the church. Grave-side services followed at Resurrection Cemetery with military honors.

JOHN M. JARECKIJohn M. Jarecki, age 57, of Homer Glen,

passed away December 3.He was the loving son of the late Jerome

and late Barbara (nee Foley) Jarecki; cher-ished husband of Michele Damico; devoted brother of Jeffrey (Victoria) Jarecki and

Judy (Chris) Strzalka; treasured uncle of Tony and Joey Strzalka. John was much loved by Marco, Pat and the entire Damico family.

Visitation was held December 7 at Foran Funeral Home, 7300 W. Archer Ave. (55th street just west of Harlem). Visitation was held at the funeral home on December 8 until time of prayers. Procession from the funeral home to St. Daniel the Prophet Church for Mass. In lieu of flowers, donations to St. Jude Children’s Hos-pital in John’s name would be most appreciated. Please offer your condolences to John’s family on his personal tribute website at www.foranfuneralhome.com.

WALTER “SONNY” KOKOSZKAWalter C. “Sonny” Kokoszka,

age 78, of Chicago, Garfield Ridge community, passed away peace-fully December 2, with his son at

his side. Army Veteran, Vietnam War.Beloved husband of Mary (nee Bowen); loving father

of Tracey (fiancé Allen Burkhardt) Tomasello, and Wally (Lilly) Kokoszka; proud grandfather of Nicole To-masello, Tyler Tomasello, Wally Kokoszka, and Brianna Kokoszka; cherished brother of the late Clarence (late Karon) Kokoszka and Richard (Judy) Kokoszka. Walter will be dearly missed by his many nieces and nephews.

Visitation was held December 4 at Foran Funeral Home, 7300 West Archer Ave. (55th street just west of Harlem). Visitation at the funeral December 5 until time of prayers, followed by a procession from the funeral home to St. Symphorosa Church for Mass.

JEANNETTE A LEDESMAJeannette A Ledesma, age 69, passed away November

16.Visitation was held to celebrate her life and love at

Szykowny Funeral Home, 4901 S Archer Ave, Chicago. Cremation Services were private. Please visit Szykowny Funeral Homes website @ www.SzykownyFuneralHo-meIl.com to pay a tribute.

SHIRLEY A. LISZEOShirley A. Liszeo (nee Selepa), age 84,

passed away November 19.Loving companion of Richard Vanos-

key; dear mother of Scott (Brenda) Liszeo, Mark (Barbara) and William Liszeo; dear

step-mother of Laura (Al) DeFazio, Margaret (Craig) Bolda and Susan (Michael) Farquhar; dear grandmother of the late Michael Liszeo, Cynthia, Christina Liszeo, Kyle Liszeo, Richard DeFazio and Jenna DeFazio; dear step grandmother of Jenna and Richard DeFazio, April and Ashley Bolda and Maddie and Mac Farquhar; doting great-grandmother of Jonathan Liszeo and Bailey Robinson.

Visitation was held November 24 until time of ser-vice. Interment Bethania Cemetery, Justice.

LEONARD MUSCOLINOLeonard Muscolino, age 89, of Willow

Springs, passed away December 2. He worked for the city of Chicago in the Forest-ry Department for 39 years

Son of the late Orazio and Mary Mus-colino; husband of Mary (nee Parziale) who

preceded him in death. He leaves behind sons Leonard (Duane), Steve, and Michael (Stacy); grandchildren Steven (Hannah), Nicholas (Dorian), Anthony (Lisa), the late Robert, Jonathan, Alexandria, and Kristina; great-grandchildren Victoria, Juliet, and Gianna.

The Kaminski family’s tradition of quality andaffordability while never compromising

compassion has set us apartfrom all other area funeral homes.

Damar offers the area’s largest chapels, parkingfacilities and is conveniently located next to

Resurrection and Bethania Cemeteriestherefore making us the areas most

convenient funeral home.

Services & Arrangments in Polish & Spanish

All Other Funeral Home Pre-ArrangmentPlans Accepted

“Our Family Serving Yours”

Mark A. Kaminski, Sr./Director/Owner

7861 S. 88th Ave.Justice, IL

(708) 496-0200

On-site crematorium Family Owned

DAMAR-KAMINSKIFuneral Home & Crematorium

The Kaminski family’s tradition of quality andaffordability while never compromising compassion has

set us apart from all other area funeral homes.We are the areas only funeral home with its own on-site crematorium. Our large chapels, generous parking and being located next to several cemeteries makes us the

areas most convenient funeral home.Services & Arrangments in Polish & Spanish.

7861 S. 88th Ave. • Justice, IL(708) 496-0200

Mark A. Kaminski, Sr. Director / Owner

Now offering services for a cherished member of the family..Cherished Pets Rememberd

Pet Crematorium • 1-800-497-4901www.cherishedpetsremembered.comOnly offering private/individual pet cremation.Full line of pet memorial products available.

Removal from veterinarian or homeLaura Kaminski, Owner

DAMAR-KAMINSKIFuneral Home & Crematorium

KaminskiFamilyFuneralHomes.com

7300 W. Archer Ave., Summit12401 S. Archer Rd., Lemont

(708) 458-0208 www.ForanFuneralHome.comSharon & Andy Jeninga Rich Madej

ForanFamily Caring for Family ©

&Burial Cremation ServiCe

reSourCe Center

See OBITUARIES, Page 17

DESPLAINES VALLEY NEWS 3THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020

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Illinois electors cast ballots for Biden, Harris By Peter HancockCapitol News Illinois

SPRINGFIELD – Illi-nois’ presidential electors officially cast their 20 bal-lots Monday for the Dem-ocratic ticket of Joseph R. Biden and Kamala Harris, marking the all-but-final step in a bitterly contested presidential election that incumbent President Don-ald Trump has refused to concede.

“Today, all over the country, electors just like us are fulfilling a consti-tutional duty to affirm the will of the people,” Chica-go Mayor Lori Lightfoot, an elector who presided over Monday’s session, said after the vote. “Ladies and gentlemen, you have fulfilled a solemn and im-portant responsibility for our democracy here today. The election is affirmed and it is now time for us as a country to move for-ward, transition in full, and embrace the promise of a new administration led by

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Their suc-cess is our success, and we need desperately to unite as a people. Our democracy and our residents deserve no less.”

State Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) was also an elector.

“The next year has the potential to be one of the most difficult our country has ever faced,” he said in a statement after the vote. “We need leadership to beat this pandemic, provide economic relief, bridge deep divides and help our country grieve and heal from this unprecedented tragedy.”

The electors met in the Illinois House of Repre-sentatives chamber, a room large enough to allow so-cial distancing among the electors and a handful of staff.

Biden and Harris won the popular vote in Illinois 58-41 percent over the Re-publican ticket, a differ-

ence of just over 1 million votes. That meant the Dem-ocratic Party’s state central committee was entitled to choose the electors. They included one from each of the state’s congressional districts and two at-large electors, Lightfoot and

Harmon, representing the state’s two votes in the U.S. Senate.

Secretary of State Jes-se White opened the cer-emonial session and pre-sided while electors chose a chairperson and vice chairperson. Lightfoot was

named chair and Harmon was named vice chair.

One by one, each elector stepped to the front of the room and placed two bal-lots in a wooden box, one for president and one for vice president. Some also took the opportunity to speak before dropping their ballots in the box.

“As the elector of the 4th Congressional District it is with great pride, as a proud Illinoisan, a proud Chica-goan, proud American and Puerto Rican that I cast my vote for Joe Biden and Ka-mala Harris for president and vice president,” said state Sen. Omar Aquino (D-Chicago).

“I am so relieved to be casting my vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and they will be our pres-ident and vice president,” said District 6 elector Nan-cy Shepherdson.

After the votes were cast, each elector signed a certification of election. By federal law, copies of the certified vote will be sent

to the president of the U.S. Senate, the national ar-chives and the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Sara Darrow. Ad-ditional copies are also maintained in the Illinois secretary of state’s office.

Congress will meet on Jan. 6 to count the ballots from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Biden and Harris will be inaugu-rated at noon on Wednes-day, Jan. 20.

Other area electors in-clude Chicago Ald. Silvana Tabares, representing the 3rd Congressional District and Chicago Ald. Michelle Harris, representing the 1st Congressional District.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and dis-tributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCor-mick Foundation.

Northwestern College holds virtual pinning ceremony Northwestern College’s

Violet L. Schumach-er School of Nursing in Bridgeview held a virtual

Pinning Ceremony on Sat-urday, December 5, for its Fall Quarter Nursing grad-uates.

There were 34 students eligible to participate. This traditional ceremony is held quarterly and marks the formal induction of a student into the Nursing profession.

Due to COVID-19, the ceremony had to move to a virtual platform pursuant to the Center for Disease Control and Illinois De-partment of Public Health guidelines. This is the sec-ond virtual pinning event held by the college. The first such ceremony was held in September for its winter, spring, and summer nursing graduates whose pinning ceremonies were

postponed due to the pan-demic.

The December 5 Fall Pinning Ceremony took place online via Zoom and included the graduates, the Northwestern College Nursing faculty and staff, and friends and family of the honorees.

The 34 Nursing students that graduated this fall from the Violet L Schum-acher School of Nursing include: Charnise E. Ab-bott; Folarin S. Adeboye; Kelly Baker; Gianna M. Capecci; Jennie E. Castro; Brianna M. Causey; Jas-mine B. Chatman; Rebbeca Chavez; Helen N. Condo Ochoa; Arnillia L. Corbin; Mariela Cortez; Kareema Davis; Siera Effinger; Are-ly Hernandez-Escobar; Gi-

ana N. Irizarry; Brandi L. Jameson; Tatiana D. Jones; Erica P. Lawson; Tyneisha Lester; Tamera McCoy; Jenessa Medina; Eunice Mercurio; Angel Michel; Brandi Miner; Nkiru C. Ozoigbo; Laura Pasnic-ki; Tyshinna A. Sanders; Chevon M. Sykes; Giselle Tapia; Angela M. Taylor; Martha Troncoso; Mariah A. Vega; JauRisha V. West; and Janea Williams.

Graduate Nurse Jennie Castro served as the stu-dent speaker selected to represent the Class at the ceremony.

The ceremony featured the traditional presentation of pins to each individu-al graduate, facilitated by Lead Faculty Member Jas-min Ford. The graduate

nurse is usually pinned in-dividually by leading Nurs-ing faculty, which was not possible with a ceremony conducted via Zoom. In-stead, Lead Faculty Mem-ber Ford called each grad-uate nurse’s name, and someone physically present with them affixed the pin on the graduate’s white coat.

The ceremony featured the lighting of a candle held by a lantern, symbol-izing the passing of the flame from the founder of professional nursing, Flor-ence Nightingale. When all of the lanterns were lit, Simulation/Lab Coordina-tor Mary Lou Saindon led the graduates in the rec-itation of the Nurses Oath, the Florence Nightingale Pledge.

4 DESPLAINES VALLEY NEWS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020

Willow Springs police host Shop with a Cop All Photos by Carol McGowan

Willow Springs police took 14 kids on a holiday shopping spree Saturday to the Walmart Supercenter in Hodgkins.

Police Chief Jim Ritz said donations exceeded expectations this year and each child received a $150 gift card to pick out the toys they wanted. Afterward, as a bo-nus, Ritz said the kids were each told they

could pick out a bicycle. Police and family members also loaded

a trolley with food that was being delivered to their homes. The parents received food baskets filled with $100 worth of turkeys, hams, pies and assorted foods. An addi-tional four families received food baskets donated through Trinity Lutheran Church.

Willow Springs police and family members load food onto a trolley car that delivered holiday food baskets to 14 families.

Police Chief Jim Ritz and Police Chaplain Bob Geaschel of Trinity Lutheran Church in Burr Ridge pose with one of the 14 kids that got to buy toys on Saturday. Trinity provided four food baskets for needy families after the shopping spree.

Three members of the Willow Springs Police Department who helped out at Saturday’s Shop with a Cop event at the Hodgkins Walmart store.

A Willow Springs police officer poses with one of kids that took part in Saturday’s toy shop-ping spree at the Walmart Supercenter in Hodgkins.

Willow Springs Police Chief Jim Ritz joins two members

of his police depart-ment (wearing Santa

hats) along with two of the kids who

got to buy toys on Saturday and one

boy’s mom and little brother.

DESPLAINES VALLEY NEWS 5THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020

Comings& GoingsBob Bong

Holiday initiatives at Bolthouse FarmsCOMINGS & GOINGS

Christopher Ryan

Crisanti

California-based Bolthouse Farms has continued its com-mitment to helping employees

at its warehouse in southwest suburban Hodgkins as well as giving back to the community as a whole during the holiday season.

Throughout the global pandemic, the company has amplified its giving efforts donating close to $3.1 million in fresh carrots, beverages, dressings and monetary donations so far this year. With the holidays upon us and the

hunger crisis affecting so many more this year, Bolthouse Farms is rolling out initiatives across the U.S. with local community non-profits as well as national organizations like Feeding America and food banks nationwide.

“Our long-term commitment to fighting hunger has become even more important during the pandemic, and especially during this very different holiday season,” said Bill Levisay, President, Bolthouse Farms. “Our giving efforts this season start in our own backyard and stretch across North America, with a focus on delivering healthy, fresh food to those in need.”

On Giving Tuesday, Bolthouse Farms made a $10,000 donation to food banks in Bakersfield, Calif., Hodgkins, and Prosser, Wash., to support their efforts in feeding the hungry this season. They are encouraging area em-ployees to make donations to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

For Thanksgiving at each of its locations, Bolthouse Farms collected donations of canned food items, which were delivered to local organizations in need including Beds Plus in Chicago.

In addition, Bolthouse Farms donates food weekly to the local communities, ensuring food is always provided regardless of season.

Thorntons opens new stores on 111th Street Kentucky-based Thorntons has opened two new gas

stations two miles apart on 111th Street. One is in Palos Hills at 8012 W. 111th St., across the

street from Stagg High School, and the other in Worth at 11120 S. Ridgeland Ave.

The new locations feature convenience stores that offer sandwiches and burritos prepared daily as well as beverages.

As part of the company’s ongoing commitment to help feed the hungry in local communities, Thorntons will make a $5,000 donation to the Greater Chicago Food Depository to celebrate the opening of both stores.

The company now operates 83 stores in Illinois.

Stan’s Donuts opens in Orland Park Stan’s Donuts & Coffee is now open in Orland Park. The shop celebrated the grand opening of its 13th store

at 6 a.m. Saturday, December 5, at 15646 S. LaGrange Road in Orland Park.

The first 100 guests received a free boxed doughnut and a limited-edition Stan’s T-shirt, and one lucky visitor found the gold-leafed Golden Donut, which won them free donuts and coffee for life.

The Orland Park location is only the second Stan’s to feature a drive-through window and is the only location to feature an outdoor patio.

“Our city stores have more foot traffic, but the suburbs have more car traffic, so we wanted a location with a drive-through,” he said.

“We like to find the right stops,” owner Rich Labriola said. “This one opened up and even though it’s a little bigger than our usual locations we decided to take it.”

Labriola hails from Blue Island originally and hopes the Orland store is the first of many more suburban loca-tions. “I always wanted to come south,” he said.

“My hope is to eventually have 25-30 Chicagoland lo-cations,” he said. “We’d like to open two or three a year.”

He said he wants Stan’s to become the doughnut and coffee brand of Chicago. “Chicago has lots of neighbor-hood bakeries and coffee shops. There’s no really coffee and doughnut brand. We want to become that.”

Labriola said the Orland store is also a test site for their new brand. “We have been known as Stan’s Donuts

since we started in 2014,” he said. “But now we are so much more. We are big on coffee and drinks. We have kind of a Starbucks menu.”

The store offers doughnuts and coffee, of course. But also features sweets such as cookies and soft-serve ice cream.

So, the chain is trying to emphasize the name Stan’s and underscore the Coffee and Donuts part of the brand. The new idea is reflected in the sign on the side of the building.

The name originated in California at a coffee shop owned by Stan Berman.

“I met Stan 12 years ago and we talked about a part-nership,” Labriola said. “That idea lapsed, but then we reconnected and we came up with a better idea.”

Today, Labriola owns all the rights to the name Stan’s Donuts & Coffee, but is still close to Berman.

“He’s 91 and retired and the California store is closed. We have a great relationship.”

Stan’s is open daily from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

If you see a new business in town or wonder what hap-pened to an old favorite, drop me a line at bobbong@hot-mail.com. You can track business openings and closings at http://bobbongonbusiness.com/

Fiscal pain from Fair Tax defeat will be broad-based Illinois voters

convincingly struck down

Gov. Pritzker’s fair tax initiative, which would have allowed the General Assem-bly to levy higher taxes on those who make more than $250,000 a year, while also provid-ing relief to those who make less than $100,000.

Gov. Pritzker recently responded by noting that painful cuts will be likely as well as increasing the flat income tax by 1 percent. There will be many who will be confused and angry at the possibility of yet another tax increase, having the perception that voting “no” was supposed to stop an increase.

But that was not the point of the fair tax and the threat of big money in this refer-endum had the potential to sway voters through anecdotal means without regard to evidence. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what it did.

While those who may marvel in the fair tax’s defeat, the unfortunate truth is that the reality of Illinois’ fiscal situation will

soon become more directly apparent. Rising pension liabilities will contin-

ue to eat up more of the state’s general fund and the extra revenue from the fair tax was meant to help alleviate that burden. While current auctorial assumptions by the Illinois Commis-sion on Government Forecasting and Accountability suggests that the funding ratio for all five of the state’s retirement plans is actually expected to increase overtime, the reason is partially because the state will need to allocate more and more to pension costs moving forward. Total pension liabilities are expected to take up roughly 26 to 27 percent of the general fund moving forward until about 2045.

With more money needed to go to fund pension liabilities, this means less fund-ing for public services and investment, including increasing the financial support from the state to local schools to ease the current property tax burden. State aid to schools is only about 24 percent of its budget, which is one of the main issues on why property taxes are high but that’s a story for another column.

So, why push for the fair tax instead of pension reform? The General Assembly passed a series of bills in the early 2010s to address the pension issue. However,

much of the reform was struck down as unconstitutional because the court ruled it had the potential to “diminish or impair” pension benefits.

The General Assembly could poten-tially pursue referendum to change the Constitution, but that would most likely result in a long legal battle with unlikely success. Even if it ends up being success-ful, it will be a while. In effect, pursuing income tax reform was probably the more pragmatic route to go.

If a referendum on pensions is unlikely, why can’t the state simply cut its way to prosperity?

Despite the necessity for budget cuts to shore up payment flexibility to pensions, balancing cuts without revenue would be fiscally irresponsible. The state has a structural deficit, meaning that the state’s system of taxation (e.g. the flat income tax rate and overreliance of the sales tax on goods, not services) is inadequate to fund services long-term.

Moreover, the amount the state spends on services is not as high as the common perception. According to the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, general fund spending on services, adjusted for inflation, is actually about 11 percent less than it was 20 years ago. The CBTA also noted that Illinois ranked 39 of 50 states

when it comes to spending as a share of GDP.

In effect, the pension issue combined with the structural deficit is a recipe for a dire fiscal outlook that will most certainly result in more revenue needed beyond a mere 20 percent increase in the flat income tax.

The fair tax was not meant to com-pletely solve Illinois’ fiscal woes, but help alleviate the burden. It was expected to bring in $3.4 billion a year. That $3.4 bil-lion is now revenue lost. It was designed to enhance economic mobility by adopt-ing a more optimal system of taxation. Instead, taxpayers will continue to pay the same rate, even if (or when) that flat rate is increased. And with pension obligations continuing to rise and no reform to the structural deficit, taxpayers will bear the burden.

So, are we better off now without mar-ginal income taxation than we are with the flat rate? The consequences are yet to be seen but considering the evidence and the fiscal reality I would, in this case, vote “no.”

Chris Crisanti is the founder and Execu-tive Director of Prairie State Policy. He holds a MPA and graduate certificate in informatics from Northeastern University.

Photo by Dermot Connolly Thorntons has opened a new gas station/convenience store at 8012 W. 111th St. across the street from Stagg High School in Palos Hills.

6 DESPLAINES VALLEY NEWS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020

Justice - Willow Springs Water Commission

Chairman - Mike PorfirioTreasurer - Mary Jane Mannella

Commissioner - George PastorinoExecutive Director - Colleen H. Kelly

Commissioners: Patricia TichacekTony CervantesRudy SantoyoMaribel SolisOscar Ponce

and StaffExecutive Director:

Frank Torres

Supervisor Christopher GettyClerk Mike Porfirio

Assessor Barbara WeyrickHighway Commissioner Sean McDermott

Trustees:Tom Garrette, Colleen H. Kelly,

Donna McDonald, Timothy M. Sprague

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DESPLAINES VALLEY NEWS 7THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020

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Barry J. Szymczak, City Clerk Dean L. Viverito, City Treasurer

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Village of Justice Village of HodgkinsNoel Cummings, President

Stephanie Gardner, Village ClerkMelody Salerno, Comptroller

Trustees:Paul Struve, Larry Rice, Vicky Moxley,Dominic Misasi, Lida Mills, Tim Kovel

VILLAGE OF BEDFORD PARKDavid R. Brady, PresidentYvette Solis, Village ClerkRhonda Hyde, Treasurer

Trustees:Gail P. Rubel, Anthony W. Kensik,Katrina M. Errant, Terry J. Stocks,

Nancy A. Wesolowski, andDr. Thomas J. Pallardy

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DESPLAINES VALLEY NEWS 9THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020

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Outsiders don’t get insider MadiganOutsiders may

not get it, but it makes some

sense that the majority of House Democrats still back House Speak-er Michael Madigan’s re-election.

He’s been a genius at getting things done for his caucus. He is loyal to his people and has in-finitely more institutional

memory and can pull more strings and push more buttons than anyone alive.

In his nearly 50 years in office, Madigan has been heavily involved with four legislative remap processes and has been in the House for five of them.

Madigan has played a decisive role in every income tax increase (temporary and perma-nent) since the tax was established in 1969 – and he was a delegate to the constitutional convention that created it.

He has also negotiated dozens of budgets since he became House Speaker in 1983.

His campaign operation meticulously tracks the number of knocked doors in contested races and every contact made, and he reviews that data each week and calls candidates to provide his feedback. He knows how to win.

At this moment in history, with redistricting coming up, a huge revenue shortfall, horrific budget problems, a massively destructive pan-demic causing rampant suffering and, in less than two years, a midterm election under a Democratic president (with a new map), most of his members are rightly worried sick.

For these and many other reasons, this is

exactly the moment when his members would need Madigan the most, and he most certainly knows this and is deftly playing on that angst as 19 of his members are in open revolt.

But the sweeping and aggressive federal investigation is this/close to Madigan now. Despite all of his protests of innocence and some reasonable arguments that he did noth-ing illegal, the G is obviously after Madigan’s head.

Gov. JB Pritzker has taken loads of heat for not pushing Madigan out of office, even though he couldn’t do it if he tried. Pritzker is up for re-election in 2022, and a Madigan re-election would certainly mean big trouble. Yes, Pritzker won by 16 points two years ago, but that was during an unpopular Republican president’s midterm against a super-weak in-cumbent. He’s going to have to hustle to win.

A gubernatorial confrontation with a re-elected Madigan is inevitable.

Pritzker pledged during the campaign and ever since taking office that he will veto a legislative redistricting plan that isn’t “fair,” which was defined (by me) in March of 2018 as any proposal “that is in any way drafted or created by legislators, political party leaders and/or their staffs or allies.”

So, when Madigan told the House Black Caucus during a recent private meeting that he is the best person to draw the new map, he guaranteed that Pritzker had to veto it. There will be no finessing Pritzker’s pledge. And overriding a veto will be hugely difficult because suburbanites who ran as good gov-ernment types in swing districts and true-blue progressives are gonna be in a major quanda-ry. It’s pretty difficult to see how this fight gets as far as an override showdown.

Speaker Madigan also said during the meeting that he was prepared to pass another income tax increase if the governor requests it. Like with his remap pledge, his statement likely killed the already very slim prospects for a tax hike.

Just imagine the governor (or any vulnera-ble Democrat) running in 2022 with Madigan still in office, a Madigan-drawn district map in place and a Madigan tax hike. Maybe the Democrats will get lucky and the Republicans will nominate unelectable far-right candidates, but basing your plan on your opponent col-lapsing is never a wise idea.

So, it’s just difficult to see how Speaker Madigan can keep all the re-election campaign promises he’s making.

If he wants to avoid the risk of a new district map being possibly drawn by the Re-publicans after a losing veto fight, he’ll likely have to submit to a new process which won’t be nearly as advantageous to his members. A Madigan-backed tax hike is pretty much out of the question. Same goes for a gimmicky Madigan budget. And while he’s been the pa-tronage and fixer king for decades, how much can he actually accomplish for his members when he’s under this horribly dark cloud?

No matter what, Madigan still has his un-matchable campaign prowess going for him. But if he somehow manages to flip enough votes to get reelected in the first place and the feds don’t take him out, the reality going for-ward will be much different than he’s making it out to be.

Rich Miller publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com

RICH MILLER

The Electoral College voted Monday to cer-

tify Joseph Biden as the winner of the November 3, 2020, presidential elec-tion, the only real official source for who won and who lost.

That might end Pres-ident Trump’s claims of voter fraud but it won’t end the real reckoning

that is due, the news media’s abusive and unprofessional conduct during the past four years.

This isn’t about Trump and it’s not about Biden. It is about how the news media conducted itself, acting less as professional journalists and more like partisan activists who spent most of their time exaggerating the positives of one candidate, Biden, while exag-gerating the negatives of another, Trump.

If you set aside your love or hatred for Trump or Biden, and if you do a fair and objective audit of the news media’s conduct, there is no other conclusion that one can come to except that the national news media vio-lated every principle it claims to uphold from fairness and objectivity to even truth.

Trump has not been the greatest president. He has had some great policies and ideas but he has been his own worst enemy mak-ing himself an easy target of biased media criticism. His sometimes imbecilic blathering on Twitter has undermined almost all of his achievements.

Trump basically gave the media the am-munition it needed to violate their journalistic principles, and the media did it willingly.

In almost every news media report, the media acted like the mouthpiece for Trump’s critics. They championed Biden without ever really looking closely at genuine controversies about Biden that should be closely examined.

More egregious has been the media’s asser-tion that Trump had no right to challenge the election results, claiming incredulously that there has never been any fraud in the voting process.

Are you kidding me? Voting has been one of the most corrupt and controversial exercises of the American Democratic process. Votes are stolen all the time.

When progressives and leftists over the years have made that argument, the media took those claims seriously and gave the claims credibility by reporting on the allega-tions of voter fraud. But when Trump made those claims, the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde news media attacked the assertions with a revulsion and vengeance never seen before in American politics.

The supposedly “objective,” “fair” and “professional” news media called Trump a “liar” and labeled his claims “fraud” with an unprecedented loathing, as if Trump had insulted Mother Theresa or even Jesus Christ!

Trump has every right to make assertions of fraud and theft in the voting process. The media’s professional role should have been to report it, separating their partisan opinions from their professional responsibility to “re-port the news” fairly and objectively.

The news media is two animals, consist-ing of reporters who are supposed “report” the news and commentators who write their opinions that are identified as opinions. An opinion column is an expression of a journal-ist’s personal, partisan and subjective views.

A news report is supposed to be balanced and devoid of opinion that is supposed to present “both sides” of a news story.

Instead, reporters basically converted their “news” stories into unlabeled opinion com-mentaries. The worst was social media like Twitter which placed disclaimers after all of Trump’s Tweets on voter fraud. The disclaim-ers were much like those placed on packs of cigarettes warning smoking can be hazardous to your health.

I AM NOT saying Trump’s assertions of voter fraud are significant enough to have ever changed the results of the election. I AM saying he has the absolute right to make those claims. Instead of editorializing in their news coverage, the media should have spent more time investigating those claims.

There is more than enough evidence that votes were stolen in several key states by partisan tabulators. Hidden boxes of ballots. Absentee mail-in ballots mailed to people who never asked to receive the ballots. People not qualified to vote actually voting with some even voting twice – once at the polls and once by mail.

Is it enough to reverse the election results? I don’t believe so. What the media should fear is that what goes around comes around.

Election fraud isn’t about who is popular and who is not popular. It is about the funda-mental essence of Democracy. America is not the Soviet Union, Communist China, North Korea or Iran. But in coverage of the presi-dential election, the media’s bias made them worse.

Check out more of Ray Hanania’s columns and writings on his website at www.Hanania.com

Reckoning due over media’s biased coverage of Trump

RAY HANANIA

10 DESPLAINES VALLEY NEWS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020

Village of Summit brings Christmas cheerBecause many residents are shut in due

to the COVID-19 pandemic, Summit vil-lage officials resurrected an old tradition by holding a Christmas parade on Saturday and Sunday. Police and fire vehicles carried San-

ta and his workers through the streets of the village waving to residents and handing out goodie bags to children along the way. Help-ing sponsor the parade were Walgreens and Teamsters Local 700.

Photos by Carol McGowanAbove, Santa’s workers passed out goodies along the way. Below, Santa (village executive Jerry Hurckes) and some of his workers (from left) Clerk Colleen Lambert, Trustee Sam Dardovski and Mayor Sergio Rodriguez. Also on hand were trustees Aleco Julius and Mayra Ortiz.Right, With the village water tower behind them, Santa and one of his elves wave to residents on Saturday during Summit’s Christmas parade.

Photos courtesy of Wild About Life Photography

Left, Summit Mayor Sergio Rodriguez hands a goodie bag to a resident during Saturday’s parade through the village.Above, A family watches the parade go by from this well-decorated house.Below, Kids hold goodie bags handed out by Santa’s workers during the Christmas parade on Saturday.

DESPLAINES VALLEY NEWS 11THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020

MERRY CHRISTMASSt. Symphorosa & St. Rene Parish

Fr. Bob Regan, Fr. Matt Compton, Fr. Norm Trela and StaffSt. Symphorosa

Church62nd & Austin Ave.

St. Rene Goupil Church

64th & New England Ave.

St. Symphorosa School

6125 S. Austin Ave.

• Limited Space due to COVID-19 restrictions • Face Coverings Required • Prior registration highly recommended • Visit www.stsymphorosa.org

• If full, contact Parish Office at 773-767-1523

Christmas Eve Masses: 4:00 pm – St. Symphorosa Church 6:00 pm – St. Rene Church 10:00 pm – St. Symphorosa Church 12:00 am (Midnight) – St. Rene Church

Christmas Day Masses: 7:30 am – St. Rene Church 9:00 am – St. Symphorosa Church 10:30 am – St. Rene Church 12:00 pm (Noon) – St. Symphorosa Church

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Morrison kicks off pet supplies drive

Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison is holding his an-nual Holiday Pet Supplies Drive to support PAWS of Tinley Park.

The donation drive will run until Friday, December 18.

Residents are asked to donate select dog and cat items to help support the shelter animals at PAWS of Tinley Park.

Supplies needed include twin- and full-size blankets and/or bath towels for dogs and cats, buckle collars for dogs, nylon leashes, kitty toys, and kongs

(dog toys). “As we always see, our residents

have a caring and giving nature towards friends, family, neighbors and animals too. Their generos-ity, especially at this time of the year, will go a long way to helping PAWS and the great work they do for shelter animals,” said Morrison.

Donations can be dropped off at Morrison's 17th District Office, located 15040 Ravinia Drive,

Suite 44 in Orland Park. For information, call 708-349-1336.

Morrison

12 DESPLAINES VALLEY NEWS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020

AREA SPORTS ROUNDUP

SPORTS

Photo courtesy of Saint Xavier University Department of Athletics Saint Xavier senior guard Meg Knutsen scored 17 points, matching her career-high, in a 74-73 win over Bethel on Dec. 7.

Supplied photoSt. Laurence football player and track athlete AJ Wrenn was named a Chi-cago Bears Community High School All-Star for his work with grammar school students

The lonesome ballers St. Xavier men and women hoops players among few area athletes competing in a COVID-altered sports landscape By Jeff Vorva

There may not be much local athletics action avail-able, but what little is being played has been exciting during the final month of 2020.

With high school and ju-nior college winter sports being shut down and Trin-ity Christian College can-celling its December sched-ule because of COVID-19 concerns, the St. Xavier men’s and women’s basket-ball teams will be the only area squads on the court in December.

Already, there were two thrillers within a six-day frame.

The Cougar women, ranked 23rd in the nation in the NAIA polls, pulled off a wild 75-74 road victory over No. 14 Bethel on Dec. 7 to open their season at Crisp Arena in McKenzie, Tenn.

Junior Brianna Flayter’s two free throws with 21 seconds left in the game provided the winning margin. She also had a re-bound, turnover and steal in the final seconds.

Bethel led 24-13 after the first quarter and led by as much as 14 before the Cougars mounted a come-back, including registering a 23-11 advantage in the third period.

Senior Meg Knutsen (17 points) and junior Alyssa Streeter (14) came off the bench to lead the Cougars. Junior Maia Fawcett and

former Marist standout Claire Austin each had 11. Flayter had 13 rebounds.

Bethel fell to 5-3 this season and is now 123-17 in Crisp Arena.

The Cougars were slated to visit Harris-Stove Uni-versity last Tuesday and Cardinal Stritch last Sat-urday. They have five more games slated in December after that, before hosting Cardinal Stritch on Jan. 2.

Cardinal Stritch features Hickory Hills native Kara Shimko, who starred at Queen of Peace.

The Cougars’ men’s team lost a thriller to open December.

On Dec. 2, the men fell to 0-3 and suffered their clos-est loss of the year, a 70-67 setback to Indiana Universi-ty Northwest in Gary, Indi-ana. The hosts scored what turned out to be the game winner with 13 seconds left.

It was the Cougars’ first game since Nov. 7 because the team had to quarantine for the second time this season.

Junior Jack Halverson scored 19 points and hauled down five rebounds, while Joshua Evans added 17 points, six rebounds and six assists. Charles Camp-bell Jr. had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

The Cougars were sched-uled to play last Tuesday at Bethel and were hoping to make their home debut at 6:30 p.m. last Thursday against East-West Univer-sity.

Wrenn earns Bears honor

There was no high school football this fall in Illinois, but St. Laurence wide re-ceiver and safety AJ Wrenn was named the second Chicago Bears Commu-nity High School All-Star award winner of the sea-son. The award recognizes high school football players who have made a positive impact in their communi-ties and schools throughout the NFL season.

Wrenn, who also runs track, started an organiza-tion called Books with a Buddy that focuses on the importance of literacy for grammar school students. He and teammates have gone to area grade schools to read to students, and give them books and stuffed an-imals.

Vikings coach Adam Nissen has also taken part in the program.

“Watching the kids re-act to getting a book and a stuffed animal, while watching AJ tell them how important it is to be a read-er was truly something special,” Nissen said. “We preach ‘team first’ daily in our program and I don’t think there is another stu-dent who embodies that more than AJ.”

Still on hold After an informational session with the board of directors on Dec. 3, Illinois High School Director Craig Anderson said that winter sports

would remain shut down until at least the start of 2021.

“Given Governor [J.B.] Pritzker’s current mitiga-tions, the board has no ex-pectation of starting low-risk winter sports prior to

January,” Anderson said in a statement. “The board and IHSA staff will contin-ue to monitor the Tier 3 Re-surgence Mitigation in ef-fect currently. When there is a timeline for the state to emerge from these restric-

tions, the board is prepared to restart lower risk winter sports quickly.”

The board was sched-uled to meet Dec. 14, and may consider moving bad-minton from spring to win-ter.

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SCHOOLS

Veteran educator named newSchool District 230 superintendent

By Jeff Vorva

The three District 230 princi-pals were honored last month by the School District 230 board as Sandburg’s Jenny Tyrrell, Stagg’s Eric Olsen and Andrew’s Robert Nolting took the stage at Stagg’s Performance Arts Center in Palos Hills to bask in a little glory.

Nolting, however, returned to the stage approximately 15 min-utes later to bask in a little more glory as he was named the Con-solidated High School District 230 superintendent and will re-place retiring James Gay on July 1. The board voted unanimously to award Nolting a contract from 2021-2024.

After the meeting, Nolting, Gay and Board President Tony Serratore talked about the hire in the lobby outside the Performing Arts Center.

“Being the principal at Andrew has been the absolute dream job,” Nolting said. “I’ve been doing it for 12 years and I didn’t have any ambition other than within this district if the opportunity came available to become the superin-tendent. I will put my heart and soul into it. I didn’t expect it to be this year, but it happens when it happens, so you have to take advantage of those opportunities when they come.”

Nolting served as associate principal at Sandburg and An-drew between 2004 and 2009. Prior to joining District 230 in 2004, Nolting was a social stud-ies teacher and coach at St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy, and Athletic and Activities Di-

rector at Franklin High School in Wisconsin.

He was hired in this district by Gay to serve as an assistant prin-cipal at Andrew.

Serratore said the board want-ed to keep the hire in-house and if a successful candidate wasn’t found, there would have been a national search. Only two in-house candidates applied and Serratore said even if there were hundreds of candidates, Nolting would have been the favorite.

“His qualifications are in-credible, and he is meant to lead this district,” Serratore said. “He would have beat out anybody else. No doubt. No doubt.”

Serratore added that the board hopes to hire a principal at An-drew before 2021 and he prefers it will be an in-district hire.

“Bob can spend some time to work with his successor and spend time with Dr. Gay to work with him,” Serratore said. “We can have both people ready when July 1 comes.”

Gay said he was not a part of the hiring process, but was happy with the outcome.

“Internal candidates are on an interview every day of their lives,” Gay said. “They can’t hide anything in an interview. For 17 years, he’s been interviewing for this job. He’s been a stellar ad-ministrator and very respected in the community by everybody. I am very pleased that this is the succession.”

Nolting earned a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education from the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater in 1996, a Master’s of

Science in Educational Leadership from University of Wisconsin - Madison in 2002, and will graduate with a Doctorate and Superinten-dent’s Endorsement from the Uni-versity of St. Francis on Dec. 12.

He has been active on the Il-linois High School Association Board of Control since 2013 serving as vice president and sec-retary. He has served on the Illi-nois Principals Association Leg-islative Commission since 2017 and he served on the Southwest Suburban Conference Executive Board for three years.

Nolting was named Illinois Principal of the Year in 2017 and South Cook Principal of the Year the year before. He has twice been nominated for the Illinois Golden Apple Award.

The announcement comes at a time when the world is in the mid-dle of a pandemic and the issues of in-school learning as opposed to remote learning are red-hot.

No one can predict the landscape when Nolting walks into the dis-trict’s headquarters in Orland Park on July 1, but he has a few plans.

“We’re going to have to re-en-

gage our students and our par-ents,” he said. “There are going to be challenges. There are going to be academic challenges. It might be almost a year and a half of not having normal school.

“We have to repair relation-ships. One of the things that this has caused in many different ar-eas is that people have very hard-ened opinions and different views on how thing are going. It sing-es relationships and that’s going to be a very important focus for me personally to start to rebuild those.”

Photo by Jeff Vorva Robert Nolting (left), who was announced as District 230’s new superintendent, poses with outgoing superin-tendent James Gay.

Stanford University awards OLCHS grad with scholarship

Senior Iman Khater, the third graduate of Oak Lawn Communi-ty High School in her family, recent-ly learned that she was “matched” to Stanford Universi-ty as a Questbridge Match Scholarship recipient.

Through a unique applica-tion process, the scholarship awards high-achieving stu-dents who face economic chal-lenges with early admission and full four-year scholarships! Because of her achievements and high academic success, Stanford University awarded Khater a full scholarship that covers tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and travel expenses.

Khater’s counselor Ja-son Rhodes described her as “incredibly dedicated and thoughtful regarding how she manages her com-mitments to her school and community, and challenges herself daily to do more and

be more. I would also venture to say that she is one of our most respect-ed students by her peers, her teachers and her coaches, being recognized with the Most Out-standing Junior award last spring. Her work ethic,

integrity, and ability to form meaningful relationships have endeared her to our staff and will serve her well both in college and beyond.”

National Honor Society moderator Jessica Nickless added, “Iman’s zest for suc-cess is one that I have only witnessed in a few students over the course of my career. Iman has always served as a role model for her classmates and members of the Nation-al Honor Society. She is an exceptional leader, and I am certain the energy she radi-ates will continue to shine at Stanford University. I am ex-tremely excited to see what comes next for her.”

WLTL radio named best station in the nation

For the seventh time since the awards inception in 2002, WLTL Ra-dio at Lyons Township High School in La Grange, Illinois has been named Best Radio Station in the Nation at the John Drury High School Radio Awards presented by North Central College and WONC Radio in Naper-ville.

In addition to crowning the top sta-tion in the nation, the Drury Awards also hand out honors in 14 individu-al categories. WLTL students took home five of those individual honors as well:

• Best News Feature Story • Best Specialty Music Program • Best On-Air Promotion • Best Social Media Campaign • Best Website Students were also nominated in

six other categories as well for a total of 27 individual nominations at this year’s competition.

“Despite everything that 2020 has thrown at our students, they still did

their best to produce quality content and entertaining programming for our community listening on 88.1 FM and streaming around the globe on WLTL.net, and today’s honors recog-nize their hard work and dedication. I am immensely proud of them,” said faculty advisor and General Manager of WLTL Chris Thomas.

WLTL Radio has been serving their community since 1968. A stu-dent-run FM radio station with more

than 100 student volunteers involved, WLTL has long been a leader in high school radio, giving starts to students who have gone on to work both on-air and behind the scenes for compa-nies such as iHeart Radio, Entercom, NBC, ESPN, CNN, SiriusXM, War-ner Media and more.

A list of notable alumni, along with podcast, on-air schedules, blogs and more can all be found at http://www.wltl.net

DESPLAINES VALLEY NEWS 15THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020 FOOD

Pomegranates are an ancient fruit

Appetizer for New Year’s entertaining

Pomegranates are an ancient fruit steeped in tradition that impress modern food enthu-siasts thanks to their tart taste and various health benefits. Primarily in season in North America between September and February, pomegranates are typically stocked during the holiday season when they can be enjoyed as part of festive meals.

Native from the area now known as Iran and the Himalayas in north-ern India, pomegranates have been cultivated since ancient times throughout Mediterranean-influenced areas of Europe, Afri-ca and Asia. Historians believe Sicilians were likely the first to introduce pomegranates to the rest of Europe, while Spanish conquistadores likely brought the pomegranate to the Americas.

Because they begin to ripen at the end of sum-mer close to the Jewish New Year, pomegranates were often used in deco-rations and blessings for New Year’s celebrations, according to the Madera Chamber of Commerce, which hosts a pomegran-ate festival each year in November. The pomegran-ate also played a central role in the foundations of some religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Greek Orthodox, and

Hinduism. Sometimes referred to as “The Fruit of Life,” pomegranates were believed to spring from The Garden of Paradise and represent fertility and rebirth. Some early Chris-tians also associated the fruit with resurrection and eternal life.

The name pomegranate is derived from a Latin word meaning “seeded apple,” a reference to the fruit’s appearance. Pome-granates grow on shrubs or small trees and form large fruits that are filled with anywhere from 200 to 1,400 seed berries. The seeds are edible, while the remainder of the rind is usually discarded.

Enjoying the pomegran-ate out of hand is a social endeavor. Families often gather around the table, where the pomegranates are scored and then the clusters of seeds and juice are lifted out of the rind to be enjoyed. Even though this process is laborious,

many people enjoy it while engaging in conversation.

The seeds also can be pressed to produce pome-granate juice, which is now a part of many health beverages. The resource Health says pomegranates are full of potent antioxi-dants, such as polyphenols

and anthocyanins, which also are present in red wine. These compounds protect the body from damage caused by free radicals. Certain studies show that pomegranate juice can target bacteria in the mouth, helping produce healthier teeth

and gums. Research also suggests that pomegran-ates have anti-inflammato-ry properties that can help relieve muscle soreness.

Data from Purdue University says parts of the pomegranate plant, in-cluding the bark and roots, have been used for medic-

inal purposes. Extracts of the bark, leaves, immature fruit, and fruit rind have been given as astringents to treat diarrhea, dysentery and hemorrhages. Dried, pulverized flower buds have been employed as a remedy for bronchitis.

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day celebrations stand to look a little different this year. Even though guest lists may be smaller and parties much more intimate, hosts can increase the “wow factor” in

other ways — namely with the food.

Though New Orleans is well known for its French and Creole heritage, Sicilian immigrants who settled in the region in the early 20th century brought with

them their cuisine as well. Muf-faletto bread is a doughy sesame seed bread that residents ended up pairing with various meats and cheeses. Central Grocery Co. owner Salvatore Lupo de-cided to turn the bread and food

combination into a sandwich and dubbed it the Muffaletta Sand-wich. Made on rounds of soft, fluffy sesame bread, and covered with salami, ham, mortadella, provolone, and olive salad. Every bite was full of flavor — and has

become a New Orleans special-ty. This recipe for “Muffaletta Bites” from “Southern Appetiz-ers” (Chronicle Books) by Denise Gee emulates the flavors in bite-sized morsels and can enhance New Year’s Eve festivities.

Supplied photoPomegranates are beautiful fruits that have a storied past and many attributes that make them a coveted food today.

Serves 6 to 8, three or four tartlets each

• 1 16-ounce jar Italian olive salad, drained

• 1⁄2 cup shredded smoked provo-lone cheese

• 1⁄4 cup finely chopped salami• 1⁄4 cup finely chopped ham• 2 12-ounce cans refrigerated

flaky biscuit dough• Fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley for

garnish

In a medium bowl, stir together the olive salad with the cheese, salami and ham. Cover and refrig-erate for about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly coat two 12-well miniature muffin pans with cooking spray, if necessary.

On a lightly floured surface, place the biscuit dough in two

even rows and, using a rolling pin or clean finger, gently flatten/pat into a 1⁄2-inch-thick rectan-gle. Firmly press the perforation to seal. Cut each rectangle into 24 squares (each about 2 inches wide).

Place one square of dough in each of the prepared muffin wells. Firmly press the dough extended over the edges of each well; shape the edges with your fingers or use a fork to crimp it as desired. (The dough will rise at times; just press it back down until you can add filling). At this point, you can cover the muffin pan and refriger-ate up to 1 hour.

Spoon a heaping 1 tablespoon of the filling into each well. Bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. Remove the tartlets from the pan and garnish each with a parsley leaf. Serve warm or at room tem-perature.

Muffaletta Bites

16 DESPLAINES VALLEY NEWS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020

at Advocate institutions in Illinois totaled 23,265 as of Friday. The impatient cas-es were 641. Advocate is expected to receive 8,775 initial doses this month, according to IDPH. Other local institutions that will receive vaccine doses will be Loyola University Med-ical Center in Maywood, Advocate Sherman Hos-pital in Elgin, and North-shore-Highland Park Hos-pital in Highland Park.

While the vaccine doses will be distributed soon it will be several months until there is an adequate num-ber that will be available for the general population, according to the governor. Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the IDPH, said that it was still important to maintain social distance, wear face coverings, avoid large gath-erings and get flu shots.

The first vaccine that was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis-tration is manufactured by the drug company Pfizer. It requires an initial dose, then another dose three to four weeks later. Pritz-ker said the first shipment could arrive in two weeks. Another vaccine from the drug company Moderna could get approval as soon as this week.

“That (success rate) is phenomenal,” said Dr. Robert Citronberg, the ex-ecutive medical director of infectious disease and pre-vention for Advocate Au-rora Health, in regards to

Moderna and Pfizer. “Both of these companies really hit out of the park.”

Citronberg is encour-aged by the news but is concerned that when those two vaccines and several others are available that many people will not take them.

“The most important thing to remember is that vaccines are useless unless people are willing to get im-munized,” Citronberg said. “The vaccines themselves don’t do anything, so we at Advocate Aurora will be do-

ing a big push to recommend these vaccines for our team members, our patients at risk and our community.”

Pritzker said that the ini-tial recipients will be health care workers and long-term care residents. The gover-nor said that 655,000 peo-ple in Illinois qualify as frontline health care work-ers — 162,000 in Chicago and 493,000 outside of Chi-cago. About 110,000 adults statewide live in congre-gate settings.

After that group will be “other essential workers and

persons at higher risks of severe COVID-19 illness, including persons 65 years of age and older,” according to the state’s vaccine plan. Then it will be “critical pop-ulations” as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP. Then the general population can receive the vaccine.

“In other words, this will not be a quick process. With the two-dose time-line, no single person will

be fully vaccinated even by Christmas, and it will like-ly be months before people with low risk factors for COVID-19 see their first dose,” Pritzker said. “But the very fact that we have this timeline is the result of incredible private sector in-novation and longstanding public investment in scien-tific research.”

Pritzker said the first shipment, if indeed it in-cludes 109,000 doses, would be divided into 23,000 doses directly to Chicago and 86,000 to be

distributed to the rest of the state.

Citronberg said he doesn’t expect the compa-nies involved with the vac-cine to end at two, and sug-gested that by sometime in 2021, there may be multiple options available.

“We could have five, six, seven vaccines available, which will really help us to cover the population,” Cit-ronberg said.

Contributing to this report was Jerry Nowicki with Capitol News Illinois

ADVOCATEfrom Page 1

The shortfall changes often because most of the funds are invested in the stock market, Getty said.

After the board meet-ing, Getty said the $60,000 is coming from the town-ship’s cash reserves.

“We’ve got plenty of money in the bank,” he said. “We just want to make sure it doesn’t show a lia-bility.”

“This is us saying, ‘Hey, we want to pay more to get

us close to that 100 per-cent’,” Getty said.

In other business, the board tabled approving the paratransit service provider agreement with Pace pend-ing review of the contract terms by Elizabeth Shine, the township’s attorney.

Approval by the board is expected.

Trustee Colleen Kel-ly, who oversees senior services, said none of the township’s five bus drivers have come down with the virus.

“Thank you to the driv-ers for keeping our seniors

and themselves safe,” Kelly said.

The board also approved accepting a $790 rebate from Polycom for new phones purchased when the township switched service to Call One.

Township Clerk Mike Porfirio said among the 74,984 registered voters, 54,505 ballots were cast, representing a turnout of 72.69 percent.

A special board meet-ing at 5 p.m. Dec. 21 is for approval of the tax levy. There’s no increase in the levy planned, Porfirio said.

LYONSfrom Page 1

Supplied photoAdvocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn will serve as a regional distribution center for vaccine doses for COVID-19.

the village’s public infra-structure. This would in-clude, but not be limited to investment in its roads, alleys, paths and sidewalks.

A second question, also advisory, will ask if the village should dedicate ad-ditional resources to invest in its public infrastructure including but not limited

to investment in its roads, alleys, paths and sidewalks.

The third referendum is a “yes” or “no” question on if the village should allow the growth, cultivation, manufacture, and sale of cannabis (marijuana) for recreational use within the village limits.

Two related companies, Maribis LLC and Bedford Grow LLC, are already based in Summit but oper-ate outside of the village.

Maribis operates cannabis dispensaries in Garfield Ridge and Springfield and a cannabis cultivation center in Bedford Park. They are owned by Laurel Dineff.

Candidates began filing their petitions on Monday to run in the April 6 elections. The last day to file will be 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 21.

The next scheduled meeting of the Village Board is set for Monday, December 21, at 7 p.m.

SUMMITfrom Page 1

Stickney Township Public Health offers online virtual therapy

The Behavioral Health Division of the Stickney Township Public Health District is offering virtual therapy sessions online for township residents.

Adults, couples, fami-lies and children, with or without health insurance, may schedule an appoint-ment by calling 708-237-8946.

Fees for those without insurance are charged on a sliding scale based on in-come — no one is turned away for the inability to pay.

“During these stressful times we need to pay at-tention to our emotional health as well as our phys-ical health,” declares Louis S. Viverito, Health Dis-trict President. “Meeting in person puts our patients as well as our staff at risk for COVID-19. At the same time, isolation may have a negative effect on our health in ways that aren’t just physical. We want to be sure that Township res-idents have access to the support and services that they need in the safest way possible.”

Melinda Antoskiewicz, LCPC, Stickney Township

Behavioral Health Direc-tor, acknowledges that anxiety and depression can affect anyone and urg-es residents going through a tough time emotionally, whether it’s COVID relat-ed or not, to contact her department.

“People seek therapy for a variety of reasons. Some have experienced anxiety or depression in the past, and the addi-tional stress due to the COVID pandemic may exacerbate those previous conditions. Others may be experiencing increased sadness or anxiety for the first time.

“Feelings can be mag-nified by the stress or isolation of the pandemic and this may cause a per-son to struggle,” said An-toskiewicz. “For some, it may be hard to get out of bed or to stay focused on their job.

“Sometimes that first phone conversation can help a person simply by speaking with someone who can offer emotional support. We’ll discuss their concerns and, if seeing a therapist seems like the right approach, we can get

the process started right away.”

After an initial screen-ing by phone to deter-mine a potential client’s concerns, arrangements are made to complete registration forms and to receive instructions on downloading the app to be used during the intake ap-pointment.

How quickly this hap-pens is usually up to the caller’s needs and Anto-skiewicz assures new cli-ents that “we can often schedule the person’s in-take appointment within two weeks of the initial phone call.”

Most patients can use video on their phone to access the virtual ses-sions. If talking with a therapist isn’t sufficient, the Behavioral Health Department is linked to a network of professional services.

“In some instances, the person may require ser-vices that the Behavioral Health Division does not provide. In those cases, we can provide referral resources that best fit the person’s needs,” said Anto-skiewicz.

The Desplaines Valley News is YOUR local newspaper!

DESPLAINES VALLEY NEWS 17THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020

PUZZLE ANSWERS:

GUESS WHO: Don JohnsonWORD SCRAMBLE: Faucet

OBITUARIES from Page 2

Tributes can be made in his name to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, online at LLS.org. Funeral Services Private. Please send your condolences to Leonard’s per-sonal tribute website at www.foranfuneralhome.com.

NORMAN EARL SCHOPF Norman Earl Schopf, age 78, passed away November

17.Beloved husband of Joan Schopf (nee Bala); loving

father of the late Norman (Angela) Schopf Jr., Timothy Schopf, Susan Galloy, and Kristine (Adam) Janeczek; cherished grandpa of Taylor, Jacob, Brooke, Kenne-dy, Addison and Nicholas. Preceded in death by the late Charles P. Schopf, Sr. and the late Bernice (nee Saenger). Loving brother of Eleanor (late Mixie) Inman, Theodore (Cynthia) Schopf, Luana (Harry) Wood, Rick (Leigh) Schopf, Debra (late Frank) Feigl, late Donald (late Caroline) Schopf, the late Marilyn (late Paul) Ar-lington, late Charles (Arlene) Schopf, late William (late Genevieve) Schopf, late Carol (late Joseph) McAlpine, late Charlene (late Jerry) Jones. Also survived by nu-merous nieces, nephews, relatives and many friends.

Interment Resurrection Cemetery, Justice.

ALBIN SCISLOWICZAlbin Scislowicz, age 84, passed away

November 15.Beloved husband of Marianna (nee Bryn-

iarska); loving father of Katherine (Chris) Gambla, Mary (Jeff) Callan, Roman (Betty) Scislowicz and Tom (Megan) Scislowicz;

cherished grandpa of Marianne Callan, Julianne Callan, Jason Callan, Elizabeth Callan, Christopher Gambla, Dana Gambla, Allison Gambla, Annette Scislowicz, Andy Scislowicz, Emma Scislowicz and Jack Scislo-wicz.

Visitation was held November 18 at Damar-Kaminski Funeral Home & Crematorium, 7861 S. 88th Avenue, Justice. Funeral was held November 19, family and friends gathered at Our Lady Mother of the Church Pol-ish Mission, 116 Hilton Street, Willow Springs for Mass.

Interment Good Shepherd Cemetery, Orland Park.

EUGENIUSZ SIKORSKIEugeniusz Sikorski, age 81, passed away November 7.Beloved husband of Henryka (nee Dabrowska); loving

brother of Mirek Sikorski and Ryszard Sikorski; cher-ished son of the late Piotr and Wanda Sikorski.

Visitation was held November 18 at Damar-Kaminski Funeral Home & Cremato-rium, 7861 S. 88th Avenue, Justice. Funeral was held November 19, family and friends gathered at St. Fabian Church, 7450 W. 83rd Avenue, Bridgeview for Mass. Interment

Resurrection Cemetery, Justice.

JOZEF SZUMNYJozef Szumny, age 73, passed away November 14.Beloved husband of Regina (nee Malek); loving father

of Tomasz (Monika) Szumny, Piotr (Danuta) Szumny, and Edyta (Albert) Kuna; cherished grandpa of Julia Szumny, Joanna Szumny, Leon Szumny, Alicja Kuna, Jakub Szumny, Bruno Szumny, and Amelia Kuna; lov-ing brother of Maria (Ryszard) Puchacz, Zofia (Andrzej) Bielak, and Hania (Adam) Zajac.

Visitation was held November 18 at Damar-Kaminski Funeral Home & Crematorium, 7861 S. 88th Avenue, Justice. Funeral was held November 19, family and friends gathered at Our Lady Mother of the Church Pol-ish Mission, 116 Hilton Street, Willow Springs for Mass. Interment Resurrection Cemetery, Justice.

SHARLEEN VAN DAHMSharleen Van Dahm, age 85, of Bridgeview, passed

away December 4.Beloved wife of Alan Van Dahm; loving mother of

James (Janet) Van Dahm, Karen (Lou) Diaz, Paula (Jer-ry) Canino and Amy (Robert) Sojka; proud grandmother of James (Bobbie Jo Keener), Robert (Emily Dunnell), William Van Dahm, Jessica (Christopher) Peavler, Alison (Marcus) Mountford, Karissa (Mark) D’Amico, Kathryn (Michael) Collins, Jake Sojka, Katelyn Sojka, Declan Sojka and great grandmother of 15; fond sister of John Slager and the late Janice (late Herbert) Holmes. Sharleen was a longtime devoted member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Burr Ridge.

Funeral Services private. Interment Fairmount Wil-low Hills Memorial Park. Arrangements entrusted to Foran Funeral Home.

Call 708-496-0265 to subscribe to the

Desplaines Valley News

HEALTH

Overcoming the mask Tips for communicating through COVID-19 By Family Features

It can be challenging to communicate through masks, 6-feet of social distance, physical barriers and other factors due to COVID-19 that have changed daily life.

For people with hearing loss, this is an especially challenging time. In a telling sign of in-creased hearing difficulty, usage of online hearing tests increased 500% since the pandemic began.

"With COVID-19 and masks, everyday tasks are a source of frustration, such as asking a question at the grocery store deli or talking to someone from behind a customer service desk," said Bill Schiffmiller, a lifelong hearing aid user and founder and CEO of Akoio, a hearing wellness company. "It's a triple threat because masks reduce the loudness of the voice, muffle pro-nunciation and eliminate visuals like facial expressions and lip reading."

Data shows people who can't hear others begin to stay away

from other people, and social isolation can lead to anxiety and depression. People who have trouble hearing also tend to have higher hospitalization rates and longer hospital stays, according to research published in "JAMA Otolaryngology."

Among those 55 and older who have hearing loss, 58% don't use hearing aids. In the past, sta-tistics have shown people waiting up to seven years before getting a hearing aid from the time of diagnosis. However, the commu-nication challenges posed during COVID-19 are driving some to address their hearing sooner than they may have otherwise.

Help someone hear you better

• Consider the mask you're wearing. Clear masks provide a visual difference, helping with lip reading and facial expres-sions. The plastic in clear masks, however, can muffle sound too much for some. According to audiologist Dr. Shivani Patel, high-frequency hearing loss is common, making female voices difficult to hear. In this situation, research has found standard medical masks tend to transfer sound best. Try different masks to see what works for you.

• Minimize background noise. Music, construction, other con-versations, heaters and fans can

make it challenging to communi-cate when wearing a mask.

• Avoid "cavernous" rooms. An environment with mostly hard surfaces, such as a large meeting room or gymnasium, offers minimal sound dampening and can make hearing compre-hension more difficult.

• Maintain eye contact. Look directly at the person you're speaking to and speak clearly, helping him or her read some of your facial expressions. When using video conference services, look directly into the camera in a well-lit room and ensure you have clear picture quality to help with lip reading.

• Be patient. Remember the increased challenges people with hearing loss are facing now. If communication becomes too challenging through a mask, have a backup plan such as pen and paper or a smartphone note-taking app.

When you're having trouble hearing

• Talk to your friends and family. Tell them what you're experiencing and be clear and di-rect in expressing your thoughts and feelings. Ask whether they have noticed your hearing trou-bles and listen to their feedback.

• Describe specific instances and circumstances when your hearing is affected most. Armed

with this knowledge, friends and family can help you manage various situations.

• Determine a plan of action. Set an appointment to have your hearing checked by an audiolo-gist. If you wear a hearing aid, be sure to carry extra batteries. Notice ways to adjust your envi-ronment to reduce background noise.

• Make hearing wellness a priority. Data shows hearing is important to a person's men-tal and physical wellness, and untreated hearing loss can have multiple health consequences.

Find more hearing resources, downloadable guides and an audiologist finder at akoio.com.

Source: Akoio

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

18 DESPLAINES VALLEY NEWS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020

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LEGAL NOTICE

Address: 8542-8550 43RD Street, Lyons, Illinois 60534

PIN: 18-02-119-004-0000

LOT 4 IN INTERAYS SUBDIVISION OF THE WEST 5.74 CHAINS OF THAT PART OF THE EAST 1/2 OF THE NORTHWEST 1/4 OF SECTION 2, TOWNSHIP 38 NORTH, RANGE 12, EAST OF THE THIRD PRINCIPAL MERIDIAN, LYING SOUTH OF THE CENTER LINE OF CHICAGO AND JOLIET (NOW PLAINFIELD ROAD), EXCEPT THAT PART TAKEN FOR FIRST AVENUE, IN COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

The property is open and vacant and constitutes an immediate and continuing hazard to the community.

The Village of Lyons intends to demolish, repair or enclose the building or remove any garbage debris or other hazardous, noxious, or unhealthy substances or materials if the owner or owners or lienholders of record fail to do so.

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICENotice of a Public Hearing of the Village of Summit, Cook County, Illinois.

Notice is hereby given that the President and Board of Trustees of the Village of Summit will hold a public hearing on December 21, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. for all interested citizens of the Village of Summit. The public hearing will be held at the Village Hall, 5810 S. Archer Road, for the purpose of discussion of the proposed tentative annual budget for the fis-cal year ending December 31, 2021. NOTE – DUE TO COVID-19, THE BOARD MEETING WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE VIA CONFER-ENCE CALL PLEASE CALL (425) 436-6390 Access Code: 828329 Public comment can be sent prior to the phone conference board meeting via email to clambert@summit-il.org by 3pm the day of the meeting and public comments will be read during the public meeting. If calling into the phone conference board meeting, then public comments will be taken during public comment and persons shall adhere to the village set time limit of two minutes. The proposed tentative annual budget may be examined on weekdays at the Municipal Office, 7321 W. 59th Street be-tween 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. or may be viewed on the Village’s website at www.summit-il.org. All interested citizens will have the opportunity to give written and oral comment.

Colleen M. LambertVillage Clerk, Village of Summit

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PUBLIC NOTICE

BEDFORD PARK PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICTTREASURER’S ANNUAL

FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2020STATE OF ILLINOIS, Cook County OFFICE OF TREASURER

The following is a statement by Christopher Hervieux, Treasurer of the Bedford Park Public Library District, Bedford Park, Illinois in the County and State aforesaid, of the amount of public funds received and disbursed during the fiscal year ending on the 30th day of June A.D. 2020 showing the amount of public funds on hand at the commencement of said fiscal year; the amount of public funds expended, and for what purposes expended, during said fiscal year ending as aforesaid.

Christopher Hervieux, being duly sworn, states that the following statement is a correct statement of the amount of public funds on hand at the commencement of the fiscal year above stated, the amount of public funds received, and the sources from which received, and the amount expended, and purposes for which expended, as set forth in said statement.

BEDFORD PARK PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICTTREASURER'S ANNUAL

COMBINED STATEMENT OF RECEIPTS, EXPENDITURES,AND CHANGES IN FUND BALANCES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2020

Receipts GENERAL FUNDLocal taxes: Property taxes $ 1,361,171

Total local taxes 1,361,171

Intergovernmental:State shared: Replacement taxes 200,635 Other intergovernmental 45,078

Total intergovernmental 245,713

Interest 6,544Grant Revenue 725Library services 11,390

Total receipts 1,625,543

Expenditures

General government 990,169Capital outlay 235,068

Total expenditures 1,225,237

Net change in fund balance 400,306

Beginning fund balance 1,432,130

Ending fund balance $ 1,832,436

The above combined statement of revenues, expenditures and changes in fund balances of the Bedford Park Public Library for the year ended June 30, 2020 is hereby published in conformity with Section 3.1- 35-65 of the Illinois Municipal Code. This schedule presents only a portion of the financial statements of the Bedford Park Public Library. The complete financial statements of the Bedford Park Public Library, including the independent auditors’ report, is on file and available for inspection at the Library’s office.

BEDFORD PARK PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICTVENDOR LIST

TREASURER’S ANNUAL - VENDORS OVER $2,500 FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2020

Mike’s Landscape Inc. $ 2,646.00OverDrive, Inc. 3,000.00Walmart 3,027.93Matthew Bender & Co., Inc. 3,072.21Demco 3,122.25Campbell Electric Inc. 3,227.00Pitney Bowes Global Financial 3,372.18RAILS 3,822.00Colley Elevator Company 3,889.00LEAF 3,907.47Therm Flo, Inc 4,225.00STUDIO GC 4,400.00Comcast 4,590.39Baker & Taylor 5,070.64Recorded Books, Inc. 5,784.79Quill Corporation 5,854.75Lawrence R. Gryczewski 6,912.50HUMANADENTAL INS CO 7,264.29

Ingram Library Services $ 7,335.58NACO/Midwest 8,440.00Bedford Pk Public Library Dist 10,577.26U.S. Bank Equipment Finance 10,687.09Advent Systems, Inc. 13,525.98Murphy & Miller, Inc. 13,662.02EBSCO 14,239.66Liberty Mutual Insurance Compa 15,395.00AT&T 17,259.26Illinois Department of Revenue 22,717.84SWAN 24,832.64Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LL 33,080.00BMO Harris Bank N.A. - Payment 34,678.31ComEd 35,647.15IL Municipal Retirement Fund 68,658.79Blue Cross/Blue Shield 121,237.09Action 1 Construction, Inc. 156,700.00

BEDFORD PARK PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICTTREASURER’S ANNUAL FOR SALARIES

FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2020

GROSS EARNINGS UNDER $25,000Shannon DoyleRylie PicheSamuel LitsogiannisMichele L. SchuelerJulian A. ArceoSusan GralaDeborah A. KalafutStephen EasterlingEdward SaleckiAlice PfisterMaximiliano ChavezRaegan TlapaAnita L. Stocks

GROSS EARNINGS $25,000 TO $49,999David HoldmanBrian LyznickiBridget Ormins

GROSS EARNINGS $50,000 TO $74,999Cynthia A. SaleckiDeanna L. VanDellBarbara Weber

GROSS EARNINGS $75,000 AND ABOVEAnne M. Murphy

PUBLIC NOTICE

TOWNSHIP OF LYONS PUBLIC NOTICE

On Monday, December 21, 2020 at 5:00 p.m., a public meeting will be held by the Township of Lyons Board of Trustees in the Township of Lyons Community Room, 6404 Joliet Rd., Countryside, Illinois to approve the 2020 General Town Levy and the 2020 Road & Bridge Levy for the fiscal year ending February 28, 2021. A copy of the 2020 Proposed Levies are available for inspection at the Township of Lyons Hall between 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Dated: December 17, 2020 Mike PorfirioClerk, Township of Lyons

Julius Marley

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