W E D N E S D A Y
November 30, 2016 Vol. 35, No.15 ONE DOLLAR
JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
Holiday House Walk
@O @OakPark
Homes, page 21
VMA comes up short of a full slate Selection group fails to find enough candidates for the spring election By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter
The Village Manager Association, the only group in Oak Park that vets and slates groups of candidates for local public office, has released its picks for the municipal election in April, with two glaring omissions: village president and one of three open seats on the board of trustees. It is the first time in the organization’s history that the group — made up of citizens who volunteer to interview Oak Park candidates for village president, trustee and village clerk — has failed to run a full slate of candidates. The group named trustee incumbents Glenn Brewer and Peter Barber for two of the three open seats on the village board — Trustee Colette Lueck has said she will not run for re-election, leaving her seat open for a new trustee. The VMA also endorsed Lori Malinski, director of development at Oak-Leyden Development Services, for the village clerk position. Six candidates have announced their intention to run for village trustee, several of whom said they appeared before the VMA’s selection committee: Barber and Brewer, realtor Dan Moroney, restaurateur Deno Andrews, attorney Simone Boutet, and Oak Park Township Trustee James Taglia. See VMA on page 18
Courtesy Clark Street Real Estate
IN THE BULLSEYE: Clark Street Real Estate is bringing a Target retail store to the 22,000-square-foot space at the ground level of its new development, Elevate Oak Park, near the corner of Harlem and Lake.
Target coming to downtown Oak Park Clark Street Real Estate to bring retail chain to Lake and Harlem By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter
Clark Street Real Estate, developer of the mixed-use development Elevate Oak Park, announced Tuesday it has secured
a deal to bring a Target retail store to its 22,000-square-foot retail space near the corner of Lake and Harlem. The developer described the location in a press release as a “flexible-format store” that will include a grocery section, men’s and women’s apparel, electronics, toys and sporting goods, home goods and other departments typical of the retailer. The store is expected to open in October 2017. The Clark Street press release noted that the “customized stores” have been a
success with Target customers in densely populated urban and suburban areas and on college campuses. The retail chain operates 30 of the flexible-format stores, four of which are in Chicago. Target plans to open three more in the city in 2017. A Clark Street representative could not immediately be reached for comment. Clark Street Principal Andy Stein said in See TARGET on page 17
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