The city currently has “pretty decent biking infrastructure,” but the 2025 City of Aurora’s Bicycle Pedestrian Plan proposes expanding that infrastructure to link existing routes and adding sidewalks to every feasible location within the city.

That’s according to Eric Mueller, a planner at Epstein Global, who presented the Aurora City Council’s Building, Zoning and Economic Development Committee a brief overview of the plan on April 23.

His presentation showed that the plan would recommend nearly 135 miles of new bike infrastructure along with 279 miles of new sidewalks.

The plan doesn’t propose just a single type of bike path – instead, it specifies eight different types. Some are connected to roads, such as marked bike routes, bike lanes and paved shoulders, while others are not, such as trails.

Proposals for bike-friendly policies, programs and procedures, along with pedestrian safety measures especially around intersections, are also included in the proposed plan.

Ald. Patty Smith, 8th Ward, said she was “in awe” of the plan but felt like there was no ceiling, it was just “everything you could ever want in the biking world.”

“It’s a lot of miles. It’s a lot of money. It’s a lot of great stuff,” Smith said. “I wish we could call Santa Claus and ask him to show up tomorrow and fix this for us.”

According to Mueller, the plan also includes ways to fund the various projects, such as through grants. He said the plan is good for about 10 to 15 years, but “we’d be kidding ourselves if we expected everything we suggested to get implemented.”

Ald. Mike Saville, 6th Ward, said the report was great but the city needs to make sure the plan actually gets implemented. Often, the city pays for plans but then something happens and the city’s focus changes, so the plan ends up “collecting dust on the shelf,” he said.

Mueller’s presentation at that meeting was a brief overview of the plan, with a more in-depth presentation and discussion expected at the upcoming City Council Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday.

But he did show off what he called a feature project of the plan: a proposed connection between the Virgil Gilman Trail and the Waubonsee Creek Trail.

While Mueller said the paths would ideally connect along the nearby creek, the city has been unable to speak to the landowner about an easement, so the plan proposes a slightly “roundabout” path that he said is the second-best option.

This connection was the thing Epstein Global heard most from residents, according to Mueller.

Public engagement began in 2023, and residents strongly supported improving biking and walking infrastructure throughout Aurora, he said.

Aurora’s current Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan was adopted in 2009. In 2023, the city selected Epstein to update the plan at a cost of around $50,000, according to past reporting.

The 2025 City of Aurora’s Bicycle Pedestrian Plan was unanimously approved by the Building, Zoning and Economic Development Committee, but it must still go before the Committee of the Whole before going to the Aurora City Council for final approval.

rsmith@chicagotribune.com

“Our son has been reading this children’s series of books called ‘The Bad Guys’ and there was a copy of one of the books sitting on the table,” Sara Parisi said. “My husband Joe saw it and said ‘What about Bad Guys Bagels?’ We asked a number of other family members and friends, and that’s what we went with.”

Joe Parisi said that “I’m normally pretty good at marketing and branding things like that and I just saw – when I said it for the first time, it just stuck.”

“A lot of people when they start companies they get stuck on a name,” he said. “All these little pieces that they teach you in college are important, but the reality is the business is all that really matters. Can you make something that people want – can you sell it, will they buy it, will they buy it again?”

Already entrepreneurs, the Parisis have been operating an online wedding favor company called Reception Flip Flops for 10 years that Sara Parisi said “was now on auto-pilot and we were looking for something else to do.”

The idea to open a bagel business fell to her husband, who said his passion for bagels was so great he and some buddies would drive all the way to Skokie in the middle of the night to get them.

“Bagels – we used to drive to Skokie at 2 a.m. and I’d do that after I met my wife. She didn’t think it was worth the trip. We had a few buddies and we’d go,” Joe Parisi said. “Here in the area, I’d drive to Jake’s in Aurora and other places. I wanted bagels and I couldn’t find them, and I figured maybe other people had this problem too. I saw this as an opportunity.”

Those late-night pilgrimages were to New York Bagel and Bialy in Skokie, where Parisi approached the owner about a deal involving the recipe it uses to make its bagels.

“I mean it was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” he said. “Not long after, he found out he was terminally ill. He said he didn’t have a lot of time and wanted to do a deal and leave his wife as much money as he could.

“We went down and did the deal and he taught us how to make bagels,” he said. “People love these bagels and we thought if it’s not broke, why fix it? We have a profit-sharing agreement with them, and we’re far enough away, there’s no competition.”

Sara Parisi said there are currently 13 varieties of bagels at the Geneva shop, “flavors based on pretty much what everybody has and expects to find.”

She said they are looking to try other flavors like asiago which some have asked for or perhaps consider producing a bagel of the month.

The local business community has welcomed the shop with open arms.

Paula Schmidt, president of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce, feels Bad Guys Bagels is a welcome addition to the local business scene, “with a name that’s kind of provocative.”

“They have been wonderful Chamber members and have been involved in a number of things and this was definitely a needed business here in Geneva,” she said. “You hear the name and I think it’s a fun name and makes you want to take a peek at it. It’s a unique name and makes them stand out completely.”

Emily Wrenn of St. Charles said she likes the breakfast and lunch options offered at the shop.

“I don’t know too many other places that are just specializing in bagels, which makes it super-fun and I love supporting local businesses,” she said during a recent trip to the shop. “My go-to is an everything bagel but I like the onion or the cinnamon raisin. I grew up on the East Coast, and I like that bagel sandwich in the morning.”

Sara Parisi said that East Coast transplants who have eaten New York style bagels “are the pillars of the business.”

“They knew the difference between ‘a roll with a hole’ and other names used to describe something that’s not a true bagel,” she said. “It has to be boiled and baked. Some today are using steam, but a true bagel is boiled and then baked. The true bagel is dense, but still soft on the inside and crisp outside.”

She said the shop currently produces 20 dozen bagels a day on weekdays and anywhere from 50 to 70 dozen on the weekend.

“We’ve never had lines out the door but things do get busy on the weekends,” she said.

With a little over a year in the business, she said the people she works with and the customers she meets make it all worthwhile.

“The thing I like, what I enjoy the most, is being around people. I like getting out of the house, because the online business was a lot of sitting at the computer,” she said.  “We all love bagels. I make lunches for my two boys Luka, who is 6, and Joey, who is 9, and they love the bagels too. But I’m a people person and that’s what make this enjoyable for me.”

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.

Benet, Carmel, Joliet Catholic, Marian Catholic, Marist, Marmion, Nazareth and St. Viator are joining the GCAC. All of those high schools except Marmion, which will be going coed for the first time that academic year, are members of the East Suburban Catholic Conference.

Benet, Carmel, Joliet Catholic, Marian, Marist, Nazareth, Notre Dame, St. Patrick and St. Viator will be joining the Catholic League. All of those schools also are from the ESCC. Notre Dame and St. Patrick are all-boys schools.

Thomas Schergen, the principal of De La Salle and executive representative of the GCAC and Catholic League, welcomed the development.

“Both leagues are extremely competitive,” Schergen said. “With the addition of these tradition-rich East Suburban Catholic institutions, we have set our respective conferences on a continued path of success and continue to strengthen these premier Catholic athletic organizations.

“We look forward to having these new members under the Chicago Catholic League and Girls Catholic Athletic Conference banners, both athletically and academically.”

Founded in 1975, the ESCC began with Carmel, Holy Cross, Marist, Notre Dame, St. Joseph, St. Patrick and St. Viator. Between 1982 and 2014, Joliet Catholic, Benet, Marian Catholic and Marian Central Catholic entered the mix. Fenwick, Bishop McNamara and Providence joined the ESCC with girls teams before leaving for the GCAC.

Since 1974, the ESCC have won 96 team state championships and 91 individual state titles.

The addition of the ESCC schools and Marmion will boost the GCAC to 24 teams. The Catholic League will expand to 26. The Catholic League was started in 1912. The GCAC was established in 1974.

Dan Tully, principal at Notre Dame and chairman of the board of the ESCC, also was excited about the move.

“The ESCC’s legacy of academic and athletic success, as well as our standards for competitive excellence, align closely with the heritage of the Chicago Catholic League and Girls Catholic Athletic Conference,” Tully said. “Bringing our schools together will expand competitive opportunities based on geography and parity while also maintaining long-standing rivalries for the benefit of our communities, teams and student-athletes.

“As faith-based institutions, we strive to offer a comprehensive educational experience, along with high-quality co-curricular programming. The ESCC’s history of achievement dovetails with the rich traditions of the CCL and GCAC and we look forward to furthering our partnership.”

The region’s first outdoor spring festival – held Saturday and Sunday – featured more than 100 varietals and blends from Illinois wineries.

Bill Fox of Oakbrook Terrace returned to visit his favorite wineries and get acquainted with new ones at the event.

He’s known among his group of friends as a “fancy” wine taster because of his slow and steady approach to tasting.

“I gently swirl the glass and use my sense of smell,” Fox said. “My friends think this is a fancy way to taste wine. It does work.”

Experiencing the wine bouquet is almost as good as the wine itself, Fox said while enjoying an offering from Acquaviva Winery, a family-owned 85-acre estate vineyard and winery based in Maple Park.

More than 40 acres are under vine there to produce wine for a variety of tastes.

“We harvest and produce on-site,” co-owner Vito Brandonisio said.

The family-owned business includes five siblings plus grandchildren, some of whom are beginning to work in the winery as they become of age, Brandonisio said.

The Maple Park winery’s Don Giuseppe – a dry wine – is named in honor of his grandfather, he said.

“My grandfather had a vineyard in Acquaviva, Italy,” he said.

Melanie Hess and Mary Toman enjoyed the Strawberry Peach Sangria – a semi-sweet rose blend – from August Hill Winery in Utica.

“It has the perfect fruity taste,” said Hess, of Yorkville.

Toman, of Schaumburg, appreciated its aroma.

“It’s a light wine for a sunny spring day,” Toman said.

The women said samplings from Illinois wineries at the event were a refreshing change from store-bought labels.

Galena Cellars returned to Wine on the Fox, now in its 19th year.

“The Wine on the Fox kicks off our festival season,” Galena Cellars Brand Ambassador Britt White said.

She said that Wine on the Fox’s turnout is great and the camaraderie of wineries at the event is wonderful.

“The festival runs smoothly from start to finish. Quite honestly, the folks who come are always in a really good mood and that’s great for the wineries,” White said.

Galena Cellars, which has a tasting room in downtown Galena, is known as one of Illinois’ pioneering wineries.

“Our Cabernet Franc won a double gold medal at the 2025 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. We’re very proud of that,” she said.

Galena Cellars is preparing to officially release a red raspberry sweet red wine, White said. However, the producer did offer some tastings specially for Wine on the Fox, she said.

Lisa and Bob Barry are owners of Tres Rojas Winery in Washington, Illinois. The winery’s strawberry sweet fruit wine seemed to appeal to festival attendees.

“It’s 100% strawberries,” Lisa Barry said.

Thanks to the variety of wines and the ambiance, Tracy Gonzalez of Manteo said the festival is a must for her.

“I keep coming back to the Oswego Wine on the Fox every year,” Gonzalez said. “I appreciate the friendly atmosphere, fine wine and live music.”

Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.

All teams crave senior leadership, especially younger teams. It becomes a bit tougher, though, when that responsibility falls on the shoulders of just one senior — as in the Warriors’ case.

But for Wiertelak, this spring has been a revelation.

“Being the one who takes on that leadership responsibility has been kind of crazy,” she said. “All of these girls are like younger sisters to me and I’m very protective of them. I want them to do well.”

Wiertelak continued to lead the way Saturday morning, throwing a one-hitter and driving in three runs for host Waubonsie Valley in a 15-0 victory in four innings over Joliet Central in Aurora.

Sophomore outfielder Dezirae Kelly stepped up with a two-run triple and added four RBIs for Waubonsie (7-11). Wiertelak struck out three, walked one and also went 3-for-3 at the plate.

Pitching and hitting? Wiertelak believes one feeds the other.

“Everything goes hand to hand,” she said. “Hitting in the fourth spot, I know once the first two or three batters get on that I can get them moving.

“The same with pitching. I just work on hitting my corners and let my defense do the work.”

Kelly, meanwhile, finished 2-for-3 and scored three runs. She’s one of five sophomore starters for the Warriors. Giavanna Pyle, who had a two-run single, is one of two freshmen starters.

Sophomore shortstop Aislee Morgan pointed out the impact Wiertelak has made.

“Sammy’s just an amazing person, a great player and fantastic leader,” Morgan said. “She has a great personality. She’s funny, sarcastic, and she has a great connection with the rest of the team.”

A four-year varsity player, Wieterlak never imagined she would be the sole representative of her senior class.

“We started with a decent amount my freshman year and then they just all decided they wanted to focus on other sports they were more competitive or comfortable with,” she said.

“My first three years were a big learning experience for gaining that leadership role. We always had at least three seniors. I have to step up now being the only one.”

Waubonsie coach Valerie Wood said Wiertelak’s combination of experience, savvy and two-way talent is a connective thread that bonds the different players.

“She never seems to be rattled out there,” Wood said. “Things could be going horribly wrong and she just has a cool, calm and collected attitude.

“They could be hitting off of her or our team could be making tons of errors, but she never gets frustrated. I think the younger girls see that and it helps them get through the inning.”

Along with older sister Caroline, now a sophomore at Illinois State, Wiertelak took up dance and played T-ball growing up. Caroline stuck with dance, but Samantha stayed with softball.

At the start of her freshman year, Wiertelak then threw a curve of sorts.

“I started bowling, which I’d never really done before,” she said. “Now I have four bowling balls and I go all the time. I’m very competitive with everything I do.”

She’s also a free thinker who loves adventure, something Wiertelak developing in the summer.

“I love exploring,” she said. “Any time I go somewhere for travel ball and we get done a day early, I love going to a nearby zoo. I just love experiencing when I have those free days.”

Being Waubonsie’s only senior is far from a burden as well. Wiertelak enjoys leading the way.

“My greatest thrill is knowing I had the chance to come here and not only play for the school, but play for all the girls who either graduated before me or are going to graduate after me,” she said.

“I can create a safe space for them and I can do anything for them.”

Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelancer for The Beacon-News.

Ritchie, a highly touted sophomore right-hander, stands 6-foot-3 and already possesses a fastball that can hit 90 mph. Genke, a former minor league pitcher, knows he has a unique talent on his hands.

“For such a young kid, really good baseball mind, competitor,” Genke said of Ritchie. “Obviously, he’s been blessed with a strong right arm.

“He’s an exciting young player and he’s an even better human being. When you put those two things together, that’s pretty special.”

Ritchie took another big step forward Saturday in a 3-0 DuKane Conference win over crosstown rival St. Charles East. He worked six shutout innings, hitting his pitch count of 90 with a strikeout to end the sixth.

Ritchie struck out 10 while scattering four hits and two walks for St. Charles North (9-6, 5-2). Josh Kobylinski came on in the seventh to nail down the save.

Keaton Reinke chipped in with two hits, including a double, two runs and two stolen bases for the North Stars. Ben Auer, Ty Heimbuch and Nolan Macholz each tallied RBI singles. James Feigleson had two hits for St. Charles East (10-10, 6-4).

Ritchie kept his eye on the Saints’ lineup while playing third base Friday in the series opener at Northwestern Medicine Field in Geneva. Showing his maturity, he started putting together a scouting report in his head for Saturday’s game.

“All night, I was at third studying their hitters and seeing what was going to get them,” Ritchie said. “I just wanted to work quickly and get ahead.”

That’s an area of his game that Genke confirmed is still evolving — dictating the pace of the game.

It wasn’t a problem at all Saturday, however.

“Sometimes he gets slowed down a little bit, so we’ve been working with him on that,” Genke said. “He was in control the entire game, so I’m very proud of him and happy for him.”

Genke also calls pitches for Ritchie, who is all ears. Genke focused on the fastball and curveball the first couple times through the order before having Ritchie mix in change-ups later in the game.

“I’ve never questioned anything he’s called,” Ritchie said. “I’ve developed my change-up. The last time through the order, I had another weapon to get them with, another pitch for them to see.”

Reinke led off the bottom of the first inning with a walk, stole second and scored on Auer’s RBI single. Ritchie made that lead hold up in a pitcher’s duel with St. Charles East’s Nathan Moline before the North Stars tacked on two insurance runs in the sixth.

“That’s a game where you have to tip your cap to their pitcher,” St. Charles East coach Derek Sutor said. “He seemed to get stronger as the game went on. Our guys didn’t adjust at the plate.

“He owned the mound. He stayed calm. The stage didn’t faze him.”

Sutor was impressed with how Moline went toe-to-toe with Ritchie.

“That’s kind of the thing he’s done all season for us,” Sutor said. “He’s a guy who’s turning into somebody that we’re going to count on down the stretch.”

In terms of demeanor and arm talent, Genke likens Ritchie to former ace Josh Caccia. Ritchie has more size and more velocity but Genke would still like him to adopt some of Caccia’s traits as he moves along.

“I’m hoping it develops more into Caccia,” Genke said. “He was a pitcher — he wasn’t a thrower. Matt’s starting to graduate from being that thrower to being a pitcher and being able to command three pitches and command the mound.

“He’s going to be a fun kid to watch the next few years.”

Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.

Email Daily Southtown results to southtownsports@gmail.com, Beacon-News, Courier-News and Naperville Sun results to tribwestsports@gmail.com and News-Sun results to newssunsports@gmail.com.

SUNDAY’S RESULTS

LOCAL COLLEGES

SOFTBALL

Benedictine 2-7, Aurora University 1-4

Lake Forest College 2-6, Monmouth 0-1

Game 1 Lake Forest College: Riley Stiles CG, 3 H, 0 ER.

Game 2 Lake Forest College (25-14-1, 14-2 Midwest): Kyla Chevalier 2-for-3, double, 2 runs. Emmie Nyen solo HR.

SATURDAY’S RESULTS

HIGH SCHOOLS

BASEBALL

Argo 16, Hubbard 0 (4 innings)

Aurora Central Catholic 10, Leo 0 (5 innings)

ACC (11-10, 2-4 CCL White): Luke Torrence CG, H, 10 Ks. Brodie Curry 2-for-3, double, run, 2 RBIs.

Bartlett 3, Riverside-Brookfield 2

Bartlett (11-13-1, 8-4 Upstate Eight): Josh Colaizzi CG, ER, 12 Ks. Alex Bihun 2 RBIs; GW RBI in bottom 7th.

Beecher 5, St. Anne 1

Benet 6-8, Carmel 5-3

Game 1 Benet: Quinn Rooney GW sac fly in bottom 7th.

Game 2 Benet (15-7, 7-3 ESCC): Luke Wildes 3-run HR.

Brother Rice 13, St.Rita 0 (5 innings)

Chicago Christian 7, Marian Central Catholic 4

Chicago Christian (15-8, 6-3 Chicagoland Christian): Micah Buikema 2-for-3, double, 2 RBIs. Rafe Slager 2 runs.

Deerfield 6, Crystal Lake Central 5

Deerfield (11-12): Easton Newman 2 runs, RBI, 2 stolen bases.

Fremd 10, Warren 9 (8 innings)

Warren (14-8): Mason Durst double, 3 RBIs. Braxton Goodfellow 2 RBIs.

Geneva 4, Batavia 3

Geneva (18-6, 8-3 DuKane): Nick Price 2-for-3, run, 2 RBIs. Noah Hallahan 2-for-4, run, RBI.

Jacobs 2, Lake Zurich 1

Joliet Catholic 6-15, St. Patrick 2-2

JCA (12-11, 6-2 ESCC): Keegan Farnaus combined 3-for-4, 4 runs, 6 RBIs.

Joliet West 2, Lockport 0

Kaneland 15-6, Lisle 0-0

Game 1 Kaneland: Aidan Whildin 2 runs, 2 RBIs.

Game 2 Kaneland (17-5): Kayden Johnson 2 RBIs.

Lake Central (Ind.) 8, Lincoln-Way Central 6

Libertyville 1, Highland Park 0

Libertyville (21-2): Ryan Wilberding 2-for-3, run.

Lincoln-Way East 7, Oswego East 3

Lincoln-Way East (19-4): Colin Bettenhausen 5 IP, 2 H. Charlie Cosich 3 runs.

Marist 8, St. Viator 0

Marist (13-8, 6-2 ESCC): Tommy Hosty 5 IP, 0 H. John McAuliffe 2 RBIs. Matt Molesky 2 RBIs.

Marmion 10, Fenwick 9

Marmion (14-9-1, 5-1 CCL White): Trajan Storto-Featherson 2-for-2, double, 2 runs, 3 RBIs. Kevin Schultz 2-for-5, double, HR, 3 RBIs. Scored 4 runs in top 7th.

Metea Valley 9, Taft 2

Metea (10-14): Caleb Allen CG, 9 Ks. Ethan Singer run, 2 RBIs. Tyler Gluting 2-for-3, 2 runs.

Montini 14, De La Salle 3 (5 innings)

Naperville Central 6, Prospect 3

Neuqua Valley 10, Crete-Monee 0 (5 innings)

Neuqua (9-10-1): Kiet Truong 4 IP, 0 H, 11 Ks; 2-for-3, run, RBI.

Oak Forest 15, Bradley-Bourbonnais 2

Providence 8, Mount Carmel 5

Providence (16-7, 4-1 CCL Blue): Blake Jenner 2-run HR. Declan Kane 2-run HR.

Mount Carmel (14-8, 3-2): Kolin Adams 2-for-3, HR, 3 RBIs.

Rolling Meadows 2, Dundee-Crown 0

St. Charles North 3, St. Charles East 0

St. Laurence 3, Loyola 0

St. Laurence (20-3, 6-0 CCL Blue): Sam Chin 6 IP, H.

Shepard 5, Bremen 2

Shepard (10-8-2, 6-4-1 SSC Red): David Nelligan 4 IP, 8 Ks. T.J. Georgis 2-run single.

South Elgin 2, Stevenson 1

South Elgin (12-9): Connor Lund double, RBI. Justin Pold double, run.

Stagg 4, Reavis 3 (10 innings)

Stagg: William Houston 5 IP, 0 R. Jasper Willis scored GW run in bottom 10th.

Tinley Park 20, Simeon 0 (5 innings)

Waubonsie Valley 8, Glenbard East 4

Waubonsie (12-9): Josh Hung 2-for-3, double, run, 2 RBIs. Connor Beren 3-for-4, 2 runs, RBI.

West Aurora 12, Bolingbrook 0 (5 innings)

West Aurora (18-4): Zach Toma 2-for-4, 3 RBIs. Henry Hinkle 3-for-3, 2 RBIs.

Yorkville Christian 5, Westminster Christian 1

Yorkville Christian (13-7): Nolan Hooper 6 IP, 0 ER, 13 Ks.

Zion-Benton 7, Vernon Hills 5

Zion-Benton (6-16): Brayden Duran 2-for-4, 2 runs, 2 RBIs. Sam Villareal 2 runs.

COAL CITY INVITATIONAL

Burlington Central 10, Coal City 1

Burlington Central (13-10): Sam Maglares 3-for-4, doble, 2 runs, 2 RBIs. Jake Johnson 2-for-5, 3 RBIs.

Tolono Unity 5, Burlington Central 0

SANDWICH INVITATIONAL

Mahomet-Seymour 11, Sandwich 6

Wheaton Academy 15, Sandwich 2

BOYS VOLLEYBALL

LINCOLN-WAY EAST INVITATIONAL

Glenbard West d. Lincoln-Way East 24-26, 25-8, 25-20, championship

Downers Grove North d. Brother Rice 25-21, 25-19, third

Cathedral (Ind.) d. Lincoln-Way Central 15-25, 26-24, 15-13, fifth

GIRLS SOCCER

Bartlett 2, Elgin 0

Burlington Central 3, Belvidere North 1

Burlington Central (6-9): Elsa Carlson goal, assist. Annie Magan goal, assist.

Jacobs 2, Larkin 1

Joliet West 2, Sandburg 1

Lemont 3, Oak Forest 0

South Elgin 1, Hampshire 0

South Elgin (9-7-2): Lucy Tomasi goal.

Timothy Christian 2, Argo 0

Tinley Park 4, Bremen 2

Wheaton Warrenville South 7, East Aurora 0

TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS (Iowa)

Batavia 1, Normal Community 0

Arrowhead (Wis.) 2, Metea Valley 1 (SO)

Metea (11-2): Lily Senese goal in regulation.

Dunlap 6, Reavis 0

Helias (Mo.) 1, Carmel 0

Middleton (Wis.) 3, Batavia 2 (SO)

St. Charles (Mo.) 2, De La Salle 1

St. Teresa’s (Wis.) 2, Kaneland 1

SOFTBALL

Batavia 6, Naperville North 5

Naperville North (5-16): Maddi Larsen 3-for-4, 2 RBIs. Sara Rossi double, 2 RBIs.

Beecher 9, Sandburg 5

Beecher (24-1): Alexa Gliva 2-for-4, 3 runs, 2 RBIs. Ava Lorenzatti 3-for-5, HR, 2 RBIs.

Sandburg (8-12): Olivia Trunk double, 2 runs.

DePaul Prep 4, De La Salle 1

Dundee-Crown 14, Elk Grove 4 (5 innings)

Dundee-Crown (8-14): Alyssa Gale 4-for-4, 2 doubles, 4 runs, 2 RBIs. Jordyn Jeffs 3-for-4, double, 2 runs, 3 RBIs.

Gardner-South Wilmington 4, Yorkville Christian 0

Harvest Christian 15, Wheeling 12

Harvest Christian (8-10): Makayla Richards 3-for-4, double, HR, 3 runs, 2 RBIs. Alyssa Burke 3-for-4, 3 runs, 2 RBIs.

Lake Zurich 12-2, Jacobs 5-7

Lake Zurich (10-12-1): Brianna Rubicz combined 5-for-8, 2 doubles, 2 runs, 4 RBIs.

Jacobs (13-13): Molly Hoch combined 4-for-7, 2 doubles, 2 runs, 6 RBIs.

Lockport 3, Naperville Central 1

Lockport (15-9): Kelcie McGraw CG, 4 H, 0 ER, 15 Ks; double, RBI.

Mother McAuley 11, Lyons 5

Niles North 16, Lake Forest 1 (4 innings)

Oswego East 10-9, Downers Grove South 9-5

Game 1 Oswego East: Danielle Stone 2-for-2, 4 RBIs.

Game 2 Oswego East (12-9): Kylie Mannis 2-for-4, 2 runs, 2 RBIs.

Stevenson 7, Taft 4

Stevenson (17-3): Aubrey Jepsen 2-for-3, double, HR, 2 runs, 3 RBIs. Sara Saiki 2-for-3, double, run, 2 RBIs.

Waubonsie Valley 15, Joliet Central 0 (4 innings)

BRADLEY-BOURBONNAIS BACKYARD BASH

Benet 8, Rock Island 3

Benet (7-12): Alaina Rosner 2-for-3, double, run, RBI.

Neuqua Valley 5, Rock Island 3

Neuqua: Ashley Pape run, 2 RBIs. Nalia Clifford 2-for-4, 2 runs.

Rock Island 6, Oak Forest 0

LIBERTYVILLE ROUND ROBIN

Lincoln-Way East 15, Libertyville 5 (5 innings)

Lincoln-Way East (19-2): Zoey Bullock triple, 4 RBIs.

Lincoln-Way East 7, Loyola 0

MARENGO INVITATIONAL

St. Charles East 13, Joliet West 12

St. Charles East (14-12): Caleigh Higgins HR, 4 RBIs. Addison Wolf 3 runs.

St. Charles East 8, Kaneland 2

St. Charles East: Wolf 3-for-3, 2 runs, 2 RBIs.

Kaneland 15, Cary-Grove 0

Kaneland (12-10): Lillyana Crawford 5 RBIs.

Huntley 7, St. Charles East 6

St. Charles East: Hayden Sujack 2-for-4, 2 HR, 4 RBIs.

LOCAL COLLEGES

BASEBALL

North Central College 3-5, North Park 2-4

NCC (23-17, 14-6 CCIW): Parker Wyatt combined 4-for-8, 2 HRs, 3 runs, 4 RBIs.

CCAC CHAMPIONSHIP

St. Xavier 6, Judson 0

St. Xavier (31-22): Jimmy Fairley 5.1 IP, 2 H. Shea Zbrozek run, RBI.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

NAIA CHAMPIONSHIP

The Master’s (Calif.) d. St. Xavier 28-26, 25-23, 18-25, 25-19

St. Xavier (31-1): Matt Pannala 20 kills. Vejas Cuplinskas 12 kills. Caydann Cox 11 kills, 11 digs. Cameron Daniels 43 assists.

SOFTBALL

CCAC TOURNAMENT

Championship Bracket

St. Xavier 9, St. Ambrose (Iowa) 6

St. Xavier (35-6): Taylor Becker 3-run double.

Elimination Bracket

St. Francis 4-4, Olivet Nazarene 1-10

St. Francis (20-20): Jaelynn Taylor combined 3-for-6, double, HR, 3 RBIs.

Compiled by Josh Krockey.

When it comes to the topic of immigration, students like Ashley Martinez, 18, of Aurora, know something about it first-hand.

“We read this book about someone who immigrated to the United States when he was 9, and for me this was something about not just connecting with the book but with my dad who immigrated when he was 4 years old,” Martinez said Saturday morning as students from East Aurora High School waited in Wilder Park in Aurora for the walk to Elgin to begin. “Taking this walk today is kind of like symbolically walking in both my dad and the author’s shoes.”

Shane and Sarah Gillespie, a married couple who teach at East Aurora High School, each teach sections of a course known as Survivor Literature, organized the walk to offer students the chance to experience what an author of one of the books they read in the class went through as an immigrant himself years ago.

Shane Gillespie explained that this spring, students read “Solito” by author Javier Zamora, who actually came to the school late last month and spoke to the students about his own experiences while coming to the United States.

Gillespie, who also is the coach of the boys’ and girls’ cross-country and boys track teams, said there are about 110 students enrolled in the four sections of Survivor Literature and that about 40 of them as well as more than a handful of faculty members were making the walk from Wilder Park to a place in Elgin that was over 20 miles away.

“The Survivor course has units on survivor situations like the Holocaust, Sept. 11th, things like that,” Gillespie said. “This year, one of our units was on immigration and we read ‘Solito’ and the kids really connected with it and we built this service project. We created this walk as a sort of put ourselves in Javier’s shoes sort of thing and raise some awareness for this topic that’s important to these kids.”

The book itself tells the story of Zamora as a 9-year-old who travelled to get to America.

“I was a big fan of the book. I loved how it was written. It was easy for me to read and it was very captivating,” Martinez said. “Meeting the author was really exciting. You forget they’re like normal people, so meeting him was refreshing in a way and hearing about his experience and post journey was exciting.”:

The destination for the walk on Saturday was Centro de Informacion located 23 miles away at 1885 Lin Lor Lane in Elgin.

“The Centro offers services for immigrants and that sort of thing. We did a similar project in 2018 and this is sort of modeled after that,” Gillespie said of the walk which began at 8 a.m. “We’ll have transportation back but we’re hoping to get up in Elgin sometime around 4 or 5 p.m.”

He said “one of the things that we tell the kids is that hopefully they learn some English stuff in our classes but also learn something about themselves too.”

“I think that’s what you get here – you build empathy, you build leadership skills – you build those things that are hopefully going to be useful through the end of their lives,” he said.

School nurse Kara Patrick was asked to attend in case any issues developed along the way.

“It’s good to experience something unique like this. It’s for a good cause,” Patrick said of the walk.

Kate Hala, who teaches French at the high school, said she was a big fan of the Gillespie couple “who have run this program before with the English department and it’s a wonderful experience.”

“I got the opportunity to do something with them before when an author came and it’s very impactful for the students to see someone outside of the classroom,” she said. “Educationally this is a very experiential thing. You can immerse yourself in it in a very different way, and it connects with the students in a different way.”

Student Sinclair Zackery, 17, of Aurora, said the book “Solito” was impactful to read.

“I think it brought into reality what so many have to go through because of the country that we live in,” Zackery said. “People should not have to put their lives at stake just to live a better life. I was honored that the author chose to come and share his story with us.

“As far as this walk, it’s nothing compared to what these other people have gone through but at the end I hope I’ll have a little more understanding of what they were forced to go through,” Sinclair added. “This experience and this class are definitely in my top three things I’ve experienced over my four years at East Aurora.”

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.

Even though the measure failed in Bensenville, at least 163 communities around the state have recently enacted local grocery taxes.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill last year repealing the state’s 1% grocery tax, saying it hit poorer families harder. But the bill also allowed municipalities, which depend on the revenue, to implement their own tax. Bensenville put the proposal on the ballot to get voters’ input, but local officials are not required to do so. In many municipalities, local governing bodies are casting the deciding vote.

The political hot potato promises to create a patchwork of taxes and has already led to finger-pointing between local and state officials. The debate over local grocery taxes also comes at a time when many consumers are worried about rising food prices.

“I don’t like it, but I guess I kind of understand it,” Jane Kramer, 73, said of the tax as she shopped for groceries in west suburban Batavia. “Yes, I’m disappointed about it, but that’s our lives.”

Other shoppers don’t think a 1% grocery tax is a big deal.

Ken Mate, 66, buys his groceries in bulk, and said he relies on two-for-one deals and sales to keep his food costs low.

“I don’t think it’s gonna hurt anybody’s bottom line here,” Mate said while shopping in Batavia, “because nobody’ll notice it.”

Notice it or not, the tax generates an estimated $400 million annually, according to Pritzker’s office. All the money collected from the state grocery tax is passed on to local municipalities, where it is spent on basic services like police, firefighters, snow plowing and garbage pickup.

The state suspended the grocery tax for fiscal year 2022 to help fight rising inflation, but municipal leaders say losing the stream of revenue permanently forces them to consider cutting services, raising sales or property taxes, or implementing a local grocery tax. If they approve a local grocery tax by Oct. 1, it would take effect on Jan. 1, 2026, when the state tax expires.

Pritzker called the statewide grocery tax “embarrassing” because it hurts poorer people the most by taking a bigger bite out of their income, though low-income recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, do not pay the tax. While the governor takes credit for cutting the tax, local leaders say it leaves them with hard choices.

“Unfortunately, the governor threw it to the municipalities,” Algonquin Mayor Debby Sosine said. Her northwest suburban village, which receives $2 million annually in state grocery tax proceeds and uses it to pave and repair roads, has already approved its own tax.

Sosine was one of the mayors who warned last year, as the Pritzker proposal was being debated, that loss of the tax would hurt them immensely.

Chicago officials have yet to decide whether to impose their own tax. The state grocery tax generates an estimated $60 million to $80 million for the city, said Ald. Pat Dowell, chair of the Committee on Finance. “It’s a not insignificant amount of money,” she said.

Whether the city will impose its own grocery tax will be decided in upcoming budget hearings across the city.

“People should be involved in the budget process,” Dowell said. “Residents should come out and speak their mind and talk to their aldermen.”

Illinois residents already pay the highest combined state and local taxes in the nation, at more than $13,000 annually, according to a recent report by WalletHub. Food prices rose 3% in the past year as of March, and the federal government forecasts them to rise another 3.5% this year.

Cook County also has a 1.25% grocery tax to fund the Regional Transportation Authority.

More than a dozen suburbs in the Chicago area have already adopted local grocery taxes, including Barrington, Berwyn, Buffalo Grove, Carol Stream, Cicero, Des Plaines, Lake Forest, Lake Zurich, Lombard, Oak Lawn, Orland Park, Palatine, Schaumburg, Tinley Park and Wheaton. Officials in other suburbs, including Naperville, Batavia and Oswego, are considering doing so.

The state grocery tax generates about $6.5 million annually for Naperville, where the City Council is expected to take up the issue in May or June.

“We will be looking at both expenditure reductions as well as potential revenue sources over the next couple of months,” City Manager Douglas Krieger said.

The south suburbs, which collectively receive more than $20 million in funding from the state grocery tax, will be hit particularly hard, South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association Executive Director Kristi DeLaurentiis said.

Many towns in the south suburbs have little commercial base.

Some areas also are food deserts, with no grocery stores to tax. To remedy the lack of fresh food, some municipalities have pledged part of their state grocery tax revenues to attract grocery stores, and are contractually obligated to come up with the money whether the state provides it or not.

“Many of our communities are significantly distressed, and don’t have a lot of economic activity,” she said. “The grocery tax revenue is very important to communities that have less commercial activity,” she said. “So many of them are evaluating, do we need to go to the taxpayer? The grocery tax is likely far easier than additional property taxes.”

In west suburban Batavia, City Administrator Laura Newman said the loss of the state tax will mean a reduction of about $1.2 million in revenue annually.

The City Council took preliminary action to approve a local grocery tax, but not before criticizing the state’s decision.

“It was just a motion to make somebody look good, is what this was,” Mayor Jeffery Schielke said, deeming the decision a political move from Pritzker.

Ald. Abby Beck called a grocery tax “regressive” and said it would “hurt our most vulnerable citizens the most,” suggesting Batavia reduce its version of the tax below 1% in the future and compensate with other funding sources, like property taxes.

Passing its own tax would allow Batavia more local control, Ald. Kevin Malone said.

“It’s kind of a big stinker that this got put on our lap,” he said.

Downstate cities like Carbondale, Danville and Peoria also have approved their own grocery taxes.

“If local governments believe it is necessary to tax milk, bread, eggs, etc. to fund local services/local government, then they should be responsible and accountable for that decision to local taxpayers,” Illinois Department of Revenue spokeswoman Maura Kownacki told the Tribune. “The state should not be imposing a regressive, statewide sales tax on groceries especially during a time when inflation is hitting the pocketbooks of Illinois families.”

Called Mariachi Mercado, the showroom is designed to serve as a hub for Chicago area mariachi musicians,
educators and enthusiasts, store officials said, and offers a selection of instruments, accessories and repair services tailored to the needs of mariachi performers.

The store near Fox Valley Mall held a grand opening for the new mariachi showroom recently which included a performance by the group Mariachi Flor de Primavera.

Samuel Villegas, 21, of Chicago, said he has been playing mariachi music since he was 12 years old and performed with Mariachi Flor de Primavera at the event.

“Having this outreach is a great step to integrate more Mexican culture and mariachi into the general music audience,” he said of the new showroom. “This is a huge step. More students can get their strings and instruments more accessibly.”

Antonette Kanae, brand and graphic design manager for PM Music, said the new showroom “represents more of an outreach to our local community that focuses on mariachi.”

“We’re just trying to make a connection. Aurora has a very large Mexican population, and for the past two years we’ve been doing more partnerships with the schools we work with and helping them develop their mariachi programs,” Kanae said. “Among the ways we’ve done that, there have been sponsorships and we have donated instruments and we donate repairs as we have an indoor repair shop, one of the few in the Chicago area.”

The store itself has been around since 1982, Kanae said, noting that the decision to open the mariachi showroom now was based on a yearly music conference the store owners attend.

“It’s a very big music conference where a lot of retailers, musicians and music educators go out and connect and learn about all the happenings for all the music programs in stores and schools,” she said. “One of the big features in recent years was this big part with mariachi music and owners felt very inspired by that and wanted to do this. We can bring this sort of community in our town where there is a large Hispanic population.”

Lewis Shender said he and another partner purchased the business in 2022.

“Once I got here and started getting familiar with the business I wanted to do more with mariachi,” Shender said. “A few years ago, I was at the IMEC – the Illinois Music Education Conference – which is held every year in Peoria. They had a performance of kids learning mariachi from the Joliet area. I saw it. I was so moved. A lot of these parents are immigrants and don’t speak English well and they feel marginalized. Their kids are super-Americanized and there is this barrier. The mariachi seemed to just bring everything together. It’s the cultural pride. I decided we need to do that.”

Shender said he hopes the store will be a magnet for those interested in mariachi music.

“A huge percentage of our business comes from schools, so we just want to be recognized as the mariachi musical provider in the Chicago area,” he said. “We also have a relatively small retail shop where we want the local people to come in when they need to learn mariachi or buy instruments or whatever they need.”

Harley Figueroa, director of scholastic programs at PM Music Center, said the outreach program is needed “as the mariachi programs are really exploding in the state of Illinois.”

“What was very small when I started working here 14 years ago, now with the big Latino communities, they are embracing this type of music,” he said. “It’s similar to country. It’s very folkloric, it tells a story, and a lot of (school) programs already have an orchestra. This is simple but beautiful music.”

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.