The Village is hosting a History of Zoning Community Forum intended to provide community members with information and historical context as proposed changes to Oak Park’s Zoning Ordinance are considered. The discussion will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 28 at the Nineteenth Century Charitable Association, 178 Forest Ave. The goal of the forum is to help residents better understand how zoning has shaped communities in the past while considering Oak Park’s housing needs, community values and future. More information is at www.oak-park.us/HistoryOfZoning.

The Village’s Plan Commission will hold a public hearing as it considers proposed changes to Oak Park’s zoning code. The hearing will take place from 6 to 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8 in the auditorium at Oak Park and River Forest High School. Residents are encouraged to visit www.engageoakpark.com/shape to find answers to frequently asked questions and review a presentation about the proposed changes to Oak Park’s zoning code. Community members can also explore the Village’s Zoning Comparison Tool to see what could change on their block, provide feedback and ask questions

The Oak Park Public Health Department has offered free collection of sharps at Village Hall for nearly six months, and since its debut, the program has served more than 150 community members and collected 322 containers of sharps. Working closely with the Welcome Center staff, members of the Public Health Department are on hand during Village Hall business hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, ready to help residents safely dispose of sharps, which include used syringes, needles, auto-injector pens and lancets. Sharps should not be placed in the regular garbage, as they pose a health hazard for the community and a safety hazard for sanitation workers. On average, the program collects 54 sharps containers per month, or more than two every day of the week. The month of August was the busiest for the program, and since April, the number of containers dropped off at Village Hall has grown each month. The program also provides free sharps containers to residents, available at the Welcome Center desk.

The Fire Department received another Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) totaling $32,727 to provide two Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) setups and bottles. The SCBA equipment allows individual firefighter/paramedics to immediately protect themselves while operating in hazardous environments. The grant also covers a Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) bag, which is used by crews to replace the breathing apparatus of a downed or entrapped firefighter operating in hazardous conditions. The personal SCBA equipment will allow crews to immediately protect themselves while providing aid and conducting rescues in dangerous environments. Adding an RIT bag provides another important layer of safety for all rescuers on scene. It gives the Fire Department and its mutual-aid partners access to an additional, specialized piece of emergency rescue equipment that would normally be cost-prohibitive to purchase.

Save the date for the Oak Park Fire Department's annual Open House on Saturday, Oct. 3! Oak Parkers young, old and in between will be able to get up close to the equipment, tour the fire house and talk to the firefighter/paramedics who help keep the community safe during the event, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Main Station at 100 N. Euclid Ave. A Vitalant blood drive will be held onsite to help supply community blood centers – register to donate blood here. Representatives from NICOR, NAMI, the U.S. Army and the Village’s ECHO team are among the community partners participating in the event. Find more information at www.oak-park.us/fireopenhouse26.

Fleet Superintendent Ken Crowley attended the B20 Club stakeholders’ meeting in Mundelein on Thursday and received the Community Leadership Award for his efforts promoting green fleet practices. The Village of Oak Park also received a 10-year member award recognizing the organization’s distinguished service to the B20 Club of Illinois and leadership in advancing biodiesel adoption through peer-to-peer fleet education, stakeholder engagement, transportation research and community outreach.

Village Forestry staff recently volunteered at Fort Sheridan National Cemetery in Lake Forest through the Saluting Branches program. Saluting Branches is a nationwide initiative where arborists can volunteer and participate in a work day at various veteran cemeteries. Upon checking in, Village Forestry staff immediately volunteered to remove a standing dead oak tree that no one had offered to remove in the three years Fort Sheridan was a participating site. Working on the tree was a great teambuilding experience where Forestry staff could practice different work techniques. 

Neighborhood Services Department staff, in partnership with the Police and Fire Departments, hosted a community lunch Thursday afternoon on the south lawn at Village Hall. The luncheon offered an opportunity for community partners to connect with one another, meet Village staff and enjoy a relaxed afternoon of delicious food and meaningful conversation.

The Village Clerk’s Office welcomed Brady Burden in the new role of File Clerk this week. Brady has an environmental science background and spent five years working for the Illinois House of Representatives.

Firefighter/Paramedic Savannah Reinhart was back at the Oak Park Farmers’ Market Pie Bake-Off on Sept. 19, this time as a judge after winning the contest in 2025. This year’s winner was K Chinthana Sotakoun, who took the top prize for her stone fruit pie with goat cheese and walnut crumb topping. Eight bakers participated in the event, and after the contest extra pie was given away to Market patrons as samples. The first-place winner not only receives bragging rights and a commemorative pie plate but is also invited to judge next year’s competition. The recipes for this year’s top three pies are posted at www.oak-park.us/piebakeoff.

Check out the latest episode of the Inside Oak Park podcast as the Village’s Chief Sustainability Officer Lindsey Roland Nieratka brings the global issue of climate change close to home and discusses how Oak Parkers can work together to make a difference. Get an update on the community’s progress toward the goals laid out in the Climate Ready Oak Park plan and hear about grant funding available to all residents who make energy efficiency upgrades to their homes. Listen to the podcast on Spotify or at www.oak-park.us/podcast.

Renew the Avenue updates – The roadway excavation crew for the Renew the Avenue project is ready to remove pavement under the railroad bridge that spans Oak Park Avenue and at the old plaza area adjacent to Citrine. The crew will also begin structural soil excavation and placement along the north block later next week.

• Electrical conduit installation continues along South Boulevard this week. The electrical crews will move to the north block to install conduit and light pole foundations next week.
• The concrete crew will finish up the concrete roadway base installation this week on the north block and then move to South Boulevard next week to continue concrete restoration.
• Brick paver installation continues on the south block between Pleasant Street and South Boulevard. Crews are focusing on the sidewalks first and then will move to the roadway bricks. Roadway brick paver installation may begin later next week once a second crew mobilizes to the site.
• Outside the project limits, Nicor continues alley pavement restoration along North Boulevard and the alley west of Oak Park Avenue restoring concrete alley pavement and sidewalks that were damaged during its new gas main installation earlier this year.

Water and sewer project – The contractor has completed pavement, curb and sidewalk removals on the 1000 block of S. Scoville Ave. and will continue this work on the 1100 block. The contractor will begin to pour new sidewalk and curb as removals proceed. The contractor also completed all underground work this week on Euclid Avenue, including the water main and valve installation at Greenfield Street, abandoning the old water main and removing old catch basins and manholes. By the end of this week, the contractor will sawcut the existing sidewalk, curb and pavement scheduled for replacement in preparation for removals next week.

Resurfacing project – The sewer repairs on Euclid Avenue between Division Street and Greenfield Street will be completed this week, followed by the repairs on Augusta Street between Harlem Avenue and Oak Park Avenue. Residents should expect lane closures and delays on Belleforte Avenue and Forest Avenue near Augusta as the repairs are completed. Elsewhere, the final layer of asphalt surface is being placed on Erie Street between Elmwood Avenue and Taylor Avenue and on Van Buren Street between East Avenue and Ridgeland Avenue. Speed cushion installations will begin next week. Crews will start on the north side of the Village and progress south. Concrete removals are also getting underway on Wesley Avenue between Roosevelt Road and Fillmore Street, Harvard Street between Taylor and Austin Boulevard and Humphrey Avenue between Roosevelt and Harvard.

Sidewalk project – The sidewalk angle cut contractor continued progress in the southeast quadrant of the Village this week. These sidewalk repairs will continue for the next 2-3 weeks.

Pavement preservation – The contractor started pavement patching at various locations throughout the Village on Wednesday. Crews began on the north side of the Village and have begun making their way south to all pre-determined patching locations. The contractor anticipates beginning crack sealing and micro surfacing work next week. These improvements are intended to extend the life of the existing pavement. Minor traffic delays are anticipated while work is in progress.

Bike boulevards – Pavement marking work will continue over the next week along Van Buren Street between Carpenter Avenue and Humphrey Avenue and on Harvard Street between Maple Avenue and Austin Boulevard. Crews will be focused on installing bike lane striping and bike lane symbols. The exact locations of work may shift next week as the project is being closely coordinated with multiple other in-progress capital improvement projects in the area.

OPRF project street closure – Oak Park and River Forest High School is planning to start pavement restoration work Monday on Scoville Avenue from Ontario Street to just north of Lake Street. The pavement restoration activity will require closing the block to traffic while work is ongoing for the next couple weeks. Access to the parking garage at OPRF will be maintained while work is ongoing.

Celebrate the changing seasons this weekend at Oaktoberfest in Downtown Oak Park. Enjoy an exciting live music lineup, delicious food from local restaurants, hand-crafted microbrews, a selection of fine wines and kids’ activities from 4 to 10 p.m. today (Sept. 25) and from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26. The event features several sustainability initiatives including eco-friendly aluminum cups and free refillable water stations. Click here to read about the sustainability initiatives. Note that there are several road closures associated with the event that will remain in place until 6 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 27. Marion Street is now closed between Lake Street and North Boulevard and North Boulevard is closed between Maple Avenue and Forest Avenue. Parking Lot 10 and Parking Lot 3 are also closed until Sunday morning.

The Village's Energy and Water Benchmarking Ordinance requires buildings 10,000 square feet and larger to report energy and water usage to help building owners and managers improve energy efficiency. The Village's Office of Sustainability & Resilience is hosting a Benchmarking Data Jam from 3 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 6 in Room 101 at Village Hall. During this hands-on workshop, building owners and managers will learn how to set up a free account in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, how to set up a building profile, how to collect and enter monthly energy and water use data for an entire building, and how to share data to comply with the benchmarking ordinance. Find more information and a link to register at www.oak-park.us/datajam26.

Save the date for Oak Park Climate Action Network's upcoming Clean Energy Open Houses from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4.  Learn how clean energy upgrades are done by walking through two typical vintage Oak Park homes that have been fully electrified with heat pump HVAC and hot water heaters, solar panels, geothermal, induction stoves and more. Homeowners and contractors will be on hand to answer questions and share expertise. This event is free but registration is required – click here to register.

NBC 5 recently aired a segment that featured 3Fold bakery and its owners, longtime Oak Park residents Sara and Dimitri Fayard. “Food Guy” Kevin Pang lauded the Oak Park business at 401 South Blvd., which opened earlier this year, for having the finest croissant he’s eaten in 20 years of covering Chicago’s food scene. Click here to view the segment.