Village Hall is now accepting sharps from community members who need a safe and proper method for disposal. Sharps, which include items like syringes, lancets, Epi pens and infusion sets, should not be thrown in the trash like other garbage. Community members are welcome to bring properly contained sharps into Village Hall during regular business hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Friday, and Welcome Center staff will have a trained staff member assist in the disposal. Sharps brought into Village Hall for disposal must be placed inside a rigid hard plastic container that is thick-walled, leak-resistant and durable, such as a laundry detergent bottle. As part of this program, community members can also come to Village Hall to receive a free personal medical grade sharps container. For more information on this program, visit www.oak-park.us/sharps or contact the Public Health Department at 708.358.5480 or health@oak-park.us.

This week marked the halfway point of the inaugural Oak Park University (OPU) program, concluding Week 5 of the nine-week course. The most recent session was hosted by the Public Works Department, where Director Rob Sproule and Deputy Director Erin Duffy provided an overview of the department’s divisions and the critical role they play in delivering essential public services, including Capital Improvements & Engineering, Fleet Services, Streets, Signs & Lighting, Forestry, Environmental Services and Water & Sewer Services. Participants also toured the Public Works facility, where they learned about the Village’s vehicles and equipment, intergovernmental agreements that support fleet services for Oak Park taxing bodies and Oak Park’s designation as the first municipal arboretum in Illinois. Oak Park University is a nine-week civic learning program designed to help residents better understand how local government operates and the many departments and partners that provide services to the community. To learn more about the program, view session materials, or join the waitlist for a future cohort, visit www.oak-park.us/OPU.

The Village’s ECHO team has completed its first year of service and wants to hear from members of the community it has interacted with. ECHO works alongside the Police and Fire Departments to connect residents with social service and community-based support. If you have interacted with the ECHO team, please take a few minutes to complete a short, anonymous survey – click here to access the survey. Your feedback will help the ECHO team understand what’s working well and where it can improve. The survey will remain open through March 13.

The Police Department is celebrating the graduation of Maliek Wade, Shane Fessenden and Anthony Ponce from the Chicago Police Training Academy. Deputy Chief Roderick Robinson attended the graduation ceremony on Feb. 27. Officer Wade achieved top academic performance and gave a speech during the ceremony.

The Police Department held a sendoff for Sergeant Derrick Verge, who retired Thursday after 21 years with the Village. Derrick worked in patrol and as a School Resource Officer and a Residential Beat Officer before being promoted to Sergeant in 2023. We thank him for his dedicated service and wish him well in retirement!

Members of the Oak Park Fire Department attended a ceremony last week to honor former volunteer Eddie Sitzman. Sitzman died in July 2025 at only 21 years old. The recent ceremony was held to name the batting cages at Play It Again Sports in Forest Park, where he worked, in his honor. In addition to regularly volunteering with OPFD and working at Play It Again Sports, the Oak Park resident won 59 medals across multiple sports with Special Olympics and was a part of Oak Park River Forest’s Community Integrated Transition Education (CITE) program.

The Village’s Plan Commission met Thursday to discuss a Zoning Ordinance text amendment for a cocktail lounge. The Village requested that a text amendment to the Zoning Ordinance be considered for the use and definition for Cocktail Lounge as a permitted use in the following zoning districts: NC - Neighborhood Commercial Districts, HS - Harrison Street District and the DT - Downtown Districts. The Plan Commission voted 6-2 to recommend that the Village Board approve the amendments. The two dissenting voters recommend that MS – Madison Street District be added to the list of districts allowing the proposed use. This is the only reason for their vote against the application. Staff anticipates the application will go before the Village Board for final consideration and action March 24.

Oak Parkers and other suburban Cook County voters began casting ballots this week at Village Hall for the Gubernatorial Primary Election. On March 2, 204 voters came through the site, marking a 37% increase over the first-day turnout for early voting during the last Gubernatorial Primary in 2022. Through Thursday, a total of 614 early votes have been cast at Village Hall. Early voting continues through Monday, March 16 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Sundays. Village Hall is NOT a polling place on Election Day. Click here to find your Election Day location.

The Village hosted its fourth annual Black History Month Celebration on Saturday at the Nineteenth Century Charitable Association. The sold-out event featured a keynote address from author Maggie Anderson, music, dance and more while celebrating 100 years since the first national Black History Week was established in 1926. Click here to view photos from the event.

Reaching the age of 100 is quite an accomplishment, and the Village is looking to recognize Oak Parkers who hit the century mark as a way of celebrating centenarians who age within the community. Do you know an Oak Parker who is 100 or will soon reach the milestone? Help the Village celebrate these individuals who demonstrate extraordinary resilience by completing an online form at www.oak-park.us/100. The Village kicked off the initiative by honoring Essie Pough, who turned 100 last month, with a proclamation at a Village Board meeting and at the Village’s annual Black History Month Celebration. Pough was recognized for her work as a public servant, a gracious matriarch, a dear friend and an active member of the community whose passion for life has touched many. Click here to read more about her life. For more information about the initiative, contact the Village’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office at DEIO@oak-park.us.

The Village is now accepting applications for 2026 block parties. The block party season will run from April 4 through Oct. 31. Each block is limited to two events per year. The events can be a block party, a block sale or a combination of both. The total number of events across the community is limited to 30 per weekend. Some weekends fill quickly, so residents are encouraged to plan events early to ensure preferred dates. The Village has long encouraged block parties as an inclusive and engaging way to strengthen community spirit, build camaraderie with neighbors and have fun. Find more information and the block event application and petition forms at www.oak-park.us/blockparties.

Development Services and Economic Vitality teams joined the Oak Park River Forest Chamber of Commerce to celebrate Niche Physical Therapy’s ribbon cutting for its new location at 252 Chicago Ave. Owner Dr. Kendall Lynch offers personalized, evidence-based physical therapy and wellness services to the community. Niche Physical Therapy is dedicated to helping clients move better, feel stronger and live fully through expert one-on-one care.

Development Services and Economic Vitality teams also joined the Oak Park River Forest Chamber of Commerce in celebrating the Oak Park Arts District’s newest business, Serendib House, at 301 Harrison St. Serendib House is a newly-relocated studio that’s grown out of the Berwyn Shops business incubator spaces and has set roots down in Oak Park. Serendib House offers handcrafted unique items that make perfect additions to homes, as well as community group gatherings to crochet and connect with others. For more information on new businesses in Oak Park, visit www.pickoakpark.com.

Development Services issued a temporary certificate of occupancy to all 68 rooms of the Holiday Inn Express at 1140 Lake St. earlier this week, marking a major milestone for the business toward welcoming its first guests. This issuance confirms that the hotel can begin operations while final inspections and finishing touches are completed. The hotel has also secured its Oak Park business license, another important step toward full opening. These approvals signal positive momentum for the hotel and brings Oak Park one step closer to welcoming a vibrant new destination for visitors.

Local organizations are invited to participate in the 52nd annual A Day in Our Village, Oak Park’s annual festival celebrating diversity and community involvement. Scheduled for Sunday, June 7, the event features activity and information booths in Scoville Park and live entertainment. Groups can register via an online form. More information is available at www.oak-park.us/dayinourvillage or by contacting 708.358.5408 or community@oak-park.us.

Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. this Sunday, March 8. Clocks should be set ahead one hour. The Oak Park Fire Department recommends using the time switch as a reminder to test and replace the batteries on detectors that use alkaline batteries. Better yet, consider changing your alarms to one of the newer devices, which have both smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in one device. These alarms also contain a sealed 10-year battery, which costs a bit more up front but saves money over the life of the alarm by eliminating battery replacement. For more information about fire safety, visit www.oak-park.us/fire.

Tornadoes, lightning, flash floods, damaging winds and destructive hail strike Illinois each year. Being aware of severe weather safety terminology and knowing what to do might save your life. As part of Severe Weather Preparedness Week, the Oak Park Public Health Department is encouraging residents to take time to develop safety plans should severe weather strike. Find helpful resources, information about local warning sirens and details about signing up for emergency alerts at www.oak-park.us/SevereWeather.

Visitors to Village Hall and Village employees looking for a quick and healthy meal can access the Farmer’s Fridge located Police Department lobby. The Farmer’s Fridge is a vending machine that offers fresh, handmade meals such as salads, bowls and wraps. Each meal contains a full serving of fruits and vegetables and is restocked regularly to ensure freshness. Click here to download an app for easy ordering.

Artists are being sought to create vibrant murals along Oak Park’s railway viaducts – transforming everyday spaces into open-air galleries that reflect community pride and imagination through the Oak Park Area Arts Council's Mini-Mural program. Each selected artist receives $750 for materials prior to beginning the project and another $750 upon completion. The murals range in size from about 6-feet-by-8 feet to 6-feet-by-11 feet. The deadline to apply is April 30. Find the mini-mural guidelines and application on the Arts Council website at www.oakparkareaartscouncil.org/mini-murals.

Traffic signal improvements – The contractor has completed the underground conduit on Garfield Street, and no more lane closures are anticipated for the time being. Work on replacing the traffic lights and signal wiring at the intersection of Garfield and Oak Park Avenue will continue through next week.

Renew the Avenue update – Testing of the new water main on Oak Park Avenue from Lake Street to Ontario Street is almost complete as the Renew the Avenue project moves ahead. Water service transfers will follow in a few weeks once all tests have been submitted and approved by the IEPA. Sewer main installation continues from Lake to Ontario and should wrap up next week with sewer services to follow the week of March 16. To the south, crews are installing the new sewer main and structures on Oak Park Avenue between Randolph Street and Pleasant Street. The main installation should be completed next week with sewer services to follow the week of March 16 on this block. AT&T and Nicor are also onsite installing utility infrastructure upgrades prior to the Village’s improvements being completed in conjunction with the project.

Sewer televising update – The sewer televising contractor is currently working on locations in the northeast part of town. The entire project is expected to be completed by the end of March. Partial lane closures are anticipated while work is in progress.

Nicor inspection project – Nicor crews started inspecting sewers on the 1100 and 1200 blocks of Edmer Ave. for potential gas line cross bores in the Village sewer system. Crews will move to several other locations in the Village as part of the project.