🌱 Election Day In Illinois + Vaccine Clinics 'Winding Down'

Good morning, Oak Park and River Forest! The midterm elections are here, making for a busy news day. In the Tuesday edition of the Daily:

• Find out where and when to vote today
• More than $6,000 worth of lottery tickets are stolen in Maywood
• A River Grove woman searches for a lost wedding band

But first, today's weather: Partly sunny. High: 57 Low: 45.

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

1. A Maywood man broke into two businesses and stole more than $6,000 worth of lottery tickets, according to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. Dion Johnson used a brick to break into a deli and a hardware store, according to police. He faces burglary and retail theft charges. (FOX)

2. It’s Election Day in Illinois, with midterm ballots including races for governor, state representatives, county judges and more in Oak Park and River Forest. All polling places opened at 6 a.m. and are expected to stay open through 7 p.m. Click here to read the ballot and find your polling place. (Clerk)

3. The Oak Park Department of Public Health is “winding down” its weekly vaccine clinics, according to a village social media post. Tuesday clinics at Cheney Mansion will continue through Dec. 6. New data shows the bivalent COVID-19 booster could offer as much as four times the protection as previous vaccines, NBC Chicago reports. (VOP)

4. A total lunar eclipse could be seen over Chicagoland this morning at around 4 a.m. The next eclipse of its kind is not expected to occur until March 2025. (NBC)

5. A River Grove woman is searching for a wedding band she lost on Halloween. Nancy Cairncross was handing out candy to trick-or-treaters at the time it went missing. She is offering a reward to anyone who finds the lost band. (CBS)

Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• The Park District of Oak Park hosts a field trip to Danada Preserve to learn about prescribed burns. (8:45 a.m.)
• A “Snapology” workshop is held at Dole Center. (9 a.m.)
• Attend a virtual storytime session with River Forest Public Library. (10 a.m.)
• Oak Park Public Library offers a monthly Latinx Author Book Cafe. (6 p.m.)
• Take an interactive virtual cooking class with Classroom Kitchen. (6:30 p.m.)
• Cathy Richardson performs at FitzGeralds. (8:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• City officials say crime rates are dropping in Austin thanks to a new partnership with the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago. (AustinTalks)
• Berwyn police will host a catalytic converter anti-theft event Nov. 12. (COB)
• Downtown Oak Park has kicked off a “Shopper’s Reward” program to encourage holiday shopping at local businesses. (DOP)
• The OPRF High School cross country team finished fifth at their state meet over the weekend, the team’s best showing since 1980. (Wednesday Journal)

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You're all caught up on this Election Day! 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.