🌱 Feedback Needed For Police Chief Search + New Novel Set In Oak Park

Welcome back, Oak Park and River Forest! Let's get caught up on the latest local news.

First, today's weather: Partly sunny and cool. High: 50 Low: 35.

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

1. A Green Line train passenger struck a CTA employee in the face with an umbrella on April 16. The offender fled down North Boulevard toward the Metra station. The CTA announced Thursday it will increase security patrols on its trains due to the surge in crime. (Paid source: Oak Leaves)

2. Masks will continue to be required at Illinois medical facilities to protect vulnerable patients. “If it protects me and others, it’s a small thing I can do,” Oak Park resident Camille Baxter told the Tribune. “The health care system has been so impacted by the pandemic, and you never know who’s been exposed to what.” (Paid source: Tribune)

3. The Village is seeking resident feedback on its search for the next Oak Park police chief. An online survey will be open until April 29. (VOP)

4. The Oak Park Department of Public Health is tracking reports of a lynx in the village. The wild cat “seems to be sticking around,” Health Director Theresa Chapple-McGruder told Wednesday Journal. Residents who spot the lynx are urged to stay away and contact the health department. (Wednesday Journal)

5. A new novel set in Oak Park hits bookshelves today. The main characters in Jennifer Close’s “Marrying the Ketchups" own a restaurant at the corner of Marion and Pleasant streets. Close told Patch she chose Oak Park because it seemed like a "community that would support a family-owned restaurant like this, a place where the neighbors would become regulars." (Patch)

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Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• Take a virtual chair yoga class with instructor DuShaun Branch. (12:30 p.m.)
• Join a family pond paddle on Thatcher Glen Pond. (5 p.m.)
• The Oak Park Public Library board meets via Zoom. (6:30 p.m.)
• River Forest hosts its Quarterly Community Safety Meeting. (6 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Unwanted and unused medications can be dropped off at the Oak Park Township office on April 30 in honor of National Prescription Drug Takeback Day. (Patch)
• Spring Festival will return to Trailside Museum on Sunday. (FPDCC)
• Oak Park pet owners are required to renew dog and cat licenses by May 1. (VOP)

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Featured businesses:

• Laurie Christofano, Realtor | RE/MAX In The Village — (Visit website)
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Events:

• Hortons Spring Kickoff Truckload Sale - April 30 & May 1 (April 30)
• A Family Concert (April 30)
• Hire A Pro To Tackle Mom's To-Do List (May 8)
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You're all caught up, OPRF! 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.