🌱 'Unhealthy' Air Persists + American Music Festival Returns

Happy Friday, Oak Park and River Forest. In today's edition of Patch's daily guide to local headlines:

• OPRF High School is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a major art project.
• Free lunches are available to students in need this summer.
• A July events preview includes a cemetery walking tour, minor league baseball game, park district party and more.

But first, today's weather: Humid with a t-storm in spots. High: 90 Low: 73.

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

1. Rehm and Ridgeland pools remained closed Thursday morning due to the lingering air quality issues in Illinois, the Park District of Oak Park announced. The Oak Park Public Library also moved its outdoor programs inside. Dangerously unhealthy air conditions have been persisting in Chicagoland since Tuesday, when its pollution levels were considered the worst in the world. (PDOP)

2. A new mural at Oak Park and River Forest High School will commemorate the institution’s 150th anniversary. Work on the mosaic project is expected to take six weeks and was funded by the Huskie Booster Club. (Wednesday Journal)

3. Oak Park resident Gary Arnold is going to work for the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities. For more than five years he served as the program director of the Progress Center for Independent Living in Forest Park. (Review)

4. Several local school districts are providing summer meals to families in need, according to a new Oak Leaves report. Oak Park River Forest High School District 200, Leyden High School District 212 and Elmwood Park Community Unit School District 401 use funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to assist students who rely on school lunch for food during the academic year. (Paid source: Oak Leaves)

5. The Village of Oak Park will not host a fireworks display this Fourth of July, but the parade is scheduled for Tuesday. Several neighboring communities will celebrate Independence Day with parades, picnics and more. Patch has a curated guide to finding fireworks in Illinois this year. (VOP/Patch)

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Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• River Forest Public Library offers a “take and make” craft bag. (All day)
• Bravo Performing Arts presents "Shrek the Musical, Jr." at Brooks Middle School. (1 p.m.)
• The American Music Festival returns to FitzGeralds this weekend. The four-day event is celebrating its 40th anniversary at the Berywn venue. (Begins at 4 p.m., runs all weekend)

In partnership with T-Mobile:

Father's Day has come and gone, but that doesn't mean we have to stop celebrating rad dads, past and present. Patch partnered with T-Mobile to shine a light on exceptional fathers in communities like Oak Park-River Forest. Click here to meet 13 awesome dads and learn more about the legacies they're leaving behind.

From my notebook:

• The Illinois grocery tax suspension ends today. (NBC)
• Starbucks opened a location in Austin this month, its second store on the West Side. (AWN)
• Save the dates for these upcoming events: a Forest Home Cemetery walking tour is July 9 and the River Forest Park District Party in the Park will be July 20. (VRF)
• Tickets are on sale for “Elmwood Park Day” at the Chicago Dogs game July 30. (Village)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Featured businesses:

• Laura Ruiz, REALTOR® at REALTY OF CHICAGO — (Visit website)
• Laurie Christofano, Realtor | RE/MAX In The Village — (Visit Website)
• Add your business here

Featured events:

• Doug Lalli appears live at Tre Sorelle by Mancini Saturday July 1 (July 1)
• Elmhurst Running Club 4 on the 4th (July 4)
• Add your event

You're all caught up! Patch will be back tomorrow with a July 4 weekend edition of the Daily.

— 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 writing has been recognized with awards from the Ernest Hemingway Foundation, 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.