2023's Most-Read Stories On Mokena Patch

MOKENA, IL — As we get ready to turn the page on 2023, we look back at some of the stories that got the most traction on the Mokena Patch website. We enjoyed delivering our readers the most important local news and look forward to doing it again in 2024.

In a year filled with ups and downs, here are the top 10 most-read stories of 2023 (in chronological order):

JANUARY

Woman Killed In New Year’s Day Crash, Mokena Officer Hurt In Responding

One person was killed in a two-vehicle crash on New Year’s Day after police said the woman hit another vehicle from behind after the other vehicle had stopped at an intersection.

Police said the victim hit the stopped vehicle at the intersection of Interstate 80 and La Grange Road Sunday evening. Police officers arrived at the scene of the crash to find first responders performing CPR on the driver of the second vehicle.

FEBRUARY

Immense Grief: Family Reeling After Death of 7-Year-Old Mokena Girl

Chris and Vanessa Smurzynski's daughter, Addy, died on Feb. 10, after being ill for just one day. She and her daughter had both felt sick the day prior and stayed home from school together, warding off low-grade fevers.

Addy woke up early Friday morning and vomited twice before falling unconscious. Attempts to revive her were unsuccessful. Doctors said she had contracted a virus that quickly turned to pneumonia, filling her lungs with fluid. Days later, Smurzynski said they're still in disbelief at how quickly it all happened.

MARCH

Former Mokena Resident Found Guilty Of Assaulting Mother-In-Law: PD

A 36-year-old woman who was arrested in Mokena in 2019 will be sentenced on Friday after she was found guilty of the aggravated assault of her mother-in-law after she knocked her out of bed in a drunken attack, Will County prosecutors announced on Thursday.

Nicole Vieni, who now lives in Chicago, was found guilty of the charges by a Will County jury on Wednesday. Veini was convicted of the aggravated assault of a senior citizen, domestic violence, and interfering with the reporting of domestic violence, State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced.

APRIL

Tribes Brewing, a Mokena Staple Since 2009, Will Close At Month’s End

Tribes Brewing, which has been providing Mokena beer lovers with craft brews since 2009 when it first arrived in the village from Frankfort, announced in April that it will close its doors at the end of the month.

The independently owned brewery, which has produced award-winning craft selections since it was founded under a different name, announced the closure on its Facebook page on Sunday. In the post, the brewery wrote “As most of you are undoubtedly aware, our brewery will be closing at the end of the month.”

JUNE

Mokena’s NAWS Pet Shelter Faces Risk Of Closing Without Full-Time Vet

A Mokena-based animal shelter that has served the region for more than a decade finds itself in crisis mode after its long-time veterinarian announced plans to leave the shelter next month.

NAWS, a not-for-profit no-kill shelter, announced on social media that the facility’s medical clinic veterinarian will be leaving the job on July 15. While the shelter’s spay and neuter clinic will remain open three days a week, the facility faces the fear of closing for good, the facility’s manager told Patch on Thursday, because of the substantial loss in income that is associated with not having a full-time veterinarian on-site.

JULY

She Was A Fighter: Mokena Pub, Friends Remember Jacquie Hamblin

For eight months, Jacquie Hamblin’s family held out hope, watching as the beloved wife, mother, daughter, sister, cousin, and friend fought with everything she had to prove her doctors wrong.

Before the Mokena native and 2002 Lincoln-Way East graduate suffered massive multiple strokes last fall, Hamblin had shown no signs of any health issues or any struggles that prevented her from living life on her terms. An active Orangetheory Fitness addict and avid weekend hiker, Hamblin was the picture of health throughout her life before everything tragically turned on Oct. 28, 2022, when she sustained the strokes hours after returning home from a business trip in Nashville at the age of 38.

Mokena Woman Has ‘Rush Of Thankfulness’ After Cops Find Stolen Items

Like countless other burglary victims, Kristin Ellis was convinced she would never recover the property that was taken from her home in unincorporated Mokena during a break-in four years ago.

But just two weeks ago and one day before her 39th birthday, Ellis sat in her vehicle in tears as she grasped two pieces of jewelry that hold a special place in her heart that had been stolen and then, almost unbelievably, were recovered by the Will County Sheriff’s Office only a few days after the burglary.

OCTOBER

Man Charged In Dogs Torture In Mokena Due In Court

A 29-year-old Midlothian man who faces criminal charges in connection to the death of two dogs that belonged to a woman he met on a mobile dating app is scheduled to appear in court next month after being indicted earlier this year by a Will County grand jury.

Matthew Berry was indicted in May with animal torture and abuse charges in connection with the death of two dogs belonging to Sarah Manos. Manos filed a complaint with the Mokena Police Department in January, claiming that Berry had beaten and tortured her dog for 14 hours, which led to the dog's death.

Mokena Shooting May Have Been Drug-Related

The shooting of a man while he was sitting in his car on a fall Friday night may have been drug-related and police are continuing to search for a suspect.

The victim, a 32-year-old man, was treated and released from a local hospital after police said that he was shot in the shoulder just after 8 p.m. on Friday. Police said that the shooting took place in the 19500 block of Glennell Avenue after being told someone had been shot.

NOVEMBER

Mokena Family Has ‘So Much To Be Thankful For’ After Bahamas Rescue

Becky and Matt Savage will sit down to Thanksgiving dinner with their two boys on Thursday, grateful as always for good health, friends, and family.

But the day that is set aside each year to give thanks has taken on a new perspective for the Mokena couple. The holiday arrives as they continue to unpack their emotions from being rescued from choppy Caribbean waters after the double-deck catamaran ferry they were on with 100 other people capsized while en route to a private island in the Bahamas, resulting in the death of a 75-year-old Minnesota woman.

Thanks for reading in 2023 and make sure to come back in the coming year for more stories that impact your community.