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Chicago Tribune
02-06-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Community news: Triton College students push lawmakers for four-year degree bill
Students at Triton College in River Grove recently visited Springfield to lobby for legislation that would allow four-year bachelor's degree programs at community colleges. Johnny Urbina, Triton's director of Student Services, accompanies the group to meet with state senators and representatives. With him were President of the Triton College Student Association Mark Kouria, Deana Andrejko, Paul Talia and Gabriella White. Their mission was to speak with Illinois House Speaker Emanuel 'Chris' Welch, Senate President Don Harmon and Reps. Bradley Stephens and Norman Hernandez. Their hope is a bill that would be passed by 2028 with implementation starting by 2030. 'We explained to Sen. Harmon that offering four-year bachelor's degree programs at community college could bring significant benefits,' Kouria said via a news release. 'These programs could help expand campuses, introduce new majors and create opportunities for additional sports like football.' Fans of antiques will find plenty to look at during the third annual Fox Valley at the Fairgrounds Antiques Show, set for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 7 at the DuPage Event Center and Fairgrounds, North County Farm Road, Wheaton. The show, featuring dealers from eight states, is presented by the Chicago Suburban Antiques Dealers Association. The admission is $8, with anyone younger than 15 admitted for free. Proceeds benefit historical preservation projects. Parking is free, and food will be available. Information is at Anglers 15 and younger are invited to join the Just for Kids Fishing Derby offered by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County from 8 to 11 a.m. June 8 at Silver Lake in the Blackwell Forest Preserve in Warrenville. The free annual event lets participants compete for prizes in four age groups by catching the largest fish in three species categories. District staff and volunteers will be on hand to provide tips and tricks. Youths may drop in any time during the event, which has no capacity limit. Youths should bring their own fishing gear, although a limited supply of nightcrawlers and equipment will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Children should do most of the fishing, although parents may help. Enter the preserve from the north side of Butterfield Road. Register online at or by calling 630-933-7248 or do so in person that day. Morton Arboretum in Lisle will present Swing for Science from 4 to 9 p.m. June 12, a philanthropic night out at its new Wonder Woods Mini Golf to support the arboretum's science initiatives. The cost is $75 for adults and $35 for children 3 to 17 years old. Tickets include mini golf on the tree-themed course, live music, food and beverages, an interactive science fair and games. The arboretum is at 4100 Ill. 53. Buy tickets online or get information at morton Runner Ava Connerty earned a spot in history recently at the NJCAA Division III OUtdoor Track & Field Championships, becoming the first female track athlete from Triton College in River Grove to win a national title. Connerty, from North Riverside, won the women's 100-meter hurdle race by just two-tenths of a second. 'It's so amazing seeing all of my training pay off in the best way possible. Knowing that I'm the first female track national champion in Triton history is unbelievable,' she shared in a news release. The psychology student also ran in the women's 4×400-meter relay, earning third at nationals with teammates Kinga Antolak, Joaliz Rodriguez and Sandra Saldierna. Learn about the health care power of attorney at a workshop set for 4 to 6 p.m. June 4 at the Carl Fiorito Senior Center, 2601 N. Mannheim Road, Franklin Park. It's presented by Leyden Township and the Veterans Legal Aid Society. Attendees will learn how to prepare a health care power of attorney document, appoint someone to represent them and outline directives for making medical decisions at such time as they cannot do so. Lawyers will be on hand to help participants complete the forms. Registration is encouraged at
Chicago Tribune
23-05-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Traveling memorial wall now in Oswego reminds us of hero faces behind the names
Say their names. You hear these three words a lot, including around Memorial Day when the country stops all its craziness to remember those who paid the ultimate price in defense of our freedoms. Still, sometimes words are not enough, especially to Gold Star families who worry that, particularly after they are gone, their loved one will no longer be remembered. That's why Bob and Mary Patterson of North Aurora started the Chris Patterson Foundation four years after their 20-year-old son was killed in action in Afghanistan on Jan. 2, 2012. Since then the foundation has raised over $35,000, with most of that money going to scholarships for Fox Valley graduates pursuing a career in the performing arts, as was Chris, a music major at Valparaiso University and a member of the Indiana National Guard who talked his commanders into including him, an ROTC cadet, when his unit was deployed. But to say their names is not the same as to see their faces, which is why the Illinois Patriot Guard Fallen Heroes Traveling Memorial Wall was created more than a decade ago as a way to connect more personally to the men and women behind the names. Unfortunately, Patterson told me, that original project was dismantled, literally and figuratively, and the wall became little more than 'rotting panels' stored inside of a barn. And so, a few years ago the Chris Patterson Foundation took it over, once more gathering the photos of all 253 men and women who have given their lives in service to this country since 9/11. It's a staggering number, especially when these pictures are all displayed in one area, as they are on the Illinois Fallen Wall now at Oswego Village Hall through June 6. Even more impactful is looking into the individual faces of these heroes, most of them painfully young, loved by their families and full of such potential for the future. Like 20-year-old U.S. Army Spc. Brian Romines from the tiny town of Simpson, who was killed June 6, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq, when an explosive detonated near his vehicle, and whose photo, with a tear sliding down his face, is particularly haunting as a reminder of the sacrifices made and the pain left behind. Or 21-year-old Andrew Meari of Plainfield, whose mother nearly brought me to tears of my own when talking about her 'scary smart' only child, who went through three years of high school in four months and could speak multiple languages, including Arabic. The gifted young man, who wanted to be a soldier since age 4 after witnessing the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, joined the Army 15 years later, figuring it would also be a way to eventually go back to school to become an attorney. He was deployed to Afghanistan in May of 2010, and on Nov. 1 that year was killed by a suicide bomber on a motorcycle in the province of Kandahar. According to multiple news sources, he was trying to shield others in the unit from the blast when he took the full brunt of it. It was a sacrifice that did not go unnoticed by survivors. Pfc. Philip Wysocki, who received the Silver Star for his actions during the vicious attack that followed, later told Williams her son was the 'guardian angel protecting them from the incoming rounds as they protected his body.' And Felipe Pereira, who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroics that day, honored him with his firstborn's middle name. Like all those in our area who made the ultimate sacrifice, Pfc. Andrew Meari did indeed come home a hero, with many medals, as well as his name on a stretch of Route 59 and a beautiful park in Plainfield. As grateful as she is for these memorials, as Williams points out, 'names have been on monuments from a thousand years ago, but how many do we remember? 'Every family's greatest fear is that their child will be forgotten after they are gone. Who will remember their smile … who they looked like?' she asked. 'Having their faces with their names gives us comfort knowing this is a strong visual connection people will carry away with them. 'When you see a face, you are looking at someone you grew up with or knew their family members at this age. It has a totally different impact,' she said, particularly when associated 'with the price of war.' For that reason, both these Gold Star parents encourage Fox Valley residents over the Memorial Day weekend to visit the Illinois Fallen Wall from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the lobby of Oswego Village Hall at 100 Parkers Mill in Oswego. By all means, also celebrate Memorial Day with happiness. Crack open a beer. Have fun at a family barbecue. 'And celebrate everything you have because it was paid for with the highest price,' insisted Williams. 'Those faces are the last vision in our minds at night and the first vision we see in the morning,' she added. 'They remind us all that America is worth fighting for,' even when 'the cost is unimaginable.'
CBS News
02-03-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Chicagoans rally in support of Ukraine after Trump-Zelenskyy clash in Oval Office
Dozens of people gathered in front of the Wrigley Building in downtown Chicago on Saturday for a "Russia against Putin" rally. Many in attendance were Russian human rights activists in exile, or members of Chicago's Russian immigrant community. They said Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime is abusing human rights by forcefully cracking down on any opposition to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Organizers said the event is part of a series of similar rallies going on throughout the world. Meanwhile, in west suburban Saint Charles, about 300 people attended a rally to support Ukraine. The rally was organized by the group We Can Lead Change - Fox Valley. The organization said their goal is to fight for democracy. Along with pro-Ukraine signs, many at Saturday's rally had signs showing opposition to President Trump and billionaire senior adviser Elon Musk. The rallies come a day after a shouting match between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, in the final minutes of an Oval Office meeting. The dustup seemed to dash, at least for now, Ukrainian hopes that the United States could be locked in as a reliable partner in helping end the war that Russia started three years ago. President Trump threatened Zelenskyy during the meeting to make a deal with Russia or "we're out," and Vice President JD Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of being "disrespectful." Zelenskyy kept an even tone throughout the entire exchange, even as Mr. Trump and Vance at times raised their voices. After the fiery meeting, National security adviser Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio asked Zelenskyy and Ukrainian officials to leave the White House. European officials have rallied around Zelenskyy amid fallout from the combative meeting, as the Ukrainian leader arrived in London on Saturday for a summit organized by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
