🌱 Thieves Target Binny's + Teachers Vote To Strike

Good morning! Georgi Presecky here with today's Oak Park-River Forest Daily.

A quick correction from yesterday's newsletter: a vaccine clinic at Oak Park and River Forest High School will be held today, Feb. 5. It was never scheduled for yesterday. My apologies for the error!

First, today's weather: Frigid; breezy in the p.m. High: 20 Low: 15.

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

1. Six more people in Oak Park have died of COVID-19, according to the health department. There were 235 new cases reported in the village this week. About 50 percent of those were found in residents younger than 19. (VOP)

2. The Binny’s Beverage Depot in Elmwood Park was burglarized twice in one week, according to the latest crime report. Eight bottles of champagne and other liquor were taken, valued at more than $640. (Paid source: Elm Leaves)

3. The Proviso Teachers Union voted to strike this week, with 98 percent of the vote. Union representatives said they could strike “as soon as Feb. 18,” but the next bargaining meeting is set for Tuesday. (Forest Park Review)

4. Illinois Senate President Don Harmon said the new budget is “unlike any I’ve seen in my time in the Senate.” The Oak Park Democrat said the budget announced by Gov. J.B. Prtizker this week “speaks to the work we’ve done to bring stability to our state finances.” (SJR)

5. COVID-19 cases at Dominican University have dropped by 50 percent since mid-January, when 44 cases were reported at the River Forest campus. The school held two vaccine clinics last month for staff, students and other residents. (Wednesday Journal)

Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• Get free appliance repairs at Oak Park’s monthly Repair Cafe. (10 a.m.)
• “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America” opens at Lake Theatre. (1:50 p.m.)
• “Black is a Rainbow Color” author Angela Joy visits with Forest Park Public Library. (3 p.m.)
• The Knights of Columbus collect diapers and baby wipes for Cicero Catholic Charities at Ascension Catholic Church. (4:30 p.m.)
• Vito Zatto performs at Salerno’s. (7 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Oak Park residents Denise and Eric Roy are celebrating 10 years of their food franchise, Surf’s Up, which now has 15 locations. (Wednesday Journal)
• OPRF High School graduate and longtime Morgan Park Academy teacher Robert Stelton died this week at age 94. (Paid source: Oak Leaves)
• Seven Forest Park businesses received Back to Business grants from the state of Illinois. (Forest Park Review)
• Christopher Mark Fine Flowers and Gifts in Brookfield will close at the end of February as owner Chris Borzym retires to continue undergoing cancer treatment. (Landmark)
• Elmwood Park Public Library will host a week-long Black History Scavenger Hunt beginning tomorrow. (EPPL)

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That's all for today, OPRF! Thanks for reading, and see you tomorrow.

— 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.