A Special E-News Message from the Village President, Catherine M. Adduci

January, 29, 2021

A Special E-News Message from the Village President, Catherine M. Adduci

January 29, 2021

Dear River Forest Residents,

COVID-19 Vaccine

The Village will continue to share all vaccine distribution information with residents as we receive it from the Cook County Department of Health (CCDPH). At this time, COVID-19 vaccine doses remain limited. For more information, please reference the updates I provided in the Special E-News on Monday and Wednesday of this week.

Please remember:

The distribution of vaccines and management of the vaccine process is the responsibility of the CCDPH. The Village of River Forest is not distributing the COVID-19 vaccine. While we continue to stand ready to assist if needed, vaccine distribution is being managed by the CCDPH.
The Village of River Forest and the River Forest COVID-19 Senior Response Team continue to stand ready to assist if needed. At this time, we are working to help provide information to the community and answer questions to the best of our ability.
Please be patient - Appointments to receive the vaccine are being made available based on the number of doses received by Cook County and its partners. The supply of COVID-19 vaccine doses is extremely limited. As more supply is available, more appointments will be made available.

According to officials at CCDPH, residents that sign up through the portal and who are eligible to receive the vaccine, will receive email notifications about appointments that are available at sites nearest to them. Residents are also encouraged to check back on the County website (using the link provided in the confirmation email) to check for available appointments at other County facilities or with their private partners such as Jewel or Walgreens in River Forest.

If you have not already, please CLICK HERE TO SIGN-UP.

If you have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, please review the resources below and contact your primary care physician. You may also call the River Forest COVID-19 Senior Response Team at 708-613-1642 or Village Hall at 708-366-8500 during business hours, Monday through Friday 8am-4:30pm.

Both the IDPH and CCDPH have provided new portals containing vaccination data to monitor progress of the vaccine administration.

Illinois Department of Public Health Vaccine Data
Cook County Department of Public Health Vaccine Data (click “Vaccine Data”)

COVID-19 Cases

Between Sunday, January 17, and Saturday, January 23, River Forest had 17 new positive cases; 305 tests were completed, resulting in a positivity rate of 5.6%. The week before, from Sunday, January 10, to Saturday, January 16, there were 19 new positive cases of COVID-19; 427 tests were completed, resulting in a positivity rate of 4.4%. For more on COVID-19 data, please read a previous COVID-19 Update by clicking here.

The Village will continue to update you on COVID-19 case data. Residents can also view this by visiting the following sources:

Illinois Department of Public Health
Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH, click “Case Data by Town”)
Enigma Forensics (utilizing data from the IDPH and tracking it day-by-day)

COVID-19 Restrictions

Currently, Region 10 (which is Suburban Cook County, including River Forest) is in Tier 1 resurgence mitigations. For a detailed list of Tier 1 mitigations, click here. For more information about our Region’s Tier status, click here.

Under Tier 1, limited indoor restaurant and bar service is allowed as follows:

Indoor service limited to lesser of 25% room capacity or 25 persons
No tables exceeding 4 people indoors
Outdoor, delivery and takeout continues

Help local businesses and our community by following guidelines to stay healthy! Please click here to review all mitigation plan information.

COVID-19 Testing

Residents who have symptoms of COVID-19 or who have been exposed to confirmed cases of COVID-19 should quarantine and get tested. Residents are encouraged to contact their primary physicians to coordinate testing needs.

Local testing options in River Forest include:

CVS on the corner of North and Thatcher - Testing at CVS is by appointment only and is free to those who qualify after completing a COVID assessment. Appointments can be made online by clicking here.
Walgreens at 7251 Lake Street (Town Center) - Testing at Walgreens is by appointment only and is free to those who qualify, as well as with most insurance. Appointments can be made online by clicking here.
Midwest Express Clinic at 7343 Lake Street (in Town Center next to Panera). Midwest Express Clinic is testing all patients regardless of symptoms but the cost may vary depending on insurance; out-of-pocket, same-day pricing is $200. Individuals looking to schedule testing at Midwest Express Clinic must complete the online form here.

Other free, local, state-run COVID-19 testing sites are open to everyone regardless of symptoms or other criteria. No appointment, doctor referral or insurance is needed, and testing is free. Testing is crucial to identifying new cases and taking immediate action to prevent additional spread. The list of free, community-based testing sites is available by clicking here.

Residents may also choose to utilize or keep handy new, at-home COVID-19 tests, such as Abbott’s BinaxNOW Test which can be purchased online. This particular test is a convenient option that allows for testing to take place through an application to ensure that results are reported to public health agencies. These are antigen tests, which are not as sensitive as PCR or nucleic acid amplification tests. To better understand the different types of testing, please download this informational sheet from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Battery & Medicine Recycling

Did you know you can recycle alkaline batteries and unused and expired medications at Village Hall? Batteries are not suitable for landfills and cannot be placed in your residential recycling cart. Batteries used in small electronics (such as AA, AAA, etc.) can be brought to the front counter at Village Hall for recycling through Roy Strom. Please note the Village does not accept large batteries, such as car batteries, for recycling. Bringing old medications (prescription and over-the-counter) to collection sites is an environmentally safe method of disposal and keeps them from being used inappropriately. The Village has a collection site in the basement level of Village Hall. When bringing in medications for disposal, please remember to remove all personally identifying information from the packaging.

Shop River Forest

If you are able, please support local businesses. Shop local and help support our restaurants and businesses during these difficult times, especially through Takeout 25 Oak Park, a local campaign geared toward getting commitment from residents to spend $25 each week on takeout from local restaurants through the winter months.

Business Spotlight:

River Forest Chocolates is an artisan chocolate shop on Lake Street founded by River Forest resident Donna Fantetti-Slepicka in 2010 after her lifelong passion for baking, cooking and creating delicious sweets. The shop has grown since opening in 2011 and offers a wide variety of sweet treats and confections. Stop in for a treat for yourself or to find a wonderful gift!
In and Out Fitness is a full service fitness studio on Madison Street that is committed to providing safe, effective training to seasoned fitness enthusiasts and people thinking about getting started. The studio is packed with the latest fitness equipment and gear and is designed to help make your workout impactful and efficient. Contact the studio at 708-288-0756 for more information on personal training and bootcamp sessions.
River Forest Animal Hospital has been caring for pets in our community for over 50 years. They strive to deliver personalized care to all patients, and their services and facilities are designed to assist in routine preventive care for young, healthy pets, as well as early detection and treatment of diseases in senior animals. Visit their website or call 708-366-8370 to schedule services.

For more River Forest businesses, visit the Shop River Forest page of our website at vrf.us/ShopRF. Don't see a River Forest business listed on the Shop River Forest page? Want your business to be featured? Email info@vrf.us.

Sincerely,