🌱 Elmwood Park Teacher Sued For 'Grooming' + Income Program Apps Open

Welcome to another Oak Park-River Forest Daily! Today's top stories include:

• A lawsuit against the City of Berwyn
• The death of Oak Parker and former Bears GM Jerry Vainisi
• Good news about Thursday Night Out

But first, today's weather: Cooler; a shower in the a.m. High: 54 Low: 38.

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

1. A Riverside Brookfield High School teacher has been put on leave due to “grooming” allegations stemming from his time at Elmwood Park High School. In a lawsuit filed over the summer, a student who played basketball on coach Dallas Till’s team in 2004 alleges he convinced her to get an abortion after she became pregnant with his child. (Paid source: Elm Leaves)

2. Contractor Phil Robbin is suing the City of Berwyn for their investigation into a racial slur directed at him earlier this year. Berwyn school board member Sarah Lopez resigned after admitting to calling Robbin the N word. Robbin said investigators did not interview him about the report. (ABC)

3. Longtime Chicago Bears General Manager Jerry Vainisi died Tuesday in Oak Park, the team announced this week. He served in the role for 15 years, including during the 1985 Super Bowl championship season. He was 80 years old. (ESPN)

4. The Village of Oak Park will apply for a grant to replace the Home Avenue Pedestrian Bridge in the coming years. If received, the grant would cover 80 percent of the cost of updating the bridge over the Eisenhower Expressway. Work is projected to take four years to complete. (Wednesday Journal)

5. Close to 8,000 people attended Thursday Night Out events in downtown Oak Park over the summer, according to a Wednesday Journal report. The weekly dining and music series generated $200,000 in revenue. (Wednesday Journal)

Patch deal of the day:

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(The Patch Deals team scours the web for deals we think our subscribers will like. We may earn a commission on products purchased. All promotions are as of publication and could change.)

Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• The River Forest Halloween Hoot ‘n Howl is held in Keystone Park, featuring music, pumpkin painting and more “spooky family fun.” (5 p.m.)
• Ovation Academy presents “The Music Man, Jr.” at Madison Street Theater. (7 p.m.)
• See a performance of “Silent Sky” at Concordia University’s Bergmann Theatre. (7:30 p.m.)
• See the original “Scream” at Lake Theatre. (10 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Cook County's Guaranteed Income Pilot program is now accepting applications. The deadline is Oct. 21. (ABC)
• The Forest Preserves of Cook County and the American Indian Center of Chicago are partnering for a traditional Powwow this weekend at Schiller Woods. (FPDCC)
• Trinity High School is planning a shadow event Oct. 10 for area eighth graders. (THS)
• The River Forest Fire Department will host an open house next weekend at the Park Avenue station. (VRF)

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Events:

• Naperville Artisan Market — Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 8-9 (Fall Market) (October 8)
• Taxes in Retirement Webinar (October 11)
• Rolling through the Decades Casino Night presented by Housing Forward Associate Board (October 14)
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For sale:

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That's all for this Friday! Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend.

— 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.