On one corner is Sabor A Café, a Columbian steakhouse, and on the opposite corner, a Marathon gas station. The occasional tree decorates the sidewalk and one-story brick buildings line West Peterson Avenue. And while cars bustle by, eyes locked on their destinations, one institution located in the middle of this block is looking upwards: The J. Allen Hynek Center for UFO Studies. Here, in a place almost as unlikely as an extraterrestrial encounter itself, is an institution that researches, documents and investigates UFO sightings.
Lately the Center has been quite busy, given that 2008 has seen a significant increase worldwide of UFO sightings. A fact, a representative explains, that is tricky to figure out, because “If it is aliens, it’s difficult to know their agenda.”
Inside are an eclectic group that spans from scientists to avid ufologist volunteers, all people who believe that there really was something to the sightings at O’Hare and Tinley Park, people who believe that UFOs shouldn’t involve “belief” at all. (Katie Ziolkowski)
