Vanessa Matheny, Community Services Administrator for the Neighborhood Services Department, presented Wednesday at the National Community Development Association (NCDA) conference in Washington on Oak Park’s approach to addressing homelessness. Vanessa was part of a panel discussion highlighting how communities of all sizes are responding to homelessness through practical, on-the-ground initiatives. The presentation focused on homelessness in Oak Park, the E.C.H.O. program and Village-funded efforts such as interim housing and the emergency shelter. It also highlighted how the Village strategically leveraged general revenue with local, county, state and federal funding to strengthen services and improve outcomes for unhoused residents.

A select group of electricity customers will soon receive a letter from the Village alerting them they have been chosen to participate in the Village’s Electric Aggregation Program. Enrollment through MC Squared Energy Services is automatic and customers will continue paying the same rate as ComEd’s monthly published supply rate. The letters include instructions for customers who wish to opt out. More information about how the aggregation program works is available on the Village website at www.oak-park.us/aggregation.

The Public Health Department published its quarterly epidemiology report this week. The report is intended to share the latest trends and news in communicable disease for Oak Park and the surrounding community. Click here to read the report. For more information, contact health@oak-park.us or 708.358.5480.

Oak Park Avenue is now closed in two one-block sections from Lake Street to Ontario Street and Pleasant Street to Randolph Street as crews start sewer main replacement as part of the Renew the Avenue streetscape project. Detours are in place for Oak Park Avenue through traffic at Chicago Avenue and Madison Street. Local traffic will remain open on Oak Park Avenue between Lake and Pleasant during the first stage of sewer main construction. Crews continue to mobilize material and equipment for pavement saw cutting and the installation of new sewer main. Nicor is also in the area performing systems upgrades on North Boulevard adjacent to the Oak Park Avenue project limits. Nicor’s work will be coordinated with the ongoing streetscape project to minimize traffic impacts in the Hemingway District. 

Sewer cleaning and inspection – The Village’s annual sewer cleaning and inspection project is set to start the week of Feb. 9 and continue through mid-March. Crews will inspect approximately 40 locations throughout Oak Park – click here for a map of all locations. Work is expected to begin at locations along Erie Street, Scoville Avenue, Monroe Street, Chicago Avenue and South Boulevard. Short-term partial lane closures are anticipated while work is in progress. Work will last for 2-4 hours for only one day at each location. Residents are encouraged to follow no parking signs that will be posted 24-48 hours in advance of scheduled work and be removed as the contractor moves along.

Traffic signal improvements – Lyons Electric will begin work at the intersection of Oak Park Avenue and Garfield Street next week. This work will include adding a left turn arrow for vehicles on Garfield Street turning northbound onto Oak Park Avenue. Associated work includes installation of conduit and cable along with the installation of new traffic signal heads and posts. The project is expected to last about one month barring any weather delays.

The Village is teaming up with the Oak Park Public Library and other community partners in promoting Rapbrary, a multi-week immersive experience curated by Roy Kinsey. Plans are in the works for a special screening of “Rapbrarian: Reading Came First,” the documentary chronicling Kinsey’s journey as both rapper and librarian and the creation of Rapbrary as a radical act of cultural preservation. Organizers are still determining the time, date and location for the screening. Check www.oak-park.us/rapbrarian for the latest location details about the event. Media Production Manager Joe Kreml caught up with Kinsey at the Rapbrary Opening Reception at the main library on Jan. 29 – click here to watch the video.  

With the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics getting started this weekend, many Oak Parkers will be fixing their attention on Oak Park native Emery Lehman as he competes in the men’s speedskating competition. This is the fourth consecutive appearance at the Winter Olympics for Lehman, a 2014 graduate of Oak Park and River Forest High School. He qualified for Team USA by winning the men’s 1,500-meter race at the U.S. Olympic Trials last month. He will also be part of the U.S. men’s team pursuit squad. Lehman earned a bronze medal in the team pursuit competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The 2026 team pursuit competition is scheduled to begin Feb. 15 and the men’s 1,500 is set for Feb. 19. Click here for an NBC-5 interview with Lehman at his parents’ Oak Park home prior to his trip to Italy for the Winter Olympics. Click here for the Winter Olympics speedskating schedule.