🌱 Archdiocese Combines Oak Park Churches + Youth COVID-19 Cases

Georgi Presecky
·3 min read

Happy Sunday! Here's your five-minute guide to the news for Jan. 30.

First, today's weather: Sun giving way to clouds. High: 30 Low: 13.

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Here are the top 5 stories today in Oak Park-River Forest:

1. Health officials reported 494 new COVID-19 cases in Oak Park this week, down about 13 percent from last Friday’s report. According to the health department, about one third of positive tests were in children younger than 13. (VOP)

2. Oak Park’s four Catholic parishes will consolidate into two communities, the Archdiocese of Chicago confirmed Friday night. Effective July 1, Ascension and St. Edmund Parishes will unite into one community. St. Catherine/St. Lucy will join St. Giles Parish as a combined parish. (Ascension)

3. Thieves attacked a Madison Street liquor store clerk on Jan. 11, according to the Forest Park Police Department’s latest crime report. Two men assaulted the store employee after he asked them to leave for attempting to steal tequila. (Forest Park Review)

4. The Oak Park and River Forest High School board is figuring out funding for renovations and repairs over the next 10 years. At a Jan. 13 meeting, Superintendent Greg Johnson laid out several options to pay for roof, electrical, plumbing and HVAC repairs at OPRF over a decade. (Wednesday Journal)

5. An “under-used” parking structure on the West Side will be replaced with a six-story affordable housing building, Block Club Chicago reports. The Grace Manor Apartment plan was approved this week by the Chicago Plan Commission. (Austin Weekly News)

Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

  • Oak Park Temple has its annual meeting. (10:30 a.m.)

  • Happy Hour at The Little Gem Cafe. (3:30 p.m.)

  • Dana Legg Stage Band performs at FitzGeralds. (7 p.m.)

From my notebook:

  • River Forest Public Library canceled today’s Global Film Forum event. (RFPL)

  • Several cats are up for adoption at Catvando in Maywood. (Patch)

  • St. Giles and Ascension are marking the start of Catholic Schools Week with open houses. (St. Giles/Ascension)

  • OPRF High School recognized Holocaust Remembrance Day this week. (OPRFHS)

  • Oak Park Township is loaning free medical equipment “including canes, walkers, shower chairs and wheelchairs.” (VOP)

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That's all for today, OPRF! See you tomorrow for more local stories.

— Georgi Presecky

About me: Georgi is a Chicago-based newsletter writer and partner content curator. She spent five years on the entertainment beat for FF2 Media covering film festivals across the U.S. Her feature articles have been recognized with awards from the Illinois Women's Press Association and National Federation of Press Women. As editor-in-chief of the Lewis University newspaper, she and her staff earned honors from the Associated Collegiate Press and American Scholastic Press Associations. She began working for Patch in 2019.

This article originally appeared on the Oak Park-River Forest Patch