Latest news with #PioneerPress
Chicago Tribune
22-07-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Shots fired in parking lot of Morton Grove funeral home, near families gathered for movie night in the park
Morton Grove police detectives are investigating after someone reportedly fired shots in the parking lot of a local funeral home Friday night, a few blocks away from where the village was hosting family movie night at Harrer Park. At around 8:54 p.m. Friday, police responded to a call of shots fired in the parking lot at 6251 Dempster Street. Reportedly, a 'large group' had gathered in the parking lot when a physical altercation occurred. During the disturbance, someone is alleged to have brandished a firearm and shot three rounds into the air, according to a police department news release. Police stated in the release that the individuals believed to be involved in the incident fled the area in vehicles before police officers arrived. Police Commander Anthony Anderson confirmed with Pioneer Press that the address is to the Simkins Funeral Home. It was not immediately clear whether the incident was related to a service or other business there. Anderson said no further details directly related to the alleged shooting would be provided, pending the ongoing investigation. 'We're doing our due diligence on that. We have detectives working on that,' he said. 'We're not going to release any information because it may taint our investigation.' Officials stated in the release, and Anderson reaffirmed, that there were no injuries reported. Authorities said there was no immediate or ongoing threat to the general public in the wake of the gunfire. 'Suspect and vehicle information was promptly shared with regional law enforcement partners. The Morton Grove Police Department is pursuing several leads,' according to the release. The funeral home is about a three-minute walk to Harrer Park where the Park District was holding its summer recurring Friday night movie showing. Families had gathered at the park to watch Disney/Pixar's 'Inside Out 2.' Some individuals reported on social media hearing the shots and mistaking them for fireworks or misfiring vehicles. Anderson said the park was not impacted and the movie showing went on without incident. Police ask anyone with information about the shots fired incident to contact the Morton Grove Police Department at 847-470-5200.
Chicago Tribune
15-07-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Niles grocery store raising money for family of employee killed in suspected DUI collision
Owners of a local grocery story are expressing their condolences for the death of one of their employees by hosting online and in-store fundraisers for her and the woman's surviving family members. Bogdana Mygal, 33, of Des Plaines, was pronounced dead July 5 at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville after being transported there following a multi-vehicle collision in a Lake County suburb. A man is facing driving under the influence charges in connection with the fatal incident that also saw Mygal's husband and 4-year-old daughter sustain injuries. 'She came from the Ukraine with her husband and no other family. They came here to have a better life. She wanted the best for her and her family. Her daughter was her world. It just breaks my heart,' Joanna Antonik, co-owner of Deli 4 You Market, told Pioneer Press by phone. Deli 4 You Market, a full-line Polish and European grocery store chain, has five Chicagoland locations, including in Norridge and Niles – the latter is where Mygal worked for three years before her death. Antonik owns the stores with her mother, Margaret. 'We always enjoyed working with her. She was extremely liked, super nice to customers, co-workers, and so helpful. She was a wonderful person,' said Antonik. The Niles store has set up a memorial at the cash register where Mygal usually worked. Also at the check out lane is a jar where people can deposit cash as part of a fundraiser. An online fundraiser is running on the GoFundMe website where, as of Tuesday, more than $54,000 has been raised. The initial goal was $50,000 but is now changed to $70,000. Antonik said she and her mother also plan to provide food from the store to the family as the fundraising is managed. 'I just felt the community wanted to help and I wanted to open this up to them,' Antonik said. 'It's not going to help with everything, but with something financially. We're very grateful we have such a great community that wants to support the family.' According to the Lake County sheriff's office, Mygal, her husband and 4-year-old daughter, were traveling from a Fourth of July celebration on July 5 at 10:15 p.m. when they were involved in a three-vehicle collision on West Russell and Frontage roads in Wadsworth Mygal, a passenger in the family's 2016 Chevrolet Volt, was taken from the scene to hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. The Lake County Coroner determined she died of blunt force trauma. Her husband and daughter also suffered serious, but non-life threatening injuries, according to authorities. Andrew Willard, 58, of the 600 block of West Natalie Lane, Addison, was charged July 8 with aggravated DUI causing death, DUI and traffic violations for allegedly traveling at a high rate of speed and failing to stop at a stop sign at Frontage Road, striking both the vehicle Mygal was in with her family and another vehicle – which were both stopped at the intersection. The driver and passenger in the other vehicle, as well as Willard, suffered serious, but non-life threatening injuries, Covelli said. 'Crash investigators believe Willard was more than twice the legal limit for alcohol when he crashed,' according to a sheriff's office news release. Willard is being held in the Lake County Jail on pre-trial detention. He is scheduled to appear in court again July 30. Mygal started working as a cashier at Deli 4 You three years ago when the deli opened in Niles, Antonik said. The team at the Niles store saw she was eager to work, be part of a new store and the team, and thought her energy was infectious. Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelancer. Pioneer Press staff contributed.
Chicago Tribune
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Lincolnwood cops v. summer campers dodgeball showdown: ‘A fun time for us to interact with the kids'
The Lincolnwood Police Department continues its collaboration with the village's Parks and Recreation Department, participating in a series of activities with summer campers that include the fierce 'Dodgeball Showdown.' Lincolnwood Police Department records clerk Sarah Yun told Pioneer Press that officers and other department personnel have played the annual summer dodgeball game consecutively since 2021 and also in 2018. 'It's a fun time for us to interact with the kids in a playful manner,' said Yun, whose dodgeball team included Deputy Chief Travis Raypole, Lieutenant Eric Gronlund, Sergeant Luis Nunez, and officers Michael Pignato, Andy Bialek, and Raul Salazar, along with information technology specialist Christian Alcala. Dozens of children participated in – and won – the nearly 45-minute dodgeball game July 9 versus the police at the outdoor inline skating rink at Proesel Park. Yun said there were more players than the usual 50 or so, and campers were between the ages of 8 and 12 – mostly Lincolnwood residents with a smattering of participants from Skokie and Chicago. 'It shows these kids, starting at a young age, that police officers really are friends,' Yun said. 'It helps kids see an everyday hero.' Yun, a former camp counselor who grew up in Lincolnwood, explained that the fun of the Dodgeball Showdown can lead to youngsters trusting police in an emergency or scary situation. She said the dodgeball game also offers police personnel a change of scenery. 'It gives officers an opportunity for them to laugh and enjoy the day, and interacting with others,' Yun said. Yun collaborated with Kandice Newton, a Parks and Recreation Department recreation supervisor, for the most recent years of Dodgeball Showdown, and said Newton also helped with new collaborations connecting the police with about 80 campers this summer. 'Since we know the dodgeball games are such a hit, it was a good opportunity to show the kids what we do,' Yun said. 'A lot of them don't realize we have a drone or we have evidence techs or other specialties our officers have.' After kicking off on June 25 with Gronlund and Officer Jesse Wienski talking about what a police officer does, and letting children try on bulletproof vests and check out a squad car, the collabs continued on July 9 with a drone demonstration by Bialek and Sgt. David Kramarz. 'Officer Bialek actually brought the drone up into the air to show it flying and the kids got to see if they could outrun the drone,' Yun said. 'The drone is a wonderful tool that's helped us find people when we've had a missing person.' The police and parks department collaborations were scheduled to conclude on July 16 with Officers Adriana Hernandez and Adina Soica, who are evidence technicians, showing how they process crime scenes and obtain fingerprints. 'Community is a huge part of our culture here in the police department,' Yun said. 'We're very community-oriented so whenever we're able to interact with the community, we do. The summer is a great opportunity to do that.'
Chicago Tribune
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Couple renews vows after 64 years, eliciting tears at memory care home
Seeing his bride in a wedding veil and walking down the aisle as musicians played the wedding march became a little too much for Norman Corfield, and he began to weep at his wedding vow renewal ceremony with his wife Catherine Corfield. The couple was celebrating their 64-year anniversary. Their living arrangements have changed over the years, though — Norman Corfield now lives at a Glenview memory care home and his wife visits him. 'I think it's the music…he loves music,' Catherine Corfield explained to an employee at Emerald Place Memory Care, which primarily serves patients with Alzheimer's and dementia. The Corfields were joined by Ann and Barrett Feeney in renewing their wedding vows, with the Feeneys celebrating their 50-year anniversary. Ann Feeney resides at Emerald Place, and Barrett visits. The June 27 ceremony was organized by Emerald Place to commemorate the regular wedding season and to build community in the facility, according to Life Engagement Director Jaime Vahhaji. 'I wanted to think of an event to get everyone in the community together, and I knew that we had multiple couples that had been married for many, many years. And so I thought, 'what's better in bringing people together than having a wedding ceremony?'' Vahhaji said. Residents at Emerald Place typically have some form of memory loss due to dementia or Alzheimer's, according to Vahhaji. Vahhaji said she could physically see Emerald Place residents' moods turn for the better during the ceremony. 'With memories, I think a lot of times [patients] are more visual. I could tell with Ann, when she was walking down the aisle, when she saw Barrett, I saw her face light up,' she said. Even in the face of Alzheimer's, Vahhaji said the ceremony was able to unlock something within their patients that let them know they still love their spouses. It's possible that the music at the vow renewal ceremony could have helped bring forth the patients' memories, according to Music Therapist Marcos Ahlman. 'Sometimes people [with Alzheimer's] don't even know their own names or their family members, but they can still remember all the lyrics to a song, and it evokes memories and feelings and it just transports you back,' he said. Ahlman also said it's not uncommon for people to get emotional for those type of ceremonies, given that there are situations where Alzheimer's patients might not always live with their spouses. After the ceremony, the Feeneys spoke to Pioneer Press as they ate cake and played a wedding-inspired Bingo game. 'We're very lucky to be together for 50 years,' Barrett Feeney said, when asked what he was thinking about when he was walking down the aisle. 'A lot of good memories of the wonderful life that we've had together.'
Chicago Tribune
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Morton Grove optometrist points to patch-wearing ‘Elio' in the Disney/Pixar movie to focus on kids' eye health
The new Disney/Pixar film 'Elio'— where the youthful title character dons a bright blue eyepatch — has presented a ripe opportunity for a Morton Groove optometry professor and blindness prevention advocate to call attention to children's eye health. In the animated film, which debuted in theaters June 20 and took third place at the box office with its $21 million opening, Elio is a space fanatic with an active imagination and a huge alien obsession. But he also wears a protective patch after being accidentally poked in the eye. Morton Grove resident Sandra Block, doctor of optometry, said she appreciates the fact that the film calls attention to eye challenges that children could face. 'The good thing is it's highlighting that vision is important in daily life,' Block told Pioneer Press. 'People don't think of vision as a problem. This might bring it to the forefront.' And for kids who may need an eyepatch but refuse to wear it, seeing this fun movie character could help take away the stigma. Block, who is professor emeritus at the Illinois College of Optometry, president of the World Council of Optometry and emeritus member of the Prevent Blindness Board of Directors, shared her knowledge of eye issues that children can face. Among them, Block reported that between 2% and 4% of children are diagnosed with amblyopia, more commonly known as lazy eye. 'Many types of amblyopia are not very visible,' Block said. She said the ones that are obvious can be recognized either when the child is in preschool or by the parent when their child is between 3 and 5 years old, although a large number of them are identified between the ages of birth and 12 months. Block said some kids with amblyopia are frequently told to wear an eyepatch. They wear it over the healthier eye in an attempt 'to get the 'lazy' eye to start to use vision more — forcing it to be used when it hasn't been used for some time,' Block said. The doctor noted that some children refuse to wear the eyepatch. But families can draw inspiration from Elio, who is mistakenly identified as Earth's leader and finds himself on a cosmic misadventure where he must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms — wearing a blue eyepatch. Other issues of concern regarding children's eye health include nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. Block said that a lot of research is being done on these issues and some conclusions have been reached. 'We need to identify it early,' Block said. 'We need to get kids outside because the more time they spend outside the better it is. We need to educate the families and the pediatricians to know who's at risk. And try to keep the screen time down.' Perhaps Elio can be an inspiration.
