Around the Southland: Tootsie Roll Drive nets $60K, prescribed burns at Midewin, more

Chicago Tribune

12-03-2025

Perez KOC donates $60K from Tootsie Roll Drive
Father Perez Knights of Columbus Council 1444 in Chicago's Mount Greenwood neighborhood gave away $60,000 during a recent celebration of the community's support of its residents with intellectual disabilities. The money was raised through its 2024 Tootsie Roll Drive.
Co-chairmen Bill Donnelly and Brian Larkin served as emcees during the event, and representatives of nine of the 11 area groups accepted their donation and detailed how the money will help with transportation, equipment, training and other ways.
Donations this year went to Mount Greenwood Park Special Recreation, Chicago Public Schools Stevenson School Special Olympics, Misercordia Heart of Mercy Home, West Pullman Park Therapeutic Recreation, Covenant Ability Network, Brother Rice High School Mount Sion, Chicago High School of Agricultural Sciences, Good Shepherd Center, and the Special Religious Education programs at the Archdiocese of Chicago, St. Cajetan and St. Mary Magdalene.
Grand Knight Ed Finneran thanked the co-chairmen as well as the generous community and volunteers. This year's Tootsie Roll Drive will be Sept. 19-21.
Prescribed burns planned at Midewin
Prescribed burns will take place this spring with the U.S. Forest Service, starting as early as mid-March, throughout Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Wilmington. Exact sites will depend on temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, and smoke dispersion.
Some residents and visitors may see or smell smoke; the burn sites will be monitored carefully and local authorities will be notified in advance. The welcome center and trailhead kiosks will have specific information on where burning will happen.
Prescribed burns help reduce hazardous fuels, enhance and stimulate native vegetation, reduce woody vegetation encroachment and prepare sites for restoration.
Pfeiffer Road extension project earns public works award
The village of Frankfort's Pfeiffer Road extension project received the 2025 American Public Works Association Award – Southwest Branch Public Works Project of the Year in the Transportation category for projects that cost less than $5 million.
Mayor Keith Igle received the award during a recent ceremony at the Patrick Haley Mansion in Joliet. Igle said in a news release 'the project reflects our dedication to investing in Frankfort's infrastructure and improving the quality of life for our residents.'
The $3.75 million project extends a two-lane urban roadway with a landscaped median, new sidewalk, expanded multi-use path, street lighting system and 12th water main. It also modernized traffic lights at U.S. 30 and Priffer Road in Frankfort. The project was founded by the village, Rebuild Illinois Funds and a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity.
Four D230 students named National Merit Finalists
Consolidated High School District 230 has announced its four National Merit Finalists, who are among top academic achievers having ranked in the top .5% of U.S. high school seniors. At stake are more than 6,800 scholarships totaling nearly $26 million, which are awarded in the spring.
Stagg High School senior Adrian Gunka plays flute in the marching band, was a member of Model United Nations and is a Stagg mathlete. He has taken 11 Advanced Placement classes and passed the high school graduation exam at Jan Karski Polish School. The five-time camp counselor at Camp Vista in Wisconsin volunteers at Charger Learning Center and the Children's Museum in Oak Lawn.
Sandburg High School senior Brandon Torres is among the top 20 players in Scholastic Bowl and is an executive board member. He helped automate the bowl's season tournament schedule and created a spreadsheet to track more than 9,000 tutoring hours as president of Mu Alpha Theta. An AP Scholar with Distinction, Torres is a former Mathlete and ACES member.
Sandburg senior Jocelyn Chan co-founded the school's Dungeons & Dragons Club, is lead programmer and competition team driver for the robotics team, on the Superintendent Student Advisory Committee and an award-winning member of the badminton team, Scholastic Bowl, Mathletes and SkillsUSA. She is an AP Scholar with Distinction, completed 14 AP classes and is a Mu Alpha Theta and national Spanish Honors Society member.
Stagg senior Grant Saunders is a member of Mathletes, Scholastic Bowl and Model UN and plays tuba in marching band. He volunteers through his scouting troop and is an academic mentor at Stagg.
Program in South Holland honors 19th Amendment's 100 years
Hindsight in 2020: The Long Road to Universal Suffrage will be presented at 7 p.m. March 18 at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 651 E. 166th St., South Holland.
Illinois Road Scholar Jeanne Schultz Angel will give a presentation celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. The free event, open to all, will explore where the country stands and where it's going related to universal suffrage.
It's hosted by Heritage Quilters Guild of South Suburbia and co-presented by the Illinois Humanities Road Scholars Speakers Bureau. Information is at www.heritagequilts.org or by emailing [e-mail].
Caregiver group learns about memory loss patient wandering
Smith Village's Caregiver Support Group meets at 6:30 p.m. March 18 at 2320 W. 113th Place, Chicago, to talk about how to mitigate wandering by people with dementia.
Attendees will learn what causes people with memory loss to wander and how to decrease it. Alice Kean, a Smith Village resident trained by the Alzheimer's Association to lead the support group, noted it's important to understand risks and triggers of wandering and strategies to prevent it. She'll be joined by co-presenter Bridget Murphy, Smith Village's life enrichment director, who also was trained by the association.
The group, which meets monthly, allows caregivers to share experiences, learn from one another and connect with others. To reserve a spot, call 773-474-7302.