Plans for a mixed-use development on Orchard Road, which saw pushback for including a gas station, have gotten early approval from the Aurora City Council.

The project, planned for the corner of Orchard and Sullivan roads in Aurora, is set to include 10 acres of townhouses and 11 acres of commercial development. Within the commercial area is planned a QuikTrip gas station, a day care center and a mix of restaurants, both casual and full-service.

Although the project will still need further approvals for more concrete site plans in the future, the Aurora City Council on Tuesday voted 10–2 to rezone the nearly 30-acre property to accommodate the development. Voting against were Alds. Ted Mesiacos, 3rd Ward, and Keith Larson, at-large.

Mesiacos said at Tuesday’s meeting that he supported the recommendation of city staff, which was to approve all of the project except for the gas station.

The city has been working with the land owner and Kane County for many years to bring high-end commercial development to this area, a vision that might be hindered by the gas station, Aurora Senior Planner Jill Morgan said at past meetings.

City staff’s recommendation in favor of the project generally but against the gas station was also made as an effort to strike a balance between economic development and goals laid out in the city’s 2019 sustainability plan, according to Aurora Chief Development Services Officer John Curley.

Representatives of developer GTZ have said at recent meetings that the project cannot move forward without the gas station, as QuikTrip is paying for needed infrastructure improvements to the site.

Developers have been working with city staff on the project for a couple of years, but this summer was the first time developers were told that city staff didn’t want a gas station there, said the attorney representing those proposing the project, John Philipchuck, at a meeting of the Aurora City Council’s Building, Zoning and Economic Development Committee on Nov. 26.

The development is more than just the gas station, which makes up only 2.8 acres of the site, he said at the time.

The parts of the project that city staff are in favor of, which is everything but the gas station, include a speculated six commercial buildings that might include restaurants with drive-thrus, a sit-down restaurant and a day care.

Discussions are already happening with companies that may occupy those spots, with some deal terms already set for Panda Express and Kiddie Academy, according to Jeremy Forman of GTZ Properties.

Talks are also ongoing with residential developers to build an anticipated 60–70 townhouses on the 10 acres to the north of the property, which is the side closest to the interstate, Forman said at last week’s City Council Committee of the Whole meeting.

Entrances to the site are planned for both Orchard Road and Sequoia Drive.

The QuikTrip convenience store is expected to be nearly 6,500 square feet and be the company’s latest model, according to Skyler Evans, the project manager for QuikTrip. Outside are planned 10 gas pumps, two with auto diesel, along with 50 parking spaces, he said at last week’s Committee of the Whole meeting.

The gas pumps don’t play music or have any video screens, Evans said, and the diesel pumps aren’t suitable for tractor trailers.

In addition to opposition from city staff, the QuikTrip gas station also faced pushback from the public and Kane County Board member Mavis Bates, who represents this area.

Bates has argued, at the meeting Tuesday and at past meetings, that the gas station would be bad for the environment, public health, economic development and quality of life.

In particular, she said the gas station could harm ecosystems through runoff that gets into local waterways and could pollute groundwater because of leaks in underground storage tanks. Plus, the land would be condemned, she said, since cleanup is expensive.

According to Evans, QuikTrip uses double-walled underground storage tanks and pipes, along with sensors, to mitigate underground leaks. Plus, the company has agreed to demolish and clean up the site if the gas station or convenience store are ever shut down, Aurora Senior Planner Morgan said at Tuesday’s meeting.

Ald. Larson said he wasn’t in favor of the current zoning of the site, since it allows warehouses and data centers, and that this development seemed better than those alternatives. However, he also wished it could go forward without the gas station, he said.

A gas station may not align with the city’s sustainability plan, but that’s just one piece of the project, said Ald. Will White, at-large. Plus, the developer seems open to exploring what sustainability looks like within the project, which is a better option than voting it down and leaving it up to chance who will end up developing the property in the future, White said.

GTZ Properties had previously agreed to add electric vehicle charging stations to the development’s commercial area.

Other aldermen questioned city staff’s recommendation against the gas station because of sustainability goals, considering the fact that city staff recommended the approval of another gas station by the same company earlier this year.

That QuikTrip gas station, which was not part of a larger development, was approved by the Aurora City Council in April. It is set to be located on the southeast corner of Eola Road and Diehl Road, which is across the street from the CyrusOne data center and a short ways away from Metea Valley High School.

Aurora Chief Development Services Officer John Curley said that staff are trying to work with the city’s sustainability committee, which brought to staff’s attention that the city wasn’t meeting some of the goals from the 2019 plan. Staff are now highlighting those goals, he said, since there’s now an opportunity.

Ald. Patty Smith, 8th Ward, said she followed what Curley had said, but that she was “not buying it.”

“You might be in a hard position,” she said. “But you also have to know you’re putting us in a very difficult position.”

rsmith@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/11/mixed-use-development-in-aurora-featuring-controversial-gas-station-gets-early-approval/ 

PROVO, Utah — The 22-year-old Utah man charged with killing Charlie Kirk made his first in-person court appearance Thursday as his attorneys push to further limit media access in the high-profile criminal case.

A Utah judge is weighing the public’s right to know details in the prosecution of Tyler Robinson against his attorneys’ concerns that the swarm of media attention could interfere with his right to a fair trial.

Robinson’s legal team and the Utah County Sheriff’s Office have asked Judge Tony Graf to ban cameras in the courtroom.

Prosecutors have charged Robinson with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 shooting of the conservative activist on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, just a few miles north of the Provo courthouse. They plan to seek the death penalty.

Robinson arrived in court with restraints on his wrists and ankles and wearing a dress shirt, tie and slacks. He smiled at family members sitting in the front row of the courtroom, where his mother teared up and wiped her eyes with a tissue. Robinson’s father and brother sat next to her.

The defendant had previously appeared in court via video or audio feed from jail.

A coalition of national and local news organizations, including The Associated Press, is fighting to preserve media access in the case.

Graf has already made allowances to protect Robinson’s presumption of innocence before a trial, agreeing that the case has drawn “extraordinary” public attention.

Graf held a closed hearing on Oct. 24 in which attorneys discussed Robinson’s courtroom attire and security protocols. Under a subsequent ruling by the judge, Robinson is allowed to wear street clothes in court during his pretrial hearings but must be physically restrained due to security concerns. Graf also prohibited media from filming or photographing Robinson’s restraints after his attorneys argued widespread images of him shackled and in jail clothing could prejudice future jurors.

Several university students who witnessed Kirk’s assassination attended Thursday’s hearing.

Zack Reese, a Utah Valley University student and “big Charlie Kirk fan,” said he had skepticism about Robinson’s arrest and came to the hearing seeking answers. Reese has family in southwestern Utah, where the Robinsons are from, and said he believes they’re a good family.

Brigham Young University student William Brown, who said he was about 10 feet from Kirk when he was shot, said he felt overwhelmed seeing Robinson walk into the courtroom Thursday.

“I witnessed a huge event, and my brain is still trying to make sense of it,” Brown said. “I feel like being here helps it feel more real than surreal.”

Michael Judd, an attorney for the media coalition, has urged Graf to let the news organizations weigh in on any future requests for closed hearings or other limitations.

The media presence at Utah hearings is already limited, with judges often designating one photographer and one videographer to document a hearing and share their images with other news organizations. Additional journalists can typically attend to listen and take notes, as can members of the public.

Judd wrote in recent filings that an open court “safeguards the integrity of the fact-finding process” while fostering public confidence in judicial proceedings. Criminal cases in the U.S. have long been open to the public, which he argued is proof that trials can be conducted fairly without restricting reporters as they work to keep the public informed.

Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, has called for full transparency, saying, “We deserve to have cameras in there.” Her husband was an ally of President Donald Trump who worked to steer young voters toward conservatism.

Robinson’s legal team says his pretrial publicity reaches as far as the White House, with Trump announcing soon after Robinson’s arrest, “With a high degree of certainty, we have him,” and “I hope he gets the death penalty.”

Attorney Kathy Nester has raised concern that digitally altered versions of Robinson’s initial court photo have spread widely, creating misinformation about the case. Some altered images show Robinson crying or having an outburst in court, which did not happen.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/11/accused-charlie-kirk-killer-first-court-apperance/ 

Starbucks employees at the 1448 Naperville Wheaton Road store in Naperville have voted 12-5 to join Starbucks Workers United, the union that represents more than 11,000 baristas at over 560 stores across the country.

They represent the first Starbucks in Naperville — and the 41st in Illinois — to unionize.

The vote comes as Starbucks union baristas across the country continue to strike against the company, with 36 Starbucks locations in 34 cities joining the nationwide movement Thursday. Naperville was not among the list of stores that joined the strike.

“Inspired by their co-workers taking action to demand a fair contract and an end to unfair labor practices, the Naper and Ogden partners join a growing nationwide movement of Starbucks baristas working together to win a real voice on the job and the support and protections they need to succeed,” Starbucks Workers United said in a news release on the vote.

In a separate news release issued Thursday, Starbucks Workers United said more than 3,800 union baristas across more than 180 stores in over 130 cities have joined the picket line as workers protest unfair labor practices, marking the longest unfair labor practices strike in the company’s history.

In Illinois, unionized Starbucks locations in eight cities have joined the strike, including  Aurora, Geneva, Chicago and Evanston, according to a memo from the union.

On Wednesday, Starbucks Workers United announced the start of a two-day strike at locations across the Loop and River North neighborhoods in Chicago, with the intention of keeping pickets running day and night until Friday morning.

Starbucks Workers United would not say if workers at the newly unionized Naperville location plan to strike, but said “workers expect to grow their efforts if Starbucks stays dug-in.”

Starbucks spokeswoman Jaci Anderson said the company respects the Naperville store’s choice to be represented by a union and “will continue to work together to make Starbucks the best job in retail.”

There have been occasional union strikes against the company since 2022, but the current one is part of a larger effort to push Starbucks to negotiate the first labor contract between the union and the company.

In December 2023, Starbucks vowed to finalize an agreement with the union by the end of 2024. But in August 2024, the company ousted Laxman Narasimhan, the CEO who made that promise. The union said progress has stalled under Brian Niccol, the company’s current chairman and CEO. The two sides haven’t been at the bargaining table since April.

On Nov. 13, more than 1,000 unionized Starbucks employees at 65 U.S. stores went on strike. While there were strikes that took place before, including in Aurora, the Nov. 13 protest marked the beginning of the current open-ended strike. The nationwide protest was intended to disrupt Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day, where the company gives out a free, reusable cup to customers who buy a holiday drink — one of the busiest days of the year for the company.

Starbucks maintains that the ongoing strike activity has not had any major disruption on their operations.

“Fewer than 1% of our 17,000 U.S. coffeehouses were ever affected,” Anderson said.

The union claims Starbucks continues to refuse to come to the bargaining table to address their core demands, including higher take-home pay, better hours to improve store staffing and a resolution to address outstanding unfair labor practices filed for union busting.

Workers say that long wait times continue to be a problem at stores due in part to understaffing. According to the memo from Starbucks Workers United, the average barista usually gets assigned to less than 20 hours of work a week, leaving them unable to qualify for benefits.

Union reps also say the contract they are seeking would cost less than $80 million to finalize, which they say is less than what company executives are making and less than the $81 million the company spent in June on a conference in Las Vegas for 14,000 store managers and regional leaders.

Union employees also want the company to resolve hundreds of unfair labor practice charges filed by workers, claiming Starbucks has fired baristas in retaliation for unionizing and has failed to bargain over changes in policy that workers must enforce, like its decision earlier this year to limit restroom use to paying customers.

Last month, Starbucks’ Chief Partner Officer Sara Kelly said the union walked away from negotiations and that the company would like to return to the bargaining table. Kelly also said in her letter that the company offers significant wages and benefits, including 18 weeks’ paid family leave and 100% tuition coverage for a four-year college beginning at an average of 20 hours per week.

“We know pay and benefits are important. That’s why Starbucks offers the best overall wage and benefits package in retail, worth on average $30 per hour for hourly partners,” Kelly said.

Some of the union’s proposals would significantly alter Starbucks’ operations, such as giving workers the ability to shut down mobile ordering if a store has more than five orders in the queue, she said.

A spokesperson for Starbucks also said more than 166,000 U.S. partners – about 85% of the company’s partners – are receiving their preferred staffing hours. Starbucks also claims their current employee turnover is half the industry standard, a record low for the company.

“The facts show people like working at Starbucks,” Kelly said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

cstein@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/11/naperville-starbucks-unionized-ongoing-strikes/ 

The village of Lincolnwood has made a community call for student volunteers to participate in the year-round Rescue Rangers program, which provides assistance to senior and disabled residents.

“It’s a great way for the younger people to get involved and help those in need,” Assistant Village Manager Madeline Farrell told Pioneer Press. “It’s a great way for the community to show support to our residents who are limited for one reason or another.”

Rescue Rangers, which Farrell said receives a lot of wintertime requests for assistance with snow removal, seeks middle and high school students in Lincolnwood to volunteer for the program.

“These are usually students who are not yet driving so we usually are pairing them with somebody in their neighborhood or close by,” Farrell said. “The program was set up to seek the student volunteer population and help them get involved and provide help for those in need.”

Farrell said the number of volunteers has fluctuated since Rescue Rangers began during the winter season 20 years ago with 17 volunteers.

“Every year since 2005, we continue to have seniors sign up and volunteers sign up,” Farrell said.

According to Farrell, seven senior citizens, including at least two seniors who signed up in 2024, have requested assistance from Rescue Rangers in 2025 and there is one volunteer so far for this year’s program.

“Residents in the community sign up if they need support for certain tasks.” Farrell said. “That might include shoveling snow, walking pets, bringing garbage cans to and from the curb, small gardening, etc.”

Farrell explained that those residents are paired with a Rescue Rangers volunteer based on location.

“Local students – middle and high school students – are volunteering their time and just basically raising their hands and saying, ‘I’d like to help,’” Farrell said.

Rescue Rangers, which Farrell said has been running pretty smoothly, has had standout successes through the years.

Farrell said a village trustee told at a recent Village Board meeting about how a person helped by a volunteer ended up writing a letter of recommendation for the volunteer.

“So a nice relationship was formed and there was real support provided on both sides,” Farrell said.
Volunteers in Rescue Rangers receive compensation while also making a difference in the community.

“We generally recommend about $10 an hour but it is negotiated between the senior and the volunteer. That’s handled entirely without the village,” Farrell said.

Students who want to volunteer for the program, and senior or disabled residents who lack the physical or financial ability to complete daily tasks and want to hire a Rescue Ranger, may reach out to the village.

Registration for the program is also available on the village website.

“It’s a fun way to give back and connect with neighbors,” officials stated in a Nov. 11 call for volunteers that was posted on the village’s Facebook page.

Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/11/lincolnwood-ranger-program-aids-seniors-disabled/ 

Asset Purchases Begin: Fed To Buy $8.2BN In Bills Friday; Full Monthly Schedule Released

Tyler Durden
Thu, 12/11/2025 – 16:02

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/asset-purchases-begin-fed-buy-82bn-bills-friday-full-monthly-schedule-released 

During the City Council meeting earlier this month, Park Ridge city leaders reviewed early results from an ongoing parking study, which so far revealed parking challenges and no clear avenue to resolve them.

The study, started in the fall and still underway, is being done by Hoffman Estates-based Walker Consultants. The city is seeking to find ways to improve parking in the Uptown Area. After this section of the city is complete, the company will move to review parking in other areas of Park Ridge.

The bottom line, according to the study’s preliminary findings, is that parking is challenging in parts of the north suburban city, especially on popular days — like the farmers market operating day — and there’s no clear remediating solution yet.

Options the city could consider, however, could be a construction of a parking garage or paid parking in the popular areas in Uptown, according to the consultants.

City leaders made no decisions at the Dec. 1 meeting and aren’t expected to revisit the issue until January.

Andrew Baglini, the parking and mobility consultant for Walker, said since the COVID-19 pandemic, Park Ridge has become a destination for some non-residents. As a result, parking in the Uptown area is getting choked, “throughout the year, but particularly in the summer and warmer months.”

He said on-street parking is limited, especially on major streets of the Uptown area – which includes the area surrounding the public library and south of the train tracks.

Baglini pointed out the tracks act as a barrier for foot traffic, with motorists preferring to park on one side of them for shopping or dining, while the library parking lot, which across the tracks, offers one of the largest public lots in the area.

“South of the tracks we’re approaching capacity already and we’re projecting a parking deficit for … south of the tracks,” he said.

Baglini said one option could be instituting a paid parking area, though he cautioned against that, saying Park Ridge isn’t well suited for that. He suggested instead building up the existing commuter lot on Prairie Avenue, which is already the popular parking spot for farmers market attendees. Or, he said, the city could possibly develop a lot on Euclid Avenue.

But Prairie Avenue, he said, is “a great location.”

Eric Haggett, another consultant with the firm, also suggested getting all parking regulations and rules aligned so time limits and restrictions matched across the city.

Baglini went on to explain that Walker Consultants has interviewed residents, visitors, merchants, restaurant owners and others, both in-person and online. Additionally, the city hosted a public forum in November and still has a survey on its website seeking input.

“We had a huge response rate,” he said.

Among the highlights, Baglini said 52% of traffic comes from visitors, which he said is high for suburbs, and 83% of the visitors come to Park Ridge at least once a week.

City Manager Joe Gilmore said the parking study would be available online for residents to review.

Jesse Wright is a freelancer.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/11/park-ridge-city-council-parking-study/ 

A Cedar Lake woman is facing a low-level felony after she admitted spending $1,700 worth of unauthorized purchases on a Cub Scouts debit card.

Amber Pfiel, 35, was charged Dec. 8 with one count of theft, a level 6 felony. She made the purchases between Dec. 10, 2024 and June 20, 2025.

A judge ordered her release on an ankle monitor Wednesday, according to court records. Her next hearing is Jan. 21 before Lake Superior Judge Nicholas Schiralli.

According to court filings, Katherine Lomberger, a Cub Scouts chairwoman, went to the police after she tried to buy something and the Centier bank account was overdrawn. Pfiel was the only other person with the organization’s debit card.

Their bank identified unusual transactions at Target, La Gaviota Supermercado and Strack and Van Til.

Pfiel claimed to Lomberger and Cub Master Ryan Nolan that she lost the debit card. During a later police interview on June 27, she said the first few times she mistakenly used the card, then continued when she wasn’t caught.

At one point, she deposited $1,200 into the account. After that deposit, police estimated $1,700 was the final total missing.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/11/cedar-lake-woman-charged-after-spending-money-on-cub-scouts-debit-card/ 

Matthew Sokolowski, 34, of Palos Park is charged with two counts of attempted murder following a Nov. 24 attack against two people, described in court documents as his adoptive parents.

The Cook County sheriff’s police responded to reports of a stabbing at about 9 a.m. Nov. 24 to the 12000 block of South Newport Drive in unincorporated Palos Township.

The victims were an elderly woman with wounds to her face and an elderly man with multiple stab wounds, police said. Both were taken to a hospital for treatment.

In a petition seeking detention of Sokolowski, prosecutors said Sokolowski punched his mother in the face, shattering the mug of coffee she was drinking from, and proceeded to batter her with another coffee cup. When the other victim, his father, attempted to intervene, Sokolowski stabbed him multiple times with a kitchen knife until the knife snapped into two pieces, the document said.

Sokolowski’s mother suffered a fractured skull, a concussion and lacerations to her face and head, while his father was stabbed 11 times in the neck and 4 times in the shoulder, the document said.

Sokolowski called 911 and waited with his parents until first responders arrived, according to the court filing. After being taken into custody, Sokolowski was also taken to Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital for treatment of a hand injury.

Cook County Judge William Fahy ordered Sokolowski be held at the county jail while the case is pending. His next court hearing is Dec. 19.

Sokolowski has a prior felony conviction for aggravated domestic battery resulting from a 2009 incident when he physically assaulted his then-girlfriend during an argument, according to court records. He was sentenced to 30 months of probation.

elewis@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/11/palos-park-attempted-murder-parents/ 

Elgin police said they have no evidence that people threw “rocks and bottles” at ICE agents during an hours-long effort to take a man into custody last weekend or that Elgin police officers “refused to help protect law enforcement.”

The police department is conducting its own investigation into the allegations made Monday by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement about what they experienced as they conducted a federal immigration enforcement operation on Dec. 6 in the 1600 block of Maple Lane, including physical attacks on agents.

It is also investigating complaints made by residents about the actions of ICE agents.

In a statement about the preliminary findings posted on Facebook early Thursday morning, the police department said body camera footage from all of its officers at the scene has been reviewed and there was one incident documented in which a water bottle was thrown at an ICE vehicle.

“The water container strikes the rear window of the federal agent’s vehicle and bounces as the vehicle is driving away,” the statement said.

A review of online social media posts and video also showed a bystander who “picks up what appears to be a snowball from the ground and then throws it at a federal agent’s vehicle,” officials said.

Body camera footage also shows “some federal agents, while walking to their vehicles, were simultaneously deploying what appears to be crowd control munitions,” the statement said.

The police department received more than 50 calls related to the incident in which Luis Jesus Acosta Gutierrez, whom ICE officials say is a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, after he allegedly rammed an ICE agent’s vehicle into a tree in the 1600 block of West Highland Avenue, escaped from an ICE vehicle and later held agents at bay during a standoff at the Maple Avenue apartment.

Eight police reports have been made and are being investigated in reference to incidents related to the crash and standoff, including people being struck by pepper balls and exposed to “other chemical irritants” and from ICE agents, including one from the crash.

“Elgin police officers assisted Elgin firefighters in providing medical treatment for that exposure, and seven persons were treated and released on scene,” the statement said. “The Elgin police department filed six police reports for persons stating they were either struck or had been exposed to chemical irritants.”

The police department issued the statement because “our main priority is transparency with the community,” Elgin Police Department spokesman Sgt. Hector Gutierrez said. “If they are making that allegation, we need to be transparent and say this is what happened.”

One of the complaints came from a “federal agent supervisor who was not at the incident site (and) called the Elgin Police Department alleging bricks were being thrown at federal agents and that tires were being slashed,” the police statement said. “An Elgin police supervisor on the scene at the time of that call did not observe any such activity.”

A review of the footage did show that an ICE agent grabbing a man from the crowd and throwing him to the ground after the man made a move against the agents, Guttierez said.

While the police cannot assist or interfere with any federal agent conducting federal immigration enforcement under the Illinois TRUST Act unless they have a federal warrant, officer will intervene if they “see an agent is acting maliciously,” he said.

“We encourage people 100% to call us. We want people not to be afraid to call us,” Gutierrez said.

The police investigation is ongoing, he said. “We still have to review a bunch of videos from officers’ cameras and videos we got from the public,” he said.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/11/elgin-police-ice-standoff-investigation-bottles/ 

More than 2,000 participants were registered for the annual “Lincolnwood Turkey Trot” 5K and 10K race in Lincolnwood, stepping off in what organizers say was a sell-out event.

Race Director Julie Glowacki, who is also a recreation supervisor for the Lincolnwood Parks and Recreation Department, told Pioneer Press the amount of registrants this year matched the 2024 count.

“This year it will be a sell-out race,” said Glowacki about what is billed as a chip-timed, USA Track & Field-certified 5K and 10K.

Penelope Hutchison, from left, Lincolnwood police Chief Jay Parrott and Danielle Stryjak lead the 100-yard Drumstick Dash Nov. 23, 2025 at the annual “Turkey Trot” 5K and 10K race at Proesel Park in Lincolnwood. (Talia Sprague/for Pioneer Press)

Collin Frye, of Park Ridge, won the men’s 5K category of the “Turkey Trot” 5K and 10K race held Nov. 23, 2025 at Proesel Park in Lincolnwood. (Talia Sprague/for Pioneer Press)

The Lincolnwood tradition, which also includes a 5K fitness walk and “Drumstick Dash” open to ages 6 and younger, began and ended in Proesel Park.

“The goal of our event is to really bring the community together, not just the Lincolnwood community but surrounding communities as well,” Glowacki said.

Glowacki said this year’s event, emceed by Dave Kappas, included participants from Skokie, Niles, Evanston, Park Ridge and Elgin, and Chicago neighborhoods such as Sauganash.

According to Glowacki, this 49th year of the race also has drawn registrants from Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Brazil.

“It’s pretty cool to see how far people will come out for this race. It’s really energizing,” Glowacki said.

The majority of participants did the 5K run, which Glowacki said just days before the race’s start had around 1,200 registrants for the 3.1-mile course while the 10K run had about 440 racers. The 5K walk had nearly 400 registrants and the Drumstick Dash had around 100 sign-ups as of the days immediately preceding the race.

“It’s about bringing families in the community together on a Sunday morning, plus a kickoff to the holiday season. Thanksgiving is a few days later,” Glowacki said. “It gets us in the spirit of being together and celebrating winter holidays together.”

Rebecca Markham, of Palatine, wins the women’s 5K category in the annual “Turkey Trot” 5K and 10K race Nov. 23, 2025 at Proesel Park in Lincolnwood. (Talia Sprague/for Pioneer Press)

According to Glowacki, the 2025 Turkey Trot had about 100 volunteers, including village staffers lending their time during their off-hours, groups of friends needing school service hours, and Lincolnwood Baseball Association and Lincolnwood Girl Scouts both assisting at water stops.

“We rely heavily on them,”Glowacki said about volunteers. “We absolutely need them. They are wonderful. They keep our runners safe and they keep our streets safe.”

Glowacki said each participant who completed the flat course received a finisher’s medal while first-, second- and third-place male and female finishers in each distance and age division ranging from the low 1 to 14 to the high 85 to 89 also get race medals.

Eight overall winners – which Glowacki broke down as the fastest male and female finishers in the 5K and 10K and fastest male and female Lincolnwood resident finishers in the 5K and 10K – also received coffee mugs commemorating their achievements.

“We get people that do this every single year, a lot of repeat participants, as well as a lot of new people,” Glowacki said.

The Turkey Trot, which Glowacki said raises money to support Parks and Recreation Departmen programs, also features a coat drive and a toiletry drive for Niles Township.

“It really brings all of the village staff together,” Glowacki said. “We all come together for race day.”

Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/11/runners-and-walkers-round-the-course-in-the-turkey-trot-race-at-proesel-park-in-lincolnwood/