🌱 Johnson Named Oak Park Police Chief + Low Booster Turnout Concerns

Hello, Oak Park and River Forest readers! In today's Daily:

• Oak Park appoints the first female police chief in its 120-year history
• A new book about Unity Temple is out
• PBS visits Johnnie's Beef for a "a day in the life"

But first, today's weather: Partly sunny. High: 57 Low: 43.

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I have a limited number of sponsorships available to introduce our Oak Park-River Forest Daily readers to local businesses they need to know about. If that’s you, then I invite you to learn more and secure your spot now.

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

1. Shatonya Johnson has been appointed as the next Oak Park Chief of Police. She has been with the department for 22 years and has served as interim chief since April. “I am honored and humbled to be selected to serve as the first female Chief of Police for the Village of Oak Park,” Johnson said. (VOP)

2. Police have recovered seven vehicles which were stolen in Oak Park between Oct. 9-20, Oak Leaves reports. Eleven car thefts were reported in the village during that period. Vehicle thefts are also on the rise in North Riverside. (Paid source: Oak Leaves)

3. Cook County officials are “concerned” over low turnout for the new bivalent booster to fight the omicron variant of COVID-19. Only 15 percent of Chicagoans have received the updated vaccine, which health experts say is essential to curbing a winter surge. (ABC)

4. Local school districts are working with police and village officials to form a security program “that would not see the return of school resource officers within the schools but would involve police interacting with students under certain circumstances,” Wednesday Journal reports. Districts 97 and 200 are part of the new program. (Wednesday Journal)

5. WTTW published a profile on “A Day in the Life of Italian Beef Favorite Johnnie's Beef.” The Elmwood Park institution has been in business since 1961. Former Village Clerk Elsie Sutter told the network, “I lived here for 50 years and moved away two years ago, and still come back for Johnnie's.” (WTTW)

Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• Exit Strategy Brewing Co. hosts a “Day of the (Almost) Dead” theme night. (4 p.m.)
• Local stores JAYNE and Einnim partner for a fall candle party. (5 p.m.)
• Enjoy live music and half-priced wine at One Lake Brewing. (6 p.m.)
• Halloween Trivia Night is held at Good Earth Greenhouse. (6:30 p.m.)
• Sample Tuscan wines with Anfora Wine Merchants at Pleasant Home. (7 p.m.)
• Author Pat Cannon visits Unity Temple to discuss his book “Frank Lloyd Wright’s UNITY TEMPLE: A Good-Time Place Reborn.” (7 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• A Chicago man was arrested for sexually assaulting an employee at a Cicero business last week. (FOX)
• A Brookfield resident faces federal charges for fraudulently obtaining CARES Act funds. (Landmark)
• Pace is officially ending several bus routes which were suspended in 2020, including one that runs through Forest Park, Oak Park and Maywood. (Wednesday Journal)
• Spilt Milk Pastry is accepting holiday pre-orders for both Halloween and Thanksgiving. (SMP)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

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Events:

• Daguerreian Society Photo Fair (October 29)
• Happy Lobster is coming, and you won't want to miss it. Order by Tuesday. (November 2)
• Try Pequod's Pizza at Home, named Best Pizza in Chicago. Order by Wednesday, before it sells out. (November 3)
• Get Chicago's famous Frontera Grill delivered to you on Friday! Order by Wednesday. (November 4)
• Wake-up to Do-Rite Donuts on your doorstep next Sunday! Order by Saturday. (November 6)
• Add your event

That's all for today! See you tomorrow for the Friday edition.

— 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.