Infuriating year had inspiring moments too
Stories of resiliency, hope, rebirth prevailed in the south suburbs
Many people describe 2020 as a terrible year. A deadly pandemic, economic woes and political differences seemed to affect everyone and provided material for many Daily Southtown columns.
This may have been the worst year in memory for many, but it wasn’t all bad. The year also featured stories about hope, resilience and rebirth in the south and southwest suburbs.
The year began on a good note with a story about the wonderful Reed family. The January column related how a couple raised their nine children in a distinctly decorated home widely known as the Chinese House of Park Forest.
Curiosity drove me to learn about the home’s architecture and its inhabitants. It was a joy to learn about bonsai artist Mark Reed, his wife, Beverly, and how their adult children have achieved success in various professions and pursuits.
Another joyous moment was sharing how Tinley Park neighbors gathered on lawns and driveways over the summer to watch cruise night parades. The
events for vintage-vehicle enthusiasts typically would have drawn crowds in traditional settings, so organizers took the shows on the road to various neighborhoods over a span of several weeks. Residents expressed their appreciation.
Exercise fans flocked to Swallow Cliff Stairs in Palos Township, one of the more popular destinations in the Forest Preserves of Cook County system. Authorities closed the preserve in the spring amid concerns about crowds. When the facility reopened in July, patrons were back doing their favorite workout.
One of the year’s more uplifting stories was how community members and first responders staged a parade at Franciscan Health Olympia Fields to show appreciation for doctors, nurses and other health care workers while they treated patients with COVID-19.
Some columns took more time to develop than others. When I first connected with New Lenox mother Jennifer Baird over the summer, she agreed to share her story about tending flowers at a gas station where her 19-year-old son, Charlie, was fatally shot during an attempted carjacking.
But she asked to wait a couple weeks to have pictures taken while a friend of her son made a new cross for the memorial. The delay was worth the wait, since pictures helped convey the story about a mother’s tenderness and grief.
Many of the year’s stories were about losses. Some were unrelated to COVID-19, though the pandemic disrupted plans for some public memorials. Four months after Will County Executive Larry Walsh died in June, regional transportation officials gathered outdoors in October to pay tribute to him.
Members of the class of 2020 at Rich East High School discussed how it felt to be part of the final class to graduate from the
Park Forest institution, which permanently closed after 68 years due to declining enrollment.
Classrooms emptied in March due to the coronavirus, disrupting plans to bid farewell. Graduating seniors seemed resilient despite the adversity they collectively experienced during their final year of high school.
Another memorable story was an anniversary that was observed in August of a tragedy that occurred 25 years earlier. People who witnessed the burial of 68 bodies in a mass grave Aug. 25, 1995, at Homewood Memorial Gardens said they would never forget the unbearable sadness of that day.
Some witnesses said they saw parallels between the heat wave that claimed more than 700 lives in Chicago that summer and the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Economic development was a big story in the south suburbs in 2020, even though it may have seemed the story unfolded slowly. At times, it could be difficult to grasp the bigger picture by viewing smaller increments, such as construction of new Amazon facilities in Markham, Matteson and University Park.
Developments create jobs, help stabilize the tax base and ease the property tax burden on homeowners. Ultimately, they may also help address concerns about systemic inequality in education, health care, housing and other areas.
The pandemic crippled state tax revenues and for the most part silenced public discussion of the proposed South Suburban Airport. However, before the pandemic and its devastating economic impact, the so-called third airport project near Peotone and Monee seemed to be gaining renewed momentum.
An incident at an Orland Park business in September provided an opportunity to consider how social unrest may be linked to wealth disparity. The column offered perspective about a melee at Sky Zone and prompted a lot of reaction from readers. The feedback was about equally complimentary and critical.
Perhaps the most meaningful column of the year was a July piece about discovering a personal connection to national housing policies that discriminated against Blacks. A sibling shared with me a document that showed the home near La Grange where we were raised had a racist covenant that prohibited renting or selling the home to people of color.
Such covenants were commonly used to deny Black families opportunities to buy homes in neighborhoods where property values tended to increase over time, thus preventing them from building wealth and passing it along to future generations.
The discovery changed my perspective about justice and equality. I look forward to telling more stories about people and issues that matter to residents of the south and southwest suburbs.