🌱 Potential Strike Could Stop Metra Service + Blues Festival Returns

Hello! Thanks for checking in on today's headlines with the Oak Park-River Forest Daily. If you enjoy reading this newsletter, scroll to the bottom of this email to find out how to share it with friends, neighbors and advertisers to help keep us going! Now let's get to the news.

First, today's weather: Hazy sunshine. High: 78 Low: 61.

🏡 Attention, real estate pros in Oak Park-River Forest! We're now offering an exclusive sponsorship opportunity for an agent interested in attracting local clients and standing apart from the competition. Click here to learn more.

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

1. Three cars were broken into in Oak Park on Sunday, including a vehicle owned by Catholic Charities. Thieves stole an iPhone, cash and registration stickers. According to the police department, the burglaries occurred in the 100 blocks of South Oak Park and North Taylor avenues. (OPPD)

2. Metra commuters, take note: freight railroad workers could strike this Friday, creating a potential work stoppage on the rail line. “We are hopeful that a settlement will be reached before the strike deadline," Metra said of its negotiations with union workers. "However, we want you to be aware of this issue so that you can make alternate plans for travel should a work stoppage occur." (Patch)

3. Rebate payments are on the way to eligible Illinois taxpayers as part of Gov J.B. Pritzker’s Family Relief Plan. Rebates between $50 and $300 will be mailed or deposited to residents who meet certain criteria. (Patch)

4. Today is the deadline to apply for a Community Relations Commission grant. Grants are available for Oak Park projects which “ensure good human, race and community relations.” (VOP)

5. The Berwyn Blues Festival will return to Fitzgeralds Sept. 23 and run for three days. More than 20 bands are in the lineup for the second annual event. (Paid source: Oak Leaves)

Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• The Cook County Career Connector sponsors a technical job fair at the Triton College Student Center. (10 a.m.)
• Triton College hosts a campus corn roast. (11 a.m.)
• Join Oak Park Public Library for a Zoom event on “Mocktails: The Art of Non-Alcoholic Mixology.” (6 p.m.)
• Join Illinois libraries for a special virtual event with Oscar-winning actor and activist Marlee Matlin. (7 p.m.)
• Donate nonperishable items to Beyond Hunger’s H.A.M. food drive. (All day, through Sept. 16)

From my notebook:

• An offender with a BB gun shot a hole in the kitchen window of an Oak Park residence Sunday afternoon. It was reported in the first block of Washington Boulevard. (OPPD)
• St. Catherine of Siena – St Lucy and St. Giles Parish will hold a virtual meeting tonight about its renaming process. An online form is available through Sept. 25 for parishioners to suggest potential new names for the newly consolidated parish community. (SCSLSG)
• River Forest residents can now sign up for electronic or household hazardous waste collections. (VRF)

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Events:

• BHHS Chicago Sponsors Free Community Shred Event and Food Donation Drive on Sept. 17 from 9 a.m.- noon (September 17)
• Art Market @ HopGarten Itasca (September 17)
• Imperial Oak Brewing Artisan Market (September 18)
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• Personalized Italian Language Lessons (Details)
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That's all for today! Thanks so much for reading the Daily. See you tomorrow for another five-minute guide to the stories that matter in Oak Park and River Forest.

— 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 Daily? Contact me at georgi.presecky@patch.com.