The Chronicle is 10. That means the paper is basically a fifth grader, fully capable of all the basics like reading and writing and maybe even arithmetic. We’re ready to make the big leap to middle school. (Hoping we can skip algebra.)
Like the best fifth graders, we’re listening to the people who can help us make that leap successfully. That would be you, our readers.
Community support got us through our first 10 years, and community support will get us through the next 10. The best way to celebrate, we figure, is to hang out with the folks who support their local newspaper.
We’re holding an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, at Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery to celebrate the milestone. The event is also an opportunity for H-F folks to stop by and tell us how we’re doing.
Do you have suggestions about what we cover, what we prioritize, how we deliver news and features to you?
We’re listening.
Election help
Both major political parties assure us that the fate of the nation and perhaps the world hinges on the outcome of the Nov. 5 election. I’m willing to believe it. But at the Chronicle, we’re looking ahead to the April 2025 election, which is when Homewood and Flossmoor residents will choose who they want to represent them on village, school, library and park district boards.
Every year we try to up our game in pre-election coverage. Our goal is to help voters head to the polls confident that they know the candidates and the issues on the ballot.
We could use your help. We have our questions but we want to know what questions you have for candidates. What issues do you want them to address in interviews and forums? What questions do you have about the voting process? What kinds of events will help you learn what you need to know? What stories should we do to help you prepare for the election?
It’s early, but we’ll keep asking these questions in coming months as we continue planning. If you have ideas to share, visit hfchronicle.com/election2025planning and tell us what you think.
Hofeld backs Jackson Jr. pardon
Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who served 17 months in prison for wire and mail fraud, is seeking a pardon from President Joe Biden, and he’s getting support from nine south suburban mayors led by Homewood Mayor Rich Hofeld.
Hofeld penned a letter of support and sought co-signers from long-term mayors, some of whom were in office during Jackson’s tenure and worked with him.
Jackson was first elected as 2nd Congressional District representative in a December 1995 special election. Hofeld said Jackson was always responsive to the needs of Homewood and other south suburban communities.
Hofeld said he was shocked when Jackson was charged with fraud.
“I was probably the last person in the world that believed it,” he said. “I mean, to me he was fantastic. He was a hardworking man.”
He cited Jackson’s help getting funding for the development of Homewood’s rail park and train viewing platform, but he also noted the congressman would show up for small events.
He recalled being asked to do a welcome message for a scholarship award. He called Jackson’s office to see if the congressman was available to join him. Jackson agreed to be there.
“I talked my usual 30 seconds. He talked for 20 minutes. He was inspiring. He’s the best speaker I’ve ever heard after (former president Barack) Obama,” Hofeld said.
Jackson was also known for his passionate support of developing a third Chicago airport near the South Suburbs, a project the area’s elected officals are still working to make a reality.
The letter to Biden reads, in part, “We do not want to diminish his misuse of campaign funds and his subsequent conviction; however, he has more to give to society.”
In addition to Hofeld, the letter was signed by Hazel Crest Mayor Vernard Alsberry, South Chicago Heights Mayor Terry Matthews, South Holland Mayor Don DeGraff, Country Club Hills Mayor James Ford, Chicago Heights Mayor David Gonzalez, Richton Park Mayor Richard Reinbold, East Hazel Crest Mayor Thomas Brown and Phoenix Mayor Terry Wells.
Hofeld said they believe Jackson deserves a clean slate and a second chance.
“He was a true friend of the South Suburbs. He was terrific, responsive and caring,” Hofeld said.
Pawpaw Festival
I stopped by Flossmoor’s pawpaw patch on Sterling Avenue near Maryland Avenue to see how the trees are doing. The little grove on the east side of the street has eight trees by my count.
Pawpaw trees seem to be thriving on South Sterling Avenue in Flossmoor. Retired
Chronicle editor Tom Houlihan helped establish the village’s pawpaw grove in 2021.
(Eric Crump/H-F Chronicle)
They are still small but look to be doing fine to my untutored eyes.
To get a more expert assessment, we would need to consult Dave Becker, Flossmoor’s arborist, or Tom Houlihan, retired Chronicle editor and Flossmoor’s pawpaw benefactor. Tom helped establish the village’s pawpaw presence in 2021 after several years of enjoying the development of several trees in his back yard.
For anyone who wants to see what might be in Flossmoor’s future, the town of Paw Paw, Illinois, 90 miles west of the village, plans to hold an annual Paw Paw Festival. The first event this year was scheduled from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28. See bit.ly/47DWIK7 for more information. I’ll try to give more advance notice next year.
Mea culpa
Page 2 was on page 4 in the October print edition. That was because we found out at deadline that four pages in the 36-page edition would need to be gray rather than color because of print equipment limitations. The Chicago Tribune, which has printed the Chronicle for several years, recently moved from its longtime home at Freedom Center to a printing plant in Schaumburg. At Freedom Center, all our pages could be printed in color regardless of the edition size.
The map with a story on a proposed new TIF district in Homewood included a red border, so it needed to be on a color page. That’s why pages 2 and 4 were swapped.
Other adjustments made in an effort to keep ads on color pages did not go so well. One story was duplicated (pages 9 and 25), one page was left out, and one page with ads was gray.
It was a mess. We’ve learned a hard lesson, and we’re adjusting to these new limitations. We hope to do better in the future and offer our apologies to our advertisers and readers for the errors.