🌱 Parent Carjacked Outside School + Health Director Honored

Happy Friday, OPRF! Let's get to the news for Jan. 7.

First, today's weather: Sunny intervals; very cold. High: 14 Low: 8.

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

1. A woman was carjacked at gunpoint Wednesday afternoon while waiting to pick up her child outside Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School. Oak Park police said she was forced out of her vehicle around 3:20 p.m. by two men who then drove away down Washington Boulevard. No one was hurt and police are investigating. (CBS)

2. A Chicago man was arrested Wednesday in connection with an Oak Park hit-and-run which killed a woman last April. Anthony Ruiz is charged with reckless homicide and aggravated DUI for striking and killing another driver in the 600 block of S. Austin Avenue last year. (WGN)

3. Three people died Wednesday in a River Grove house fire. Another person was critically injured in the 2300 block of Grove Street. Firefighters said low temperatures and high winds made it more difficult to manage the blaze. (ABC)

4. Dr. Theresa Chapple-McGruder was named Oak Park Villager of the Year by Wednesday Journal. The director of the Oak Park Department of Public Health was chosen for her leadership during the pandemic under intense scrutiny and an ever-changing virus. (Wednesday Journal)

5. Illinois Senate President Don Harmon of Oak Park said more citizen feedback is needed in the state’s redistricting process. “My only wish is that there was more public interest for redistricting than we have seen,” Harmon said Wednesday at the legislature’s first session day. “We have pushed and pulled and prodded and tried to get more people to participate.” (Paid source: Tribune)

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Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• Middle Grade Marvel Comics Club meets at Forest Park Public Library. (4 p.m.)
• Paint a winter landscape at Dole Center. (6 p.m.)
• “The 355” opens at Lake Theatre. (7 p.m.)
• FitzGeralds hosts a tribute to the Rolling Stones. (9 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Cook County warming centers are open as temperatures drop. (WGN)
• Oak Park nonprofits are experiencing a shortage of volunteers. (Wednesday Journal)
• Pioneer Press newspapers including Oak Leaves and Forest Leaves will be delivered a day late due to production delays. (Paid source: Oak Leaves)
• Classic Cinemas will require proof of vaccination to see movies at Lake Theatre, North Riverside and its additional Cook County locations. (Forest Park Review)
• Elmwood Park Public Library continues to offer curbside service and delivery during the omicron surge. (EPPL)

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That's all for today, Oak Park and River Forest! Have a safe and healthy weekend.

— Georgi Presecky

About me: Georgi is a Chicago-based reporter with seven years of experience writing for entertainment-based publications. She represented FF2 Media for five years at film festivals across the U.S., from Sundance to Austin. 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 campus newspaper, she earned honors from The Associated Collegiate Press Association and American Scholastic Press Association. She began working for Patch in 2019.