North Riverside Park Mall, 7501 Cermak Road, is poised to reopen the shopping center doors to walk-in customers on Friday, June 5 under protocols very similar to those that were in place until the mall closed in late March due to the governor's stay-at-home order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Illinois will advance to the "recovery" phase of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's plan to incrementally reopen the state's economy on Friday after almost 70 days of residents living under a stay-at-home restriction.

With Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker expected to announce that the state is ready to move into Phase 3 of his Restore Illinois plan, the Riverside Village Board on May 27 is expected to pass an ordinance that will allow local restaurants the ability to use public rights of way to maximize the amount of outdoor dining space available to local restaurants.

The COVID-19 pandemic will influence the operation of the Brookfield Farmers Market, which is set to open on Saturday, June 6 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Market Manager Sarah Thomas has overseen the market for three years and says she's looking forward to bringing a safe and robust market to the community.

Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle has vetoed a resolution narrowly passed last week by county commissioners that directed the Cook County Department of Public Health to share with suburban first responders the address information of people known to have tested positive for COVID-19.

Riverside police saw the total number of major crimes it was called upon to investigate in 2019 drop for the sixth consecutive year. According to the village's Uniform Crime Report issued last week by Police Chief Thomas Weitzel, the total number of reportable incidents was down 4.8 percent, from 104 to 99.