🌱 Churches Near Consolidation + Metra Pass + High School Play-Offs

Happy Friday! It's a busy weekend in Oak Park and River Forest, so thanks for taking time to catch up with your local headlines. I appreciate you! Now let's get to the news.

First, today's weather: Mostly sunny and warm. High: 79 Low: 59.

Shoutout to our premier local sponsor:

Are you a parent in Oak Park looking for summer activities for your child? Magical Minds Studio hosts a series of week-long summer art camps for children from PreK through Middle School, from June 13 to Aug. 19. Programs include puppet making, Legos, ceramics, clay, painting, photography and Outdoor Adventure for middle schoolers. Enroll by May 15 with the code PATCH2022 and receive a 10 percent discount. To learn more and to see this summer’s schedule visit Magical Minds Studio today.

Want to see your business featured in this spot? Click here to get started.

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

1. Catalytic converter theft remains prominent across the area. Thieves targeted a car parked outside the Walmart in Forest Park on May 24. Two incidents were reported in Elmwood Park the previous week, in the 2300 block of North Harlem and the 2700 block of 74th Avenue. (Forest Park Review/Elm Leaves)

2. Oak Park parish leaders will meet tomorrow as the archdiocese unification date approaches. The four Catholic churches will officially merge into two communities on July 1. (St. Giles)

3. Metra announced a pilot program to provide a $100 monthly pass this summer. “Super Saver” passes go on sale June 20 and are available for July, August and September. (Patch)

4. A new documentary tells the story of a group of Oak Park women who created a network to provide illegal abortions for Chicagoans in the 1970s. “The Janes” will premiere June 8 on HBO. (Paid source: Daily Herald)

5. Oak Park’s village offices experienced an hours-long phone outage on Thursday. Incoming and outgoing calls were blocked around 9 a.m., the village announced via social media. (VOP)

From our sponsor:

Are you an Oak Park-River Forest resident looking for an investment alternative to the stock market?

Bloomberg recently asked experts where they’d invest $100,000 right now, and many of them had the same answer: fine art.

Thinking you can’t afford a Picasso? Well in 2012, Congress passed the JOBS Act, which allowed for the securitization of artwork. A company called Masterworks.io built the largest platform for buying and selling art securities. In the past, you could only buy shares of companies like Apple, but with this investing app, you can unlock this powerful investment.

Meaning, you can invest in shares of million-dollar artwork. And in uncertain times, it turns out, fine art may be a wise investment. Here’s why:

• Low correlation to stocks according to Citi
• Contemporary art historically returns 23.2 percent when inflation is >3 percent
• Contemporary art prices outpaced the S&P 500 by 164 percent (1995-2021)

To learn more, visit Masterworks.io, where Oak Park-River Forest Daily readers can skip the waitlist.

See important Reg A Disclosures

Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• KidCreate Studio offers a “Mickey, Minnie and Me” class. (9 a.m.)
• See box office record-breaking sequel “Top Gun: Maverick” at Lake Theatre. (1:20 p.m.)
• “Legacy in Concert” is held at Madison Street Theater. (7:30 p.m.)
• Unity of Oak Park hosts an outdoor screening of “Encanto.” (8:15 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Oak Park’s new rules for short-term rentals went into effect this week. (Pick Oak Park)
• OPRF High School’s volleyball team will play a state quarterfinal game today against Libertyville. The Fenwick soccer team also has a state semifinal game today. (Wednesday Journal)
• Forest Park School District 91 is outlining new policies to help struggling students, from those experiencing homelessness to others being bullied. (Forest Park Review)
• Oak Park Public Library is celebrating Pride Month with an LGBTQ+ history display. (Library)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Featured businesses:

• Laurie Christofano, Realtor | RE/MAX In The Village — (Visit website)
• Add your business here

Events:

• Meet Me in Manhattan, An Old Fashioned Way to Beat Cancer www.scoreboardcharities.com (June 10)
• Wellness Together Walk-Along At Oakbrook Center (June 11)
• Add your event

That's all for today! 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 Daily? Contact me at georgi.presecky@patch.com