🌱 Visit Oak Park Receives State Grant + OP Music History In New Book

Happy Friday, Oak Park and River Forest! It's a busy news day in OPRF, with local headlines including:

• Long-awaited structural repairs begin at an evacuated apartment building.
• Illinois lawmakers talk abortion rights on the 2024 ballot.
• A Tony winner is set to perform next month in River Forest.

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Here are the top 4 stories today in Oak Park-River Forest:

1. Visit Oak Park will receive $475,000 to highlight the village’s historic connections to Route 66. Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced more than 50 grant recipients Thursday, with a total $6.6 million going toward tourism projects throughout the state. Oak Park plans for the funding to include “an illuminated Route 66 Gateway structure on Ogden Avenue, new Route 66 signage, wayfinding signage to iconic Route 66 locations, and new signage to promote new car chargers.” (State of Illinois)

2. Structural repairs are beginning at 930 North Blvd., nearly 18 months after its residents were evacuated due to sloping floors. Financing the repairs took more than nine months, and the Wednesday Journal reports “the building’s former residential tenants are welcome to apply for their old apartments.” (Wednesday Journal)

3. Hillside Democrat and Illinois Speaker of the House Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch spoke Thursday about a potential constitutional amendment regarding women’s rights to abortion, the Tribune reports. “If it is on the ballot, it could potentially help Democratic turnout,” Welch said. (Paid source: Oak Leaves)

4. Oak Park native Mark Guarino has published a new book after 10 years of research. The former Daily Herald music critic credits nights at FitzGeralds in the 1990s as his early inspiration for “Country and Midwestern: Chicago in the History of Country Music and the Folk Revival.” The Old Town School of Folk Music and its Oak Park roots feature prominently in the book. (WBEZ)

Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• A tree-planting is held at Carroll Park in honor of Arbor Day. (1 p.m.)
• It’s Movie Night at Austin Gardens with a screening of “America's National Parks: The Great Smoky Mountains.” (6:30 p.m.)
• See a production of “Newsies, Jr.” at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School. Additional performances are set tomorrow and next weekend. (7 p.m.)
• Oak Parkers Jordyn TeBeest Fraats and Joshua Fraats play Dorothy and the Tin Man in “The Wizard of Oz” at Beverly Theatre Guild. (7:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• A $90,000 grant from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District will go toward funding alley improvements in River Forest. (Wednesday Journal)
• Tony winner Audra McDonald is set to perform at Dominican University next month. The Annual Trustee Benefit Concert is set for May 13. (DU)
• The Park District of Forest Park will construct a new facility on Harrison Street and plans to display the original neon Oak Leaf sign dating back to the 1930s. (Review)
• Oak Park Public Library recognized Right to Read Day earlier this week. Executive Director Joslyn Bowling Dixon said library offerings “embrace inclusivity and provide a window into lived experiences from all walks of life.” (Library)
• It’s the final day to apply for the Oak Park Area Arts Council’s “Off the Wall” summer program. (OPAAC)

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Featured businesses:

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Featured events:

• Triton Faculty Artist Series: Multimedia Electronic Music Concert (April 28)
• Austrian Spring Dance (April 30)
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That brings us to the end of another week of news! Thanks so much for being here, and please feel free to share the newsletter with friends and neighbors. Have a great weekend, 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 Patch newsletter? Contact me at georgi.presecky@patch.com.