W E D N E S D A Y
September 14, 2016 Vol. 35, No. 4 ONE DOLLAR
JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
@O @OakPark
OPRF IWS celebrates 100 years Special pullout section
Assaulted Oak Park cop stirs Taser debate Police officer was attacked, bitten at CTA station By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter
Roots that run deep
purchase adjoining properties to the east. The mayor later revealed, at a public meeting in June of this year, that a developer was already working to control various adjacent and nearby properties in anticipation of the new development. Those sites include two buildings often referred to as the FoleyRice buildings, after the car dealer formerly located in the 600 block of Madi-
An Oak Park police officer is back on the beat after recovering from injuries sustained when she was allegedly struck, bitten and choked by a man at the CTA Green Line-Metra station stop at Harlem Avenue and Marion Street on Sept. 1. The alleged attack, which left Officer Samantha Deuchler with multiple injuries – none of which were life-threatening – and two other Oak Park cops with minor injuries, has prompted a debate about whether Oak Park police officers should begin carrying Tasers. Oak Park’s new police chief, Anthony Ambrose, says he is, in fact, considering using them. Oak Park police report that Deuchler and two other officers were on patrol in the area of the CTA stop just before 6 p.m. and witnessed Demetrius C. Jones, 24, of the 2100 block of North Monitor Avenue in Chicago, “shouting profanities and chasing two juveniles from the station lobby,” according to a statement from police. Jones allegedly chased the juveniles onto the 1100 block of North Boulevard. Deuchler tried to deescalate the situation, when Jones reportedly punched her in the face and attempted to choke her. The two other officers intervened, and Jones punched Deuchler in the face a second time and bit her before he could be subdued, according to police. Oak Park Deputy Police Chief Frank Limon said in a telephone interview that the two other officers sus-
See MADISON on page 14
See TASERS on page 15
WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer
Stephanie Walquist, a member of Wild Ones, a nonprofit dedicated to planting and spreading information about native vegetation, works on installing a new garden path at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School on Sept. 10. Read more on the garden on page 11.
Madison development picks up speed Village set to release RFP tailored to single developer By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter
It’s been more than a year since Oak Park Mayor Anan Abu-Taleb rolled out his vision for the commercial corner of
Oak Park Avenue and Madison Street. Abu-Taleb, during a walking tour of the area in April 2015, said the villageowned parking lot at the northeast corner of that intersection would be sold to a developer and that the village could potentially alter the street to make room for a large mixed-use development. Abu-Taleb said at that time that the village was negotiating with an unnamed developer, who could possibly
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