Key Issues Facing Oak Park

Oak Park has one of the best police departments, and they are constantly doing the work to continually improve. There is still crime and regional issues that require a fully-staffed police department. I have supported increasing the number of patrol officers, per the expert advice of our new police chief. I am also an advocate of our community policing model. Simply adding police officers will not magically make crime disappear. We also need to be sensitive and make sure that our community is not racially profiling people in our village. I believe the best deterrents to crime are community building, better lighting, doorbell and other cameras, and resident education on how to identify offenders and suspicious behavior.

Before taking office in 2017, property taxes were steadily growing at a rate of 8.1% annually. In 2017 we passed a 5.6% increase. I proposed a capped the levy at 3%, which we did for the next five budget cycles. We did not cut any services to accomplish this goal, rather, we were more diligent and reined in wasteful spending. Had we not taken action, every $1 in property tax to the Village would have been roughly $1.72 today. Instead, our discipline resulted in $1 (then) being only $1.22 (today), saving residents thousands of dollars.

But good fiscal budgeting that leads to surplusses and reserves opens the door to unsustainable spending, scope creep, and unnecessary head count. If re-elected, I would work hard to achieve the goals of our Village while diligently operating within sustainable spending limits.

Affordable Housing is something that is important to maintain the character of Oak Park. I’m proud of my record as a Trustee, and hope that you will choose me to continue to serve the village in the upcoming April election.

Through negotiating with property developers, the village has built an Affordable Housing Fund and funded millions of dollars of Affordable Housing opportunities throughout the village, since starting the program. I voted in favor of using $500k of that money to give a grant to The Community Builders for a 37-unit affordable housing development. I also voted to grant Housing Forward $500k out of the Affordable Housing Fund to create a rental assistance program at the Raymond Showalter Residence, 324 N. Austin Blvd, and to fund the general assistance program for people who are homeless or on the verge of being homeless.

I also pushed hard to pass the Village’s first Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance which helps guarantee socio-economic diversity all throughout town. If you elect me in April, I will continue to support affordable housing initiatives.

The current Village Board recently voted to eliminate the leaf pile pickup, a mainstay in Oak Park for 80 years. Now residents have to bag their leaves, which increases cost and takes more time, and physical effort which is particular concerning for senior residents.

Eliminating the leaf pick-up does not save the village any money, and is arguably less sustainable because it adds the need for large bags and does not reduce carbon emissions because vehicles still collect the large bags. Eliminating the leaf pick-up was not in the best interest of residents and I would not have supported this decision. If elected, I will work and support reverting back to our earlier leaf collection method and also look seriously to change our waste hauling contractor because I believe the current company is not doing a good job in our village.

There are decisions that the village makes that disproportionally affect socio-economic groups. One such example is overnight parking fees, fines, and booting vehicles for non-payment of tickets. While I understand the need for the village to collect on fines for parking violations, I see it as regressive and potentially draconian to make a vehicle inaccessible to someone who needs it. If someone has unpaid tickets because they can’t afford to pay them, it is unlikely they can afford the extra costs to remove the boot. Furthermore, many rely on their cars to earn a paycheck. Fees for overnight parking are also very high.

Equity is an issue that we need to consider throughout all our decisions. As such, I strongly supported adding a DEI component to our board decision matrix which gives direct feedback from our DEI Director in all matters before the Village Board. This change has been helpful and a welcome input. As a board member, I also strongly supported and voted for adding a DEI Director position and integrating the Director into the Village management organization. When asked by the Village Manager if I would support naming the DEI Director a senior level position, I agreed and voted for the founding and funding of the management position we have now.

Equity is not just limited race. Equity is also about socio-economics, gender, disability, age, religion, culture, and other categories. Decisions made at the board table may or may not affect different people disproportionally. I work very hard to consider who is affected and how they are affected. Of course we all have blind spots and need to consciously work to educate ourselves. I advocate for racial equity training for all village staff and elected officials. In addition, I believe additional training should be made available online for anyone living or working in the village who would like to be trained.

Economic Development is a challenge in a high-tax, high-service municipality. Since we do not have a robust sales tax base to support our government, most of the revenue for all the taxing bodies comes from property tax. Furthermore, commercial buildings are taxed at a higher rate than residential buildings. Our businesses are carrying an extra burden. As a result, some of their tax bills are higher than their rent!

High taxes disproportionally affect small and local-owned businesses. If the property tax trend continues, Oak Park will lose its charming independent stores which will be replaced by national brands and chain restaurants. As property taxes rise dramatically, people also have less to spend in local stores and restaurants.

As a Trustee, I have passed fiscally responsible budgets that keep taxes predictable while maintaining the high level of services we provide in Oak Park. Keeping our Village budgets at feasible spending levels is the single most important thing we can do to encourage more economic development and investment in our village at this time.

Back in 2017 my colleagues toured the Police Department facility inside Village Hall. After seeing pictures and hearing about the conditions our police officers were working under, we knew that an improved police facility was important. That raised many questions including whether or not there should be a new building, or a remodeled facility.

At the same time, complaints about Village Hall as a viable workplace were coming in. Village Hall has been problematic in one way or another since it opened in the 1970s.

Fast-forward to today, the Village Board is discussing options for both facilities, and the price tags are surpassing $100M.

While I am in favor of facilities that are up to current standards and expectations, I don’t feel like the proposals are economical, or addressing the needs of a future staff. Technology advancements should lead to smaller future village hall staffs, yet the village is expanding its staff and proposing facilities that are not necessary. Basically, I am in favor of building a new police facility, economically, and re-assessing the Village Hall plans.

When considering the amount of the proposed investment, and what a Village Hall should look like in 10-20 years, investing an exorbitant amount in a brick-and-mortar building is not wise.