🌱 West Suburban Medical Center Sold + Billy Bricks Burglarized

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

• A local woman plans to launch a business for plus-sized people
• Union members picketed outside Brown Elephant this week
• The Village of Oak Park will work with Volvo on an electric car dealership

But first, today's weather: Mostly cloudy, snow showers. High: 35 Low: 29.

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

1. Billy Bricks Pizza was burglarized Dec. 26, the restaurant’s third burglary in three years. Owner Rick Gruber told Wednesday Journal the burglar made himself a sandwich before taking cash from the register. “It’s not so much what they took, but they took people’s peace of mind,” Gruber said. (Wednesday Journal)

2. Howard Brown Health union workers picketed Tuesday outside the health system’s buildings, including the Oak Park Brown Elephant store. The non-nursing workers are expected to continue striking today after “dozens of employees were laid off at the Midwest’s largest LGBTQ-affirming health care organization.” (Block Club)

3. Resilience Healthcare is the official new owner of West Suburban Medical Center, the Wednesday Journal reports. The deal with former owner Pipeline Health System had been in development since March. (Wednesday Journal)

4. Oak Parker Ellie Mariyo is planning to launch a podcast and event company for plus-sized people, the Tribune reports. The social media influencer recently won a $75,000 prize for entrepreneurs looking to bring their “side hustle” to the next level. The 30 year old said she wants to create “a space where we could actually discuss issues that are important to the plus-size community and give them the time and attention that they deserve.” (Paid source: Tribune)

Today in Oak Park-River Forest:

• The Oak Park Department of Public Health offers free COVID-19 tests at Lindberg Park. (10 a.m.)
• The Park District of Oak Park hosts a “Help with Facebook” session. (Noon)
• Tweens can try out “snacks from around the globe” at River Forest Public Library. (3:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• The Oak Park Village Board plans to provide a tax rebate to the local Volvo dealership to construct a building to sell electric vehicles. (Paid source: Oak Leaves)
• Dominican University graduate Vicki Rakowski will serve as Forest Park Public Library’s next director, beginning Jan. 23. (DU)
• New pantry Bethel Daily Bread opened in Austin last month with the help of Amazon Fresh. (AWN)
• The River Forest Park District will open registration Feb. 27 for residents to reserve plots for individual vegetable gardens at the Village Pump House site. (Park District)

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• Laura Ruiz, REALTOR® at REALTY OF CHICAGO — (Visit website)
• Laurie Christofano, Realtor | RE/MAX In the Village — (Visit Website)
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Events:

• Our Great Lakes and Clean Water (January 9)
• Hip, award-winning Wicker Park Southeast Asian restaurant Wazwan is coming! Order by Monday. (January 11)
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That's all for today! Thanks for staying up to date on local news.

— Georgi

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.