No COVID Cases Reported In Oak Park + Local Teens Launch Podcast

Happy Friday, Oak Park and River Forest! In today’s Daily: the latest COVID-19 numbers, improvement to old Marshall Field’s building, and news from the Ernest Hemingway Foundation.

First, today’s weather: Heavy rain throughout the day, with a high of 81 and low of 69.

Here are the top five stories today in Oak Park:

1. Zero Oak Park residents tested positive for COVID-19 since the Oak Park Department of Public Health’s last report on June 16. More than 28,000 residents are now fully-vaccinated, “which is 54 percent of all residents and an estimated 65 percent of those 12 years old and older,” the Village said in a news release. (VOP)

2. The former Marshall Field’s building at Lake and Harlem is undergoing routine exterior maintenance this summer. Improvements on the building’s facade will not extend inside, Executive Director of the Oak Park Economic Development Corporation John Lynch said. (Wednesday Journal)

3. The Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park has named Northwestern University professor Rebecca Morgan Frank its newest writer-in-residence. She will work from the dedicated writing space in Hemingway’s Birthplace Home and Museum at 339 N. Oak Park Ave. until 2023. Frank will also mentor the foundation’s scholarship students from Hemingway’s alma mater, Oak Park and River Forest High School. (Oak Leaves)

4. Some Illinoisans are sharing their reasons for continuing to wear a mask in most settings, despite being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Most say they want to protect immuno-compromised loved ones or avoid general germs, while some mistrust others' vaccination status. (Chicago Tribune)

5. The Oak Park Police Department has launched a summer safety campaign to crack down on impaired driving and seat belt violations ahead of the July 4 weekend. The Illinois State Police and more than 200 local law enforcement departments are stepping up enforcement until July 6. (VOP)

Today in Oak Park:

• OPRF Museum historians answer your questions about Oak Park and River Forest history in a half-hour Zoom session. (11 a.m.)
• Design a pompom rug or secret storage compartment at Dole Center. (6 p.m.)
• Celebrate the Friends of the Oak Park Conservatory’s 35th anniversary with music and drinks in the Rubenstein Garden. (6 p.m.)
• Live music is part of Compound Yellow’s Side Yard Sounds. (7 p.m.)
• Watch an outdoor movie screening on the Ascension Parish Green. (8 p.m.)

Oak Park Patch Notebook

• Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School graduates Frank Delano and Desmond Murphy launched their own local podcast, “Two Teens, Two Mics and a Ton of Ideas.” (Wednesday Journal)
• Village Manager Cara Pavlicek is looking ahead to her new role in Northbrook after seven years in Oak Park. (Daily Herald)
• It's Cinema Week at Lake Theatre! Patrons can buy tickets online without paying a fee, and earn triple Classic Reward points on concessions. (Classic Cinemas)
• A new law makes Illinois one of two states in the country that will mandate replacement of all the lead service lines. (WBEZ)
• More than 800 Cook County Health nurses went on strike Thursday to protest staffing shortages. (NBC5)

That's all for today in Oak Park and River Forest. Don't forget to check your inbox tomorrow morning for the weekend edition of the Daily.

-Georgi