The Editor Speaks

Hey, Benchmakers! Share Your 'Benches on the Avenue' Preview With Us

Hey, Benchcrafters! Want to show off your work before the Benches on the Avenue debut tomorrow all up and down Oak Park Avenue? Then share your photos with us, just like Garrett Gray and Phillip "Pa" Gerk did. To post your photos, click "Add your photos & videos" below the pictures. Give us a peek behind the scenes of all the work that went into this year's Benches on the Avenue.

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Police Blotter: Shoplifter Tries Same Store; Drunken Driver Hits Car, Pulls Into Different Bar

Tinley Park police reports, May 5-8.

SUNDAY, MAY 8 Someone stole six cartons of cigarettes from an unlocked car parked in front of a home on the 18000 block of Goesel Drive, Tinley Park, between 6:15 and 9:30 p.m. May 8, police said. The total value of the cigarettes was $300, police said. SATURDAY, MAY 7 Someone broke off the top of a curbside mailbox at a home on the 8800 block of Glenshire Street, Tinley Park, at 11:40 p.m. May 7, police said. A neighbor saw a sports car race away after the neighbor and the residents both heard a loud bang, police said. FRIDAY, MAY 6 Someone punctured all four tires on a car parked in the lot of a condominium building on the 7500 block of 175th Street, Tinley Park, between 7 and 11:30 p.m. May 6, police said. Someone smashed the window of …

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Tinley Park Home Prices Drop 5.2% in Cook County

Single-family home prices fell last year in 238 of 252 Chicago-area zip codes tracked by Fiserv Inc., according to a Crain's Chicago Business report.

Home prices in Tinley Park's 60477 ZIP code dropped 5.2 percent last year, but that's far from the biggest drop in the Chicago region. According to Crain's Chicago Business, 238 of 252 Chicago-area zip codes tracked by Fiserv Inc. saw their home prices fall in 2010, with the overall drop being about 5.2 percent. In a video covering the prices drops, a Crain's reporter said the biggest declines were in the city's southside neighborhoods. South suburban Harvey suffered the biggest drop at 19.6 percent. Here's a breakdown of local towns. The Crain's report said there was insufficient data for Tinley Park's 60487 ZIP.

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Today's Cheapest Gas in Tinley Park: $4.38

Every weekday until gas gets back under $4 a gallon, Patch will bring you GasBuddy's lowest local gas price.

Prices are for one gallon of regular gas. $4.38 Marathon at 16836 Oak Park Ave. (Was $4.43 on Friday) $4.38 Delta Sonic at 6800 159th St. (Was $4.44 on Friday) $4.38 7-Eleven at 16658 Oak Park Ave. (Was $4.44 on Friday) $4.39 Speedway at 7201 183rd St. (Was $4.43 on Friday) $4.39 7-Eleven at 7601 159th St. (Was $4.44 on Friday) $4.39 Shell at 17101 Harlem Ave. (Was $4.49 on Friday) $4.41 Shell at 8401 159th St. (Was $4.46 on Friday) $4.45 Gas City at 18460 80th Ave. (Was $4.45 on Friday) $4.49 Mobil at 16701 Oak Park Ave. (Was $4.55 on Friday) Source: ChicagoGasPrices.com by GasBuddy

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Tinley Business Spotlight

Business Evolution: Tinley Company Went From Typewriters to High-Tech Office Equipment

From typewriters to copiers, one local company is standing the test of time and generations.

Martin Whalen Office Solutions’ showroom in their Tinley Park headquarters, 18630 S. 81st Ave., is stocked with wall-to-wall equipment, a far cry from the two typewriters that started the company more than 70 years ago. Joseph McGrath started McGrath Office Equipment in 1936 with two typewriters. He learned how to fix typewriters as a trade after only receiving a grade-school education. So when the opportunity to open a business arose, he jumped on it. For three generations since then, the family has provided office equipment and repair services to businesses. Today, they serve the south suburbs and Will and Kankakee Counties with business solutions and technology tools that allow the companies to be as “efficient and productive” as …

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