Jerry Shnay – Page 4 –

Trinity Lutheran Church in Park Forest in 1957. (Trinity Lutheran Church)

Column: Former Park Forest President Ron Bean remembered; last gathering of Trinity Lutheran Church

December 1, 2025 at 2:30 p.m.

The death of Ron Bean, the first Black village president of Park Forest, closed a significant chapter in the town's history and elicited tributes from those who knew him. Janet...

The Park Forest Aqua Center remains closed Oct. 22, 2025. (Paul Eisenberg/Daily Southtown)

Park Forest OKs $10 million aqua center renovation with 2027 completion date

April 6, 2026 at 1:04 p.m.

The Park Forest Village Board approved $10 million to redesigned its shuttered 70-year-old aqua center by 2027.

State Rep. Anthony DeLuca of Chicago Heights, left, and state Sen. Patrick Joyce of Essex during a legislative forum on Dec. 12, 2019, at Freedom Hall in Park Forest. (Ted Slowik/Daily Southtown)

Column: Stalled legislation could lead to horse racing/slot machines in Richton Park

November 17, 2025 at 9:07 a.m.

A bill in the Illinois General Assembly would allow a harness racetrack crammed with 1,200 slot machines in Richton Park.

The sign at Park Forest Aqua Center on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, indicates the popular swimming pool should open in 2027, but officials in Park Forest are still debating its future. (Paul Eisenberg/Daily Southtown)

Park Forest residents indicate support for pared down Aqua Center as village mulls future of aging pool complex

October 22, 2025 at 2:43 p.m.

A survey on what to do with the shuttered Park Forest Aqua Center indicated support for the least expensive option to keep it open.

Protesters gather Saturday, Oct. 18, for a 'No Kings' rally in Kankakee. (Penny Shnay/Daily Southtown)

Column: ‘No Kings’ rally evokes memories of a father’s fight against tyranny

October 20, 2025 at 4:44 p.m.

Before Saturday's No Kings rally, columnist Jerry Shnay hadn't witnessed a large protest movement since 1968 in Chicago.

Jane Nicoll, museum director, adjusts a dolls dress inside the Park Forest 1950s House Museum Feb. 7, 2025, at St. Marys Church's school. The archives of the museum will move to to a basement space at Park Forest Village Hall. (John Smierciak/for the Daily Southtown)

Column: Park Forest Historical Society to find home in basement of Village Hall

October 6, 2025 at 9:51 a.m.

The Park Forest Historic Society archives, stored in the closed Church of St. Mary on Monee Road, will soon move to Village Hall.

The Park Forest Aqua Center in July 2018. (Suzanne Tennant/baiduhai)

Column: Time running out to voice opinion on Park Forest Aquatic Center plans

September 22, 2025 at 12:52 p.m.

Park Forest residents have until Oct. 5 to take an online survey regarding four options for the closed Aquatic Center.

Columnist Jerry Shnay and his wife, Penny, showing before their 60th anniversary April 1, 2020, were both struck with COVID-19 this past week. (Shnay family photo)

Column: Return of COVID-19 reminds why vaccines are important

September 8, 2025 at 10:38 a.m.

Columnist Jerry Shany suffers through a bout of COVID-19, and recalls the spread of polio during his childhood before the vaccine.

Don DeMarco, left, and Myrtle Martin first crossed paths in the early, tumultuous years of Park Forest's history, focusing on race relations, and established an enduring link that now spans more than 60 years. (Penny Shnay/for the Daily Southtown)

Column: Relationship grew from fight for racial equity in Park Forest

August 25, 2025 at 5:05 a.m.

Myrtle Martin and Don DeMarco first crossed paths in the early, tumultuous years in the history of Park Forest.

The Park Forest Aqua Center in 2018. (Suanne Tennant/baiduhai)

Column: Trustees consider slim downed options for Park Forest Aqua Center

August 20, 2025 at 9:10 a.m.

Officials suggest converting the shuttered Park Forest Aqua Center from a four-pool complex to a slimmed down two-pool facility.

All Stories