Sliding down a muddy embankment into a stretch of undeveloped land south of Cathedral Park, Barbara Quinn points to a trail that heads back into the bushes. Quinn, the chair of the Cathedral Park Neighborhood Association, says, “Wildlife will not come where there's people camping.” She's talking about a plan to restore this open riverfront area to its natural state — a plan that's complicated by the presence of a longtime homeless encampment.

On Halloween night, Doug Smith of John’s Tavern organized an experimental event to get people into the recently re-opened bar: a burlesque show.  When the show was advertised in late October, some in the St. Johns business district worried that this was the beginning of adult entertainment in Lombard’s central plaza.  

Smith said before the show that his intentions were not to turn John’s Tavern into a strip club. “I would never want to work in a strip club,” he said.  The idea was to have a bawdy but innocent show, one that would be a bit racy but more comedic than erotic and free of nudity.