🌱 Gas Station Ordinance Could Expand + Pumpkin Smash Events

Good morning! In today's Oak Park-River Forest Daily:

• The vote-by-mail deadline is approaching
• Free blood pressure screenings in Oak Park
• A local man looks back on the crisis response to the Tylenol murders

But first, today's weather: Mostly sunny and warm. High: 69 Low: 53.

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

1. Oak Park trustees could vote to include convenience stores in its new ordinance banning businesses from operating 24 hours. The current rule only applies to gas stations. 7-Eleven owner Ashish Patel said at a public hearing last week he would be in favor of the move to curb “constant” overnight crime. The board will consider the measure at next week’s meeting. (Paid source: Oak Leaves)

2. Tomorrow is the final day for Cook County voters to request a mail-in ballot for the Nov. 8 midterm elections. A list of candidates and sample ballots is available on the Cook County Clerk website. (Clerk)

3. High-capacity gun magazines have become a “mass market product” over the past two years, according to a new WBEZ report. They are legal in most of Illinois, but Oak Park has its own ban along with Aurora and Highland Park. (WBEZ)

4. Oak Park native David Collins is reflecting on the Tylenol murders 40 years after they occurred. He was chairman of McNeil Consumer Products in 1982, when seven people were poisoned after taking the capsules. “We just could not figure out how we could have foreseen this,” Collins told the Tribune. (Paid source: Tribune)

5. River Forest residents are asked to bring Halloween pumpkins to Roosevelt Middle School Nov. 5 to ensure they are properly composted. The Annual Pumpkin Smash is held by Green4Good and Lakeshore Recycling Systems. A pumpkin smash event will also be held Saturday in Barrie Park. (VRF)

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Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• Take a fitness hike at Sunset Bridge Meadow in River Grove. (8 a.m.)
• Duly Health and Care offers free blood pressure screenings. (10 a.m.)
• “Till” screens at Lake Theatre. (4:30 p.m.)
• OPRF Museum board members discuss “Unvarnished: Housing Discrimination in the Northern and Western United States” at a free Oak Park Public Library event. (7 p.m.)
• A River Forest Public Library book club discusses “The Winter of Our Discontent.” (7 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Trinity High School will host a Blazer Boutique tomorrow featuring 50 vendors. (THS)
• Macneal Hospital in Berwyn will host an interactive demonstration today featuring its advanced da Vinci robot. (Newswise)
• Local Catholic parishes are honoring the Month of Remembrance this November. (SGP)
• The Illinois State Board of Education is accepting nominations for its Teacher of the Year award. (D97)

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Events:

• Blazer Boutique (November 3)
• One Night Only — Brian Hicks Comedy (November 5)
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Gigs & services:

• Buying old coins, unwanted jewelry, sterling silver, watches & collectables! (Details)
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Thanks for following along and staying informed! See you tomorrow for another Daily.

— 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.