🌱 Brookfield Zoo Free Days + Oak Park Construction Updates

Good morning! Here's your five-minute guide to what's making headlines in Oak Park and River Forest today.

First, today's weather:

Mostly sunny and nice. High: 86 Low: 78.

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

1. About 35 percent of Oak Park’s youngest children have been vaccinated against COVID-19, the health department reports. Only about two percent of children between six months and four years old have been vaccinated nationwide. (VOP)

2. Oak Park Village Manager Kevin Jackson gave several construction updates in his weekly report. Crews are working on sewer improvements on Kenilworth between Lake and Ontario streets, plus construction is underway at the new Pete’s Market and Senior Living Center at 703 Madison. (VOP)

3. The good news keeps coming for local author Jessamine Chan. Her novel “The School for Good Mothers” made the longlist for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. (Instagram)

4. Oak Park native Thomas Lennon appeared on this week’s new episode of “Celebrity Family Feud,” now streaming on Hulu. The actor and screenwriter was playing to raise money for Los Angeles pet rescue Dogs Without Borders. (YouTube)

Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• Brookfield Zoo is offering free admission for children 11 and under. (9:30 a.m.)
• Cathy Adduci speaks at Southern Illinois University’s virtual “Meet the Mayors” series. (2 p.m.)
• Join Elmwood Park organizations for “National Night Out.” (2 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Volunteers are needed for this week’s Oak Park Public Library book fair. (OPPL)
• Animal Care League is participating in the month-long “Clear the Shelters” event, held annually across Chicagoland. (NBC)
• Save the date: A candlelight vigil will be held in Oak Park Aug. 31 in honor of International Overdose Awareness Day. (Patch)

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Events:

• One-of-A-Kind Meerkat Experience Coming to Oakbrook Center (August 2)
• Spirito Singers Auditions (August 4)
• Elmhurst Brewing Crafts & Drafts Market! (August 7)
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You're all caught up! See you tomorrow for more local news.

— 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.