Oak Park-River Forest High School
Class Of 1962

Saturday activities

The high school is having FREE tour(s) starting at 9:30  a.m. on Saturday, the 1st. If you want to take the tour be at the Scoville entrance at 9:30 prompty.  The school is being rehabbed and some parts of the building may be inaccessible. 

Russell's is still open and the food is the same althought the prices have increased. Johnny's, further east on North ave,. is still open and the food and atmosphere are the same. 

If you want to have lunch close to the hotel on Saturday that is reasonably priced and good. The Greek Islands restaurant in Lombard is about 3 miles away. Address: 300  E  22nd St., Lombard, 60149.Phone 630-932-4545

The Hemingway House Tour. Tourists should contact boblglass@mac.com for scheduling on Saturday, the 1st. The tour(s) last an hour and costs $18. Bob can be reached at 708-224-1129 if needed. The first tour will be @ 1:30p.m. ,and on the half hour as needed.

The Mob Tour is available on Saturday@ 1 p.m. The Tour guide is John Binder.  Below is a document he sent to me for placement on the site. 

OPRF Class of 1962

The Oak Park River Forest Gangster Tour

Ladies and Gentlemen, on October 1, 2022 at 1 pm a custom tour is available (by special arrangement) to your high school reunion class of the Oak Park River Forest Gangster Tour known as ‘There Goes the Neighbor Hood.’

Come One, Come All, and bring your friends and relatives with you!

This exterior tour, guided by historian and author John Binder, visits 13 houses in these two suburbs which were previously owned by major organized crime figures, such as Tony Accardo, Paul Ricca, Sam Giancana, Sam “Teets” Battaglia, and "Machine Gun Jack" McGurn. He will discuss the criminal careers of the former owners, the interesting features of each home (he has been in 10 of them), the family's time there, and answer questions from the audience. The tour is about two hours and thirty minutes long, and it is a deep immersion into the history of organized crime in Chicago from Prohibition to almost the 1990s.

“Being an avid student of organized crime in Chicago and a former investigator, this tour brings to life the crimes and characters right from the files of the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD) and the Chicago Crime Commission (CCC)!” said Wayne Johnson, a former member of the CPD’s Intelligence Unit who later was the Chief Investigator for the CCC and is the author of A History of Violence (LLR Books, 2014).

“I really enjoyed the ‘There Goes the Neighborhood Tour.’ John is extremely knowledgeable about the subject,” Matt Luzi, author of The Boys in Chicago Heights said. “He's well prepared and provides a handout of the sites on the tour. What's interesting is that he's able to tell stories and provide details about the sites that are not available in his or other books.”

“He engages the tour guests by answering questions,” Luzi added. “He also recognizes that certain folks with personal stories about the subject take his tour, and he'll encourage them to share their stories.”

The tour is by bus with no walking required. The bus departs from and returns to 1422 Monroe Ave. in River Forest, which is about three blocks west of Harlem Ave. and a block and a half south of North Ave. There is ample parking available on the street in front of that address. Please try to arrive 15 minutes early so that we can check you in.

Please go to https://www.chitowngangstertours.com/tours/oak-park-river-forest-gangster-tour/ to book tickets. Tickets are $45 per person. For further information, please contact John Binder at 708-287-9118 or at wsidejack@yahoo.com.

It would be greatly appreciated if you bought your tickets early so that I (John Binder) can rent the right sized bus. To facilitate this, I will probably close the ticket sales for the tour on or about Sept. 21, 2022. Thank you for your consideration!

John Binder is the author of Al Capone’s Beer Wars (Prometheus Press, 2017) and The Chicago Outfit (Arcadia, 2003). He has extensively researched the history of organized crime in Chicago and has served as the historical consultant on a number of cable television programs. John has also worked as a consultant to the Chicago History Museum and the Vegas Mob Museum. 

                                                                       FINE [END in Italiano]

For those who are interested in playing golf on the premises  and other hotel amenities here is a link for further information: [Might have to  copy and paste.]

https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/chibhhh-hilton-chicago-oak-brook-hills-resort-and-conference-center/  

Listed examples:

• Connecting Rooms ... Free Parking ... Free WiFi ... Non-smoking Rooms ... Digital Key .Concierge . . .Golf ...Resort ... Executive Lounge ... On-site restaurant ... Indoor Pool     Outdoor pool ... Fitness Center ... RooM Service ... Business Center ... Pets Not allowed

There will be an executive suite which will be our hospitality suite. That means, FREE:

 Beer, wine, soft drinks, bottled water, and cocktail food. Examples, Pretzels, Chex Mix, Crackers, and Cheese, compliments of Bob McLaren. Presently I do nOt know what the room number is because it is assigned when I check in on Friday,  the 30th. Hard liquor? BYOB.  It will be open as close as possible to when our events are not scheduled, Meet & Greet, and the Dinner.

Any questions? Send me a private message to my profille. click on "Send a private message" under my graduation picture.

Bob.