Join the Village's Office of Sustainability and Resilience for a conversation about the Climate Ready Oak Park plan on Wednesday, Sept. 2 in the Veteran's Room at the Oak Park Public Library. Following a brief progress report about Oak Park's climate plan from the Village's Chief Sustainability Officer, community members and groups will have an opportunity to converse, listen and share feedback. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., with the program scheduled to run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. Anyone planning to attend is encouraged to register on the Library website – click here to register.

The Village Board adopted the Biodiversity and Green Infrastructure Plan during its meeting on Tuesday. The plan maps out the path forward for the Village to meet the goal of establishing 30% of land as green infrastructure or enhanced management by 2030 as laid out in the Climate Ready Oak Park plan. Find more information about the initiative and a link to the final plan at www.engageoakpark.com/green-infrastructure.

The Village’s free workshop series designed to help Oak Park residents manage utility costs and increase comfort at home continues with a virtual workshop at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 1. The focus of the workshop will be upgrading energy savings with home electrification. Visit www.oak-park.us/SaveEnergyAtHome for more info and to RSVP. The workshop series, which is offered by the Village and Elevate, also included three other workshops held earlier this month.

The Development Services Department and Office of Communications & Engagement are continuing efforts to let residents know about upcoming community information sessions related to the Shape Oak Park project. A postcard was mailed to all Oak Park households Thursday and should be reaching mailboxes within the next few days. Meanwhile, the Village is regularly promoting the community information sessions and the Shape Oak Park project across its social media channels. Detailed information is also available on the Village website at www.oak-park.us/ShapeOakPark and the Engage Oak Park website at www.engageoakpark.com/shape.

The Oak Park Police Department's Residential Beat Officers are hosting a virtual neighborhood meeting for all zones at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9. The RBOs will be discussing crime statistics and crime prevention tips and getting feedback from residents on issues in throughout the community. Representatives from the Village's Neighborhood Partnerships Division will also be on hand to discuss Canopy Connection, Oak Park’s neighborhood registry program, including the benefits of participating in an existing neighborhood group or starting a new group in your community. Staff will also share a brief overview of upcoming events and opportunities for residents to participate in Shape Oak Park community engagement sessions regarding proposed changes to the Village's zoning code. More information, including how to join the meeting is at www.oak-park.us/RBO926.

The Oak Park Farmers' Market Pie Bake-Off is taking place on Saturday, Sept. 19, and applications are now being accepted. Create a delicious pie featuring Market ingredients and see if you can impress this year’s judges. The registration form and more details about the contest can be found at www.oak-park.us/piebakeoff. The deadline to apply is Sept. 9. Market attendees interested in applying to be a judge for the 2026 Pie Bake-Off can send a one or two paragraph email to farmersmarket@oak-park.us by Sept. 9 detailing why they would be a good judge for the contest. 

The next Oak Park Workforce Academy Customer Service Masterclass is now accepting new enrollees. Presented by the Office of Economic Vitality and Triton College, this free Customer Service Masterclass is designed to improve customer experience, strengthen employee retention and support economic vitality throughout Oak Park. Registration is now open for the next masterclass. Sessions will occur on four consecutive Wednesdays from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. beginning on Sept. 23. Sessions will cover the different topics, including building customer relationships, service and sales, managing conflicts and thinking on your feet. Click here to register.

The Desplaines Valley Mosquito Abatement District completed spraying this week in Oak Park as part of its efforts to minimize a viral transmission cycle of mosquitoes that carry West Nile Virus. Spraying was originally slated to only take place on Wednesday, but DVMAD had to return Thursday to finish areas that were missed the first night due to mechanical issues. West Nile Virus has been found in mosquitoes throughout Illinois, including Oak Park. More information about mosquito control efforts is available on the Village website at www.oak-park.us/dvmad26.

The Village's new Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Awards celebrate the individuals, organizations, businesses and community groups that help make Oak Park a more welcoming, inclusive and connected community. These awards are intended to recognize contributions to the community that foster understanding, expand participation and strengthen a sense of belonging for all residents. Visit www.oak-park.us/DEIawards for more information and to submit a nomination.

Village officials are marking SMART Week by reminding the community that securing firearms is one of the best ways to keep our schools and communities safe from gun violence. As part of its injury prevention initiative, the Oak Park Public Health Department encourages families to talk about gun safety with friends and neighbors as a way of helping reduce accidental injuries via firearms. Anyone seeking help starting gun safety conversations can check out the conversation-starters and safe storage tips at www.oak-park.us/safestorage. For more information, contact health@oak-park.us or 708.358.5480.

The Village periodically auctions off vehicles from its fleet that are no longer in use through the Public Surplus website. A 2016 Ford Explorer unmarked squad car is currently being auctioned. Bids are being accepted online through Sept. 10 – click here for all the details.

The Bridging the Ike project team engaged with community members about the initiative’s latest the steps at a public meeting earlier this month. Anyone who did not attend can find the meeting presentation slides and provide feedback via a survey posted at www.engageoakpark.com/ike. Input from the community will help inform the next step of the evaluation process for this joint initiative between the Village and the Illinois Department of Transportation. The project involves a renewed study funded by federal earmarks to examine existing conditions and future possibilities for the I-290 bridge crossings within the Village limits.

Renew the Avenue project – Concrete work is ongoing this week along Oak Park Avenue between Pleasant Street and South Boulevard. Pedestrians will utilize the new concrete sidewalk base adjacent to the buildings as the temporary access ramps are removed along the south block. The concrete crew will move to South Boulevard next week and continue pouring new curb and sidewalk along this section of the project. Other Renew the Avenue project updates include:

• The brick paver contractor will mobilize to the site next week. Brick paver installation will begin on the south block between Pleasant and South Boulevard.
• The lighting and traffic signal conduit installation will wrap up this week at the intersection of Pleasant and Oak Park Avenue. The electrical contractor will move back to the north section of the project next week to continue conduit installation.
• AT&T continues installing its last communications manhole at the corner of North Boulevard and Oak Park Avenue. This work should wrap up next week.
• Union Pacific will continue with its concrete parapet repairs along North Boulevard east of Oak Park Avenue next week.

Water and sewer project – The contractor is continuing water service replacements on the 1000 and 1100 blocks of S. Scoville Ave. this week and will continue with service replacements into next week. The new watermain on N. Euclid Avenue was successfully pressure tested and chlorinated last week. Several water service line assessments were also completed for homeowners who will have their lead service replaced with the Village’s contractor. Water service replacements are getting underway and will continue for the next few weeks.

Resurfacing project – Concrete removals will be completed by early next week at all remaining resurfacing locations. Concrete installations will be finalized this week at Scoville Avenue between South Boulevard and Washington Boulevard, Monroe Street between Harlem Avenue and Grove Avenue, Carpenter Avenue between Madison Street and Harrison Street, Clinton Avenue between Van Buren Street and Harrison Street, and Clinton Avenue between Lexington Street and Roosevelt Road. The first layer of asphalt will be placed on Grove between Augusta Street and Chicago Avenue, followed by Augusta between Harlem and Oak Park Avenue, Marion Street between Division Street and Augusta, Erie Street between Elmwood Avenue and Taylor Avenue and Van Buren Street between East Avenue and Ridgeland Avenue. Manhole adjustments will continue on Augusta with sewer work to follow. Sewer work on Euclid Avenue between Greenfield Street and Division will follow as well.

Sidewalk project – The contractor completed the sidewalk replacements in the southeast quadrant of the Village on the east side of the street early this week. Replacements on the west side of the street also began this week. All sidewalk replacements for the project are expected to be completed by the middle of next week. The angle cutting contractor anticipates starting the week of Sept. 7. Angle cuts will also be focused in the southeast quadrant of town.