As the year winds down, often along with the local news cycle, our newsroom is reflecting on what we reported in 2025.
Throughout the year, the Forest Park Review posted 665 stories that got over 482,000 pageviews. While there’s no way to tell which articles our print readers liked best, below are the top 10 stories written this year that got the most pageviews online.
- No Kings in Forest Park — 8,824 pageviews
During the first national No Kings protest in June, people across the country gathered in their communities to defy authoritarianism on President Donald Trump’s birthday. In Forest Park, Tom Holmes, a longtime columnist for the Review, coordinated a rally at Constitution Court.
- Death at Harlem Blue Line station — 8,738 pageviews
Every week, I write a roundup of police activity in the village using reports that the Forest Park Police Department sends me. Sometimes if there’s a death, or police arrest a dangerous suspect, I’ll write a separate article on that. In this case, police found a man who was unresponsive on the train at the Forest Park Blue Line station in February. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
- Rat outbreak in Forest Park — 6,769 pageviews
While the village sees an uptick in rats every fall, this year was particularly bad. Steve Glinke, who runs the village’s building and public safety department, told me multiple times about how the number of rats was the worst he’d ever seen this year.
- Celebrating the fourth in Forest Park — 5,490 pageviews
Most every year, the Park District of Forest Park has a firework show on the lawn at 7501 Harrison St. This year was no different, and the pool was open for swimming during regular hours. Though the village doesn’t have a 4th of July parade, surrounding municipalities typically do. Those schedules were laid out in this article.
- Brown Cow’s legacy — 4,310 pageviews
Over the summer, I reported an article about what properties were for sale along Madison Street and Roosevelt Road. Among them was Brown Cow. The ice cream store’s owner, Connie Brown, was looking to sell both the business and the building. This editorial lauds Brown and her store’s legacy in Forest Park. Brown Cow got new owners in November.
- Nearly 200 locals attend No Kings rally in Forest Park — 4,193 pageviews
After writing the brief announcing the No Kings rally in June, of course I had to draft something about the protest itself. Our photographer, Todd Bannor, attended the gathering and took several photos of the crowd. About 200 locals showed up to Constitution Court with signs against Trump and authoritarianism.
- Woman shatters Walmart door with hammer — 4,094 pageviews
This article contains a weeks-worth of crime in Forest Park in February. I’m honestly surprised more of these weekly roundup reports didn’t end up on this list. Week to week, police blotters like these usually get the most pageviews out of the stories across all four of Growing Community Media’s newspapers.
- River Forest couple with expired visas deported to Slovakia — 3,926 pageviews
My editor, Dan Haley, reported this story in September after two River Forest residents were deported. Agents from an unidentified federal agency showed up at their apartment to detain them.
- Six indicted following intercepted coke delivery in Forest Park — 3,873 pageviews
This article was written by our freelancer Bill Dwyer. Last November, police intercepted one-and-a-half kilos of cocaine that were being delivered to a Forest Park residence. In July, Dwyer reported that six people involved were indicted on drug conspiracy charges.
- One last hurrah for McGaffer’s Saloon? — 3,754 pageviews
Last October, J.P. Malone, owner of McGaffer’s Saloon on Madison Street, was injured on the property and temporarily closed the bar. In March, Dwyer reported that McGaffer’s would not reopen. Two months later, the village installed an honorary street sign just east of the business.
Pageviews help us know what you want to read, as the people who we’re reporting this news for. Are there any of these articles that you want me to do a deeper dive into? Or do you have any stories you’d like to see me pursue in the new year? Email me your thoughts at jessica@forestparkreview.com.
