🌱 Proviso Strike Ends + Harmon Talks Illinois Ethics Reform

Georgi Presecky
Updated ·4 min read
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Happy Friday, Oak Park and River Forest! Here's the news for Friday, March 25.

First, today's weather: A shower in the p.m.; windy. High: 47 Low: 30.

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

1. Proviso District 209 schools will resume classes on Monday after the teachers' union and district officials reached a tentative contract agreement Wednesday. Teachers had been on strike since March 4. (Forest Park Review)

2. A thief stole nearly $300 worth of baby formula from an Elmwood Park Walgreens on March 10. According to police, he used a hammer to break the lock box containing the formula at the store at 7200 North Ave. (Paid source: Elm Leaves)

3. The Oak Park Department of Public Health reported 59 new cases of COVID-19 in the village from March 16-22. It is a 59 percent increase from last week's 37 cases. (VOP)

4. Illinois Democrats “lack an appetite” for further ethics reforms after the indictment of former Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, WBEZ reports. Senate President Don Harmon of Oak Park said “sweeping, bipartisan reforms” were already passed in 2020. (WBEZ)

5. OPRF High School marked two years of the pandemic with a special video thanking students for their resilience during the COVID-19 crisis. History teacher Jamie Sieck said she wanted to “acknowledge students’ struggles and the perseverance it’s taken them to come out the other side.” (Wednesday Journal)

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Oak Park-River Forest Pic of the Week

Student and photographer Lucas Kult-Banout captures OPRF High School. (Courtesy of Lucas Kult-Banout)
Student and photographer Lucas Kult-Banout captures OPRF High School. (Courtesy of Lucas Kult-Banout)

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Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

  • Lake Theatre screens a “Sing 2” sing-along. (Noon)

  • Public Skate Friday at RCRC. (3:30 p.m.)

  • Learn about ceramics at a Dole Center workshop. (6 p.m.)

  • Austin Gardens Environmental Education Center hosts a free telescope night. (6:30 p.m.)

  • Theatre of Western Springs presents “Dancing Queen: An ABBA Salute.” (8 p.m.)

From my notebook:

  • A Chicago police officer is in good condition after his car crashed into a tree in Austin early Wednesday. (Paid source: Sun-Times)

  • Today is the deadline to pre-apply for Oak Park’s Housing Choice Voucher Program. (VOP)

  • District 97 teachers are no longer required to provide a remote classroom viewing option for quarantined or sick students, Wednesday Journal reports. (Wednesday Journal)

  • Boy Scouts will collect clothes, shoes and textiles tomorrow at St. Mother Theodore Guerin Catholic Parish. (VOEP)

  • River Forest Public Library is distributing “Spring Break Bored Bags” for students to use at home on break next week. (Library)

  • Oak Park officials are offering tips for National Poison Prevention Week. (VOP)

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That's all for today, OPRF!

— 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