Meetings scheduled for the next week:
- Wednesday, June 26:
- Disability Access Commission, 6 p.m. at Oak Park Library small meeting room, 834 Lake St.
- Community Design Commission, 7 p.m. in Council Chambers
- Thursday, June 27:
- Board of Health, 6 p.m. in Room 102
- Historic Preservation Commission Architectural Review Committee, 7:30 p.m. in Room 101
Celebrate Pride Month at the second annual Oak Park Pride Party from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday, June 22 on the south lawn at Village Hall. Come dressed to impress in your best rainbow-themed outfit for this free community event featuring ice cream, face painting, games, a DJ, bounce house, magician and more. More information about Pride Month in Oak Park is at www.oak-park.us/pridemonth.
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Village Development Services staff, lead by Director Emily Egan, joined Downtown Oak Park Executive Director Shannon Williams and Visit Oak Park Executive Director Annie Coakley at this Thursday’s DTOP and Chamber of Commerce Out in the Burbs event, at Thursday Night Out, to celebrate Gay Pride. A great time was had by all. For more information about future DTOP Thursday Night Out events, running from now until August 29, please go to www.thursdaynightout.com.
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Community members interested in learning more about the upcoming Oak Park Avenue Streetscape project are invited to an open house event taking place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25 in the Veterans Room at the Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St. The Village’s team overseeing the project will be on hand to discuss the changes coming to Oak Park Avenue beginning in March 2025 when crews will begin replacing and repairing necessary infrastructure and upgrading the streetscape along the thoroughfare. This investment will strengthen and support area businesses and the surrounding neighborhood while preserving the historical context and value of Oak Park’s vital Hemingway District. More information is at www.renewtheavenue.com.
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The findings and recommendations from the Madison Street road diet traffic study will be presented at the Transportation Commission’s meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 8 at Village Hall. Residents who wish to provide comments related to the study are encouraged to attend the meeting. Materials will be posted on the Transportation Commission webpage prior to the meeting.
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The Illinois Alliance for Clean Transportation (IACT) recently sent a letter thanking the Village for taking the time to complete and submit local data for the IACT’s annual report. The Village’s Fleet Services Division reported reducing 38,638 gallons of petroleum and 257.3 tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 through the use of electric vehicles and other green vehicles in the municipal fleet. This reduction is equivalent to 795 barrels of oil and the carbon sequestered by 4,254 tree seedlings grown for 10 years. The Village’s data was combined with data from other alliance members in the region in the report. IACT is typically one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s top-performing coalitions.
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Limited appointments are still available for the blood drive being sponsored by the Oak Park Public Health Department from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25 at Village Hall. Though walk-ins are welcome at the Health Department blood drive, appointments are recommended. Find the link to register and more information at www.oak-park.us/blooddrive. Health officials say that about every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood or platelets, and one blood donation often saves more than one life. Individuals willing to donate blood can also find nearby donation sites and dates by visiting the Red Cross website at www.redcross.org/give-blood.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sending an epidemiologic aid to assist the Chicago Department of Public Health and the Oak Park Department of Public Health in investigating a spike of opioid overdoses that occurred in Cook County between May 11 and May 14. Many of the drug samples tested from the cluster of cases contained medetomidine, a veterinary sedative, which was likely the cause of the spike in overdoses. Medetomidine has a stronger effect than xylazine (also known as “tranq”), another additive that has shown up in the street drug supply in the past year. Medetomidine has not previously been detected in Chicago, and it can cause serious respiratory depression, especially when combined with opioids. The CDC and the Chicago and Oak Park departments of public health will collaborate to visit three hospitals in the Chicagoland area that experienced the highest spike in overdoses. These facilities include Mt. Sinai, Humboldt Park and West Suburban Hospital. The CDC Epi-Aid will examine records of overdoses at these facilities to gain more insight into the novel situation. The Epi-Aid visitation will occur this month, and the entire investigation and analysis will likely last nine to 12 weeks. Findings from this investigation may be published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) in the future.
The Village collected $84,938 in hotel/motel tax revenue during the first four months of 2024, marking an 11% increase over the same time period last year. The month of April alone ended with the highest single month return on record from the 4% local tax paid by guests who stay in Oak Park’s local hotel, bed and breakfast and short-term rental establishments. The Airbnb-style short-term rental establishments continue to drive the record-breaking tax collection growth, underscoring the strength of Oak Park’s hospitality industry.
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Save the date for Thursday, July 18 when the Village and the Oak Park River Forest Chamber of Commerce will celebrate the Oak Park Area Arts Council’s 50th anniversary and the placement of two new public art pieces in the Pleasant Business District. The event will begin with a ribbon cutting for the new public art piece installed outside Oak Park Jewelers at 101 S. Marion St. Following the ribbon cutting a reception will take place at Anfora Wine Merchants, 128 S. Marion St. The event will highlight the important role public art plays in making Oak Park a unique and economically vital place to live, work and play.
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The Hemingway Business District is planning to celebrate Ernest Hemingway’s birthday in style with a series of fun events. Mark your calendar for July 18-21 when the Hemingway District will join the Downtown Oak Park business district in hosting the annual Shop Outdoor Sale in addition to the new Hemingway Birthday Fête. The end-of-season sidewalk sale will be ongoing throughout the four-day celebration. On the evening of Friday, July 19 the Hemingway District will host Ernest Hemingway book readings. The Hemingway District festivities continue Saturday, July 20 with a sip and shop bingo card activity, Hemingway scavenger hunt, running with the bulls kids race from 10 a.m. to noon in Scoville Park and a concert from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Hemingway Birthplace Museum, 339 N. Oak Park Ave. The scavenger hunt continues on Sunday, July 21 when the Hemingway District will mark Ernest Hemingway’s 125th birthday by singing happy birthday and hosting activities and a prize wheel from 5 to 8 p.m. in Scoville Park in conjunction with the Park District of Oak Park’s Concerts in the Park. For more information follow the Hemingway District on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
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Local tourism efforts continue to bolster economic vitality in Oak Park. Visit Oak Park recently helped coordinate a spot featuring Oak Park business Comedy Plex, 1128 Lake St., on WGN’s “Spotlight Chicago” television program. Click here to view the clip featuring comedian Kevin Farley and Comedy Plex co-owner Marz Timms. For more information about upcoming shows and programs at Comedy Plex visit www.comedyplex.com.
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Dutchess Cannabis has taken over the commercial space at 1142 Lake St. formerly occupied by MedMen dispensary. Dutchess recently secured its required State of Illinois and Village of Oak Park licensing. A photo of the newly refreshed interior of the business is shown here. Tim Cherwin, store manager, is pictured on the left with other Dutchess staff members.
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South Boulevard water & sewer improvements on horizon – Construction activity could begin as soon as next week for a project consisting of sewer and water main improvements along South Boulevard between Kenilworth Avenue and Home Avenue. Construction staking and layout will occur first, and the contractor anticipates mobilizing equipment and materials thereafter before breaking ground on July 8. Electronic message boards will be installed prior to any road closure and will indicate nearby businesses remain open. No parking signs will be posted a minimum of 24 hours in advance of construction activities. All affected residents will receive parking passes. The estimated completion date for the project is late October.
Lot 10 construction update – The contractor is completing the excavation and backfill of the permeable paver stone base for the parking lot. Electrical conduits are being installed at the bottom of the stone base and backfilled as the permeable base work progresses. The contractor will frame and pour the curb on the south side of the parking lot and complete the missing pieces of sidewalk on the north side of the parking lot before the weekend.
Euclid Avenue water improvements – The contractor is scheduled to place the final roadway surface on Euclid Avenue between North Boulevard and Lake Street by the end of this week. Pavement markings and landscape restoration will occur in the next few weeks.
Alley improvement project – The alley reconstruction in the alleys between the 1000 blocks of Harvey Ave. and Mapleton Ave. and the 700 blocks of Lombard Ave. and Harvey Ave. will be reopened prior to June 25. Punch list work is planned to be complete prior to July 4. Work for the alley between the 1000 blocks of Humphrey Ave. and Austin Blvd. is in progress. This alley will be complete within the next three weeks.
Madison Street improvements – The electrical contractor is installing underground conduits for the new lighting along the north side of Madison Street and new conduits for the traffic signal at the intersection of Madison and East Avenue. Next week, the electrical contractor will continue installing new conduits, and the concrete contractor will continue pouring sidewalks along the north side of Madison.
Sidewalk repairs – Sidewalk replacements on the west side of streets are nearly complete. The contractor began working on replacements on the east side of streets this week. The east side replacements are expected to be complete by the week of July 1, weather permitting.
Austin Boulevard sewer improvements – The contractor plans to complete the sewer lining and landscape restoration work in the next few weeks along Austin Boulevard between Garfield Street and Roosevelt Road. Permit pending, the detour at the intersection of Austin and Roosevelt has been delayed to next week for the upcoming water main work.
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