The Village was well-represented Wednesday at Oak Park and River Forest High School’s annual Service Learning Fair, where students had the opportunity to learn about the mission and volunteer opportunities of organizations throughout the community, as well as interact with local government representatives and elected officials. Staff from the Public Works and Public Health departments, along with several Village elected officials, were on hand to speak with students about civic engagement, voting and volunteering. The Public Works Department was specifically seeking students who would be willing to assist neighbors with raking and bagging leaves as part of the updated fall leaf collection program. Meanwhile, the Health Department was signing up students interested in supporting the Farmers’ Market and the Opioid Overdose Prevention Project.

Chief Sustainability Officer Lindsey Roland Nieratka and Parking & Mobility Services Manager Sean Keane recently attended a ceremony recognizing the second cohort of communities graduating from the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus’ EV Readiness Program. Oak Park remains the only community to have earned the gold designation after doing so as part of the first cohort of communities to complete the program last year. In addition to recognizing the second cohort of graduates, attendees toured several facilities at Argonne, including the Smart Energy Plaza, a repurposed gas station designed to conduct research on the integration and management of EV charging, renewables, buildings systems and energy storage. Staff also learned about Argonne’s efforts toward advancing cost-effective recycling technologies for lithium-ion batteries.

The Police Department reports a steady flow in the number of applications received this month for the position of Patrol Officer. The Village has received nearly 35 lateral applications since opening that window earlier in August. Lateral hires will continue to be considered on a rolling basis. Additionally, almost 90 applications have come in for entry-level officers. That entry-level application period closes today (Aug. 30) and the review process will begin.

The Fire Department hosted an information session and recruiting event for the position of Firefighter/Paramedic at the main fire station on Tuesday. Approximately 25 interested applicants were in attendance to learn more about OPFD, better understand the process of joining the department and get answers to questions they may have.

The Public Health Department was selected this month as a host site for the 2024 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Public Health Associate Program for Recent Graduates (PHAP). Established in 2007, the program is designed to give early-career professionals a foundation in public health and increase the host site’s capacity to implement public health programming. An associate assigned to Oak Park through the program would assist Public Health Department staff in injury prevention work, such as bike and pedestrian safety, opioid overdose prevention, fall prevention and firearm safety.

Two members of the Public Health Department – Epidemiologist Emma Betancourt and Public Health Nurse Kitty Monty – will be co-authors on an upcoming CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), a national publication that focuses on public health news. The report co-authored by Oak Park staff will address the May 2024 medetomidine overdose outbreak in Chicago that involved West Suburban Hospital in Oak Park. Medetomidine is a veterinary sedative detected in the local drug supply this year. The report will detail the investigation, results and public health response to the increase in overdoses. This collaboration highlights our department's significant role in addressing this public health crisis at a national level.

The Village’s Commercial Façade Improvement Program (C-FIP) has already secured eight participants in 2024. Among the recent grant recipients are the owners of Anfora Wine Merchants, seen her accepting a C-FIP grant check for $4,741 for façade improvements to its storefront at 128 S. Marion St. The program assists local commercial business or property owners with improvements like new signage, awnings, lighting, windows, doors and tuckpointing. Anfora installed new exterior lighting and a new awning on Pleasant Street as a part of its façade improvements. Businesses interested in more information about the Village’s grant program are encouraged to contact Cameron Davis, Village Economic Vitality Administrator, at 708.358.5421 or cdavis@oak-park.us.

The Public Health Department’s Health Education team spent time this week at the Oak Park Public Library’s Idea Box, which this month is raising awareness about opioid overdose leading up to International Overdose Awareness Day this Sat., Aug. 31. Health education staff engaged with library patrons about the prevalence of opioid overdose in Oak Park and the western suburbs, the Village’s Opioid Overdose Prevention Project, and the free Narcan that’s available from the Public Health Department in boxes installed throughout the Village. Since the launch of the project in May 2023, the Public Health Department has distributed 3,314 doses of Narcan. The Public Health Department also partnered with fellow members of the Northern Illinois Public Health Consortium (NIPHC) to produce a video that will be shared across members’ social media channels on International Overdose Awareness Day – click here to view the video.

This week the Public Health Department’s nurse trained more than 50 staff members at Fenwick High School on the signs of opioid overdose and how to administer the medication Narcan, which can stop an overdose. Any school, business or organization in Oak Park can receive a free opioid overdose training for its employees from Public Health Department staff or certified instructors trained by department staff.  Email health@oak-park.us or call 708-358-5480 to request a free training.

New faces arrived in the Law Department and Human Resources Department this week as Tony Fioretti joined the organization as an Assistant Village Attorney and Brittany LasCola arrived as the newest HR Coordinator. Tony, who lives in Oak Park with his family, graduated from the University of Illinois and earned his law degree at John Marshall (now UIC Law). Brittany most recently worked as an onboarding specialist at Brookfield Zoo Chicago after starting her career as a training coordinator at Culver’s. Elsewhere, the Police Department recently welcomed a new Police Officer as Ashlee Kershaw was sworn in during a ceremony at Village Hall. Ashlee (pictured center below with command staff) will soon begin training at the police academy. The Police Department also bid farewell to Commander Tom Dransoff, who retired Sunday after 24 years serving the community.

The Village is partnering with Wild Ones West Cook to subsidize the purchase of native trees for Oak Park residents to plant in the Village on their property. Trees can be ordered online through the West Cook Fall Tree and Shrub Sale now through Sept. 20. Trees are available for residents at a 50% discount. The full price for trees ranges from $33-46 per tree. Most trees are available in a 5-gallon container. Enter the discount code OPTREES at the time of purchase. The discount for Oak Park residents applies toward the purchase of up to two trees per property. The initiative is tied to the Village’s Climate Ready Oak Park goals of encouraging the planting of native plants and increasing the Village’s tree canopy cover.

Starting tonight, overnight parking restrictions will not be enforced on most Oak Park streets for Labor Day weekend. Overnight on-street parking will be lifted at 2:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 31 and resume at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4. All other parking regulations remain in effect, including restrictions in zones reserved for permit holders, daytime posted restrictions and regulations related to traffic and public safety. The holiday parking schedule for all of 2024 is posted at www.oak-park.us/holidayparking.

Village Hall will be closed on Mon., Sept. 2 in observance of Labor Day before reopening at 9 a.m. on Tues., Sept. 3. Refuse, recycling and yard waste collection services will be delayed by one day next week as a result of the holiday. Regular Village Hall business hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Should an incident that doesn't quite rise to the level of a 911 emergency occur when Village Hall is closed, residents are encouraged to call the Police Department non-emergency number 708.386.3800 for assistance. A wide range of services are also available online around the clock.

With the new school year underway, the Oak Park Police Department is reminding motorists to stay alert – especially when driving in school zones. To protect the many students who typically trek along Oak Park streets to their neighborhood schools, police are stepping up their presence with additional enforcement efforts at key crossings and along walking routes. Motorists need to be focused and avoid distractions like talking on cell phones as well as come to a complete stop at intersections and not block crosswalks. Drivers also must obey the signals of crossing guards and should never attempt to pass a stopped school bus with lights flashing. For questions related to traffic safety in school zones, please email police@oak-park.us.

The Village is witnessing numerous expansions of well-established local businesses that underscore the continued economic vitality in Oak Park. The Intercultural Montessori Language School is building an addition to its Oak Park campus at the southwest corner of Ridgeland Avenue and Randolph Street that will increase the building size 21%, resulting in what will be a 5,842 square-foot building. This expansion will help Intercultural increase its ability to serve local families. Additionally, the Murphy Dental Group has purchased a building at the southeast corner of Kenilworth Avenue and South Boulevard and is adding a 2,600 square-foot addition to a former dry-cleaning store (see photo). This enlarged location will serve as the new home of the local dental practice. Elsewhere, Coco Nail Salon, 323 South Blvd., has almost doubled its previous space as part of an expansion project.

The Downtown Oak Park Business Alliance, sponsor of the annual Oaktoberfest event, is seeking volunteers to help make this year’s celebration a success. Oaktoberfest is taking place Sept. 13-14. Downtown Oak Park is working to make its events more environmentally friendly and will have a Green Team helping attendees properly dispose of recycling and compostable items to help ensure they don’t end up in the landfill. Green Team volunteers receive food coupons and free water/Gatorade during their shift. Click here to sign up to volunteer.

Pete’s Fresh Market update – Construction work has resumed at the site of the new Pete’s Fresh Market on Madison Street. This week the contractor is working on installing traffic control, removing existing concrete onsite and saw cutting the adjacent alley. Excavation and removals will continue through to next week.

Water & sewer improvements – The contractor performed all concrete removals on Linden Avenue with new sidewalk, curb and driveway aprons on schedule to be poured back before the end of this week. Roadway restoration on Linden is scheduled to begin after Labor Day weekend. The water main work on South Boulevard is complete. The remaining work under the viaduct at Forest Avenue and South Boulevard is expected to begin sometime next week.

Street resurfacing update – All sewer spot repairs are complete for this year’s street resurfacing project. The contractor will be wrapping up concrete work on the north side of the east/west streets and the west side of the north/south streets this week. Concrete removals will begin next week on the opposite sides of the streets. Visit www.oak-park.us/construction to view a map of 2024 capital improvement projects, which shows locations scheduled for street resurfacing this year.

Madison Street improvements – The contractor finished pouring new light pole foundations along the south side of Madison Street. Underground work for the street lighting is expected to wrap up next week. The contractor expects to remove and replace the remaining sidewalk on Madison next week as well.

Austin Boulevard sewer improvements – The remaining work at Roosevelt Road and Austin Boulevard is postponed due to scheduling conflicts with the City of Chicago. The work is expected to begin after Labor Day weekend and take approximately one week to complete.