Illinois Corruption, Mother's Day Fun and More: Local Voices

District 97 Schools Earn Top Awards in Global Virtual Classroom Contest: tudents from Percy Julian Middle School, Lincoln Elementary School and Mann Elementary School competed in the 2013 Global Virtual Classroom Contest, which is a free online collaborative learning project that fosters creativity, cross cultural understanding and helping others; provides children with the opportunity to use research, writing and communication skills; and teaches IT and Web site design skills to students from around the world.

Kotowski fighting to eliminate corruption in Illinois: Illinois State Senator Dan Kotowski’s (D–Park Ridge) ethics reform legislation which increases transparency in government passed the Senate on Thursday. Kotowski has been working with Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon on a measure that updates a disclosure form known as the Statement of Economic Interests. The current form is over 40 years old and contains many loopholes.

Top 5 Mother’s Day Off-the-Wall Outings in Oak Park: What do you give the woman that gave you everything? Well, a weekend about town is a great way to start! Bountiful brunches abound, but so do other fun and funky takes on Mother’s Day Weekend in Oak Park.

Uninvited Wedding Guests: Bugs!: You thought you've planned everything for your wedding day...but did you plan for those pesky uninvited wedding guests? If your wedding is coming up in late May or early June this year, you may be sharing your special day with one of the largest insect emergences in the world. In short, the cicadas are coming! 

Mason Jar Window Treatment: This past spring break, while millions of American families romped in the surf or explored museums or packed up the car for a road trip, I was working on more mason jar projects.  This time around, I used some mason jars to create a window treatment.

River Forest District 90 Welcomes New School Board Members: Four newly elected River Forest District 90 Board of Education members were sworn in on May 6 at the Roosevelt Middle School Learning Center. Returning members David Latham, Patrick Meyer and Roman Ebert were joined by new Board member Anne Gottlieb as the Oath of Office was delivered by the district's Director of Finance and Facilities, Anthony Cozzi.

Oak Park Resident Honored for Outstanding Volunteer Service with Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry: Exelon Corporation has recognized employee Audrey Todd of Oak Park, Ill., with an achievement award for her volunteer service with Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry. The volunteer recognition is part of the company’s annual Energy for the Community Volunteer Awards and comes with a $10,000 cash grant to the pantry in Todd’s honor. 

Argonne Software Tool to Help Plan Clean Energy Zones: Recently, Argonne researchers developed a new software tool called the Energy Zones (EZ) Mapping Tool that will help EISPC members identify geographic areas suitable for the development of clean energy resources, which are renewables, natural gas, coal carbon sequestration, and nuclear. 

PBTP Locksmith Oak Park: We understand that your vehicle can be locked out at any instant. We present 24/7 locksmith support to our car clients. Many of our competitors give the same 15 minute time to reply, but they've never fulfilled their dedication.

Park District Launches 100 Days to 100 Years: This is a countdown to our 100 Year Anniversary being celebrated on August 15, coinciding with the annual Clear Sky Festival.  To celebrate we will be sharing trivia, photos, and fun facts related to the Park District’s history over the past 100 years. 

Are you interested in sharing your knowledge, community news, organization updates accomplishments, advice, photo galleries, or anything else with our Patch readers? It's free and simple to post in Patch Local Voices here: Forest Park / Oak Park-River Forest. (Posts can also be cross-published to both sites.)