Wrestling postseason Sports, page 36
W E D N E S D A Y
JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
February 8, 2017 Vol. 35, No. 25 ONE DOLLAR
@O @OakPark
Park District of Oak Park opposes downtown high-rise Park board says shade will damage Austin Gardens By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter
The debate over whether to allow an 18-story luxury apartment building to be built adjacent to a public park in downtown Oak Park is heating up with a statement from the Park District of Oak Park opposing the project. The Park District Board of Commissioners released a statement on Monday, Feb. 6, stating its opposition to approving a zoning change for the property at 1000 Lake St. that would allow for a building taller than the 80foot height allowed under existing zoning. Albion Residential revealed its plans last week at an open-house meeting to build a 200-foot tall building at the site, which is See HIGH-RISE SHADOW on page 16
Protest, then a policy change
SEBASTION HILDAGO/Contributor
Protesters march on Scoville Park last Saturday during what was billed as a “Rally for Sanctuary in Oak Park,” an event organized by the Democratic Party of Oak Park and Suburban Unity Alliance, among other groups. Read about Oak Park’s passage of a Sanctuary City ordinance on page 8.
Atheists: OPRF Gospel Choir isn’t complying with law The Freedom From Religion Foundation says it’s thinking about future legal action By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter
A national nonprofit organization, selfdescribed on its website as a “state/church watchdog and voice for freethought (atheism, agnosticism, skepticism),” claims that Oak Park and River Forest High School is
violating the law by allowing one of its faculty members to participate in the high school’s Gospel Choir and, as of last week, was contemplating legal action. In a statement released on Jan. 31, officials with the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation — which boasts that is has over 26,000 members throughout
the country — claimed that it was informed by a “local community member” late last year that the high school’s Gospel Choir was being led by a school employee, an alleged violation of the Equal Access Act. The federal law, passed in 1984 in order to compel schools to allow students equal See GOSPEL CHOIR on page 16
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