🌱 'Porch Pirates' Target Homes + Local Parks To Get $1M Upgrade

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

• Police issue a photo of the car involved in Monday's armed robbery
• A hearing will be held today determining Heather Mack's potential release
• Holiday events abound, from "White Christmas" to seasonal concerts

But first, today's weather: Cooler; a little p.m. rain. High: 41 Low: 37.

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

1. “Porch pirates” continue to target Oak Park homes and steal packages. At least six front porch thefts have been reported to police since Dec. 3. Stolen items include electronics, books and a Radio Flyer wagon, according to an Oak Park Police Department summary report. (VOP)
2. River Forest police released a photo of the vehicle involved in Monday’s armed robbery near Monroe and Division. A Concordia student's purse was stolen at gunpoint by two masked offenders. (VRF)
3. A judge will consider a request today from Heather Mack's attorneys to release her from jail as she awaits trial for the murder of her mother in Bali. According to the Sun-Times, federal prosecutors filed for the judge to reject the request because she was "directly involved" in the 2014 killing, though her lawyers argue she "poses no danger to the community and is not a flight risk." The Oak Park native served seven years in an Indonesian prison for the crime. Her U.S. trial is set for July. (Paid source: Sun-Times)
4. The Park District of Oak Park will receive an additional $1 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds from the village, according to a Wednesday Journal report. The new round of funding will support renovations at Andersen and Barrie Parks. An earlier $1 million allocation “helped replenish lost revenue for the park district’s capital improvement plan.” (Wednesday Journal)
5. Dominican University fashion students helped decorate holiday window displays at four local businesses, the Review reports. Students in a promotion and visual merchandising class designed windows at Sugar Fixe, Jayne, Ten Thousand Villages and Epyk Luxury in Forest Park. (Review)

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Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• Take a fitness hike at Sunset Bridge Meadow. (9 a.m.)
• Triton College hosts a Holiday Festival of Trees. (3:30 p.m.)
• Learn about hibernation at Austin Gardens. (Noon)
• See “White Christmas” at Lake Theatre. (1 p.m. and 7 p.m.)
• Hear holiday jazz at Pleasant Home. (7 p.m.)
• Attend the Prisms of Winter Concert at OPRF High School. (7 p.m.)
• River Forest Public Library hosts a holiday “Craft and Chat.” (7 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• It’s the final day to participate in River Forest’s fall leaf collection program. (VRF)
• Wednesday Journal’s “Holiday Spectacular” guide to local shopping and dining is now available for online viewing. (Wednesday Journal)
• Yum Thai has moved to a new location on Madison Street, the Review reports. “The people who work at city hall are my customers, the police and firefighters are my customers,” restaurant owner Valaiporn Pinyo-Nowlan said. “This village made my dreams come true.” (Review)
• Nominations are open for Elmwood Park’s Holiday House decorating contest. (VOEP)
• Today in Oak Park history: more than 5,000 people gathered on Dec. 8, 1933, to see Santa Claus arrive at Marion Street and North Boulevard, bringing gifts and leading a procession from the train to Lake Theatre. (OPRF Museum)

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Events:

• Holiday Soirèe (December 9)
• Symphony of Oak Park & River Forest Presents Schumann and Sibelius (December 11)
• Raised in the Shadow of the Party (December 12)
• Try Pequod's Pizza at Home, named Best Pizza in Chicago. Order by Monday, before it sells out. (December 13)
• Add your event

That's all for Thursday! See you tomorrow for another 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.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Oak Park-River Forest Patch newsletter? Contact me at georgi.presecky@patch.com.