🌱 'Outrage' Over New OPRF Mitigations + COVID Cases Climb

Happy Monday! Let's get to the news in Oak Park and River Forest.

First, today's weather: Turning sunny; windy, colder. High: 33 Low: 15.

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

1. OPRF High School Superintendent Dr. Greg Johnson said “a steady rise in cases” and time for contact tracing led to the cancellation of all extracurricular activities. Students will be given N95 masks today at school, where the COVID-19 positivity rate is quadruple Oak Park’s overall transmission rate. Health Director Dr. Theresa Chapple-McGruder is asking more students to undergo voluntary testing to help slow the spread. (OPRFHS)

2. More than 100 residents gathered at OPRF High School over the weekend to express "outrage" about the cancellations. The Saturday gathering "got heated" as students and their families lamented more lost time with sports and clubs. (CBS)

3. COVID-19 cases are also climbing in Forest Park, with a 63 percent jump in test positivity this week. Police officer Nicholas Kozak, 50, died after contracting the virus in late November. (Forest Park Review)

4. River Forest President Cathy Adduci will formally recommend Brian Murphy to be appointed as Village Administrator today. He held the role in Plainfield for 12 years. (VRF)

5. Sen. Tammy Duckworth helped push a $1.75 billion portion of President Joe Biden’s historic infrastructure bill to make transit stations more accessible. The Oak Park CTA station is one of 42 L stops in Chicagoland that still lacks elevator access. (Mass Transit)

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Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• Coffee Monday at River Forest Public Library. (10 a.m.)
• Advent Prayer Services at St. Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy Parish. (1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Shoppers at Ten Thousand Villages can donate 15 percent of their purchases to Beyond Hunger this week. (Facebook)
• The Oak Park Police Department is accepting Toys for Tots donations throughout December. (VOP)
• Twins Conor and Martin Paris are pondering college decisions after a “fairy-tale ending in their final game as seniors at Fenwick.” Martin told Oak Leaves their mother was emotional prior to the championship game, Fenwick’s first state win in school history: “She’s been watching us play on the same team since we were six years old.” (Paid source: Oak Leaves)

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That's all for today, OPRF. Stay safe this week, and I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow for more updates.

— Georgi Presecky

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