Memorial Day is Monday, May 28^th.

The Combined Veterans of Berwyn and the City of Berwyn – Town of Stickney, will host their annual Memorial Day Parade on Sunday, May 27. The parade will begin at 2 p.m. at the intersection of Windsor and Oak Park avenues and continue down Oak Park Avenue until they reach Mount Auburn Cemetery, 4101 Oak Park Ave., Stickney, where a remembrance service will be held.

The River Forest Service Club and the River Forest Park District present the River Forest Memorial Day Parade which starts at 10 am on Monday, the 28^th of May.

Unless a member of your family is serving or has served in our Armed Forces or you’re a history buff – as am I – you might be forgetful of the fact that the United States has been engaged in combat operations for more than eleven years.  No matter how you feel about the War, everyone must recognize the fact that with service come sacrifices.  At Memorial Day, we are reminded of those who have given their lives for our freedom.

But what’s often overlooked is the sacrifice of the families of servicemen and servicewomen.  And the handicaps that many members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard and National Reserves bring back home.

Please take a few moments while engaged in the parties and shopping to remember the reason for Memorial Day?

From our fiends at Berwyn Development Corp and the Roosevelt Road Business Association President, Paul Zimmerman

With construction substantially complete, a unified and more pedestrian-friendly Roosevelt Road welcomes back residents, visitors and commuters with the installation of traffic calming hardware. As part of the award-winning, comprehensive streetscape improvement undertaken by the City of Berwyn, Village of Oak Park and Town of Cicero, three lighted crosswalks have been installed along Roosevelt Road at the intersections of Home Avenue, Gunderson Avenue and Lombard Avenue.

The in-roadway warning lights are the first crosswalks of this type to be installed on an Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) roadway. The marked crosswalks have protective lights installed directly into the roadway that flash when activated by pedestrian push-buttons. Illinois State Law requires motorists to stop for pedestrians at marked crosswalks. The LED lights increase the visibility of the crosswalk and provide an early warning to motorists to brake to a full stop for crossing pedestrians. These energy efficient lights are solar-powered.

“This is a win-win situation for businesses and their patrons and has unified the business district by creating more defined paths for pedestrians. On bustling roadways like Roosevelt Road, this type of crosswalk helps clarify right-of-way and increases everyone’s safety,” stated Paul Zimmermann, President of the Roosevelt Road Business Association. “The lighted crosswalks have been effective at reducing roadway incidents and are being used nationally with excellent results. They are a great addition to the corridor,” added Anthony Griffin, Berwyn Development Corporation Executive Director.

The entire streetscape project, spanning just over one and a half miles, consists of very few traffic signals where safe pedestrian crossing is permitted. The addition of three lighted crosswalks adds much needed safety to this pedestrian-oriented commercial corridor.

For more information about the Roosevelt Road streetscape project, visit www.rooseveltroad.com.

One of the vexing issues associated with any major municipal construction project is that the “punch list” – the odds-and-ends of any construction project, can often drag on for a very long time after the project has been substantially completed.  Kudos to Paul Zimmerman for keeping the focus on Roosevelt Road!

We’ve been spending a little time down Berwyn way.  To say that Berwyn has come a long way is certainly an understatement!  One of the “Wonders of Berwyn” is our friend Aimée Sordelli.  Aimée is one of those people that you can always count upon for any civic undertaking around Berwyn.  It is with great pleasure that we cam publicize her being honored for her community service at Berwyn’s 26th Annual Charles E. Piper Award to be held on Saturday, November 5, 2011 at Pierre’s Banquets located at 3237 Harlem Ave in Berwyn, Illinois.

Hailing originally from Oak Park, Aimée Sordelli has spent her entire life in the Chicagoland area and eventually established roots in Berwyn in 1995. Aimée currently serves as a Medicare Specialist for the Patient Financial Services Department at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. Her approach to her clients is holistic, serving their mental, physical and social needs. And indeed, this all-embracing method crosses over into her volunteer life as well.

Aimée’s passion is for supporting the community, and her strength is in cultivating fellowship with others. After the tragedy on September 11, 2001, Aimée was inspired by a mission to show her gratitude to Berwyn’s emergency first responders. She founded an initiative that started as a single crock of chili for the Berwyn Fire Department and has grown to include a coordinated city-wide effort to annually provide meals for Berwyn’s fire, police and paramedics on September 11.

The theme for this years Charles E. Piper Award celebration is Down & Derby at the Berwyn Jockey Club and will feature a Kentucky Derby theme complete with horse races, casino games, a grand prize drawing and a silent auction fundraiser for the Berwyn Development Corporation.  Derby attire, including pastel and brightly colored dresses and suits and iconic hats, is highly encouraged.

To purchase event tickets, make a donation to the silent auction, or obtain additional information on the 26^th Annual Charles E. Piper Award Dinner and fundraiser, contact the Berwyn Development Corporation at (708) 788-8100 or info@berwyn.net. This year, the grand prize drawing has been opened early. Tickets to win an iPad 2, Wii, diamond necklace and more can be purchased at the BDC or online at www.berwyn.net, click on the pink hat in the lower right side of the page.

From our friend Christina Ortega, over at the Berwyn Development Corporation…

KaBOOM! And Kool-Aid has granted the Berwyn Park District a NEW Playground!

With the help of Volunteers, this dream will come true on
Thursday, September 22, 2011 – in one day!

 Volunteers will build the Play Structure with
KaBOOM! & Kool-Aid at
Smirz Park, located at 34th and Highland Avenue.

All volunteers are welcome for this hands-on experience. We need your support to change
children’s lives. Questions or to Volunteer, please contact Christina Ortega 708.788.8100.

Join us
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Smirz Park – 34th & Highland
8:00am – 3:00pm

Volunteers are needed for installation of Play Structure, painting, gardening and serving meals.

Today, a letter from Roosevelt Road Business Association President Mr. Paul Zimmermann called for a multi-municipal Police Substation on Roosevelt Road.

In light of recent activity on Roosevelt, we believe that it is imperative that we achieve this police presence in the District as soon as possible. I have building owners sharing stories of gangs of teens loitering on the eastern end of the corridor, to the point that they are avoiding taking prospective business owners for showings in the evenings, afraid of what might await them when they arrive. I get businesses complaining about similar issues. And I myself have had tenants from both of our buildings calling me, frightened by gangs of teens hanging out, fighting on parkways and leaving garbage in their wake. Within this last week, we had a longtime Roosevelt Rd. Oak Park business owner have his car stolen from behind his building, while parked in a parking lot off of the alley IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY! I also received a comment from one of my long-term commercial tenants, saying that it seems that the area is heading in the wrong direction. I find empty liquor bottles on our parkway every time I’m at the building, which is daily. And just today, windows in the Club Inclusive building were vandalized, shattered by someone throwing large pieces of concrete through the plate glass.

With the millions of dollars spent on the reconstruction of Roosevelt Road, it does not make sense that the Oak Park, Berwyn and Cicero just abandon the street.