The Chicago Tribune | Coronavirus Impact Felt At 90 Year Old Ministry

It was a year ago on Saturday that Thomas Kokoraleis walked through the doors of Wayside Cross Ministries and became the 92-year-old mission’s most infamous and controversial resident.

The 57-year-old convicted murderer’s presence in Aurora drew national media attention and set off a firestorm of protests that ramped up when Mayor Richard Irvin demanded the eviction of the man tied to the notorious Ripper Crew slayings, and who had just been released from prison after serving 36 years for the murder of Lorry Ann Borowski of Elmhurst.

But Wayside and its board of directors – along with many churches and other supporters in the community – closed ranks around Kokoraleis, showering the mission with kudos that outlasted the criticism.

Yet, even as Kokoraleis settled successfully into the faith-based transformation program, Wayside got hit with another major challenge after the city determined the child sex offenders residing at the downtown building were in violation of the law prohibiting them from being within 500 feet of a place where children play.

Much of this emotional debate revolved around whether McCarty Park is a kids playground. But there’s no question the tension that existed between the city and the ministry over Kokoraleis led to a breakdown in communication regarding the sex offenders registry, and the big headlines only continued throughout all of 2019 as Aurora and Wayside battled it out with attorneys and judges, as well as in the court of public opinion.

As of now, all but a couple of the 19 men on the registry moved out of the mission and again, with the support of the community, found safe places to live as well as jobs to help keep them on the straight and narrow.

The other few remaining men, Wayside Executive Director James Lukose said, will be out by the May 15 deadline that was agreed upon by Wayside and the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office last month.

In fact, five of those remaining residents were hired by Suncast in Batavia in mid-March, which could not have come at a better time because one week later, the coronavirus pandemic brought down a shelter in place edict from the governor that meant no more business as usual in the state.

Looking back on the last year, Lukose can only sigh, and look for silver linings.

From Kokoraleis to coronavirus, it’s been “quite interesting,” he noted wryly. “It has been a challenging year, but at the same time very rewarding and fruitful.”

That silver lining, he insisted, is in lives that have been impacted in such a positive way. He’s not sure “where Thomas would be if Wayside had not been willing to open its doors to him.” And he’s grateful to a caring community for making it possible those 19 sex offenders are now employed and have places to sleep.

Right now, however, his biggest challenge is helping steer the mission through this unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak. Wayside, he said, is doing what it can to keep the place as safe as possible for residents and staff who are taking on twice the load now that volunteers have been asked to stay home.

The nonprofit ministry has the usual restrictions in place: no new residents are being taken in, either at the men’s mission on New York Street or Lifespring Ministry on College Avenue, which houses women and children.

The biggest issue facing this organization is feeding the 90-plus men and 25 or so women and children three meals a day, seven days a week. Because of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s mandate, both Wayside’s car detailing business and its thrift store have been shut down, which contributes up to a quarter of the total cash budget.

While there is currently enough food to sustain them, the fact is, 90% of their food is through contributions from restaurants, which as we all know have taken a major blow. See “Immediate Needs List” for more details.

The Coronavirus impact is definitely being felt.

Lukose said he was relieved when a family foundation recently came through with a sizable donation to “help get us through this.” But he’s enough of a realist to know that much will depend on the response to Wayside’s regular Easter appeal that just went out.

“People are losing their jobs,” he said, “and we depend so much on small donors, $30 or $20.”

Adding to the problem is the fact the mission’s large April fundraisers had to be canceled, and in all likelihood, several more fundraisers in May – including a concert billed as their biggest event ever – will have to go on hold.

While there is certainly no room for panic, he said, “we are not sure how long we can continue to sustain.”

Still, just as Wayside weathered some unique challenges in the last year, Lukose is confident the mission which has been around since the 1920s will continue to provide shelter from the storm for the most needy, even as the rest of us shelter in place.

“God took care of us through this past year,” he said, “and God will get us through this as well.”

dcrosby@tribpub.com

Read how Wayside Cross Ministries is changing lives. Wayside Cross Stories of Hope

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  |  Romans 8:38-39 NIV

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Serving the broken addicted and abused for over 90 years.