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JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
February 22, 2017 Vol. 35, No. 27 ONE DOLLAR
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D97 braces for ‘perfect storm’ if referenda fail Officials to discuss $14M in proposed cuts if ballot measures fail By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter
During a Feb. 15 regular meeting, Oak Park District 97 officials revealed their plans for making up for a lack of funds if the upcoming operating and capital funds referendum questions fail in the April 4 election. Board members and administrators say the series of budget cuts might be among the most consequential in the district’s history. Last December, school board members approved two separate referendum questions. One seeks to increase the district’s tax levy by $13,344,415 to a total of $66,481,876 in order to pay for operations. The other seeks voter approval to issue up to $57.5 million in bonds for a variety of facilities improvements and building expansions. District officials anticipate that the first referendum will cost taxpayers $74 for every $1,000 of an average homeowner’s current tax bill. That measure is designed to increase the district’s total fund balance to 27.5 percent of total operating expenses within five years. The second referendum will have no fiscal impact, district officials said. If voters reject both of those referendum questions, the district could be forced to make more than $14 million in cuts to staff, programming and general operations over three years. District officials estimate that the cuts will result in a balanced budget and a fund balance of 15 percent, which is See REFERENDA on page 15
WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer
FLYING THE FLAG: Residents of the 600 block of Fair Oaks are flying rainbow flags and displaying anti-hate yard signs to make a statement about the ‘hateful policies’ of Pres. Donald Trump. Oak Park and River Forest High School grad Sarah Sugimoto, 19, said she wants to send a message that discrimination is not welcome in Oak Park.
Flying the flag against Trump
Neighbors hoist flags, signs to speak out against ‘hateful policies’ By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter
Oak Parkers in the 600 block of Fair Oaks are sending a message to President Donald Trump that hate is not welcome
in their neighborhood. The statement has come in the form of roughly a dozen rainbow flags that line the block and yard signs saying “Hate has no home here” and “Immigrants welcome.” Sarah Sugimoto, a recent graduate of Oak Park and River Forest High School, said her mother, Sondra Summers, first came up with the idea, but Sugimoto took it a step further. Sugimoto emailed neighbors on the
block near the end of last year about the idea of putting up the flags and then ordered and distributed them to those interested on the block. The flags have been in place for some while. But then Sugimoto attended an immigrant rights rally in Scoville Park in early February that drew hundreds of supporters of Oak Park’s then-proposed sanctuary city ordinance. She said that See FLAGS on page 14
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