LP_041819

12 | April 18, 2019 | the lockport legend news
lockportlegend.com
Police Reports
Three cited
for lack of
valid driver’s
licenses
Lockport Police Department
March 30
• Clarence Hogue, 28, of
the 900 block of Grand
Boulevard in Joliet, was
charged with speeding,
driving without a valid
driver’s license and operating
an uninsured motor
vehicle after being stopped
on State Street for allegedly
speeding.
March 29
• Alma Rodriguez, 37,
of the 400 block of Benton
Street in Joliet, was
charged with driving without
a valid driver’s license
after being stopped on
State Street for allegedly
speeding.
March 28
• Karen Espinoza, 21, of
the 23000 block of Lockport
Street in Plainfield,
was charged with driving
with a suspended license,
operating an uninsured
motor vehicle and improper
lighting after being
stopped on Division Street
for an alleged equipment
violation.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Lockport
Legend’s Police Reports
are compiled from official
reports found online on the
Will County Sheriff’s Office or
Lockport Police Department’s
website or releases issued
by the department and other
agencies. Individuals named
in these reports are considered
innocent of all charges
until proven guilty in a court
of law.
FROM THE ORLAND PARK PRAIRIE
Annual Military Expo puts
history, support on display
History buffs, families,
veterans and more were
invited to the Orland Park
Civic Center to enjoy a
day of good fun for a good
cause during the Orland
Park Veterans’ Commission’s
annual Military
Expo.
The collectibles show
and sale — held on April
7 — offered the opportunity
to view and purchase
historic military memorabilia.
The Will County
Railroad Club, Animal
Quest Petting Zoo and
Frankie the Dinosaur provided
added entertainment,
while Kruse’s Krew,
Mrs. Jacky’s Soldiers and
Twisted Sisters collected
items and “thank you”
cards to send to United
States troops overseas.
Proceeds raised from the
expo go toward the Veterans’
Commission’s ongoing
mission to support
veterans and members of
the military with programs
and events. Orland Park
Veterans’ Commission
Chairman Darryl Wertheim
explained that, with
the expo, the group aims
to raise awareness for veterans
initiatives while providing
a day of family fun.
“It’s a patriotic event,”
Wertheim said. “Our hope
is to bring families and
children out to have some
fun and to understand
about veterans and the service
groups that are here...
The object is to bring interest,
and people may want
to join the groups and participate.
That’s what it’s all
about.”
Reporting by Laurie Fanelli,
Freelance Reporter. For
more, visit OPPrairie.com.
FROM THE FRANKFORT STATION
Frankfort man reportedly
threatened at gunpoint in
robbery attempt
The Will County Sheriff’s
Office is seeking the
public’s help in identifying
two men who allegedly attempted
to rob a Frankfort
resident at gunpoint on
April 9.
A 21-year-old Frankfort
man contacted deputies at
around 4 p.m. April 9 to
report the incident, which
he said took place on a
walking trail roughly 150
yards from the intersection
of Thistle Lane and Arran
Drive, according to Will
County Sheriff’s Office
spokesperson Kathy Hoffmeyer.
The man said an unknown
male subject approached
him from behind
and asked him for money.
When the man denied the
request and continued
walking, the unknown
man became angry, pulled
out a black pistol, held the
gun to the victim’s forehead
and told him that he
was going to “blow his
brains out,” according to
Hoffmeyer.
The man then slapped
the pistol away from the
offender, causing the gun
to fall onto the ground, and
the two men began a physical
altercation, Hoffmeyer
said. A second unknown
male subject then reportedly
arrived and began to
push the man off of the
alleged offender, who fled
on foot, while the second
subject reportedly entered
a teal-colored, two-door
sedan-type vehicle with
no rear license plate and
drove southbound on Arran
Drive.
The first alleged offender
was described as an 18-
to 20-year-old man with
tan skin and brown hair,
roughly 5-foot-8 and 170
pounds, wearing brown
gardening gloves. The
man described the second
subject as an approximately
20-year-old blond,
white male.
Reporting by Nuria Mathog,
Editor. For more, visit
FrankfortStation.com.
FROM THE MOKENA MESSENGER
Three-town partnership
would promote I-80
corridor
A three-village effort
aimed at jointly marketing
the Interstate 80 corridor
received verbal support
from Mokena officials
April 8 during the work
session that followed the
regularly scheduled Village
of Mokena Board of
Trustees meeting.
A vote on the proposed
intergovernmental agreement
between Mokena,
Tinley Park and Orland
Park is scheduled for later
this month. It is related to
the coordinated marketing
and attraction of businesses
to the I-80 corridor, and
the Village would contribute
$10,000 from its Tourism
Fund.
Mayor Frank Fleischer
brought up the item during
the work session, as he
and Trustee Debbie Engler
have been meeting with
Tinley Park and Orland
Park officials over the last
few months about the proposed
partnership.
“We’re going to market
the whole corridor together,”
Fleischer said. “Any
of the information we put
together is going to be generic,
and it’s going to include
the whole corridor.
It’s not going to single out
any particular municipality.
“What has been really
nice about it since we’ve
been involved with them,
the other two communities
are big enough so that
they do a lot of this stuff
in-house already.”
Reporting by Jon
DePaolis, Freelance
Reporter. For more, visit
MokenaMessenger.com.
FROM THE NEW LENOX PATRIOT
Silver Cross Hospital to
get major expansion
Silver Cross Hospital
received approval from
the State of Illinois in
December to establish an
open-heart surgery program.
Surgeries will commence
at the New Lenox
campus in May, but because
of space constraints,
operating rooms are
booked late into the evening,
with some starting
as late as 8 p.m. To remedy
this, the hospital plans
to construct a new, 30,000
square-foot addition to
the Procedural Care Unit
to house the new cardiac
facility.
The expansion is to
include two new operating
rooms, two recovery
rooms and a special
“hybrid room,” outfitted
with specialized imaging
equipment and that can
be used for minimally invasive
surgery. The lower
floor of the structure is to
include a 14-bed cardiac
care unit and will be connected
to the surgical floor
by an elevator.
Prior to receiving
open-heart approval, the
hospital was able to perform
smaller cardiac procedures
but had to send
patients to neighboring
hospitals for open-heart
surgeries.
The project has an anticipated
completion date
of August 2020.
Reporting by Jessie
Molloy, Freelance
Reporter. For more, visit
NewLenoxPatriot.com.
FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION
World War II veteran,
Tinley resident to turn 100
Mario Monocchio has
experienced a few milestones.
Serving in World War II.
Raising a family. Retiring
after a long career.
But on Saturday, April
20, the Tinley Park resident
is set to experience
one like no other: celebrating
his 100th birthday.
“I feel like I’m 75,”
Monocchio said with a
laugh, explaining he never
expected to live so long. “I
feel pretty good. I’m doing
all right.”
Monocchio’s daughter
Karen McDillon, with
whom he lives, plans to
host an open house that
day and has invited members
of the local VFW post
to visit.
Monocchio was drafted
into the Army and served
from May 1943 until November
1945, fighting as a
member of the 34th Infantry
Division in Italy, Mc-
Dillon said.
Asked about his longevity,
McDillon said her
father drinks about seven
cups of coffee and eats
several doughnuts every
day. Never a smoker or
drinker, Monocchio said
he was considering enjoying
a glass of beer on his
birthday.
The family does not
know his date of birth with
total certainty. While they
are sure he was born in
late April 1919, his mother
did not keep the official
records, and his birthday
could be April 20 or 24,
McDillon said. Exact dates
aside, there is no questioning
Monocchio has lived a
long, notable life.
“God’s given him a little
gift,” McDillon said.
Reporting by Will O’Brien,
Freelance Reporter. For
more, visit TinleyJunction.
com.