We tapped into our website to see what our readers loved most in 2023.
Our readers were definitely interested in stories about crime and mayhem. But they also cared about local businesses, whether it’s a beloved restaurant or a new music venue. And they responded to the news of an unexpected passing of a Proviso East High School teacher.
We would like to hear from you, dear readers. What stories that we published in 2023 did you like? Are there any stories that you think deserve more love? Anything we should write about more in the future? Email or comment on Facebook, and let us know.
Crime and Mayhem
The ghost of the Forest Park Tap Room, which was shut down in the summer of 2022 over failure to control customers’ disruptive behavior, still cast a shadow over 2023. Our number one story (with 31,389 views), Berwyn bar closed due to overcrowding, fights, was about the other bar brothers Lance and Hansel Law co-owned – Berwyn Tap Room. The bar had its own history of quality-of-life issues, one that the brothers concealed from the village when they were in the process of opening the Forest Park bar. The story isn’t quite over – Berwyn Tap Room’s third co-owner, William Rivera, is suing the brothers, alleging that they denied him his share of the profits – but for many Forest Parkers, this represented a capstone of a saga that stretched over three years and three Review staff reporters.
The second most-viewed story, Park district shuts down pool early after social media ‘trend’ post, which got 21, 268 views,was about a crime that didn’t happen. When the Forest Park Police Department alerted the Park District of Forest Park that a post circulating on Snapchat inviting people to come to the Aquatic Center on June 1, they closed the facility out of “abundance of caution.” Given that the last time an invitation to the Aquatic Center circulated on Snapchat back in June 2022, hundreds of people showed up and tried to break in when the facility reached capacity, the caution was understandable. There haven’t been any other incidents since.
The other crime and mayhem stories that made it into Top 10 were police blotter items. The tale of a jealous woman attacking a possible romantic rival, Woman attacked, vehicle vandalized by boss’s jealous wife, came in at number four, with Walmart janitor uses garbage bins to steal from store just behind it. A story about Walmart declining to press charges against a shoplifter because she had a child in her car, Walmart declines to press charges against women with child, came in at number eight. And a story about a three-person crew that went on a rampage in Chicago and western suburbs on Oct. 25, hitting Forest Park’s Goldyburger restaurant and Suburban Liquors in the process, Three-person crew robs restaurant, liquor store, came in at nine.
Community Happenings
When the Review went up to long-time Golden Streer steakhouse employee Elba Caragher to ask about her recent purchase of the restaurant, the first thing she said was that she wasn’t changing anything – which showed just how important the things that made Golden Street what it is was to customers. The article about the purchase, Longtime employee buys Golden Steer restaurant, gathered a huge reaction on Facebook, with commenters expressing appreciation for Caragher and the restaurant – so it’s no surprise that it came in at number three on our most-read story list.
When the Forest Park Tap Room was shut down, the Review kept an eye on what would happen next to this space – and eventually learned that long-time booking agent Donnie Biggins was planning to rent it to open his own music venue, Robert’s Westside. Forest Park signs off on Robert’s Westside music venue, made it into our Top 10, coming in at number six.
The article about Ferrara Candy Company, which has a factory and outlet store in Forest Park, giving microgrants to a pair of Chicago Black-owned businesses, Ferrara’s Now and Later candy brand gives grants to Black-owned businesses, came in at seven.
A lot of newsworthy things happened in Proviso Township High School District 209. The election changing the balance of power on the school board, which led to the firing of the controversial Supt. James Hendersen, was only part of that. But the only article to make it to Top 10 was education reporter Amaris Rodriguez’s piece on the passing of Jennifer Miller, a family and consumer science educator at Proviso East High School, and how the district was helping the students cope. Proviso East mourns loss of teacher came in at number 10.