Rooftop Happy Hour Will Support Special Olympics Marathon Team

CHICAGO — 19th Ward Ald. Matt O'Shea is running the Bank of America Chicago Marathon again this weekend, and once again he will do it to support the Special Olympics Chicago running team. To support O'Shea and the other 175 or so runners raising money for Special Olympics, Beverly neighborhood restaurant Franconello will host a happy hour this Thursday night, with all tips and donations raised donated to the Special Olympics Chicago Marathon team. The team is on track to raise $300,000 for the organization, according to a news release.

The happy hour will go from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10 at Franconello, 10222 S. Western Ave.

"Special Olympics is a wonderful organization, and everyone should be proud that it started right here in Chicago 50 years ago," O'Shea, who also serves as the president of Special Olympics Chicago, said before a similar event held at Franconello last year. "To talk to the families who are involved in Special Olympics... you can tell it means a lot to them."

Thursday night's happy hour will be held on the Franconello rooftop and include free appetizers, raffle prizes and drink specials. Guest bartenders throughout the evening will include state representatives Kelly Burke and Fran Hurley, former Cook County Sheriff Michael F. Sheahan and judges Erin Haggerty Antonietti and Dan Maloney.

Franconello Owner Frank Ruffolo talked to Patch last year about why he holds these happy hour events.

"It is for a great cause," Ruffalo said. "It's for our young people in need, helping them get out there and becoming active in the community." Read more here

The Beverly/Mt. Greenwood/Morgan Park area, of which makes up the 19th Ward, is home to hundreds of athletes with disabilities who compete in the Special Olympics program through the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences and Mt. Greenwood Park Special Recreation.