W E D N E S D A Y
Community of Caring Special pullout section
JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
November 1, 2017 Vol. 35, No. 11 ONE DOLLAR
@oakpark @wednesdayjournal
OP Township falsified Pace ridership by thousands Suburban bus system cuts ties and subsidy with Oak Park over fake riders By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter
For many seniors and disabled people, Oak Park Township’s transportation system — which has historically been operated in partnership with the Pace suburban bus system — is a lifeline to the community. But an investigation by the Office of Executive Inspector General (OEIG) in 2016, revealed that Oak Park Township was inflating ridership for the program by hundreds of rides per week — about a third of the more than 40,400 rides it reported in 2016 — the second time the organization has been caught submitting fake numbers since 2012. The OEIG report released last year states, “Pace estimated that the township over-reported ridership from January 2013 through March 17, 2016, by ‘a minimum’ of 46,226 rides, noting that ‘the figures may be larger.’ “After correcting payment for actual ridership in January and February 2016 and withholding the March 2016 payment, Pace still overpaid the township about $131,890.” The investigation also showed that former Township Transportation Coordinator Jeremiah Mabon, who either was fired or quit the position last year — the township will not say which — not only falsified docuSee PACE on page 16
Superhero Shuffle
ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer
Oak Park Avenue had more costumes per square foot than anywhere else in the village last Saturday morning during the annual Halloween Parade, followed by Hemingway Business District trick-or-treating. For more, see page 14 and oakpark.com.
D200 weighs community center funds By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter
The Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 school board has narrowed in on three possible funding scenarios for a proposed community recreational center that is still light on details, such as where it would be located and how, specifically, it will be operated. Since at least May, talks between Dis-
trict 200 and the park districts of Oak Park and River Forest have been heating up regarding the prospect of a community recreational center that would feature an indoor swimming pool, among other amenities, to be used by residents in both villages. In May, the taxing bodies had settled on three possible but unidentified sites for the center, with costs ranging from $36 million to $38 million for one option,
from $41 million to $43 million for a second option and from $45 million to $47 million for a third option. During a District 200 school board meeting on Oct. 26, board members considered three different scenarios related to the proposed community center. One funding scenario contemplates District 200 not participating in the See COMMUNITY CENTER on page 13
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