🌱 7-Eleven Robbed At Gunpoint + New Mobile Van Offers Opioid Outreach

It's Wednesday, Oak Park and River Forest! Among the top stories on this final day of May:

• Today is the deadline for Cook County commissioner applicants.
• Local parishes are helping migrant families in need.
• A River Forest street is now dedicated to a World War II solider who died in Japan.

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Now, today's weather: Warm; a stray p.m. thunderstorm. High: 89 Low: 68.

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

1. The 7-Eleven on South Boulevard was targeted by armed burglars early Monday morning, according to the Oak Park Police Department. Two offenders stole $400 from the register while another pointed a gun at the clerk. (OPPD)

2. Today is the application deadline for those interested in filling the vacant Cook County Board seat left by Chicago’s new mayor. Sen. Don Harmon of Oak Park is leading the efforts to find a replacement for Brandon Johnson, who served as commissioner in the first district before being sworn in as mayor of Chicago. (WBBM)

3. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held last week at the Way Back Inn's Grateful House in honor of its new opioid mobile outreach van. The Wednesday Journal reports the “Stigma Crusher” vehicle will be available on Wednesdays, “stocked with everything from unused hypodermic needles and fentanyl testing strips to fresh fruit, personal care items and pamphlets for different recovery pathways.” (Wednesday Journal)

4. Oak Park Catholic parishes are “submitting a request for funding to Catholic Charities to partially support a second migrant family for at least six months,” according to the St. Catherine-St. Lucy-St. Giles bulletin. Church communities are seeking volunteers to help families with “shopping, using public transportation, assisting with communication” and more. NBC Chicago reports more than 10,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago since last summer. (SCSLSG/NBC)

5. The 7900 block of Central Avenue in River Forest is now known as “Honorary Cpl. Fred A. Jannisch Jr. Way,” thanks to the efforts of the village board and Lt. John Carter of the fire department. Jannisch was a River Forest native, Oak Leaves delivery boy and son of a local firefighter. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1940, serving his country before dying in a Japanese prisoner of war camp at the age of 19. “Freddie had a short life, but he had a large impact on his family,” his niece Susie Crichlow told the Wednesday Journal. (Wednesday Journal)

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Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• A sound bath meditation is held through the Oak Park Public Library. (3 p.m.)
• L'Arche Chicago breaks ground on a new house. (4:30 p.m.)
• Fleet Feet Oak Park hosts a run and chat with “The Most Fun We Ever Had” author Claire Lombardo. (6 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Schedule changes went into effect yesterday on Metra’s Union Pacific Northwest and West lines. (NBC)
• The District 90 Inclusion and Pride Walk will be held tomorrow, beginning at 6 p.m. at River Forest Village Hall. (VOP)
• OPRF High School graduate and former NBA player Iman Shupert threw out the first pitch at a recent White Sox game. (CWS)
• “American Pickers” is seeking out private collections in Illinois to be featured on the long-running History Channel series this summer. (NBC)
• The Cook County Department of Public Health is looking to hire an emergency response coordinator. (CCDPH)

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That's all for May 31! 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.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Oak Park-River Forest Patch newsletter? Contact me at georgi.presecky@patch.com.