Don’t miss National Night Out, a community celebration hosted by the Oak Park Police Department that aims to strengthen partnerships and positive interactions between law enforcement and residents. The free event will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 4 on the south lawn at Village Hall. The National Night Out festivities will feature music, food, bounce houses, face painting, lawn games and more. Oak Park will be joining thousands of communities nationwide participating in the National Night Out campaign, which takes place each year on the first Tuesday in August.

The Police Department's Community Policing Division is participating in the National Association of Town Watch's (NATW) "Dog Walker Watch" program, which encourages residents who regularly walk their dogs to serve as additional “eyes and ears” for law enforcement by learning how to recognize and report suspicious activity. NATW is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting community-based crime prevention initiatives in partnership with law enforcement including programs like National Night Out. Visit www.oak-park.us/DogWalkerWatch to sign up for an informational meeting and to receive a free Dog Walker Watch bandana for your dog.

Members of the Fire Department met with community members on Monday at Starbucks as part of the Coffee with a Firefighter/Paramedic series. During the two-hour session Fire Department personnel answered questions about fire prevention and community safety issues.

This week the Office of Sustainability and Resilience released a report on the Climate Ready Canopy Pilot Program. As part of the program, the Village gave away 97 large (10-gallon) trees to homeowners in flood- and heat-vulnerable neighborhoods, plus about 120 free saplings at community events, using volunteers to help plant them. The program is expected to bring big long-term benefits, like soaking up rainwater, cleaning the air and reducing carbon emission over the next 40 years. Because it went well, staff want to continue it in 2027 with a $20,000 budget, making some improvements like offering more tree variety, buying healthier saplings from a real nursery and expanding to more neighborhoods and property types. Click here to read the report.

As part of the public engagement process for Shape Oak Park, a series of six community workshops are being planned for late summer and early fall. The meetings will be designed to feature both a brief presentation and an open house that allows attendees to access the Zoning Comparison Tool and provides a forum to collect information, ask questions and receive answers. Following the community meetings, a public hearing will be held before the Plan Visit www.engageoakpark.com/shape for the latest information.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted summary judgment Thursday for the Village and denied Clean Energy Choice Coalition's competing motion, holding that Oak Park's all-electric new-construction Ordinance is not preempted by the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) and remains fully enforceable. Click here to read the ruling.

The plaintiff argued that by banning fossil-fuel appliances, the Ordinance effectively regulates appliances' "energy use" down to zero, a theory the Ninth Circuit accepted in a 2024 case out of California. The Court rejected that reasoning, instead following the Second Circuit's June 2026 decision holding that "energy use" under EPCA is a fixed, pre-sale performance value set by federal test procedures during its manufacture but before a product reaches the consumer, so a local fuel-source ban on the product’s end-user connection falls outside EPCA’s reach. This ruling puts Oak Park in line with the Second Circuit and recent Washington D.C. and Maryland district court decisions, all breaking from the Ninth Circuit's outlier approach. 

The Village extends its thanks to Earthjustice, which served as one of the Village's attorneys in this matter on a pro bono basis. Earthjustice's work helping to defend Oak Park's ordinance reflects the broader effort by public health and environmental organizations nationwide to support local governments' authority to reduce reliance on fossil fuels in new construction.

The Village of Oak Park was recently featured on the cover of Northern Illinois Real Estate magazine. This publication reaches more than 12,000 readers in the real estate development, contracting and lending industry. Additional editorial coverage promoted Oak Park as a destination for commercial investment, highlighting key community assets including location and accessibility, buying power, recent development and overall quality of life. Click here to view the magazine online.

Oak Park and River Forest High School is hosting a full-scale emergency management exercise on Monday, Aug. 3 and a reunification exercise at both the high school and Percy Julian Middle School on Tuesday, Aug. 4, in partnership with the Oak Park Police and Fire Departments and other regional partners and agencies. The exercise is designed to evaluate and strengthen emergency response plans, coordination among partner agencies and communication systems in a realistic, full-scale environment. Participants will practice responding to a simulated emergency using established protocols, helping participating agencies prepare for a wide range of emergency scenarios. Find more information at www.oak-park.us/emergencyexercise.

Animal Control Officer Francisco Silva was officially sworn in to his role in the Public Health Department on Wednesday during a ceremony in Council Chambers at Village Hall. Silva joined the Public Health Department earlier this month. He is certified through the National Animal Care & Control Association.

The Village is offering a free workshop series designed to help Oak Park residents explore how to manage utility costs and increase comfort at home. The Save Energy at Home workshop series is part of Oak Park Energy Navigator, offered by the Village and Elevate, a national nonprofit based in Chicago. The first workshop is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 6 at the main Oak Park Public Library and will focus on understanding energy use and savings. The second workshop will take place virtually at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 11 with a focus on increasing comfort with insulation and air sealings. Click here to RSVP to attend any of the upcoming workshops.

Do you know a neighbor who’s transformed their parkway into a pollinator paradise? Or a local business that’s mastered the art of zero-waste? Now is the time to give them the spotlight they deserve. The Village’s Green Awards celebrate the individuals, businesses and organizations that demonstrate leadership in advancing climate action and resilience in alignment with Oak Park's community sustainability plan, Climate Ready Park. Find more information and submit a nomination at www.oak-park.us/greenawards. For information about the Village's other annual stewardship awards, visit www.oak-park.us/communityawards.

Switch Together is a group buying initiative that allows Oak Park residents to go solar at a significant discount. Switch Together is offered in collaboration with Village of Oak Park and nonprofits Midwest Renewable Energy Association and Citizens Utility Board. The Switch Together team is committed to making renewable energy more affordable and accessible for everyone. By participating in the program, households will be matched with top solar installers who have undergone a rigorous vetting process—ensuring you receive a high-quality installation. Optional add-ons such as home battery storage and electric vehicle chargers are also available through the program at a discounted rate. It is free to register for the program, and there is no obligation to accept an offer if you register. The deadline to register for the current round of Switch Together is Aug. 12. Visit the Switch Together website to learn more and find out how much you can save on a solar installation.

Alley improvement project – All concrete and brick work in the alley between the 200 blocks of S. Kenilworth Ave. and S. Grove Ave. is complete. The remaining work in this alley includes placing asphalt driveways, landscaping and completing a roadway patch on Pleasant Street. The alley is scheduled to be reopened to vehicle traffic by end of day Tuesday, Aug. 4. Removals in the alley between the 800 blocks of N. Harvey Ave. and Mapleton Ave. are complete, and concrete pavement will be poured this week. Concrete aprons will be poured next week. Removals for the miscellaneous alley patches began Tuesday and will be completed this week. Concrete patches are planned to be poured back late this week, and asphalt patches will be finalized by the middle of next week.

Renew the Avenue updates – The roadway crew will be preparing for the sidewalk excavation and ramp placement for pedestrian access between Pleasant Street and South Boulevard next week. Access to all buildings and businesses on this block will be maintained at all times during this work period. Structural soil, electrical utilities and concrete base course will be installed once the old sidewalks are removed. This process will take approximately two weeks to complete before pedestrian traffic will move back to the new concrete sidewalks base. Other Renew the Avenue project updates include the following:

• The electrical contractor will finish drilling, pouring concrete and installing the new light pole and traffic signal foundations on Oak Park Avenue from Pleasant to South Boulevard early next week.
• AT&T is on site this week and next week installing new communications manholes by Hunter Court and North Boulevard. Pedestrian crossings may be detoured around the excavation during this work.
• Union Pacific continues to complete concrete abutment repairs on the bridge overpass between South and North Boulevards on Oak Park Avenue.
• Don’t forget to check out the Village of Oak Park and Hemmingway District’s new Bike to the Biz promotion. For more details, click here: Bike to the Biz.

Water and sewer project – The contractor completed sewer service installations on the 1100 block of S. Scoville Ave. this week and continued installing the new water main on the 1000 and 1100 blocks of Scoville starting from the north and moving south towards Harvard Street. Crews will chlorinate and test the new water main and wrap up sewer service installations on the 1000 block of S. Scoville next week. At the project’s other site along Euclid Avenue, the contractor completed the majority of the sewer main installation from Greenfield Street to just south of North Avenue. Crews also installed new catch basins and began installing new sewer services. Next week the contractor will begin installation of the new water main starting at Greenfield working north towards North Avenue. Water main installations are expected to take about two weeks, after which the contractor will resume with sewer service installations.

Resurfacing project – The contractor’s layout consultant is currently on site marking out the planned removals at each location undergoing street resurfacing. The saw cutting subcontractor will also be at each location to saw cut the pavement in preparation for upcoming removals. Concrete removal operations will begin on Monday on Erie Street between Elmwood Avenue and Taylor Avenue and on Van Buren Street between East Avenue and Ridgeland Avenue. The new curb is planned to be poured back at these two locations on Wednesday next week. Root pruning and tree protection will also begin late this week and be completed at all locations. Finally, sewer repairs will begin next Wednesday on Euclid Avenue between Division Street and Greenfield Street.

Sewer lining project – The Village recently awarded a contract to Visu-Sewer to rehabilitate sewer pipes at various locations throughout the Village. The improvements include the rehabilitation of existing combined sewer mains using cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) lining and the reconstruction of manholes with shotcrete. Crews will be in town beginning next week to televise the sewer lines and services within the pipes. The contractor will return approximately 2–3 weeks later to install the cured-in-place pipe lining, which is expected to take approximately 5–6 hours at each location. An additional 2–3 weeks after that, the contractor will apply shotcrete to all manholes at each location. No parking signs will be posted 24–48 hours in advance, and all affected residents are being notified. Minor traffic delays are anticipated while work is in progress. Work will start at Harrison Street between Clarence Avenue and S. East Avenue., and at Clinton Avenue between Lexington Street and Harvard Street.

Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) installations – The contractor continued installing signs onto the RRFB units this week. The remainder of the signage will be installed once received by the contractor.

The Oak Park Area Arts Council is hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony for this year’s Off the Wall project this Saturday, Aug. 1. The ribbon cutting will take place at 1:30 p.m. at the site of this year’s project at the new Beyond Hunger facility at 6209 North Ave. A reception will follow at 2 p.m. at Wonder Works Children’s Museum, 6445 North Ave. The celebration marks the unveiling of a vibrant new community mural created by local youth artists as part of the Off the Wall summer arts employment program.

Have you ever considered serving on board of a local village, school, park district, township or library board? The League of Women Voters of Oak Park & River Forest is hosting “Running for Local Office: From Voter to Candidate” at 2 p.m. this Saturday, Aug. 1 at the Oak Park Public Library Maze Branch, 845 Gunderson Ave. The workshop will cover getting on the ballot, running an effective campaign and important considerations for prospective candidates.