Bob Uphues

Chicago

Editor at Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest

Staff Writer at Riverside-Brookfield Landmark

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Articles

JoAnne Kosey personified community involvement

Oct 3, 2023 | rblandmark.com | Bob Uphues

JoAnne Kosey, a lifelong Riverside resident who served for decades as a volunteer and leader of numerous local organizations, an elected official, and a newspaper columnist for the Riverside-Brookfield Landmark and Suburban Life for decades, died Oct. 1. She was 81. Since early January, she had been under medical care at MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn and at Cantata Adult Life Services in Brookfield.
Condo developer sent back to the drawing board

Aug 29, 2023 | rblandmark.com | Bob Uphues

A real estate development team looking to construct a three-story, 12-unit condominium building at 8845 Burlington Ave. was asked to sharpen their pencils last week, as the Brookfield Planning and Zoning Commission deferred making a recommendation during a preliminary public hearing last Thursday. Commissioners were not thrilled with the design of the building for which the developers are seeking zoning relief through Brookfield’s planned unit development process.
Police suspect alcohol a factor in head-on First Avenue crash | Police reports Aug. 21-27

Aug 29, 2023 | rblandmark.com | Bob Uphues

Charges are pending against a 35-year-old Chicago man who remains hospitalized with severe injuries after he allegedly drove his Chevy Cruze across the center line of First Avenue and struck a pickup truck head-on at about 7:25 p.m. Aug. 26. Police say the Chevy was northbound, about midway between Forest Avenue and 31st Street in Riverside, when it crossed over the double yellow line into the path of the southbound truck, which was hauling a trailer full of old roofing shingles and lumber.
Kotor elevated to deputy police chief in Riverside

Aug 29, 2023 | rblandmark.com | Bob Uphues

The Riverside Police Department got a new No. 2 in command earlier this month when Director of Public Safety Matthew Buckley elevated Leo Kotor to the position of deputy chief. Kotor, a 25-year veteran of the force, replaces Frank Lara, who retired after a 36-year career in Riverside Aug. 10. Lara had been named deputy chief in 2021, a year that saw a significant shakeup in the police command structure.
Ballerine eyes late September exit

Aug 29, 2023 | rblandmark.com | Bob Uphues

Riverside Village President Joseph Ballerine says he plans to leave office at the end of September following his announcement in July that he would be retiring from a long career in public service to move out of state. Ballerine told the Landmark last meeting as an elected official in Riverside would be on Sept. 21. Ballerine and his wife have already purchased a home in Florida and expect to close on the sale of their Riverside home in late September. At the Sept.
Shenstone Road reconstruction will be disruptive

Aug 29, 2023 | rblandmark.com | Bob Uphues

While road construction season is generally associated with summer, a couple of large projects will break ground in Riverside after Labor Day, ones that will force some residents to park their cars overnight away from their properties for weeks at a time. Although the exact start date has not yet been identified, sometime soon after Labor Day, residents of Shenstone Road between Delaplaine Road and Harlem Avenue will be in the midst of a construction zone through at least mid-November. On Aug.
Riverside Parks & Rec eyes master plan effort

Aug 22, 2023 | rblandmark.com | Bob Uphues

The Riverside Parks and Recreation Board plans to embark on a three-phase strategic planning effort this fall, hoping to provide a guide for prioritizing delivery of recreation service for the next decade and beyond. Earlier this month, village trustees gave recreation officials the go-ahead to seek proposals for a community survey, a parks and program assessment and master plan.
North Riverside Fire Department to offer field training to EMT students

Aug 22, 2023 | rblandmark.com | Bob Uphues

North Riverside trustees are poised to approve agreements with Triton College and Morton College that would permit students in their emergency medical technician and paramedic programs to do clinical training alongside on-duty North Riverside firefighters/paramedics. On Aug. 14, trustees agreed that they’d vote to approve the agreements in September after hearing a presentation about the program from Fire Chief Bob McDermott at a meeting of the village board’s public safety committee.
State law ensures red-light cameras will remain at Harlem and Cermak

Aug 22, 2023 | rblandmark.com | Bob Uphues

North Riverside officials quietly breathed a sigh of great relief at the end of July when Illinois Gov.
Cash stolen in North Riverside gaming café burglary | Aug. 13-20

Aug 22, 2023 | rblandmark.com | Bob Uphues

North Riverside police responded to Spins Café, a video gambling parlor at 9261 Cermak Road, on Aug. 19 at about 6:45 a.m. after a security employee for the gaming machine vendor called to report the business had been burglarized. According to police, the glass front door was smashed and one gaming machine had been broken into. The machine should have contained about $1,500, according to the police report, but the cash box had been removed.