W E D N E S D A Y
July 19, 2017 Vol. 35, No. 48 ONE DOLLAR
JOURNAL
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of Oak Park and River Forest
Fluttering for the border Oak Park-born butterfly discovered in central Mexico By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter
Earlier this year — on Feb. 21, to be precise — the Oak Park Board of Trustees approved a resolution declaring Monarch Pledge Day, an effort advanced by the National Wildlife Federation to bring attention to the endangered insect. The pledge encourages residents of Oak Park to plant milkweed and nectar plants for the monarchs, which have declined in population over the last several decades. The very next day, a monarch butterfly, born and raised in the 500 block of
South Elmwood Avenue in Oak Park, was discovered more than 2,000 miles away in Cerro Pelon, Mexico. Neither Judy Fitchett, the woman who raised and released the monarch, nor her neighbor, Stacey Fifer, who helped tag the butterfly, had any idea either event had taken place. Fitchett, who lives on Elmwood a few houses down from her friend and fellow monarch enthusiast, said she’s raised and released roughly 50 monarch butterflies from her home over the last five years, but the summer of 2016 was a tough one. See MONARCHS on page 13
Albion: Tower won’t hurt Austin Gardens Developer makes first formal proposal to Oak Park Plan Commission By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter
Photo provided by Stacey Fifer
READY FOR THE VOYAGE: Esme Conour, 10, has helped her mother, Stacey Fifer, raise and release monarch butterflies from their home on South Elmwood Avenue for the last few years. Once the monarchs are released, they make a long journey to Mexico.
Oak Park residents got their first official presentation on the controversial 18-story Albion high-rise building proposed for downtown at a meeting of the Oak Park Plan Commission on July 11. A team of Albion representatives made the case that the mixed-use building – 265 apartments, 9,500 square feet of retail and an internal parking garage
with 235 spaces – would not damage the adjacent Austin Gardens or create traffic congestion in the downtown area. The building is zoned to allow eight stories, so Albion must receive aproval from the Oak Park Board of Trustees. The citizen-led Plan Commission will provide a recommendation to the board of trustees, but the commission’s recommendation is not binding. Albion’s vice president of development, Andrew Yule, said the building was designed in an L-shaped configuration to reduce the amount of shade cast over Austin Gardens. The company’s arborist, Mark Duntemann of the Oak See ALBION on page 13
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