Maywood Police Chief Valdimir Talley with attendees at the Maywood Park District’s annual Halloween Fest on Saturday. | Photo submitted || Below: Participants during Broadview Park District’s haunted house. | Broadview Park District/Facebook
Sunday, October 30, 2016 || By Community Editor || @maywoodnews
Residents in Maywood and Broadview enjoyed Halloween festivities on Saturday thanks to numerous social service organizations and the two park districts in those towns.
In Maywood, the fun took place outside, on the grounds of Veterans Park, 125 S. 5th Ave. Participants were treated to a hay maze, hot chocolate and cider, candy prizes, pony rides and more.
In Broadview, participants enjoyed a haunted house, along with free entertainment and candy, among other fall activities.
Sun-Times Revisits Tom Wood Murder, 10 Years Later
Ten years after the death of Maywood Police Officer Tom Wood, whose Oct. 23, 2006 murder is still unsolved, reporter Robert Herguth revisited the long-dormant case for the Chicago Sun-Times in a story featured on the cover (sans Cubs wraparound) of the paper’s Sunday, Oct. 30 edition.
Herguth catches up with former Maywood Police Chief Elvia Williams, who is currently running the Richton Park police department, and also talks with current Maywood Police Chief Valdimir Talley.
Williams tells Herguth that, while she still doesn’t know who murdered Wood, she’s optimistic the case will be solved sometime in “the next couple of years.”
Randy Brown, the Maywood detective who works the Wood case part-time, tells Herguth that the department will make a renewed push next year to start “re-interviewing people.” Talley adds that, next year, evidence in connection to the case will be re-examined, among other developments.
“‘I owe it to the family,’ Talley says, as well as fellow cops and the community ‘to bring closure. I’m definitely committed to getting this resolved.'”
To read the full Sun-Times report, click here.
Maywood Liquor Sales Could Start an Hour Earlier on Sundays
At a Oct. 26 Legal, License and Ordinance Committee (LLOC) meeting, the Maywood Board of Trustees voted unanimously to send to a regular board meeting for final approval a motion that would allow retail liquor sales to start at 11 a.m. on Sundays, an hour ahead of the current 12 p.m. start time that current regulations call for.
The Maywood Liquor Commission, which is chaired by Mayor Edwenna Perkins, unanimously recommended that the board approve the the motion, which retailers say will allow them to compete with retailers in nearby communities that sell liquor earlier in the day.
According to village officials, each holder of a liquor license in the village is in compliance with regulations and in good standing. Officials say there are currently 15 active liquor licenses in Maywood as of Aug. 17.
The board is expected to make a binding vote on the new hours at a regular meeting on Nov. 1.
Maywood Board Tosses Proposed Landmark Removal Ordinance
At the Oct. 26 LLOC, the Maywood Board of Trustees voted 4-3 for “the outright denial and rejection” of a proposed ordinance that would allow owners of properties in the village that have been designated local historic landmarks to remove that designation by appealing directly to the Board of Trustees, and bypassing the Historic Preservation Commission.
Trustees Antonette Dorris, Melvin Lightford and Ron Rivers, who pushed for the proposal, have argued that landmark status could hamper potential development, particularly of the Maywood Home for Soldiers Widows, near the corner of Lake St. and First Ave.
Maywood Trustee Michael Rogers, who made the tersely stated motion, argued that landmark status is no different than any other regulation that protects the historical character and integrity of the community.
Cook County Board of Commissioners Presents Resolution in Honor of Iberia Hampton
During an Oct. 26 meeting, the Cook County Board of Commissioners honored longtime Maywood resident Iberia Hampton, the mother of Fred Hampton, with a resolution.
The legislation was sponsored by Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin (1st), in whose district Hampton lived until her death on Oct. 17 at age 94.
You can read the full resolution by clicking here.
State Rep. named ‘Legislator of the Year’
State Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch (7th), whose district includes Maywood, was honored on Oct. 28 by the Illinois Association of School Social Workers as the “Legislator of the Year” for his 2016 legislative work in Springfield.
Welch was presented the award during the organization’s 46th Annual Conference, which took place in Lisle.
The group, which honored Welch’s body of education-related work, specifically referenced his hand in the passage of HB 4996 — a law signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner allows school districts “to appoint social workers as the district’s liaison with the Department of Children and Family Services to help coordinate services to foster children within a school district,” according to a statement released by Welch.
“Currently, Illinois school districts serve over 10,000 foster kids across 800 districts, and there is no mechanism in place to properly track services provided,” the statement noted. ” HB4996 will correct this issue, and it will also help Illinois as it prepares to comply with the new Federal Every Student Succeeds Act.” VFP
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