Accountability
Forest Preserves
Public Safety
Cook County Budget
Forest Pres. Budget
Property Tax Appeal
Health & Hospitals
Policy Resolutions

Sharon Grill did the unimaginable after her seventh child, Mary Jo, was born with spina bifida in 1975. The Orland Park mother banished pity and doubt and opened the home she shares with husband, Keith, to eight more children, seven of whom were afflicted with birth defects like Down syndrome and spina bifida. Grill, 62, became a champion for adopted and handicapped children, and wrote her village's "Disability Awareness" brochure. Grill and 16 other women were honored by the Cook County Commission on Women's Issues with "Unsung Heroine" Awards Tuesday at the Chicago Cultural Center. "I've very humbled to be honored along with these women," Grill said after receiving her award. "It's great to work [with] these children. They can do a lot if given the chance." Mary Jo Grill, now 29, is a successful school social worker in south suburban Manhattan, her mother added. Other recipients included Ruth Montrose, an 89-year-old godmother and mentor to 50, and Adelia Hurley, 83, who opened the first day care center in Pilsen in 1975. "Our heroines are drawn from our diverse communities. They are women whose contributions have been vital, but seldom recognized." Cook County Board President John Stroger said at the awards ceremony. Also receiving awards Tuesday were: Tara Jenkins, first lady of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago; Pat DeBonnett, executive director of the Greater Roseland Community Development Corporation; Juanita Rutues, an Austin neighborhood activist; Annetta Wilson, executive director of Sankofa Safe Child Initiative; Rosalind Wolff, a Flossmoor-based advocate for battered women and their children; Emma Lozano, president of Pueblo Sin Fronteras and its partners, Centro Sin Fronteras and the Sin Fronteras Law Program; Mary Ann Tate, a Park Ridge activist; Andrea S. Kramer, an attorney who chairs the Women's Treatment Center; Rosa Hudson, a Beverly neighborhood activist; Wendy Jo Harmston, president of the North River Commission; Muriel M. Chalem, a Jewish leader and arts supporter in Evanston; Patricia Glass, a community volunteer in the Palatine area; Evelyn Osowski, a Chicago area volunteer who works for women's health issues, and Betty Koran, a Summit activist specializing in the needs of the handicapped.