WJ Voter Empowerment Guide 031721

Voter

Empowerment 2021 Guide

M e e t t h e c a n d i d a t e s : T h e y a n s w e r t h e J o u r n a l ’s q u e s t i o n s | E a r l y v o t i n g : A l l t h e d e t a i l s ONLINE AT OAKPARK .COM/VOTER-EMPOWERMENT-GUIDE | Complete candidate interviews | Sample ballots | Precinct maps

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Wednesday Journal, March 17, 2021

Voter Empowerment Election Guide • 2021 • sponsored by GOOD HEART/WORK SMART FOUNDATION

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

OAK PARK NEEDS INFORMED VOTERS! Oak Park voters are blessed with many well-qualified candidates this year: longtime residents who profess their love for Oak Park and for their families and who list impressive qualities and experiences.

How to choose?

Demand clear answers on key issues!

Taxes—How should we balance reducing spending and raising revenue? What are your priorities for holding down spending? What approaches do you favor for increasing revenues?

Equity—Everyone says they're in favor of greater equity. What ideas do you have for actually making Oak Park affordable and welcoming for a diverse population?

For giving all Oak Parkers a greater voice in decisions that affect them?

Development—The Village Board has recently overruled neighbors and Citizen Commissions to approve large new developments. Do you approve? How would you reform the way the Village makes decisions about development?

Business—Small, locally-owned, and minority-owned businesses have been especially hard hit. How should the Village help them recover and thrive?

Diversity—Recent years have seen a decline in Oak Park's African-American population and a trend toward having richer and poorer neighborhoods. What should the Village do to reverse these trends?

Safety—What ideas do you have for enhancing public safety for all people who live, work, shop, study, and visit here? Should local police practices be reformed?

Environment—How should local government support and encourage sustainable practices and a greener, healthier environment within and beyond Oak Park?

Look beyond glossy mailers and feel-good soundbites!

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Voter Empowerment Election Guide • 2021 • sponsored by GOOD HEART/WORK SMART FOUNDATION

Wednesday Journal, March 17, 2021

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The future of these villages is in your hands

As you read these 32 pages of questions and answers from And as Oak Park and River Forest move toward each of these candidates know that there is a lot on the line the Spring elections for village and school leaders, this year. New superintendents are coming to OPRF and library, park and township offices Wednesday Journal District 97. Whoever is elected, Oak Park’s village government is offering you this Voter Empowerment Guide. It is is moving in a new direction. River Forest has its most diverse a part of our Campaign for Democracy that includes our batch of village board candidates in memory. There are ongoing coverage of all the candidates, competitive elections for Oak Park Township presidential forums via Zoom and this and for the River Forest park district. comprehensive guide to the women and Your vote truly matters. men who are putting themselves forward as Do you plan to early vote? The details on candidates. how to do it are just below.

Let’s start there.

Also, there is a digital version of this Voter There is something brave and generous, Empowerment Guide on our OakPark.com All democracy is local only occasionally ego-driven, that leads a website. The Q&As are there in longer versions, local person to run for local office. We’ve there’s a sample ballot, a precinct map and been watching for 41 years and our observation is that with a more. It also includes other local races that could not be printed dud once in a while, with people we have strongly disagreed due to space. All candidates were asked six questions specific to with on policy, that in our non-partisan elections almost all the elected position for which they are running. candidates run because they care about the high school Finally, this expanded coverage is possible because of a or the parks, have a vision for the library, are committed to donation to our Growing Community Media nonprofit from better village services or holding taxes or growing equity. Or the Good Heart Work Smart Foundation. It has allowed us all of the above. not only to fund our election reporting and create this guide ll democracy is local.

Early voting starting soon Oak Park village hall opens for early voting March 22

By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter

With the April 6 consolidated municipal election nearing, those who want to get a head start on voting are just one week away.

Oak Park residents planning to vote early can do so at village hall, 123 Madison St., beginning March 22 and up until April 4. Monday through Friday early voting hours at Oak Park village hall extend from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Weekend early voting hours are between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.

The villages of River Forest and Forest Park do not have designated early voting sites, but residents are able to vote early at any suburban Cook County location, including at the Maywood Courthouse (Whitcomb Building), 1311 Maybrook Square. Early voting begins March 10 at Maywood Courthouse and ends April 4.

Like Oak Park village hall, early voting hours at the Maywood Courthouse extend from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, with weekend early voting hours between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sundays.

Early voting at Brookfield village hall, 8820 Brookfield Ave., begins March 22 and ends April 4. Brookfield village hall has the same designated early voting hours as both Oak Park village hall and Maywood Courthouse.

A full list of every suburban early voting location, as well as each location’s early voting hours, can be accessed on the Cook County Clerk’s website.

Voters who would like to receive a mail-in ballot can download and print off an application

or register for one online. Both options are available through the Cook County Clerk’s website. The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is April 1, five days before election day.

To apply for one online, voters need a driver’s license, a state identification number or the last four digits of their social security numbers. Those who apply need also to provide the address to which the ballot should be sent, as well as an email address.

Printed applications must be signed and sent to the County Clerk’s office.

When the application has been received and processed, a mail-in ballot will be delivered to the address requested by the voter on the application.

Residents must fill out and return mailin ballots no later than election day. Filled out mail-in ballots can be deposited in the secure drop boxes located at the five regional Cook County courthouses located in Rolling Meadows, Skokie, Maywood, Bridgeview and Markham. They can also be deposited at the Cook County Clerk’s office at 69 W. Washington St. in downtown Chicago.

Unlike during the most recent election held last November, Oak Park village hall will not have a secured ballot drop box, according to Oak Park Village Clerk Vicki Scaman.

“Mail Ballot Drop boxes at Early Voting sites were authorized by special legislation which applied only to the November 2020 election,” said Scaman. “So far the State of Illinois has not reauthorized the use of drop boxes at Early Voting locations for the April 6, 2021 Consolidated Election.”

but also to widely increase our circulation for this issue of Wednesday Journal.

We are mailing 20,000 copies this week to thousands of additional apartments, condos and single-family homes across Oak Park and River Forest. These are people who do not regularly receive the paper. We hope they will be motivated to vote, and, yes, we hope they will consider subscribing to our weekly print edition or become a donor on our digital side.

This election is in your hands. Educate yourselves on the issues and the candidates. And then seize the power of your vote.

Dan Haley

Stacey Sheridan

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER

PROJECT EDITOR AND REPORTER

Growing Community Media

Wednesday Journal

WHERE YOU CAN FIND VIRTUAL CANDIDATE FORUMS Before you place your vote, make sure you visit oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide to find all the forums various candidates have participated in over the last few weeks. This list was compiled by activisttoolkit.org and has been placed into our voter empowerment guide, which also includes Wednesday Journal’s Oak Park village president forum conducted on March 4 with candidates Cate Readling and Vicki Scaman.

Vicki Scaman

Cate Readling

Catherine M. Adduci

Patty Henek

Recap of Oak Park village president forum:

Tune in tonight for River Forest village president forum

Oak Park village presidential candidates, Scaman and Readling, went toe-to-toe answering tough policy questions during a virtual forum March 4 hosted by Wednesday Journal and the Business and Civic Council.

More than 4,500 Oak Parkers tuned in live or watched later to gauge the stances of candidates Readling and Scaman on such issues as equity, budgeting, pandemic recovery and policing.

The Journal is hosting another forum tonight at 7 PM with River Forest village president candidates Catherine Adduci and Patty Henek.

You can find the Zoom link on our website or tune in on Facebook Live.

Journal won’t be endorsing candidates During the March 4 Oak Park presidential forum, Dan Haley, editor and publisher of Growing Community Media, reminded viewers that for the first time in its 41-year history that the Journal would not be offering candidate endorsements.

Recently reformed as a non-profit entity,

Growing Community Media publications are not allowed to endorse candidates under restrictions set by the Internal Revenue Service.

The forum, which was held virtually due to the pandemic, has now been viewed 4,500 times via Zoom, Facebook Live, YouTube and on the Journal’s website at OakPark.com.

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Wednesday Journal, March 17, 2021

Voter Empowerment Election Guide • 2021 • sponsored by GOOD HEART/WORK SMART FOUNDATION

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

RIVER FOREST VILLAGE PRESIDENT (2 CANDIDATES FOR 1 OPEN SEAT) C A T H Y In your time on the village board, what are your biggest accomplishments and how did those accomplishments work to benefit the entire community?

The most significant action we have taken was last year’s decision to lower the Village’s portion of our property tax bill. This historic action allowed our residents a reprieve from property tax increases due to inflation and other factors. We were also concerned about the economic impact of COVID-19 on our residents.

We needed to give our residents some form of relief so they could continue to live here. This was not only appropriate, but it must be an important principle that all local, state, and federal elected officials need to follow: to be responsible and prudent fiduciaries of our taxpayers’ money.

The Board and I were able to take this action because of years of sound fiscal management and streamlining government processes. River Forest will continue to manage and balance the budget throughout this challenging - and unusual - period.

In a community best known for its affluent housing, what are the economic and social benefits of increasing affordable housing in River Forest?

The economic and social benefits of increasing affordable housing will benefit all of River For-

M .

est. The Plan we adopted will offer a more diverse housing stock for the middle class.

More housing for the middle class will have a positive economic impact, including increases in local purchasing power, job creation, new tax revenues, improved health and access to critical community services. Middle income residents will have more disposable income to spend on groceries, restaurants, and services such as dry cleaners and hair salons—all items that are consumed locally.

Our Affordable Housing Plan will also aid persons with disabilities and those who want to age in place. The Plan supports Integrated Supportive Housing for new developments or as replacements of existing affordable housing.

Five years from now, how should we measure the success of the Twin Village Covenant between River Forest and Maywood?

We will measure the success of the Twin Village Covenant as blended in with the efforts of the Diversity Equity and Inclusion working group as well as the Village’s work with the Dominican University’s Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation framework.

We will share ideas and information and work

A D D U C I We will always look for the best person who together on solutions to common concerns, whether that includes ag- can do this important and complicated job. That ing in place or sustainability or setting person should possess many skills; one of them up group purchasing agreements so is the understanding of diversity, equity and both Villages can save money. We will inclusion.

The Village Administrator above all needs a also consider celebrating some holidays together, such as Memorial Day. clear picture of how the government must work.

Because of the conversation I ini- They must understand zoning, planning, finances, tiated with Dr. Carroll last summer, public safety, human resources, relationship River Forest and Dominican worked building with other communities, state and federal agencies, contract together tonegotiation and collective ward a common goal: formbargaining agreements with ing a partnership that will WEB EXTRA our public safety unions to embrace diversity and inSee candidates’ complete answers and bios at name a few. The successful clusion. With my leadership OAKPARK.COM/VOTEREMPOWERMENTGUIDE candidate also must be a and Trustee Bachner’s and strong communicator, with Brennan’s willingness to help good listening and decisionbuild consensus, we quickly making skills. and efficiently moved the The Board does not mentor the Village AdminDEI working group toward a positive path toward a resolution. I am proud of the work we have ac- istrator; At a minimum, the Village Administrator complished, and I embrace and look forward to should have at least more extensive knowledge getting to work on the initiatives from the internal about government than the Board. We should advisory group and with Dominican. The desire, in trust the Administrator’s judgment and decision five years, is to have substantive change that will making. The two - in tandem- must work together to achieve good and sound governance. drive us to be a better community.

How will recent discussions on equity inside village hall affect your approach to hiring a new village administrator?

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at: oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

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COMMUNITY FRIDGE: Carnival Grocery has partnered with Oak Park Community Fridge, and will be hosting Oak Park’s very first community refrigerator, open to the public March 13th. Customers can donate food to the fridge when they shop, directly helping the problem of food insecurity within our community.

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Voter Empowerment Election Guide • 2021 • sponsored by GOOD HEART/WORK SMART FOUNDATION

RIVER FOREST VILLAGE PRESIDENT (2 CANDIDATES FOR 1 OPEN SEAT) P A T T Y

H E N E K

In your time on the village I will vote YES on a more robust plan board, what are your biggest acwith actionable steps to reach higher complishments and how did those compliance goals. accomplishments work to benefit the entire community?

Five years from now, how I am not one to singularly own Board should we measure the success of accomplishments. Effective leadership the twin city covenant between to me means inspiring engagement at River Forest and Maywood? all levels, both inside the administration Success to me means ever- inand within the community and creasing interactions between our communities because there is syncredit belongs to the collective. As a Board, I am proud to be a part of the following ergy that can be more fully realized. Oak Park and Village initiatives: new Village Comprehensive River Forest enjoy a cooperative relationship that Plan; Welcoming Resolution; creation of the North seemingly continues naturally. That relationship Avenue TIF; Madison St. TIF property acquisitions; required intentionality, at first, and I see the Twin VilTwin Village Covenant with Maywood; partnership lage Covenant as the first step in a similarly-organic with Dominican University on Diversity, Equity relationship with Maywood. That could mean annuand Inclusion (DEI); and, balanced Village Budgets. al co-sponsored events, partnering to advocate for Combined, these accomplishments have laid the forest preserve improvements and programming, foundation to stabilize taxes; broaden engagement or implementing shared services or infrastructure across neighboring borders; ensure inclusion of all projects that are mutually beneficial. The greatest success, however, will be residents, and deliver financial measured when residents in stewardship. But more is both communities see and WEB EXTRA needed. Status quo cannot treat each other as neighbors.

See candidates’ complete answers and bios at be acceptable.

I personally see the forest OAKPARK.COM/VOTEREMPOWERMENTGUIDE Building on this foundation preserves as a great place to advance real change to foster these relationships. demands intentional planning For too long it has been a and implementation. I will convenient barrier between bring residents into the our communities. An event similar to A Day in Our solutions by creating a culture and system that Village could be organized to showcase what both values and recruits input from all. Together, we will communities have to offer. Collaboration with achieve real gains on economic development, boat launch activities or a sidewalk along Chicago diversity, sustainability, and much more.

Avenue to allow safe passage to Trailside would I am equally proud of the instances in which I have represent physical signs of the Twin Covenant. The demonstrated principled independence by voting opportunities are endless.

NO on: the Lake & Lathrop project extensions (a lack of confidence in developer’s project management How will recent discussions on equity inside and unwillingness to support existing businesses); village hall affect your approach to hiring a the minimally compliant Affordable Housing Plan new village administrator? (the need for a more robust goal); and, the Red Light The Village Board has a single employee, the VilCamera Program (the lack of requested data to lage Administrator, a professionally-trained municimake an informed decision). pal manager who functions as the CEO to oversee Village staff. We have a terrific staff and the once-inIn a community best known for its affluent a-decade opportunity to hire and mentor the new housing, what are the economic and social village administrator with an emphasis on transbenefits of increasing affordable housing in parency and inclusivity, attributes I believe lead to River Forest? good governance.

“Affordable housing” as a phrase has recently beI am a big believer in a 360 degree review of all come weaponized. To me, affordable housing: village functions. I championed the creation of the ■ ensures quality housing stock at varied price Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Ad Hoc Advipoints (providing new and existing residents houssory Group and believe it is the appropriate place ing aligned with changing life needs); to conduct a thorough review of internal and ex■ fosters economic diversity and inclusion which ternal initiatives, actions, and operating procedures enriches the village’s social fabric; to identify areas to revise in policy, training, and en■ allows households increased discretionary gagement for all village departments. As the Village spending in the community; administrator is intended to co-chair this Group, I ■ maintains intergenerational community ties will look for an administrator with DEI experience without displacing residents.

River Forest is in the bottom 4% of Illinois cities in and a thorough understanding of how to lead a providing affordable housing. In 2003, the IL State community like River Forest forward. This person legislature set a minimum benchmark for munici- should have a clear vision of the importance of this palities to maintain 10% of its housing stock as af- experience and look to affect policy through this fordable housing and stipulated that a municipality lense at all times. below this minimum develop a plan to reach this The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at: benchmark. It took River Forest 17 years to create a oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide minimally-compliant plan, resulting in my NO vote.

Wednesday Journal, March 17, 2021

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Wednesday Journal, March 17, 2021

Voter Empowerment Election Guide • 2021 • sponsored by GOOD HEART/WORK SMART FOUNDATION

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Local journalism promotes civil discourse, thriving communities and our vibrant democracy Growing Community Media connects citizens through independent journalism that is rooted deep in our neighborhoods, based in facts, and that reflects voices not always heard.

These trusted news sources • Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest • Austin Weekly News

And we welcome the opportunity to do some things better: • collaborate more with other newsrooms and nonprofits to expand our reach and impact; • expand the open platforms, digital and paper, to provide news in a format that meets the reader where you are • deepen the dialogue with citizens, listen more carefully to our readers who keep us accountable too

• Forest Park Review • Riverside Brookfield Landmark are now published by Growing Community Media NFP, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media organization founded in 2019, based in the offices of the Wednesday Journal.

Growing Community Media was the first for profit newsroom in Chicago to adopt a public service mission. This, frankly, was the easy part. It’s what we’ve always done.

Our reporters continue to create authentic journalism that keeps you informed and holds public officials accountable. Trusted journalistic leadership continues to chart the course forward.

We continue to strive to support your own growing awareness and understanding of differing opinions -- all sides of the story -- and move you to take action on behalf of issues you care about: racial equity and education in our schools, local business recovery and development, environmental concerns, housing, culture, food, entertainment and yes, sports. GCM provides local news in service to everyone who calls these communities home.

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Voter Empowerment Election Guide • 2021 • sponsored by GOOD HEART/WORK SMART FOUNDATION

Wednesday Journal, March 17, 2021

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

OAK PARK VILLAGE PRESIDENT (2 CANDIDATES FOR 1 OPEN SEAT) C A T E

R E A D L I N G

In detail, explain how you will lead the village and its residents and stakeholders to financial recovery without increasing the property tax burden?

To tackle the Covid crisis, we need to collaborate. We need to work with our Health Department and local health providers to facilitate vaccine distribution. We must underscore clear and effective communication and ensure that it reaches every corner of our Village.

Oak Park needs to align our values with our finances. I will work to limit property tax increases, restructure our user fees, and help to implement progressive taxes at the state level so we can fully fund public health, education, and social services. Certainly part of that involves a participatory budget, meaning the community has a hand in deciding how the Village spends a portion of the budget.

Our current economic development strategy is a race to the bottom, where tax breaks recruit corporations and developers. I will pursue an economic gardening strategy that uses those tools and others to support our existing business ecosystem, especially black and brown entrepreneurs.

I also want to see more innovation come out of Oak Park. Our town has a great reputation and is known around the world for fantastic architecture. We can turn that into more revenue. Bringing outside dollars into our community directly brings revenue into the Village budget. It lowers taxes for homeowners. It makes our businesses more sustainable. It helps to create more success stories that motivate more people to grow their businesses right here at home. It creates more jobs. Instead of us fighting over some crumbs, we’re working together to build something amazing.

How will you address affordability of living in Oak Park for all residents, not just homeowners?

I care so deeply about this issue that I have a plan to improve Oak Park’s affordable and fair housing on my website. If I am elected I will immediately begin a targeted listening tour to hear the unique needs of renters in our village and, I hope, on our board. I will host “Coffees with Cate” and offer childcare to ensure that everyone can participate. Then I would seek to prioritize those needs and work with trustees to bring them into policy. I will also continue to lobby at the State level to eliminate the State controls on rent levels.

Despite the threats to fair and affordable housing in Oak Park, the majority of the current Village Board has ignored the input from its commissions, committees, and community at large. In the past four years, the Village stopped collecting essential racial demographic information necessary to cultivate stable integration throughout Oak Park; failed to document or address increasing housing and rental costs; and reduced funding of our nationally recognized Oak Park Regional Housing Center.

The current inclusionary housing ordinance doesn’t go far enough and that’s because it was pushed through without input from informed residents.

The majority of the new housing in Oak Park is unaffordable to most of the community, disproportionately affecting our seniors and working families. We need a strong, effective inclusionary housing ordinance

V I C T O R I A

 V I C K I 

S C A M A N

In detail, explain how you will able to incent developers to integrate afretention and work with the lead the village and its residents fordable units.

Chamber of Commerce to help and stakeholders to financial The only way we’ll really know if Oak inform on the needs of the recovery without increasing the Park is integrated is by collecting data business community. We must property tax burden? each year from tenants. For decades, the also engage Visit Oak Park to Of every $1 you pay in property Village collected data from landlords on increase tourism dollars and work together to create a more resilient taxes on your home, business the collective racial composition of their community for a strong recovery or through your rent, the village tenants. Now the Village relies on the from COVID-19, and pursue government receives fifteen gross estimates of the American Commuall options for federal recovery (15) cents to fund services such nity Survey, which is collected from 1% of grants. We have an opportunity as police, fire, and public works. the population and covers five-year time periods (2015–2019, for example). This data masks any We all know the cost of living and the cost of to plan for the future and do the hard work to discrimination and resegregation in individual buildgovernment rarely go down. It’s commendable retain and welcome more honestly Black and ings. The village needs to survey renters, analyze the that recent village budgets increased at the rate Brown owned businesses. We need to increase data, and identify in a timely fashion where affirmative of inflation or 3%. But, in 2021 the village board transparency in decision making across our marketing and other integration efforts are needed. significantly depleted the reserves to balance village and communicate long-term goals The Oak Park Regional Housing Center would be the so that we know we are not missing out on the village budget. This is not sustainable. ideal delegate agency for this work.

As Village President I will lead a Board of opportunities to share resources.

I would trust the Plan Commission on planned deWe will have an opportunity to use Trustees in prioritizing our shared goals and velopment ordinances rather than dismiss it. Over the living within our means. The Village Board Fi- inclusionary zoning funds to pursue a request past four years, we’ve seen the Board vote against their nance Committee did not meet during the for proposals (RFP) for affordable housing. We recommendations on major projects. That would not 2021 budget process. This created inefficiencies need to set firm data driven goals for those be my practice. in the budget process and it led to a lack of un- funds. I will want to understand what population I believe density is important derstanding of the budget is most in need of affordable housing; seniors, in the areas around our transit by community members. I families, or possibly people with disabilities. I WEB EXTRA stations and along major corwill restart the Village Board will strive to lead a board that makes thoughtful See candidates’ complete answers and bios at Finance Committee for and informed decisions to meet the needs of ridors, but not at the expense OAKPARK.COM/VOTEREMPOWERMENTGUIDE greater transparency and our community to address affordability for all of our neighbors. I would use efficiency. I will direct staff sectors of our community.

Village incentives to encourage to align budget items with affordable housing and invest in our clearly defined goals entrepreneurs, especially people What does community policing in Oak and work with Village Trust- Park mean to you? Do you believe the vilof color that want to expand or ees to make informed decisions based on what lage should spend less, the same or more on improve buildings in Oak Park. investments will provide the greatest long-term policing and police facilities?

Our housing policies and programs are still woeimpact for achieving a goal and work with other fully inadequate to solve the problems we face today.

I plan to lead an open and transparent protaxing bodies and partner agencies so that every cess with my colleagues and village staff to Segregation by race or income always hurts Black and dollar spent is collaborative, thoughtful, and not identify what changes need to be made in popoor people disproportionately, and inevitably hurts contributing to redundancies. the entire economy. licing. I take very seriously the fact that not every There is opportunity to find efficiencies with person feels safe in our community. My view is better use of technology, clearer contracts that refusing to host this conversation has only What does community policing in Oak Park with partner agencies, and reaching across contributed to harm. This is a national conversamean to you? Do you believe the village should our borders for greater impact on climate tion that has to be had everywhere. My comspend less, the same or more on policing and pochange, racial equity, and economic recovery mitment to fairness and transparency has been lice facilities? from COVID-19. I believe we will have the unwavering and evident in my behavior and life We know what makes people safe. It’s good opportunity to pursue Federal grants and the accomplishments. jobs, good healthcare, affordable housing, and We have a collective responsibility to review ability to demonstrate partnerships increases our accessible community services. The problem is eligibility and potential outcomes. As chair of the all programs that serve our community, inthat we’re funding policing and incarceration to Liquor Control Review Board and co-chair of the cluding policing. I would lead a process of rethe detriment of those things. And that’s not what Law Review Committee of IMPACT I identified viewing policing responsibly, with all relevant we need to effectively take care of our commupartnerships and stakeholders, so that we can $1M worth of grants for Oak Park Township. nity and keep our neighbors safe. I will help crecome together as a community with a shared ate a truly independent Citizen Police Oversight How will you address affordability of liv- understanding for needed changes that proCommission, where commissioners are diverse ing in Oak Park for all residents, not just vide for more people feeling safe and have a and have true oversight authority, including subpoena powers. sense of ownership and belonging in Oak Park. homeowners?

I would suggest that we change ambiguous and As Village President, I will listen for unWe need to begin with smart and thoughtful harmful laws, like the bike registry ordinance, to rebudgeting and building trust with governmen- derstanding and use my knowledge of our duce field interrogations. About one in five Oak Park tal partners to work together better to attain government and need for improved data residents are Black. So there is no reason eight out community level goals so that we can limit tax collection to advance policy reform that is of ten people stopped for police field interrogations increases across our community. I am coming responsive and fair. Together, we can realize are Black. And 95 out of 100 youth stopped by police into office with the relationships to begin doing a vision for Oak Park that lives up to our valare also Black. These stops criminalize our neighbors, ues. As a restorative justice practitioner I know that on day one. causing trauma and other health problems.

I plan to direct the Oak Park Economic that our community is better when we all feel Since policing is such a significant portion of the Development Corporation to aid with business heard and affirmed. budget and police are currently expected to address issues far beyond their prescribed job, I believe we The candidate’s responses have been edited for print. The full unedited responses can be found online at must remain open to all possibilities for organizing our oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide budget, including the police budget.

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OAK PARK VILLAGE CLERK (2 CANDIDATES FOR 1 OPEN SEAT) L U C I L L E Do you believe all Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and responses should be made publicly available on the village website and why?

I absolutely do believe that all FOIA requests, as well as their responses, should be made publicly available on the Village website. There are many reasons why I think this is the case.

First of all, when a person is interested in a FOIA request, it’s because they are seeking data. It is not unreasonable to assume that another member of the community has already requested the same information. If the archived FOIA requests were made available to the public in an easily accessible format on the Village website, citizens could save the time of filing an additional FOIA request and have immediate access to the data. An easyto-navigate website would relieve frustration by the public when trying to access important information and data, and would thereby reduce the number of FOIA requests.

Secondly, the redundancy of multiple FOIA requests for the same information is a drain on the Village staff ’s time and lowers productivity. Making the FOIA requests and responses available on the Village website also promotes increased transparency.

What do you want to accomplish as Clerk and why are you motivated to pursue this office?

“ L O U

A N N E ”

J O H A N N E S S O N

As Clerk, I want to create an environment where all members of our community feel welcomed, valued, and supported when reaching out for help or information. This includes renters, homeowners, business owners, as well any potential newcomers.

I am motivated to pursue this office for many reasons. First and foremost, I love Oak Park. I am so fortunate to have spent my whole life here and have purposefully stayed here to raise my children.

For the past 18 years, I have had the privilege to work with our K-8 schools in District 97 and for the past 6 years with IGOV. It has offered me the opportunity to learn so much about how our Village operates when it is at its best and when it’s striving to be better. I want to continue this path that I am on in a greater role by serving this community that has given me and my family so very much.

Park is responsible directly to the people of Oak Park, not the Board, and not to the Village Staff. The Clerk is not an advocate of policy. The Clerk does not propose changes in ordinance or law, but rather ensures those policies are being implemented according to their original intent, and that the Board and their meetings operate in accordance with state law and statute.

I vow to promote transparency, equity, inclusion, fairness, and assistance to the residents that I represent. I will not allow the opinions of the Village Trustees or my own opinions on matters before them to get in the way of that mission. I know first-hand the vital importance of remaining independent, that all viewpoints must have a voice, but that remaining independent of the Village Board is crucial to ensure that the community remains the priority.

As the village clerk participates in village board meetings but does not have the authority to vote and as such remains a neutral party, will you allow your personal opinions and values to hinder your ability to carry out the duties of the position? How? I utterly believe in the independence and neutrality of the Clerk’s role. The Village Clerk of Oak

Do you believe the role of clerk should change from a full-time job to a part-time job with a reduction in salary? If no, why? If yes, what responsibilities of the clerk should be moved to a different department?

No, the role of the Clerk is dictated by state statute. It is a professional position. The statutory responsibility, which also includes the facilitation

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of elections, responding to the public, signing off on contracts, managing FOIA requests, managing board meetings and minutes is full-time work.

To alter that would alter the neutrality of those functions. To change this role from full-time to part-time would eliminate many from the community to seek the office. Many in our community would not be able to afford taking on this position on a part-time basis.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

WEB EXTRA See candidates’ complete answers and bios at OAKPARK.COM/VOTER-EMPOWERMENT-GUIDE

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Wednesday Journal, March 17, 2021

OAK PARK VILLAGE CLERK (2 CANDIDATES FOR 1 OPEN SEAT) C H R I S T I N A

W A T E R S ( R E P R E S E N T OA K PA R K )

Do you believe all Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and responses should be made publicly available on the village website and why?

Oak Park should work to move to an Open Data portal on our Village website. Socrata is an open data platform which is currently used by a number of nearby municipal governments including Naperville and Evanston. The Village would work to make data and information available on the Open Data portal which would be housed on the Village website.

This would ensure that Village information and data would be open by default and would, at least initially, decrease the number of routine FOIA requests. This will also lower the barrier for staff and residents to access basic government data and increase transparency. The FOIA process should continue to be used by residents and the community when they cannot locate that information on the Open Portal. Additional FOIA requests would be considered in determining what additional data should be made available in the Open Portal.

What do you want to accomplish as clerk and why are you motivated to pursue this office?

I will work to: ■ implement innovative ways for the community to voice their public comments and to volunteer on Village commissions; ■ restore trust between the community, elected officials and Village Staff; ■ digitize processes within the Clerk’s office to create efficiencies and increase access to archived data; and ■ coordinate with D97 and D200 to educate students about local government and implement a robust internship program in Village Hall.

As the village clerk participates in village board meetings but does not have the authority to vote and as such remains a neutral party, will you allow your personal opinions and values to hinder your ability to carry out the duties of the position? How? No. I have 20+ years of local municipal experience. Most recently, I have worked as the Deputy Village Clerk. It is my duty to serve the whole community without letting my personal views hinder that service. I will continue to do so as an elected official. I will have no difficulty working

with everyone in our community, on our Village Board and on the Village Staff.

How do you intend to expand engagement between citizens and the village clerk?

I will actively engage our community so they can be a part of the decision-making process. Residents and local business owners must be able to voice their needs and be heard before decisions are made which impact them. It is vital that the Clerk’s office proactively seek input from community members and local businesses.

In addition, I will become our resident expert in the Village’s current digital resources, Legistar and Granicus, so that we can utilize them to their fullest potential and maximize resident involvement.

I will work with our Citizen Involvement Commission to ensure barriers to entry are removed from the volunteer application process for those who wish to participate on a commission.

I will explore how we can expand opportunities for residents to engage elected officials. Even as we emerge from the pandemic, I will work to implement online and telephone public comment tools so that residents can submit public comment to be read for them by the Clerk, presented as a recording, presented live in-person, or shared privately with the Board.

Do you believe the role of clerk should change from a full-time job to a part-time job with a reduction in salary? If no, why? If yes, what responsibilities of the clerk should be moved to a different department?

No. The tasks and responsibilities of the Village Clerk are best met by a full-time public servant. If we decrease the role to part time, the Clerk’s office will not be able to provide the level of service or transparency expected by our residents.

In fact, we should be actively expanding the role of the clerk to oversee all activities which the Clerk is legally the authorizing individual including: special events, business licenses and liquor licenses. The Clerk should coordinate these activities with the department responsible for implementation.

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For additional information about emergency assistance, residents of Berwyn and Oak Park can visit www.housingforward.org.

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The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

WEB EXTRA

See candidates’ complete answers and bios at OAKPARK.COM/VOTER-EMPOWERMENT-GUIDE

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OAK PARK VILLAGE TRUSTEE (6 CANDIDATES FOR 3 OPEN SEATS) A N T H O N Y What are the biggest equity challenges Oak Park faces, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how will you address those challenges?

The basic definition of equity is “fairness and justice in the way people are treated.” True equity is hard to realize as based on an individual’s or board’s personal or collective experiences, who gets to define what fairness and justice looks like, impacts a community’s ability to realize greater equity.

The real challenge in realizing greater equity in the community of Oak Park, is not what Oak Park can do, but are we as a community willing to do it?

The systemic interconnected issues that existed prior to the pandemic have been magnified by the covid virus. The biggest challenges our community faces is lack of economic, environmental and social sustainability. All community stakeholders must engage in intercommunity and intergovernmental collaboration to evaluate policies, create new policies, and eliminate current policies that are not steeped in equitable sustainability.

Equity is ultimately about the greater empowerment of those that have experienced systematic marginalization through the efforts and support of those who have greater power and privilege.

C L A R K

(REPRESENT OAK PARK)

How do you intend to balance the priorities and needs of the community with the financial realities of COVID-19 equitably without inordinately increasing taxation of residents?

I think it is important to understand that our property tax burden starts at the state level. The state of Illinois relies much more heavily on local property taxes to fund our schools. Illinois ranks seventh in the nation for highest property taxes, while ranking 50th in the nation in the share of K-12 education revenues coming from the state.

While the impact a village trustee can have regarding a state level tax burden is not to the level that can provide substantial tax relief, I believe it is the responsibility of a trustee to invest in intergovernmental work & collaboration with stakeholders to identify ways to create property tax relief.

The Oak Park Village is responsible for 17% of a resident’s property tax bill total. Property tax levies are applied to the equalized assessed value of a resident’s property. This past year, the levy was at 3% and 3% is still an increase.

We must evaluate how money is allocated, what current programs exist, what programs are effective, what programs need to be modified, what programs need to expire, & what new programs need to be implemented, while simultaneously focusing on affordability, as well as identi-

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C H I B U I K E E N Y I A (REPRESENT OAK PARK)

What are the biggest equity challenges Oak Park faces, particularly in light Do you believe the village should spend of the COVID-19 pandemic, less, the same or more on policing and police and how will you address facilities? those challenges?

Current policing models are reactionary that Equity includes race, ethnicinvolve a response to crime, not an elimination ity, gender, age, national oriof crime. We have an opportunity in Oak Park to gin, sexual orientation, income rethink public safety, shift to holistic community level, religion, as well as physical policing models and review funding to deterand cognitive capability. mine how policing can be shifted from reactionWe know that marginalized communities have been ary to proactive, addressing root cause issues that hit hardest by COVID-19, and are receiving relief at slower lead to crime, such as lack of rates. This pandemic has shown opportunity that not only crethat equity can not be an ‘afterates greater public safety for thought’ -- we must have a lens of WEB EXTRA community members, but for See candidates’ complete answers and bios at equity built into our systems and police officers as well.

OAKPARK.COM/VOTEREMPOWERMENTGUIDE processes as a proactive measure.

Through intergovernmenUnfortunately, our Village governtal and intercommunity colment has yet to adopt a racial eqlaboration which includes uity policy or any kind of comprepolice participation, shifting hensive equity plan, which would to a true community policing guide our decision making during model in which funds (the work will determine crises such as COVID-19. expenditures) police and the community work I have co-sponsored a Race and Social Justice Platform closely together in creative ways to create greater that would provide frameworks to develop goals, stratepublic safety for all can be realized. gies, and plans to mitigate racial disparities in our local government and provide equitable services to all residents.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

A key part of that process is to implement a Racial Equity The full unedited responses can be found online at Impact Assessment Tool for public decision-making so oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide that all significant policy decisions are appropriately ana-

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Wednesday Journal, March 17, 2021

OAK PARK VILLAGE TRUSTEE (6 CANDIDATES FOR 3 OPEN SEATS) lyzed through an equity framework. As a new board comes into office in the middle of this pandemic, they must be prepared to evaluate our vaccination, recovery and relief efforts through the lens of equity - and to make adjustments where needed.

How do you intend to balance the priorities and needs of the community with the financial realities of COVID-19 equitably without inordinately increasing taxation of residents?

There is no doubt that COVID-19 recovery will take creative budgeting. Revenues are down and numerous projects have been put on hold due to the pandemic. This challenge does, however, offer unique opportunities. It is clearer than ever that we have to utilize the resources at hand, including strengthening intergovernmental cooperation. It has also demonstrated that we must work to diversify our tax base and develop new revenue sources that do not weigh most heavily on low-income residents.

We are not experiencing this pandemic in a vacuum, and our challenges are the challenges of municipalities everywhere. As trustee, I would work with other local leaders to understand how their communities are adapting and responding and seek best practice and collaboration from other elected officials.

Do you believe the village should spend less, the same or more on policing and police facilities?

Public safety is one core function of local government – it is the work of keeping residents, businessowners, and visitors safe from harm. Community policing in Oak Park means a true collaboration between the police and the community, for the benefit

L U C I A

R O B I N S O N

What are the biggest equity challenges Oak Park faces, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how will you address those challenges?

Equity includes race, ethnicity, gender, age, national origin, sexual orientation, income level, religion, as well as physical and cognitive capability.

Oak Park’s biggest equity challenge is making sure that we remain a community that is affordable and welcoming to all. Oak Park’s promise is one of inclusion which largely depends on being able to live here.

The pandemic has had 2 impacts on equity - one is the devastating impact on our small businesses, which results in less tax revenue for the Village and therefore, higher property taxes.

This places our economic, and therefore our racial diversity, at risk. I will work to rebuild the business community through marketing efforts and by making sure that Village Hall is responsive to business needs.

A more immediate equity concern is the distribution of the COVID vaccine. COVID has affected our seniors, communities of color and homeless individuals disproportionately. It is critical that vaccine rollout plans are clearly communicated to these groups with collaborative efforts to provide transportation, accessible vaccination sites and solutions to any other barriers that prevent widespread distribution of the vaccine.

How do you intend to balance the priorities and needs of the community with the financial realities of COVID-19 equitably without

and safety of the full community. Community safety would entail authentic relationships, built on a trust of both the individuals and the system they operate within, and include engagement from the full spectrum of residents in Oak Park - especially our young people. An effective safety strategy should proactively address root cause conditions that lead to public safety issues like crime, violence, and social disorder.

The incendiary rhetoric around this process must stop and we must start recognizing that everyone in Oak Park wants to ensure the safety of our community, our families and our homes. We must also acknowledge the disproportionate impact of policing on certain communities, and use our lens of equity to center those communities in our decision-making.

Too often in our nation’s past, white “safety” has come at the expense of Black and brown people. We can’t allow that to be the case in our own community.

It is difficult to make an informed analysis and decision without taking into account data and community input that is not yet available. We need to gather more information before making budgeting decisions regarding the Oak Park Police Department.

This includes engaging in a robust Community Engagement Process and collecting further data from the Oak Park Police. After receiving community input and more robust data, we will be in a better position to truly evaluate the effectiveness of our current approach and determine how we can move forward as a community.

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The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

(UNITE OAK PARK) inordinately increasing taxation of residents?

The needs of the community are in tension with the need to keep taxes down in an era of lost revenue. I would use property tax dollars to fund basic services as well as seek alternate sources of revenue for community needs. For example, the cannabis tax revenue is currently dedicated to capital needs. I would put those dollars in the general fund to help pay for partner agency services. I would also continue to focus on reasonable economic development as a source of property revenue and for the affordable housing fund. Finally, it is important that the Village identify and apply for state and federal grants to help us through these difficult economic times.

Do you believe the village should spend less, the same or more on policing and police facilities?

I would not decrease the police force in any way that negatively impacts public safety. The community policing model incorporates partnerships between residents and police to engage in shared problem-solving. When relationships are established, trust is built and conflict is de-escalated. I would ensure that the Village’s police department continues to innovate how it delivers community policing. I am not in favor of a new police station at this time due to fiscal challenges.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

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OAK PARK VILLAGE TRUSTEE (6 CANDIDATES FOR 3 OPEN SEATS) S T E P H E N A . M O R A L E S (UNITE OAK PARK)

R A V I P A R A K K A T (UNITE OAK PARK)

J U A N T A G R I F F I N (REPRESENT OAK PARK)

What are the biggest equity challenges Oak Park faces, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how will you address those challenges?

COVID has certainly exacerbated Oak Park’s many equity challenges, particularly around access to care and access to services. As a member of the board of the Center for Healthcare Innovation, I have been leading conversations about access to COVID vaccines as a driver for greater equity in underrepresented communities here in Chicago and around the country. But even before COVID, Oak Park has made several attempts to ensure equal access for all of its residents to COVID testing, vaccines, housing, services among many other areas where equity plays a significant role. While some of those attempts have been successful, we must admit that we don’t have a perfect record. This election is a chance for us to re-commit and accelerate our efforts and explore new opportunities. I have made equity a cornerstone priority in my campaign and in early February, announced my plan to improve equity and diversity in Oak Park with five key actions: ■ Establishing an equity commission and metrics – This commission would have the ability to set quantitative and qualitative measures that let the board and Village staff know how Oak Park is performing on key equity criteria. I would suggest that the commission consider perspectives both inside and outside of Oak Park.

■ Addressing blind spots – Oak Park can set the bar for how local governments seek out a broad base of talent. Importantly, vendors for the village should be reflective of our diversity and equity priorities while still maintaining a high bar for quality.

■ Increasing access to board meetings and broadening board experience – Village board meetings where ordinances that affect sections of Oak Park - but which are not in the lived experiences of board members - should be held in those parts of the community that may be impacted.

■ Supporting a leadership pipeline – The Board should work from Day One to cultivate the next generation of leaders. We need to engage residents of all backgrounds and lived experiences to find paths to serve in local government.

■ Maintain a consistent focus on equity impact – At the start of my term, I will pursue an assessment of the equity impact of the Village’s ordinances, resolutions, and the budget.

What are the biggest equity challenges Oak Park faces, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how will you address those challenges?

The pandemic has increased our economic divide.

In communities like Oak Park where affordability is already a challenge due to high real estate taxation, the pandemic pushes out folks on the lower end of the economic spectrum. This group is also predominantly African American, so this economic inequality results in racial inequity as well.

We should also consider that the definition of “marginalized minority” in Oak Park implies Black, and our equity challenges are characterized as racial Black vs White, to the exclusion of several other forms of diversity (national origin, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age to mention a few). Over 10% of Oak Park’s population is neither Black nor White, and per 2010 census 10.1% were foreign born, 13% spoke a language other English at home and older adults age 65+ is the fastest growing segment of the population. These voices are often underrepresented in equity and diversity conversations. As a result, I believe we, as a community, should: ■ Address affordability and equity with innovative ideas. Please see my high-speed internet proposal.

■ Focus on sustainable and equitable economic recovery.

■ Create housing options at various price points so folks can enter our community and grow as part of it at every life stage.

■ Strengthen the Community Relations Commission to reflect the true diversity and talent of Oak Park.

Do you believe the village should spend less, the same or more on policing and police facilities?

The community should be involved in deciding what community safety means for Oak Park. Black residents, youth, and our most vulnerable residents plus Chief Reynolds and his staff need to be included in these discussions.

We are going to have to make difficult decisions about spending, but it’s important to prioritize basic human needs like safety and wellbeing when making them. We should be careful and thoughtful about which capital expenditures are necessary when we have residents experiencing homelessness, trauma, food and housing insecurity as well as small businesses suffering.

I believe that all public servants should answer to the people that they serve, so therefore the village police department works for the people of Oak Park. They should answer to the residents that they are sworn to protect and serve. If the residents believe that they are not doing their job effectively then changes should be explored. Today, we have a Citizens commission (CPOC) which would like to do more as a body to support what they are hearing from residents or seeing from the data.

CPOC, our police staff, and the voices of our community (especially youth) is critically important to help inform any changes that are made.

My community engagement process can help us begin to do the work towards truly listening and learning from our community.

How do you intend to balance the priorities and needs of the community with the financial realities of COVID-19 equitably without inordinately increasing taxation of residents?

As much as I would like to be able to address all of our community needs without constraint, realistically we know we must work within our budget. But I feel confident that we can prioritize some key areas to help our community recover quickly post- COVID without exorbitantly straining our resources. Here are some examples: 1. Ensure vaccinations for all eligible Villager are delivered by the Summer by helping to set up vaccination centers and distributing information on the safety of vaccines.

2. Support businesses to help them accelerate out of the pandemic through task forces, talent promotion, and other ideas I proposed in my Business Enhancement Plan 3. Address and improve equity in our community across a number of dimensions by establishing metrics and a framework to help us continually strive toward a more equitable community 4. Streamline processes, such as permitting or Board requests, at Village Hall that will make the government more responsiveness to all villagers and reduce unnecessary spending.

5. Launch programs that reimagine what policing, taxation, and development should look like in Oak Park for the future. This can include establishing neighborhood micro-visions – letting our neighborhoods decide which businesses and systems work best for them. It can also mean creating rails for better coordinating across other taxing bodies so we don’t unnecessarily burden property tax owners with all of multiple capital improvements at the same time.

How do you intend to balance the priorities and needs of the community with the financial realities of COVID-19 equitably without inordinately increasing taxation of residents?

The biggest priorities for our community are affordability, sustainable and equitable economic recovery, and community safety. I believe Oak Park should focus on these three priorities by: ■ Collaborating with the other taxing bodies to keep Business and non-profits the tax increases to less than 3% WEB EXTRA have suffered due to COVID-19.

■ Pursuing innovative ideas to make the community See candidates’ complete answers and bios at How will you help facilitate more affordable. Please see my high-speed internet OAKPARK.COM/VOTEREMPOWERMENTGUIDE their recovery? proposal.

As previously mentioned, we ■ Creating and enabling an economic recovery plan have to prioritize people over focused on small business recovery (like Takeout 25) and development and keep focused attracting focused investments in the transition to a green economy. on humanity versus expediency. We cannot do it all - but, what we can do is feel good about making Do you believe the village should spend less, the same or more on policsound, equitable, well thought out decisions in the ing and police facilities? best interest of our residents.

Trust is the very basis for all law enforcement. The Oak Park police department has been an acknowledged leader in community policing methods. Still, there is How will you address the affordability of living always room for improvement to maintain Oak Park’s leadership position in this in Oak Park, while understanding that affordability space. While I have not had negative experiences with the Oak Park police departmust extend to renters as well as homeowners? ment, I do know what it feels like to be stopped for driving while Brown and to be This is why I’m running, I am that person - my family subjected to extra scrutiny at airports for travelling while Brown. I also realize that are “those people”. I am a Black woman who is disabled, my experience is not consistent across everyone on Oak Park. In some cases, the an hourly wage earner, and a renter - like 41% of our Oak Park police department needs to deepen trust, or even repair it, by actively community. I plan to bring the perspective of middlebuilding relationships and partnerships with and within the community. income families that are working hard to live and thrive in our Village, to the board table so that we can make Community safety is a priority for a stable community. In an environment changes that will help people like me. I also understand with no meaningful gun reform, and with economic disparities resulting in that property taxes are unreasonable and it’s pushing crime, the police department is essential to keep our community safe. I do not Oak Parkers out of the village that we love. Uncontrolled recommend underfunding the police, but I am open to reimagining public tax increases impact homeowners, renters and small safety with the following considerations as outlined in my proposal on Keepbusinesses so if we say that we love this community, ing Our Community Safe. then we have to protect what we love by making eq■ The police department and the community at large must BOTH be active uitable decisions that impact our ability to thrive here; participants in a reimagination of public safety. the levy, the regional housing center, small business ■ The road map from where we are today to the reimagined future must be support, capital spending, and climate action decisions clear and specific with broad buy-in from all impacted parties. to name a few.

■ Success must be clearly measurable and independently verifiable.

The candidates responses have been edited for print. The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

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Wednesday Journal, March 17, 2021

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J O H A N N

B U I S

How will recent discussions on equity beyond racial inclusion, but also differently-abled persons, age equity inside village hall affect sensitivity, and more. your approach to hiring a new I will seek out candidates who village administrator? have experience with Diversity, Leadership is power with people, Equity, and Inclusion as well as rather than power over people. the management skills necessary Therefore, the Administrator, to run our village. Equity of racial working to serve the Board and the minorities, gender, differently-abled residents, brings professional skills, persons, age sensitivity, and similar insights, and consultative judgments matters, exist when the dominant for the common good of the village.

Fiscal responsibility, long-range planning, and group treats a non-dominant group in the same interpersonal relations are simultaneously manner as the first group. The dominant group challenges and opportunities for the incoming ensures equity when the non-dominant group has the resources they need. There is increasing village administrator.

In transitioning from a long-term administrator, openness in the village to examine racial and we lose institutional knowledge, a task of other equities among the residents.

For me, racial and related cardinal importance for equities have never been an the village Board. My long abstract concept. I grew up experience and institutional WEB EXTRA in apartheid South Africa, knowledge in the village— See candidates’ complete answers and bios at the son of a black father having worked with three OAKPARK.COM/VOTEREMPOWERMENTGUIDE who taught me to always administrators--will benefit reach beyond the status us all as we hire and help our quo and despite those new administrator navigate circumstances we could the learning curve. not change, to build bridges A careful Board will be able to share power with the new administrator rather than burn them. For me, the real enemy is and guide them in their role while appreciating not my fellow human, it is hate. If my father and their expertise. After all, the Board must value the the great Nelson Mandela can build those bridges new village administrator’s role as the lynchpin in under the circumstances they faced, what can I administering the village. For most of my time as do but follow in their footsteps? Therefore, a new a River Forest resident, I noticed that the ethnic Village Administrator should display a sensitivity diversity of our village (about 7% Black American of matters of divergent equities. This posture residents and about 7% Asian-American of the future Village Administrator is a nonresidents) is not evidenced among the 72 village negotiable requirement in my book. employees. Equity in village hall enhances the diversity of perspective and sensitivity in The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at communication. I will expect that the new village oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide administrator should have intentionality towards

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How will recent discussions on equity inside village hall affect your approach to hiring a new village administrator?

There are many factors that should be considered as we look to hire a new Village administrator.

Having lived in River Forest for over 15 years I have learned that there is no typical River Forest resident and therefore, we should look for candidates that not only possess strong communication, management and leadership skills, but one that also values diversity and inclusion. To achieve this, we must ensure a diverse slate of qualified candidates that can bring creative and innovative solutions to the most pressing needs of the Village. Our current staff is highly effective therefore, we should look to bring on a leader that has complementary skills to maximize the impact of the administration office for our community.

Do you think there is a need to control the deer population in River Forest? If so, what

measures would you support to do so? If not, how would you respond to those who have experienced property or foliage damage as a result of deer in the village?

I do feel there is a need to control the deer presence through stronger deterrence methods and am supportive of the databased outcomes from the current committee that is tasked with identifying ways to reduce the impact deer have in the Village. This is an extremely complex issue with no completely right or wrong answer. It will take a combination of initiatives to make an impact in a manner that is both humane and effective.

In a community best known for its affluent housing, what are the economic and social benefits of increasing affordable housing in River Forest?

I strongly believe that River Forest should continue to be a place that values community.

It should be a place that is accessible to anyone

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RIVER FOREST VILLAGE TRUSTEE (4 CANDIDATES FOR 3 OPEN SEATS) L I S A

G I L L I S

our biggest line items in the Village How will recent discussions on budget. equity inside village hall affect your approach to hiring a new Do you think there is a need to village administrator? control the deer population in One of the most significant actions River Forest? If so, what measures taken by the Village of River Forest would you support to do so? If not, Board of Trustees over the past year how would you respond to those has been addressing the issue of who have experienced property or diversity, equity and inclusion within foliage damage as a result of deer our Village. An important first step in the village? was when the Village President There are two final reports being developed engaged with Dominican University’s alliance on racial equity. Dominican University is a leader on this issue: one coming from the Deer and one of the first cohorts of universities across Management Ad-Hoc Committee and a second the country to be designated as a Truth, Racial coming from members of that committee Healing and Transformation (TRHT) Campus who chose to resign in order to present an Center by the American Association of Colleges independent report. Until those final reports and Universities. TRHT is are made available, I think a nationally recognized, it premature to make a decision. We do not yet have community-based initiative WEB EXTRA all information. for racial justice. What a See candidates’ complete answers and bios at The conundrum we face great resource right here in OAKPARK.COM/VOTEREMPOWERMENTGUIDE is that the deer are the our own backyard! responsibility of the State of With the creation of Illinois and those deer live on the Diversity, Equity and property controlled by the Inclusion Ad-hoc Advisory Cook County Forest Preserve.

Group and the pending review of Village process and protocol with an River Forest is in close proximity to Thatcher eye toward equity, it is imperative that the new Woods (part of the Cook County Forest Preserve) Village Administrator embrace diversity, equity and therefore, its residents are impacted by how and inclusion. He/she/they should also have the deer and forest preserve green ecosystems some experience leading and growing a diverse are managed and maintained with that impact staff while having a passion to continuously learn. being both positive and negative.

The answer to the question of how I would Former Village Manager, Eric Palm, built a highly skilled team of 72 professionals across a wide respond to someone who experienced damage range of Village services including administration, due to deer: I would tell them to reach out to police, fire and public works. As a resident and the State and to the Cook County Forest Preserve. candidate, I believe that this team does the work of a team almost twice its size. This is important The candidate’s responses have been edited for print. to us as we will continually need to keep an eye The full unedited responses can be found online at on the budget in order to stay competitive from oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide both a salary and benefits standpoint as these are

that wants to live and contribute. Affordable housing is a key enabler to ensuring River Forest is a place where families can live for generations which can lead to a more vibrant community.

This means creating housing that is accessible to young families that might be starting out to ensuring that seniors are able to age-in-place easily. This will lead to sustainable economic development as well. Affordable housing is a key enabler and is essential to a thriving community.

If you are an incumbent, what accomplishments are you proud of most? If you have not served on the village board, what is the primary goal you would like to accomplish if elected?

If elected as Trustee, I want to continue to make River Forest one of the most desirable places to live in the Chicagoland area. My primary goal is to get more community engagement and to help bring long-term economic developments to River Forest. I wish to work closely with River Forest’s other taxing bodies to ensure maximum community growth through transparency and diverse thinking.

I strongly believe we can accomplish more

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RIVER FOREST VILLAGE TRUSTEE (4 CANDIDATES FOR 3 OPEN SEATS) R E S P I C I O

“ R E S ”

V A Z Q U E Z

environment for all of residents, How will recent discussions on business members, visitors, and equity inside village hall affect employees in municipal services, your approach to hiring a new community, and civic engagement. village administrator?

Both the Village of River Forest and Equity is the fair and respectful the Village of Maywood unanimously treatment of all people and proapproved the Twin Village Covenant vide fair access to information and committing both Villages to the resources for all. Diversity is the recognition and respect of everyone’s principles of humanity, equity, and unique qualities and attributes. Ininclusion. clusion means building an environment of belonging, so all individuals feel respectDo you think there is a need to control the ed, accepted, and valued. [Terms collectively deer population in River Forest? If so, what known as “DEI.] measure would you support to do so? If not, I have been supportive and have been an advo- how would you respond to those who have cate for DEI early on in my life. I became involved experienced property or foliage damage as a in District 90’s Inclusive Advisory Board (IAB) since result of deer in the village?

I do believe that there is a need to address the 2016 before recent events and discussions in the larger community. Although I welcome the larger deer population in River Forest. I supported the discussions in the community, I am saddened of creation of the Deer Management Ad Hoc Comthe negative and violent events that sparked mittee with the mission and purpose of investigating and providing the these discussions. However, Village Board with a written I support the Village Board’s WEB EXTRA report containing short and direction in pursuing the See candidates’ complete answers and bios at long term recommendafollowing DEI initiatives: OAKPARK.COM/VOTEREMPOWERMENTGUIDE tions regarding a spectrum The Village has approved a of deer management opmutually beneficial partnertions. Most recently, I was ship with Dominican Unisaddened to hear that some versity in collaboration with of the committee members Concordia University to assist the Village in creating a community committed to resigned, feeling that their viewpoint was not racial and social justice. The partnership will build on heard or represented in the pending written the work of the university’s Truth, Racial Healing and report to be released. I welcome the written reTransformation (TRHT) initiative. TRHT is a nationally ports from any and all committee members who recognized, community-based initiative for racial would like to submit recommendations to the justice. Dominican is one of the first universities Village Board. I commit to reviewing each report across the country to be designated as a TRHT Cam- before voting on any of the deer management pus Center by the American Association of Colleges recommendations and options. and Universities.

The Village is in the process of creating an The candidate’s responses have been edited for print. advisory group that would review the removal The full unedited responses can be found online at of barriers that prevent the participation, oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide engagement, and welcoming & equitable

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DISTRICT 200 SCHOOL BOARD (6 CANDIDATES FOR 4 OPEN SEATS) E L Í A S Will you support the district’s plans for freshmen curriculum restructuring? Please explain your reasoning.

The district’s plan for restructuring the freshmen curriculum is a bold move that centers equity and access to promote all students’ striving towards excellence. This plan is also a commitment to creating structures of learning where our first-year students can challenge themselves while receiving the support needed to promote their ongoing academic growth. Personally, my academic and professional success would not have been possible without one of my academic advisors taken a risk. While I was an excellent student in high school, graduating at the top of my class, my college transition was less than ideal. Within my first year, I went from a straight

O R T E G A A’s student to a B average. In talking with an academic advisor, this person challenged me to enroll in the honors program, that he will waive the GPA requirement for a year, but I needed to raise my grades. This opportunity gave me the motivation I needed to strive for excellence. I graduated college with honors and completed a Ph.D. with distinction.

Without someone being willing to remove access barriers, it is likely that my life would have taken a different course. I believe that through the restructuring of the freshmen curriculum, we are saying “Yes!” to the success of our students.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

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Wednesday Journal, March 17, 2021

47

DISTRICT 200 SCHOOL BOARD (6 CANDIDATES FOR 4 OPEN SEATS) F R E D E R I C K Do you believe the district is adequately addressing the needs of its most marginalized students, particularly?

No the district is not adequately addressing the needs of the most marginalized students. Unfortunately D200 data exhibits that race continues to be a very significant predictor of student outcomes. I believe the policies necessary to address the opportunity gap are already in place. The Racial Equity Policy was created by former Board member Jenn Cassell while I was on the Board and I wholeheartedly supported its passage. The issue is not one of policy but rather implementation.

We need to operationalize the policy through procedures that will have the greatest impact on student learning and are evidence-based. One problem is that the State has changed their annual assessments at least three times in recent years which makes that measure for the short-term problematic. The Board must continuously monitor implementation to determine whether the policies are being followed.

The newly created dashboards are critically needed tool that can quickly allow the board, administration and community to assess progress. We also need to conduct regular surveys of students and families to determine whether the initiatives are having the desired effect on the climate and culture

A R K I N

T O M

C O F S K Y

Do you believe the district is adequately addressing the needs of its most marginalized students?

I do not believe these needs are being adequately met. Our goal of not having race, socioeconomic status, and other social factors as a predicWhat do you understand to tor of student outcomes is still far be the core functions of a school from being realized. Issues outlined board member? in the District’s 2003 report, looking The role of a school board member back as far as the 1970s, remain today. Barriers and is to always keep in mind that the Board speaks and biases continue to negatively acts with one voice. The Board impact our students of color. collectively draws from their There remain significant gaps experience and expertise to WEB EXTRA in data on discipline and stuprovide leadership in develSee candidates’ complete answers and bios at dent outcomes when looked oping policies that will proOAKPARK.COM/VOTEREMPOWERMENTGUIDE at through the lens of race. The vide a safe, welcoming and recent data gathered as part comfortable environment for of our Superintendent search all students so that they may showed all stakeholders ratachieve at their fullest potening the district’s effectiveness in tial. The Board hires the Supermeeting the needs of traditionally underrepresentintendent who will direct and lead the administraed students at the bottom. tion in the implementation of these policies. While With that said, I am pleased that the current adnot considered a formal role of the board, I believe ministration and BOE has taken initial bold action, each member must act as the school’s ambassador putting in place a racial equity policy, modifying stuto the community, state and nation. dent discipline procedures, and taking initial steps to reduce barriers of access as part of curriculum restructuring. Facilities enhancements have also been The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at prioritized in areas with equity in mind. oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide What are your expectations from the next of the District. The Board needs to follow the data to determine whether initiatives are successful. Benchmarking will provide a baseline so that we can determine whether progress is statistically significant.

superintendent who will succeed outgoing Supt. Joylynn PruittAdams?

When Dr. Pruitt-Adams was hired, as well as with her predecessor, the desire was for a change in leadership style.

With Dr. Pruitt-Adams we have seen strong leadership and a willingness to drive needed change while bringing others along. I share her views, and hope we can continue in the direction she blazed. We need to build upon the strengths she brought forth.

Our next Superintendent must be a student centric leader, owning and continuing to drive the long term strategic plan while recognizing there will always be vocal resistance on individual topics. The Superintendent must know their strengths and weaknesses and surround themselves with talent that is complimentary. They must use metrics and data and be accountable to drive the District towards achievement of exemplary status, which will require making measurable advances in areas currently disproportionately impacting our students of color. I expect a straight-forward communicator, able to alert the Board of Education on issues and challenges as well as successes.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

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DISTRICT 200 SCHOOL BOARD (6 CANDIDATES FOR 4 OPEN SEATS) D A V I D

S C H R O D T

Will you support the district’s plans for freshmen curriculum restructuring?

Please explain your reasoning.

I am the only D200 candidate that does not support the administration’s existing plan for restructuring the freshman curriculum. Many in our community consider the issue of restructuring to be the proxy for equity. I offer that framing the issue as a binary choice for or against the existing restructuring plan alone does not address – it cannot address - the complexity of issues involved.

More importantly, framing of this matter as a simple “for or against” choice helps conceal essential problems with the existing plan.

I am not in support of the existing restructuring plan because I am convinced it will not do what it claims. The existing plan does not account for the multitude of matters that restructuring experts say a school needs to address for its restructuring plan to be successful. OPRF’s own messaging on what the school needs to do to be successful has neither been consistent nor resolute. We do know that curriculum restructuring is only one aspect of a larger context and is almost certainly the easiest part. Experts on restructuring advise that a “whole array of new programs and policies” are needed to do restructuring right. The experts instruct that restructuring needs to include, among other things, reforming teaching protocols and increasing support for all teachers and students involved.

Equity matters. So do making plans that align with goals. I believe the D200 community is right to hold OPRF to a standard that includes this measure, and I believe the administration’s current restructuring plan does not do this.

Therefore, I do not support the current plan.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

M A R Y Do you believe the district is adequately addressing the needs of its most marginalized students?

Not yet, though I’m pleased to see we’re making strong efforts toward improvement.

What are your expectations from the next superintendent who will succeed outgoing Supt. Joylynn Pruitt-Adams?

I hope for a superintendent already experienced in addressing equity concerns in a complex system with a host of varied stakeholders; I’m looking for a superintendent who can hit the ground running and continue the work that Dr. Pruitt-Adams has mapped out and started.

What are your thoughts on the district’s

A N N E

M O H A N R A J ,

hybrid learning model and its implementation?

In general, I’m in favor of following evidence-based science on pandemic-related concerns.

Given the current federal and state guidelines, hybrid seems the closest we can safely come right now to in-person learning. I look forward to a time, hopefully soon, when community spread is low enough, and vaccine sufficiently available, that we can all be safely back in the classroom again. As a teacher myself, I very much miss seeing my students in person.

Will you support the district’s plans for freshmen curriculum restructuring? Please explain your reasoning.

Yes, I think the new system that will offer

P H . D . honors-level material to all freshmen will be an important step in reducing systemic barriers and inequities in our community.

What do you understand to be the core functions of a school board member?

To ensure that the superintendent is enacting policies and structuring plans that hew closely to the school mission, to support staff in their work, to be engaged with and answerable to the community at large, especially the students and parents, and to oversee the budget, so that resources are spent appropriately and judiciously.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

K E B R E A B H E N RY Do you believe the district is adequately addressing the needs of its most marginalized students?

I believe the district is moving in the right direction with the development and implementation of the Strategic Plan. I am also encouraged by the recent adoption of a more equitable freshman curriculum that will allow all students to be challenged based solely upon their abilities.

What are your expectations from the next superintendent who will succeed outgoing Supt. Joylynn Pruitt-Adams?

My expectation of the incoming superintendent will be that they are fully prepared to work within a very diverse population. The diversity of our communities is what makes our area so desirable for families, and they should have experience working in that kind of environment. Also, I would expect the superintendent to be an active practitioner of equity work and not solely an

academic. Ideally, they will be ready to hit the ground running, and possess strong leadership skills that will sometimes require making tough decisions that are in best interest of the students and community Will you support the district’s plans for freshmen curriculum restructuring? Please explain your reasoning.

I fully support revamping the curriculum to allow for all students to be afforded the opportunity to be intellectually challenged based solely upon their ability. There is a misconception that Honors level classes are being eliminated which is incorrect. I would highly suggest residents and parents read the plan on the websites, and if necessary, seek clarification from the administration.

What do you understand to be the core functions of a school board member?

From my understanding, the core functions

WEB EXTRA See candidates’ complete answers and bios at OAKPARK.COM/VOTER-EMPOWERMENT-GUIDE

of a board member are to provide oversight and accountability, as well as taking the opinions of all community members into consideration prior to rendering a decision. The decision should be rooted in logic and data, and ultimately what provides the best outcome for our students and community.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

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Wednesday Journal, March 17, 2021

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DISTRICT 97 SCHOOL BOARD (6 CANDIDATES FOR 3 OPEN SEATS) E R I N Do you believe the district is adequately addressing the needs of its most marginalized students?

Through its most recent District Goals and Action Plan, D97 has laid a strong foundation to create more equitable outcomes for marginalized students, including students of color. D97 created a comprehensive, transformative equity policy that members of our community should be very proud of. D97 leadership has done thorough foundational work, including establishing common curriculum and assessments, introducing more rigorous content to students, providing climate & culture and restorative practice training for staff and focusing on students’ sense of belonging at school, that already started to yield results as it relates to tier 3 students who achieved accelerated growth in reading and math.

The pandemic and resulting transition to remote learning will undoubtedly impact our progress towards narrowing the opportunity gap, so D97 must measure and address learning loss and put programs and supports in place to ensure students are prepared for next year’s curriculum. D97 leadership and school principals should engage and empower teachers to come up with creative solutions in the classroom to help struggling students right now, and not wait for the next batch of results to develop a plan.

J E R E M Y What are your expectations from the next superintendent who will succeed outgoing Supt. Carol Kelley?

The next Superintendent must be an experienced leader who is laser focused on continuing the District’s growth and engaging and communicating with all the District’s stakeholders. This person should have a proven track record of being results-oriented and data driven. They should demonstrate measurable past achievements in impacting student achievement, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The next Superintendent should also have a past record on implementing an equity policy and achieving measurable outcomes on equity, so that the District can continue to progress on this front.

This person should also be an experienced leader on rolling out teaching and leading initiatives. I would also like to see a Superintendent who will focus on improving school climate, providing mental health supports to students, and engaging the community regularly and consistently.

What are your thoughts on the district’s policies regarding race and gender?

The District has a multitude of policies on race and gender. I think the racial equity policy is strong, and is a testament to the hard work of the community that came together to

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What are your thoughts on Do you believe the district the district’s policies regarding is adequately addressing the race and gender? needs of its most marginalized D97’s policies regarding race students? and gender are important comThe district has work to do to mitments to our students and address the needs of its most part of the culture of our commumarginalized students. The district’s nity; they are explicitly stated and equity policy is appropriately will still be in place regardless of ambitious and sets out, in detail, to any change of board members or provide every child with what they superintendent. need to thrive; however, it is still in I support the universal goal that every Oak Park early stages of implementation. The administration D97 student is a known, nurtured, celebrated has made progress towards meeting the goals of learner, and the action plan to increase students the policy by building an instructional foundation who agree or strongly agree that facilitates sharing best that when they’re at school practices as well as sharing they feel they belong. One equity implementation plans WEB EXTRA of the board’s fundamental with educators and staff. The See candidates’ complete answers and bios at duties is to connect with the district was in the midst of OAKPARK.COM/VOTEREMPOWERMENTGUIDE community and to serve as implementing plans directly an advocate, so the board has derived from the equity policy a role in ensuring the climate during the 2019-20 school year at D97 schools is welcoming when the pandemic started. to all students. I know that “Mustang Stable While the work has continued, it is of necessity Groups” at my kids’ school has created a greater taking different form than planned; it is important sense of community among students in general to do a status check to ensure the district continues and similar initiatives should be implemented making progress. and shared across D97 schools.

In the last year of full assessments, the quantitative data available continues to show discrepancies in scores; and this only looks at broad categoThe candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at ries such as race, income, and special education. oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide While I am satisfied that the district is moving

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The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

forward, it is imperative that any momentum lost due to the pandemic pulling focus is regained. Having a policy is meaningless without an ongoing implementation plan to make it work in practice. As part of this effort, I firmly believe that the district cannot effectively move the policy forward and address the intertwined opportunity gap without a transparent, honest, and ongoing accounting of related metrics and accountability.

What are your thoughts on the district’s policies regarding race and gender?

Between the equity policy and existing policies addressing race and gender, I believe the district has done solid work setting up a good vision for the district. However, policies are only as good as their implementation. In addition to reviewing related data, I believe it is important to circle back with communities impacted on a regular basis to make certain that the implementation is equal to the goals set by the policies. It’s one thing to read through the handbook or equity policy and say they sound good, it’s another, critically important thing to make sure that they are being set up for success to actually function on a day-to-day basis.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

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What are your expectations make it a reality. While it has been from the next superintenpartially implemented, we need to dent who will succeed outgoing continue to implement it with fiSupt. Carol Kelley? delity, be transparent about its apI want our next Superintendent plication, and continue to monitor to have experience leading a diprogress towards its implementation and effectiveness. verse school district similar to Oak The District has a host of other Park and a leader with experience policies on discrimination, harassdeveloping an equity policy with a ment, equal educational opporfocus on racial initiatives who can tunities, student share the outrights and responsibility, comes from those initiatives. bullying, and the filing of Our equity policy is solid and WEB EXTRA complaints, to name a few. has not had an opportunity See candidates’ complete answers and bios at These policies must be reto get off the ground due to OAKPARK.COM/VOTEREMPOWERMENTGUIDE viewed regularly to ensure the pandemic. It should not that the District is continube scraped and re-build with ing to put equity first for all the next superintendent, but students. fine-tuned so we don’t slow The Board must set the down our progress. policy and then ensure that the administration Also, our next superintendent needs to be an understands the importance of the policies excellent communicator with a grassroots apand implements them with fidelity. We proach to community engagement and value must also engage teachers, other staff, the diverse opinions. We currently have a plethora administration, students, and community of experienced and talented individuals within stakeholders to ensure that we are listening to D97, by recognizing and harnessing existing taltheir input and adjusting policy when needed ent our next superintendent will have a smooth to ensure that we are protecting the rights of transition and can make impactful change all stakeholders. quickly.

What are your thoughts on the district’s policies regarding race and gender?

In review of the multiple D97 policies that ad-

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dress race and gender, none stood out to me as having major discrepancies or misaligning with the current vision and goals. Most importantly, none of the listed policies appear to alienate or harm students and staff.

The policy entitled “Ensuring Racial and Educational Equity” offers specific language on racial disproportionality and helps to frame initiatives to reduce the opportunity gap. Per the policy “race is the most persistent predictor of student performance in D97.” The policies on race and gender solidify D97’s commitment to the success of every student and to create a positive learning environment that focuses on the whole child and helping them achieve their full potential.

As with all policies, reviewing and modifying to reflect current standards is an important role for the board members. As a board member, I would support D97 continuing to receive guidance on updates to standard policies from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and making any necessary adjustments to policies pertaining to race or gender and as well as drafting any original policies regarding race, gender and disabilities that advance equity and academic success for students.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

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DISTRICT 97 SCHOOL BOARD (6 CANDIDATES FOR 3 OPEN SEATS) J E N N I F E R Do you believe the district is adequately addressing the needs of its most marginalized students?

Closing the opportunity gap among D97 students is the most pressing need in our community. We must ensure that the learning experience of Oak Park’s students of color is exemplary at all levels and in every respect. Right now, the District is not yet adequately addressing the needs of its Black and Brown students.

First of all, we need more and better data. As a Board member I would advocate for increasing the resources dedicated to collecting, analyzing, reporting and using data to more thoroughly assess the District’s efforts to close the opportunity gap.

In my experience as an educator, I find it most valuable to have “hard” and “soft” data that I can put together to make sense of a situation and take action.

“Hard” quantitative data is helpful in understanding what is happening. We can measure things like attendance, grades and standardized test scores to paint that picture. Meanwhile, “soft” qualitative data helps us understand why it is happening. Why are students showing up to school or not? Why are they engaged in their coursework or not? How are students experiencing school? Hearing students’ voices and their narratives, and that of their families and educators, provides the nuance needed to then know how to change--what policies do we need or what investments do we make in order to move toward closing the opportunity gap?

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What do you understand to Do you believe the district is be the core functions of a school adequately addressing the needs board member? of its most marginalized students?

The School Board is responsible for The district can be applauded for working with the administration to creating the equity policy and beginset and guide the District’s overarchning its implementation. It’s too early ing mission and vision. The Board to see how this policy and other efemploys the Superintendent and forts to increase equity and inclusion holds her or him accountable for imhave performed, particularly with plementing the District’s vision and the most marginalized populations. working toward agreed upon goals.

However, from Thus, a School Board memmy discussions with both adber’s role is to work collabministration leaders in the Eqoratively with the rest of the WEB EXTRA uity and MTSS departments, See candidates’ complete answers and bios at Board and the administration as well as families in the D97 OAKPARK.COM/VOTEREMPOWERMENTGUIDE to guide the District in its work community, the efforts seem by asking questions, raising to be rooted in strong, eviconcerns, advocating for ardenced based interventions, eas of the District’s goals that as well as increasing some need greater attention, ensurfamilies’ sense of inclusion. ing resources are used responsibly and effectively, However, there is more current research coming and evaluating progress toward the District’s goals. out regarding how the implementation of culturMeanwhile a School Board member should solicit ally responsive instruction models (adapting the input from the community around the District’s previous evidence-based models to more culturwork. Underlying this work, at every decision point, ally diverse values and practices) is more effective. a School Board member should ask—How does This research is showing that interventions aimed this work to improve the learning experience for all at increasing equity are only as effective as their our students? implementation is grounded in culturally diverse delivery. In other words, if the efforts towards equity are still placing value on white/euro-centric The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at structure, systems, traditions, and ways of judging oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide success, then no improvement or progress will

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O D O M be made. As a board member, I would bring this knowledge of the most upto-date practices, as this is the focus of both my professional and personal interests.

What are your thoughts on the district’s hybrid learning model and its implementation?

The hybrid as is currently implemented is proving to be successful in providing an in-person learning model with very little-to no risk (as evidence by no outbreaks or evidence of COVID spread since implementation).

However, this model still has very limited inperson learning options, particularly for our middle school students. Students are receiving less robust valuable services (special education, ‘specials’ class time, positive non-academic peer interactions) due to the limit in-person time and that these services simply are not effectively replicated virtually. I believe this hybrid model should have been implemented in the fall at the beginning of the school year, proven that in-person learning can be safe, and at this point D97 should be offering a full-time, 5 days/week, in-person learning option.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

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Wednesday Journal, March 17, 2021

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Sedgwick Completes Environmental Cleanup at Lake and Lathrop, Readies for Groundbreaking in 2021

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espite being confronted by the most environmentally challenging site in the area and after years of effort, Sedgwick Development has successfully completed cleanup of decades of contamination at the corner of Lake and Lathrop in River Forest, a milestone that will allow development of RF-Lake Street, the first high-end condominium project in the village.

The Lake and Lathrop site had been a stubborn environmental dilemma caused by dry cleaners and other businesses going back to the 1920s that left behind contaminants from an era when environmental regulations weren’t as strict as they are today.

When Sedgwick entered the project in 2017, environmental and economic factors combined to slow efforts to develop it since 2001. Sedgwick worked closely with the Village of River Forest, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, previous developer Keystone Ventures, and Chicago-based Pioneer Engineering & Environmental Services to evaluate the extent of the problem and manage a comprehensive cleanup of the site to ensure public safety.

That effort was expensive and time-consuming, but Sedgwick persevered to meet today’s environmental regulations and is poised to begin construction in mid-2021.

“This has been a long journey, but we are delighted the environmental cleanup is complete and look forward to progressing through the next phase of developing a generational asset for the Village of River Forest,” said Sedgwick Director of Operations Mark McKinney.

Sedgwick’s no-shortcut approach included a commitment to neighbors, the River Forest community and village government to protect public health. Throughout the process, Sedgwick maintained a complete plan to manage engineering, preventive and institutional controls during every step of the remediation project and upcoming construction of RF-Lake Street, which breaks ground in mid-2021.

“Sedgwick’s team has been committed from day one to protecting public health through the clean-up of this under-utilized site,” said Sedgwick Project Manager Kyle Haste. “With the completion of remediation work at the site, we’re ready to build a new development that will generate long-term benefits for River Forest.”

The combination of a site that needed environmental remediation, an economic crisis that prevented the project from being financially viable until recently, a years-long effort to remove tenants from the site so remediation work could proceed, and a global pandemic that plunged most commercial development into a standstill would have been enough to cause a less determined developer to throw in the towel.

Instead, Sedgwick persisted to finish attempts to develop a site that faced numerous obstacles

in the past 20 years, including three different owners of the property. A complete timeline is below, but remediation milestones include: In 2001, the first testing was performed at 76017615 Lake Street. It confirmed the presence of contamination.

Initial reports were prepared, and the site was officially enrolled into a remediation program with the Illinois EPA by 2004.

The extent of contamination was determined by additional testing in 2005, followed by multiple rounds of incremental testing to determine the scope of any spread in 2006 and 2007.

In 2008, the Illinois EPA initially accepted the findings of multiple, successive reports.

The Illinois EPA in 2010 requested a work plan to delineate horizontal and vertical extent of contamination and stated in early 2011 that “the investigation of the site is acceptable.”

Environmental investigation, remediation and demolition activities were largely halted from 2010-2019 due to difficult, time-consuming negotiations and litigation with holdout property owners and vacating tenants who did not want to move; an exception was in 2016 when the Village of River Forest hired its own firm to conduct soil and groundwater testing.

In 2019, Sedgwick engaged Pioneer EES, an environmental engineering firm, to evaluate areas of the site where tetrachloroethylene (PCE) had been identified as being above the soil saturation limit.

Throughout 2020, extensive activity included providing multiple reports to the Illinois EPA and the Illinois Drycleaners Environmental Response Trust Fund (DERT), which makes financial resources available for the cleanup of releases from dry-cleaning machines and solvent storage units at dry-cleaning facilities. In May, the Illinois EPA conditionally approved responses made to its specific requests, and analysis confirmed in mid-October that chemical concentrations had been reduced to below the Illinois EPA-approved soil saturation limit.

In addition to successfully managing remediation of the site, Sedgwick was confronted with a simultaneous challenge of negotiating the sale of adjacent parcels with property owners and the departure of several commercial tenants.

Not all property owners wanted to sell their land, which was needed for the project, and relocating tenants became a long process.

When Sedgwick entered the project in 2017, only one of the three needed parcels had been acquired. The process to acquire the remaining two parcels moved at a slow pace, but Sedgwick closed on the properties without further delay.

As to relocating tenants, that also was a slowmoving exercise that involved litigation with a few of them and even a court-order for one.

Ultimately, all tenants were successfully removed and Sedgwick could proceed with demolition of the buildings on the site and begin the remediation project.

With clean-up of the site now complete, Sedgwick is preparing to submit building permits later this spring and start construction this summer. Meantime, sales and marketing efforts have been underway in recent months.

Pre-construction pricing remains available for the next few months from $699,000 to $1.475 million at RF-Lake Street’s two-, three-, and four-bedroom condominium homes. Showroom hours have been reestablished between 10 a.m. and noon on Saturday/Sunday and by appointment during the week.

Despite COVID-19, interest and excitement regarding the project have remained strong.

The suburban home sales market has gained momentum in recent months, as homebuyers look to move away from densely populated neighborhoods in the city.

Corwin Partners at Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty is leading the sales and marketing efforts. Call 312-335-5354 or visit www.RF-LakeStreet.com to schedule a private appointment or virtual presentation.

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Wednesday Journal, March 17, 2021

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Timeline | Environmental Remediation and Commercial Development At Rf-Lake Street 2001 Initial testing was performed at the 7601-7615 Lake Street property to determine if the site had been impacted by on-site dry-cleaning operations.

2003 A Focused Site Investigation Report (FSIR), dated December 15, 2003, was prepared.

2004 The site was enrolled into the Site Remediation Program, and the FSIR was submitted to the Illinois EPA; the Illinois EPA disapproved the FSIR on August 18, 2004.

2004-2005 Supplemental testing was conducted in an effort to further characterize the extent of contamination.

2006 A response letter, dated February 28, 2006, was submitted to the Illinois EPA to present the 20042005 testing results; the Illinois EPA disapproved the response letter on May 4, 2006.

2007-2008 Supplemental testing was conducted at the 7617-7621 Lake Street property to evaluate off-site migration, and an Off-Site Supplemental FSIR was submitted to the Illinois EPA on August 21, 2007; the Illinois EPA accepted the Off-Site Supplemental FSIR on April 18, 2008.

After decades as the site of dry-cleaning businesses and gas stations and several years as an under-performing and functionally obsolete property with environmental contamination issues, River Forest officials develop a plan to use proceeds from a successful tax increment financing (TIF) district to finance environmental clean-up and encourage development of the site.

The Great Recession in 2008/2009 also prevented the project from being financially viable until recently.

2009 Supplemental testing was conducted at the 7601-7615 Lake Street property, and an FSIR was submitted to the Illinois EPA on July 27, 2009; the Illinois EPA disapproved the FSIR on September 28, 2009.

The Village of River Forest and local developer Keystone Ventures enter into a pre-development agreement to create an economic model that enabled River Forest to preserve $2 million from the successful Lake and Harlem TIF for future development.

2010-2017 A Focused Site Investigation and Remedial Objectives Report Addendum (FSI/ROR Addendum), dated January 7, 2010, was prepared to respond to the Illinois EPA’s September 28, 2009 denial letter; the Illinois EPA disapproved the report on March 4, 2010 and requested submittal of a work plan to delineate the horizontal and vertical extent of contamination.

Supplemental testing was performed at the 7601-7615 Lake Street property, and a Revised FSI/ROR Addendum, dated November 2010, was submitted to the Illinois EPA. On January 4, 2011, the Illinois EPA disapproved the Revised FSI/ROR Addendum.

Note, however, that the Illinois EPA stated that “the investigation of the site is acceptable”; the denial of the report was related to corrections to figures and tables.

Investigation activities at the site were halted due to litigation with adjacent property owners.

Attempts to assemble property parcels at Lake and Lathrop required difficult, time-consuming negotiations with holdout property owners and vacating tenants who did not want to move.

2017-2019 The dry-cleaning facility’s Site Remediation Program listing was noted to be inactive.

In August and September 2019, supplemental testing was conducted to evaluate planned construction spoils and areas of the site where tetrachloroethylene (PCE) was previously identified above the soil saturation limit.

Sedgwick joins Keystone as project developer and begins to acquire the parcels; not all commercial tenants are willing to leave, resulting in an eviction process that delayed demolition activities.

2020 The site was re-enrolled into the Site Remediation Program in January 2020, and an Amended Focused Site Investigation Report/ Remediation Objectives Report/Remedial Action

Plan (Amended FSIR/ROR/RAP) was submitted to the Illinois EPA on January 15, 2020.

In March 2020, a budget for supplemental sampling and remediation was submitted to the Illinois Drycleaners Environmental Response Trust Fund (Trust Fund). The Trust Fund approved the budget in May 2020.

On April 3, 2020, the Illinois EPA disapproved the Amended FSIR/ROR/RAP. The Illinois EPA requested additional sampling but noted that the site-specific soil saturation limit calculated for PCE and the plan to address PCE concentrations above the limit were approved.

On May 8, 2020, a Responses to Illinois EPA Comments letter, dated April 17, 2020, which included a sampling plan for supplemental testing, was submitted to the Illinois EPA. On May 21, 2020, the Illinois EPA conditionally approved the Responses to Illinois EPA Comments.

In June and July 2020, supplemental testing was conducted in accordance with the Illinois EPAapproved plan.

In July and August 2020, in-situ chemical oxidation was performed to remediate PCE concentrations exceeding the Illinois EPAapproved soil saturation limit.

On August 12, 2020, confirmation sampling was performed.

Analytical results obtained on August 20, 2020 identified one concentration of PCE that remained above the soil saturation limit (in the northwestern portion of the treatment zone).

On August 28, 2020, a budget request was submitted to the Trust Fund to request approval for supplemental confirmation sampling in the northwestern portion of the treatment zone.

On October 6, 2020, the Trust Fund approved the budget for supplemental confirmation sampling.

On October 9, 2020, supplemental confirmation sampling was performed.

Analytical results obtained on October 16, 2020 confirmed that PCE concentrations had been reduced to below the Illinois EPA-approved soil saturation limit.

All legal issues are resolved, demolition of existing buildings is completed; Sedgwick buys out Keystone Ventures; Sedgwick initiates sales and marketing of RF-Lake Street.

2021 A Focused Site Investigation Report/ Remediation Objectives Report/Remedial Action Plan Addendum (FSIR/ROR/RAP Addendum), dated February 5, 2021, was prepared to obtain Illinois EPA concurrence that active remediation is complete, and Illinois EPA approval of the plan for addressing residual compounds in place using engineering, preventive and institutional controls in accordance with the State’s Tiered Approach to Corrective Action Objectives regulations.

Engineered barriers and a venting system will be installed as part of planned construction activities.

Following installation of engineered barriers and a venting system, a Remedial Action Completion Report will be submitted to the Illinois EPA to request a No Further Remediation (NFR) letter.

Sedgwick continues sales and marketing program, prepares for construction and groundbreaking in mid-2021.

About Sedgwick Development Founded in 1996 by Marty Paris, Sedgwick Development has grown to be one of the leading development companies in Chicagoland and beyond. Focusing on both the residential and commercial development, Sedgwick has built a sterling portfolio by creating value in coveted districts and distinctive communities. As a full-service real estate development company, Sedgwick has a reputation as a highly respected neighborhood developer. As a fully integrated real estate firm, Sedgwick Development houses its own development, design and construction departments.

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DISTRICT 90 SCHOOL BOARD (5 CANDIDATES FOR 4 OPEN SEATS) K A T H L E E N

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Equity has been a focus of District What do you see as the most 90, with both the Inclusiveness urgent concerns in terms of student Advisory Board and the Equity achievement in District 90?

Committee. How effective do you It important to first begin with think these groups have been? defining achievement. For me, What are the most important areas achievement is not simply about that need to be addressed by the standardized test scores but instead district moving forward? taking into consideration the whole Equity is an evolving issue. child and how they are progressing Mitigating inequities should be, and in terms of classroom performance is, the forefront of our district. We and student growth as well as social need to refine our focus on how to get all of our students to emotional well-being and student engagement. Standardized do their personal best. In the past few years there have been a tests provide information about a specific moment in time number of committees to address and improve inclusion and and also frequently measure if a student is good at taking such foster growth, understanding and a sense of belonging. They tests rather than actual capacity for learning and achieving. are not perfect, but they have been aggressive in identifying While they do serve a purpose in identifying trends or areas for issues and moving forward to promote equity amongst all growth, they are not the sole measure of achievement. students.

The most urgent concern is to ensure that each child Something that needs to be addressed is anti-racism, is getting what they need to achieve their personal best. implicit bias and different ways to combat it. It needs to be In light of recovery from pandemic, that means assessing addressed in a healthy way that it fosters growth students to determining areas that may and change in a positive direction. We have the need additional support. In terms of resources as a district for all of our children to the existing achievement/opportunity WEB EXTRA thrive and be successful. gap, that means continuing to reduce See candidates’ complete answers and bios at barriers and offer support as necessary.

OAKPARK.COM/VOTEREMPOWERMENTGUIDE What do you see as the biggest challenges For high achievers, that means continuing currently facing District 90? to provide opportunities for challenge and for struggling learners, that means Getting back in school full time safely is the appropriate scaffolding. The district’s biggest challenge at the moment. All children decision to pursue standards-based need it, parents need it, and our teachers need it. grading has been an important step to However, there needs to be a level of community ensure student achievement because it allows for a better responsibility. If a child doesn’t contract covid, they cannot spread it. If everyone is safe, considerate and just practicing understanding of student’s individual progress towards state being a good human and neighbor, we should be able to standards and provides clearer communication between move forward together. If not, we could have an outbreak and teacher and student as well as teacher and parent. be back to square one.

Equally important to the question of achievement is considering district culture and classroom environment. Are children What do you see as the most urgent concerns in terms of engaged in the material, is there joy in the learning process, student achievement in District 90? do teachers feel valued, are kids learning key skills like critical Along with equity and tough curriculum, the social emothinking and problem solving. Being a parent of three kids with tional toll this pandemic has had on our students needs to different learning needs and also now having a child in high be addressed. Truly it needs to be at the forefront of our plans school, it gives me a perspective about what we want for our moving forward. We need to be flexible, adaptive and highly kids as they leave District 90 – and for me it is much more than aware of the different and changing needs of our students. I achievement on standardized test scores but instead thinking have total confidence in our teachers that they can and will be about what we are doing to prepare our kids for their future able to tackle any concerns or issues coming our way. rather than our past as well as creating life long learners.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print. The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print. The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

Do you want to keep your public officials accountable?

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Describe how your background and experiences will bring value to the District 90 school board.

My professional and educational experience is unique amongst current and campaigning Board members. I have a BA in economics (Michigan), am a Chartered Financial Analyst and have an MBA in Finance (Univ. of Chicago). I am a Managing Director at Jefferies (an Investment Bank) in their Private Wealth Management group and have more than 20 years of finance, business, banking and investment experience. My entire career has been spent analyzing and using “evidence-based” thinking to make optimal decisions. These skills make me well-suited for a Board role, and I think there is a need for this type of perspective more now than ever.

Equity has been a focus of District 90, with both the Inclusiveness Advisory Board and the Equity Committee.

How effective do you think these groups have been?

What are the most important areas that need to be addressed by the district moving forward?

Public education should be an equalizer. Districts that lack comprehensive early childhood programs miss an opportunity to start all of our kids off on a level playing field.

Tying into my response to the prior question, our lack of comprehensive early education, limited preschool and halfday kindergarten offerings create meaningful inequities for minority students, students with special needs, and socioeconomically disadvantaged children.

Some of the most compelling and reproducible research around equity, inclusion and achievement gap emphasizes the value of robust early education and intervention. It doesn’t matter the size of the minority group or other subgroup; without proper pre-K and full-day kindergarten, we are setting groups of our children behind the starting line just as they get going. As a Board member, I would continue to seek out the latest research on the interplay between early childhood development and equity issues, and would advocate for increased offerings that support our earliest learners and their families so that all of our kids can achieve their fullest potentials.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print. The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

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Wednesday Journal, March 17, 2021

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DISTRICT 90 SCHOOL BOARD (5 CANDIDATES FOR 4 OPEN SEATS) N I C O L E

T H O M P S O N

What do you see as the biggest challenges currently facing District 90?

This past year has been traumatic for our students, parents, and community as a whole because of the COVID19 pandemic. One pressing issue will be navigating our collective recovery while continuing best practices around safety and social-emotional well-being. This will be addressed by increasing social support and encouraging student, teacher, parent, and community voices to help guide this recovery. Another issue is that we must continue to examine ways to improve equity by refining resource allocation to support students in their academic growth. Finally, the idea of establishing a full-day kindergarten option has been an ongoing community concern. We will actively examine options that could benefit our community.

I would prioritize trauma recovery in order to improve the health of our students, staff, and parents.

The newly formed Social Emotional Advisory Panel will lead the charge on this initiative. I would then address equity in education and explore a full-day kindergarten option in partnership with our administrative team and community stakeholders. Much of the work regarding equity has been addressed by the Inclusive Advisory Board and the Board of Education’s Equity Committee. This work should continue.

What do you see as the most urgent concerns in terms of student achievement in District 90?

CELEBRATE INTELLECTUAL/DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES AWARENESS MONTH For Llaned Villegas and her teenage sons Cesar and Jonah, COVID times have been characterized by the unique highs of hipshaking Shakira dance parties and the unique lows of remote learning demands and layered health concerns.

Cesar, who has Down’s syndrome and complex learning needs, was receiving strong supports and services at his local high school, but now he’s mostly at home, in the Zoom classroom from 8:45 to 10:30 am. He won’t return in-person until after he turns 16 in June and is eligible for vaccination.

The change in routine has taken a toll.

“Most of my time now is spent with Cesar,” said Llaned, who leans on Cesar’s grandma for weekend support while Llaned drives shifts for Uber. “I graduated two years ago now [with a degree in Psychology] and I still haven’t been able to start working in my field.”

These shifts and stresses contributed to Llaned developing Bell’s palsy last May and with it, temporary paralysis of the

CONTACT US

Opportunity Knocks 8020 Madison Street River Forest, IL 60305 708.771.6159

S T A C E Y

W I L L I A M S

I currently chaired the District 90 EduEquity has been a focus of cation Committee which expanded the District 90, with both the Incluuse of formative student assessments siveness Advisory Board and the and adopted the use of Standard Based Equity Committee. How effecGrading. Formative assessments have tive do you think these groups been used to direct education delivery have been? What are the most in real-time and enhance student learnimportant areas that need to be ing. Standards Based Grading has been addressed by the district movused to more accurately evaluate learning forward? ing and mastery of skills. Our district has I think the IAB has done an outalways worked to standing job enhance our student’s educain its role of serving in an tional experience to improve advisory role to the SuperinWEB EXTRA growth. We consistently work tendent regarding issues of See candidates’ complete answers and bios at on growth and achievement inclusion across the district.

OAKPARK.COM/VOTEREMPOWERMENTGUIDE which has been evident in our The group itself is made up student’s formative and sumof a cross-section of people mative assessments. Based on including parents (with and the Educational Opportunity without children in the disProject at Stanford University, trict), teachers and administhe district’s test scores are three grade levels above trators. Student voice has also been sought. One the U.S. average and our MAP scores during Covid of the most important outcomes of this group’s shows continued growth. Our goal as a district is to work is the Inclusiveness Survey, which is given continue the rigorous educational offerings we curevery other year and is intended to get a deeper rently provide, expand access to these offerings using understanding of how different groups in the Universal Design for Learning, and to make adjustdistrict assess their own sense of belonging and ments based on evidence based educational research inclusion. The tool is very useful and has led to to improve student growth. important initiatives like the Advisory program at Roosevelt.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The Board’s Equity Committee, on the other The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide hand, is charged with policy-making as it re-

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS & DANCE TO SHAKIRA

right side of her face. Additionally, Llaned and Jonah tested positive for COVID-19 in November. While Cesar tested negative, Llaned knows he was exposed.

“I cried when I found out [the test results],” said Llaned. “I was worried about Cesar’s health because he’s also asthmatic. The possibility of hospitalization or death was in the air so that did scare me.”

developed an engaging virtual program platform and then a compressed style of smaller group programs to continue to provide safe, essential support to young people like Cesar and their families.

“I love the community and family feel,” said Llaned. “I got to see it firsthand when I volunteered and interned there in college. I always wanted Cesar to be part of Opportunity Knocks.”

They kept a strict quarantine routine for three weeks and luckily, symptoms were mild and they all made a full recovery.

She credits OK in helping Cesar develop more independence, social skills, and confidence.

They’re counting their blessings, referencing more home-cooked family meals and Jonah and Cesar deepening their brotherly love through at-home workouts as highlights of these times.

Halfway through last year, Cesar also joined Opportunity Knocks (OK), a person-centered, communitybased program for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. After a brief closure of onsite programs last spring, OK quickly

“Opportunity Knocks is like PE,” said Cesar. “I dance. We go walking, I painted a constellation. I have lots of friends there.”

opportunityknocksnow.org facebook.com/okwarriors

lates to ensuring that all students have access to success and positive outcomes in the district. I think the committee has done a good job to date, but the work continues. Going forward, the district will continue to work toward ensuring all students are given the opportunity to achieve their personal best. True equity is embedded in the culture and systems, it is beyond individual initiatives.

What do you see as the biggest challenges currently facing District 90?

As in all school districts, the biggest challenge will be recovery from the pandemic. The district has already put a plan in place to assess and address learning loss as well as provide social and emotional support for students and staff. It begins with understanding, now, where students are and, ultimately, providing the tools and opportunities to begin the rebound. It will require creativity and diligence, and a shared commitment from our community.

The district will also need to focus on finances, particularly as we come out of the pandemic and assess the impact.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

I/DD CONSORTIUM Community Support Services cssservices.org Oak Leyden Developmental Services oak-leyden.org Oak Park Township Senior Services oakparktownship.org/senior-services Opportunity Knocks opportunityknocksnow.org PACTT Learning Center pactt.org Progress Center for Independent Living progresscil.org Riveredge Hospital riveredgehospital.com Suburban Access, Inc. subacc.org The Answer, Inc. theanswerinc.org UCP Seguin of Greater Chicago ucpseguin.org West Suburban Special Recreation wssra.net

You can show your support for our Consortium members and the great work they do by visiting their websites – learn more, donate, volunteer, and follow them on social media.

We appreciate your support!

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Wednesday Journal, March 17, 2021

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RIVER FOREST PARK DISTRICT BOARD (4 CANDIDATES FOR 2 OPEN SEATS) C A R L What can the park district do to increase environmental sustainability and equity of all forms within the community?

The current board has given minimal attention to environmental sustainability or equity within the park district.

The current method of executing projects is a linear path from project to project, and without thought about how the projects will fit together in our limited park space. A master space plan for future growth will allow the inclusion of greenspace in the discussion and planning of any rework of the parks.

A site search on the Park District’s website shows no discussion about equity in the Board minutes, and on the most recent survey race was not a question in the demographics section.

An organization cannot identify potential issues with equity or increase equity if it is not having the discussion about it. First and foremost, the discussion needs to begin.

As you see it, why has the issue of platform tennis become so heated? As a park district board member, how would you recommend navigating this issue to come to a decision that would satisfy all stakeholders?

This is a perceived Us vs Them, Public vs Private issue that has been growing. The Park District

M I K E What challenges face the park district in the near future and how will you as a commissioner address them?

The immediate need for the Park District is the need for a comprehensive, long-term Master Plan.

The board needs to change and must consider community feedback. Current efforts have failed to do this. A major component and information source for moving into the future – the 2020 Community Survey results – are, basically, being ignored. One particular item, Youth Sports, the #1 most important item (on page 6) NEEDS to be explored and discussed. The community is owed a response. A long-term plan considers known needs (improvements/upgrade – “musts of what we have already) and then add community WANTS – the village’s wish list. Based on available capital, projects costs, park space, etc., all things come together to establish the plan. This plan is revisited often to implement change for unknowns and activity/program/ camp performance. Currently, this does not happen.

A board member’s role is essentially the same as a business owner. I own and run a business. What I do at and within my business can be used in creating success. We need to ensure that the Park District’s offerings,

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has enabled the controversy by What aspects of the park dishaving signs that forbid use by trict, regarding services and comnon-members at risk of fines, and munity engagement, need imby not allowing any walk-on or provement and how do you plan reserved use of the courts by nonto make such improvements? members. Though the Park District I think the Park District does a nice recently changed the signs and job communicating program ofallowed walk-on play (at times that ferings via email, their website and are inconvenient and that most the seasonal Fun Guides. I believe members do not play), these changes there needs to be better commucame at a time that opposition to the nication with the community after expansion really started to get loud. Some people each Board meeting. In my experience with the look at the changes as a token response and not Keystone East Turf Project and the proposed a real concession to allowing the Keystone East Rehabilitapublic to use the courts. tion Project many residents The current need for more form opinions without havWEB EXTRA courts is not debatable. The ing all the facts.

See candidates’ complete answers and bios at method of which it is being While Board materials OAKPARK.COM/VOTEREMPOWERMENTGUIDE forced through the park district and minutes are available agenda is debatable. My preferonline, people rarely take ence is to create a 5- or 10-year the time to read them or master plan, determine where in search for details. They form the community platform expanopinions based on what sion is prioritized in relation to all the other potenthey hear through engagements with neightial projects and work from there. People may not bors, who often do not communicate all of the get what they want right away, but if this method facts or are biased to some degree. I feel we is done correctly everyone should understand the should post highlights of the Board meetings why and eventually get the want. and/or send monthly or quarterly communications to the community to enhance transparThe candidate’s responses have been edited for print. ency. Additionally, I believe recordings of Board The full unedited responses can be found online at meetings should be posted on the Park District oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide website.

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budget and space sync with the community and our environment.

What challenges face the park district in the near future and how will you as a commissioner What part does the park address them? district play in the reconfiguring A lack of proactivity, longof the River Forest Community term vision, and communication Center? with the residents. There is also a The RFPD was really in the narrow focus on singular issues “back seat” on this. However, that lead to a more reactive, the PD, along with seven other unproductive approach to the governmental growth and entities and not-for-profit development of our facilities organizations, has been and programs. We need WEB EXTRA participating in the feasibility to establish a long-term See candidates’ complete answers and bios at study conducted by the vision and relay that along OAKPARK.COM/VOTEREMPOWERMENTGUIDE Village and Cordogan/Clark with the associated budget to assess the needs of each back to the residents. Have organization and explore a plan and share it with the cost and practicality of the constituents. I will also potentially combining all of perform a SWOT analysis of the needs in one facility. Preliminary findings the Park District and its affiliated programs. of the Feasibility Study indicate a limited need Identifying the strengths, weaknesses, for a new facility for several of the participating opportunities and threats in all areas of the entities, including the school districts. Given Park District’s operation. the challenges presented by COVID, and the cost projections for a building to meet the What can the park district do to increase various needs, at the end of the day, it looks environmental sustainability and equity like a combined facility will be cost prohibitive. of all forms within the community?

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

There are some simple first steps as it pertains to clean-up and recycling. But this is a broad topic that merits more research and likely some investment. There are obvious

B R O W N What part does the park district play in the reconfiguring of the River Forest Community Center?

Recently an engineering study was completed that evaluated the River Forest Community Center facility that resulted in a different outlook for the facility than what was originally expected. The engineering study showed that the building is in relatively good shape for its age and there is significant useful life remaining. I believe in the short-term there are opportunities for the Park District to work closely with the Community Center to better utilize the Community Center facility. The Park District needs indoor space for basketball and other indoor programming.

There are ways for the Park District and Community Center to align and provide more value to River Forest taxpayers. Long-term, I believe the building will need a complete renovation at some point. I believe all River Forest agencies should collectively work together to come up with a solution that would likely be spearheaded by the Village as they have the most financial resources to allocate to such a project.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

W E S T campaigns and efforts that can be widely promoted within the community. There is a lot of pride and heritage in River Forest and we have the resources to in invest in its preservation. Park spaces are sacred spaces the sustainability of green space is a top priority. Public outdoor gathering spaces are critical to our sense of community and to our need for recreation and wellness.

I will concentrate on sustainability opportunities to ensure that our parks provide an outlet for generations of River Forest residents to come.

One of the things I love most about River Forest is being able to get out and be active in our outdoor spaces. This is important now more than ever. Whether it’s running and hiking through the forest preserve trails, playing co-ed softball with friends on Thursday nights at Keystone Park, keeping my kids active and social, or taking our dog on long walks around the Priory, I find that there is so much to offer for physical and mental wellness in our community. There is also room to expand those offerings and ensure that every RF resident is able and welcome to enjoy all we have to offer.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

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Wednesday Journal, March 17, 2021

To: The Oak Park Village Board and the Environment and Energy Commission From: Interfaith Green Network As the local faith community, we want to strongly encourage the Village Board and Environment and Energy Commission to bring forth a community wide composting program.

John F. Kerry, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, said in his opening remarks, ‘The scientists told us three years ago that we had 12 years to avert the worst consequences of the climate crisis. We are now three years gone, so we have nine years left’ . Later his office said, “Without an increased and urgent mitigation ambition in the coming years, leading to a sharp decline in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, global warming will surpass 1.5 C in the following decades. This will lead to irreversible loss of the most fragile ecosystems, and crisis after crisis for the most vulnerable people and societies.”

We need to continue to move forward towards a zero-waste commitment. Ana Garcia Doyle, Director of the One Earth Film Fest, continues to warn us of the fact that our treatment of the planet is also a reflection of how we treat others. Seeing the earth as “disposable” is also seeing others as having no worth. Caring for the earth is a practical way of caring for others.

Mac Robinet, former member of the Environment and Energy Commission, wrote in the Wednesday Journal: the primary purpose of composting is to divert organic material (e.g. food and yard waste) from landfill in order to avoid production of methane. Methane (CH4) is a powerful greenhouse gas, which is a significant cause of global warming. Composted material also has environmental benefits when added to soil. Utilizing organic compost will increase organic matter, prevent fertilizers from leaching into ground water, and provide microorganisms that can break down pollutants.

Our youth high school project, It’s Our Future, was able to collect over 500 signatures to adopt a more community wide composting (opt-out) approach which they presented to the Oak Park Trustees.

The book Drawdown: The most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, rates Preventing Food Waste and Composting as top solutions. Nearly half of the solid waste produced is organic or biodegradable. Much of it ends up in landfills producing methane, which is up to 34 times more harmful than carbon dioxide. In 2009, San Francisco passed an ordinance making it mandatory to compost the City’s food waste. Denmark has not sent organic waste to landfills in more than 25 years, reaping composting win-win-win of cost savings, fertilizer production and reduced emissions.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, more of us are staying at home and producing more food scraps and waste. The need for composting has increased so now is the time to act.

We ask our political leaders, as we ask ourselves, to show care for all aspects of creation, (from toxic landfills to whole communities struggling to survive), and not trash it!

Join the Village Composting Program: www.oak-park.us/village-services/refuse-recycling/compostable-program.

Interfaith Green Network:

Rev. Dr. David John Hailey, First Baptist Church of Oak Park

Rev. Carl Morello, St. Giles Catholic Church

Rev. Dr. John G. Rumple, Grace Episcopal Church

Rev. David R. Lyle, Grace Lutheran Church and School

Rev. Kathy Nolte, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Rev. Dr. Marti Scott, Euclid Av. United Methodist Church

Rev. John Edgerton, First United Church of Oak Park

Rev. Ben Lynch, Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church

Reverend Dr. Katherine Thomas Paisley, First United Methodist Church

Rabbi Adir Glick, Rachel Glick, West Suburban Temple Har Zion

Rev. Hailey Braden Lynch, Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church

Fr. Rex Pillai, Ascension Catholic Church

Rev. Alan Taylor, Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation

Rabbi Victor Mirelman, Emeritus at West Suburban Temple Har Zion

Mac Robinet, St. Edmunds Catholic Parish

Rev. Christian Coon, Urban Village Church, River Forest First United Methodist Church

Rev. Colin Knapp, Pilgrim Congregation Church

Oak Park Friends Peace, Justice and Environment Committee

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Wednesday Journal, March 17, 2021

Voter Empowerment Election Guide • 2021 • sponsored by GOOD HEART/WORK SMART FOUNDATION

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

RIVER FOREST LIBRARY BOARD (3 CANDIDATES FOR 2 OPEN SEATS) A N N

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K A T H E R I N E

How can the library improve upon virtual services?

The RF library did a great job providing both materials and programming to the community over the past year. There are two steps I would recommend in considering improving virtual services. The first is to understand through assessment the strengths and opportunities the library learned as it transitioned from physical to remote access. These lessons could then be used to inform future practice. The second is to consider how to optimize user experience with the RF library website as this is often the gateway to virtual service.

As a trustee, how do you intend to minimize the tax levy increase for residents during this period of economic hardship and uncertainty?

I would work with the current Board to continue to be good stewards of resident funding. I do not believe that this is a time for increasing the tax levy and instead it may be necessary to develop alternative creative avenues for funding programs. For example, there may be ways to share programming costs with other libraries particularly since so many events are currently online, e.g. split the cost of a keynote speaker with other public libraries since virtual participation is not limited by physical space constraints. We can also invigorate our donor base.

What areas of library operations do you believe need to be bigger priorities for the library board?

In order of priorities: greater assistance to support children’s academics, expansion of donor base, and retention of personnel.

What innovations brought on during the pandemic ought to be continued going forward?

I would be interested in having programming continue to be accessible virtually even when it is feasible to host in-person events.

In-person programming might be live streamed thereby improving accessibility to all interested participants. There may also be ways to offer past programming events virtually for patrons who were unable to attend on the original date.

What experience and qualifications do you possess that will help the library overcome obstacles and limitations?

My experience working in libraries makes me aware of many of the day to day issues that arise in a library. I believe this experience provides a lens that can be used to support the outstanding work and staff of RF library as well as share patron perspectives. Working in libraries also makes me vested in the need to ensure that policies and procedures are in place and developed to address any potential challenges.

Additionally, I believe my strengths include seeing possibilities, solving problems, and making connections. I look forward to using my “boots on the ground” experience along with my strengths to help the library overcome obstacles and limitations.

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print. The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

B E V A N

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How can the library improve upon virtual services?

The pandemic accelerated the library’s adoption of online services, both in terms of quantity and type.

Pre-pandemic, the library offered virtual services such as eBooks and eAudiobooks for download as well as access to magazines online. In 2020, the library added over 1,000 digital titles to its collection. It also added the Kanopy streaming service, allowing patrons to pick from a broad selection of movies that can be watched from home on demand.

During 2020 the library also increased its own online programming. Families with young children can watch live story times presented by the staff on What experience and qualifications do you possess that YouTube. The library also runs hundreds of its programs will help the library overcome obstacles and limitations? online via Zoom, including crafts, STEM challenges, The first relevant experience is that of six years on the library book groups, and trivia. In addition to serving an Board, including time on Finance and Policy committees and educational function, these virtual programs provide on the Director search team. I have institutional knowledge much needed social contacts for children and adults. of the library’s services, facilities, The Library Director wants to and budget that will help the library continue and build on these online through this period of transition that opportunities that were created in includes introducing a new Director response to the pandemic. I fully See candidates’ complete answers and bios at and recovering from the turmoil of the support these new initiatives.

OAKPARK.COM/VOTEREMPOWERMENTGUIDE pandemic year.

The library also has improved I have a particular affinity for the Board’s the way its patrons access online role to oversee the library’s finances, as I content. Library patrons have have a BSBA in Finance and previously several ways to experience worked in financial consulting. During eBooks, depending on the device my time as Treasurer, I aided library they are using and which app they administration in setting up a defined reserve structure and in find easiest to use. The library is moving its online establishing forward-looking capital improvement planning and magazine collections from Flipster to Libby, a more budget processes. I hope to continue working on understanding user friendly portal. Staff members are also available and stabilizing the long-term financial health of the library, to troubleshoot if patrons have technical problems anticipating challenges before they become problems. accessing content. The library staff has demonstrated that it can adapt its online services as devices change What infrastructure or remodeling issues remain to be and new apps are developed. resolved at the library?

The library recognizes that not all patrons are equally The library continually strives to optimize its small space. The situated to take advantage of its online offerings. library is currently pursuing an opportunity to reclaim space from Some patrons do not have the tech hardware or Wi-Fi a mechanical room and convert it to usable patron space. If the needed to access eBooks or participate in programs logistics prove feasible, this would provide an exciting opportunity over Zoom. To address this issue, the library loans out for increased community meeting and programming space. Over tech, including mobile hotspots and eReaders. The the next few years, the library might also look at updating the public library can adjust its purchases of this tech as it sees meeting room. The library should also continually review how how heavily these mobile devices are used. space, including the front garden, is being used for different groups at different times in order to enhance existing spaces.

What areas of library operations do you believe need to be bigger priorities for the library board?

The library Board creates a three-tofive year strategic plan and the library Director and staff utilize this plan to guide specific operations. The changing circumstances of the past year have meant that some strategic plan goals were not able to be fully addressed. As the library moves towards more regular operations, the Board should review the status of the current strategic plan and begin considering the next one.

I think that the next round of strategic planning will need to take into account the many changes that society has faced, and should include focus groups and interviews with community members to determine how the library can best serve our community going forward.

WEB EXTRA

The candidate’s responses have been edited for print. The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

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The candidate’s responses have been edited for print.

The full unedited responses can be found online at oakpark.com/voter-empowerment-guide

R E A D E R S :

Thirty-two pages wasn’t quite enough for all of the candidate questionnaires. So here is a heads up: Go to OakPark.com/voter-empowerment-guide to find the profiles for candidates in contested races for Oak Park Township trustee and the Triton College board.

You will also find questionnaires completed by most candidates in races which are not contested.

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Voter Empowerment Election Guide • 2021 • sponsored by GOOD HEART/WORK SMART FOUNDATION

Wednesday Journal, March 17, 2021

Positive Youth Development The Workgroup for Positive Youth Development (+PYD) strives to strengthen collaboration in our community to address youth Alcohol substance use.

Through engagement and education of community members, youth, parents, local governments, and organizations we can support the coalition’s efforts to prevent and reduce substance use among youth. By identifying the factors in a community that increase the risk of substance use and promoting healthy behaviors we can work together to decrease the 30-day marijuana and alcohol use rates Marijuana of our teens.

National Drug & Alcohol Facts Week Monday, March 22- Sunday, March 28

Linking Teens to Facts that SHATTER THE MYTHS about drugs and drug use.

Join Positive Youth Development (+PYD) and help share the facts about drugs, alcohol, and addiction in your community.

According to the Illinois Youth Survey 30% of Oak Park and River Forest 8th12th graders consumed alcohol and 21% used marijuana in the past 30 days.

Please visit: • oakparktownship.org/prevention-services/ For more information about NIDA and NDAFW • teens.drugabuse.gov/national-drug-alcohol-facts-week

Oak Park & River Forest Townships

Oak Park & River Forest Townships

A convenient and safe way to dispose of your unwanted and expired Rx medications. JUUL, Vape Pens & Cartridges will also be collected. Get your Prescription Lock Box & Drug Deactivation kit, while supplies last. Please note hypodermic needles will not be accepted.

Questions? Contact koconnor@oakparktownship.org

SATURDAY, APRIL 24 • 10am - 2pm 105 S. OAK PARK AVE OAK PARK TOWNSHIP

Oak Park & River Forest Townships

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Wednesday Journal, March 17, 2021

Voter Empowerment Election Guide • 2021 • sponsored by GOOD HEART/WORK SMART FOUNDATION

OAKPARK.COM | RIVERFOREST.COM

Do you live in Suburban Cook County and

need help paying rent and utilities

due to COVID-19?

The Cook County Emergency Rental Assistance program pays up to 12 months of missed rent and utilities payments and up to 3 months of future rent payments.

HOW CAN I APPLY? Applications open March 11, 2021, and will be accepted until April 2, 2021. Start the application process at cookcountyil.gov/recovery.

How do I know if I’m eligible? To be eligible, renters must: •

Live in suburban Cook County and rent their home (Landlords may apply on behalf of tenants)

•

Lack access to other support (e.g., don’t live in public housing or receive rental assistance from other programs)

•

Have proof of financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic

•

Have a household annual income at or below these requirements:

Household size Income

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

$51,000

$58,250

$65,550

$72,800

$78,650

$84,450

$90,300

$96,100

What documents do I need to apply? For the initial application, renters need: •

Photo ID

•

Social Security card (ifavailable)

•

Verification of income for 2020 (e.g., recent paystubs or tax returns)

•

Documentation of COVID-19 financial hardship (e.g., unemployement claims or proof of income decrease)

•

Latest utility bill (if applying for utility assistance)

To apply and learn more: •

Visit cookcountyil.gov/recovery

•

Get text alerts by texting: AlertCook to 888-777

For assistance with your application and language translation services, please contact the Cook County Emergency Rental Assistance Program helpline at 877-426-6515.

If you live in the City of Chicago and need rental assistance, visit chi.gov/housinghelp for more information.

You may also call Oak Park Regional Housing Center for more information: 708-848-7150