🌱 Fenwick Principal Steps Down + Plasticware Ordinance + Minimum Wage

Welcome back, Oak Park and River Forest! Thanks for reading this holiday weekend edition of the Daily.

First, today's weather: Sunshine, nice and less humid. High: 86 Low: 70.

🏡 Attention, real estate pros in Oak Park-River Forest! We're now offering an exclusive sponsorship opportunity for an agent interested in attracting local clients and standing apart from the competition. Click here to learn more.

Here are the top 4 stories today in Oak Park-River Forest:

1. At least 149 people in Oak Park tested positive for COVID-19 this week, according to the health department. The case count is up slightly from last week, when 125 people reported positive tests. (VOP)

2. Fenwick High School Principal Peter Groom will step down from the role this fall and return to teaching Spanish and history classes, the school informed families via email. He held the position for more than a decade. Director of Student Services Terrence O’Rourke will serve as interim principal. (Wednesday Journal)

3. Cook County’s new minimum wage is now in effect. The hourly rate is now $13.35 for non-tipped workers. The state grocery tax in Illinois will also be suspended through June 2023. (NBC)

4. A Frank Lloyd Wright House near the architect’s Oak Park home and studio sold this week for “well above” its asking price. The Robert P. Parker house sold June 27 for $920,000 and is one of Wright’s “bootleg” houses, which he designed in 1892 without telling his employer. (Paid source: Tribune)

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Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• Make a “penny carpet” at Dole Center. (10 a.m.)
• Bring broken items to Fox Center’s “Repair Cafe.” (10 a.m.)
• Learn about animal skills at Trailside Museum. (1 p.m.)
• BBQ Happy Hour at Olson’s Ace Hardware. (1 p.m.)
• See “The Forgiven” at Lake Theatre. (Showtimes)

From my notebook:

• Customers who order takeout from River Forest restaurants will have to request single use plasticware under a new sustainability ordinance. (Wednesday Journal)
• The Oak Park Health Department is offering kid-friendly vaccine clinics at Cheney Mansion on July 5 and July 12. (VOP)
• More than 80 percent of Berwyn voters said they are in favor of ranked choice voting on future ballots, the Tribune reports. (Paid source: Tribune)
• Ascension Catholic Church was founded this week in 1907. The parish is merging with St. Edmund this week after a lengthy archdiocesan “Renew My Church” process. (Ascension)
• The River Forest Police Department is partnering with 7-Eleven to distribute “Operation Chill” coupons to local youth. (VRF)
• Local libraries and village halls will be closed Monday in observance of July 4. (Library)

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

• Elmhurst Running Club 4onthe4th (July 4)
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Announcements:

• April Baker of The Gillian Baker Team at BHHS Chicago Sells Record Home in Forest Park (Details)
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You're all caught up, OPRF! I will be away until July 12, but the Daily will be in good hands until then. Have a great holiday 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.