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Vol. 103, No. 1
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REVIEW JANUARY 1, 2020
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Roos expansion a possibility in 2020 Park board votes to apply for $2.5 million grant By MARIA MAXHAM Staff Reporter
After a second thorough discussion and debate at a special meeting held on Dec. 26, the Park District of Forest Park’s Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 to apply for a PARC grant to expand the Roos Recreation Center. The meeting was held because board members at a Dec. 19 meeting asked for more time to consider the proposal. Openings for applications for a grant, being offered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), were announced early in December, prompting the park district staff to push up plans to expand the Roos, plans that have been in consideration since the original construction of the building in May 2018. The park district plans to apply for $2.5 million, the maximum amount the grant will cover. This would pay for half of the expansion, leaving the park district responsible for funding the other $2.5 million of the total $5 million project. The addition would serve the day camp before and after school program, as well as the summer camp, but would be a “multipurpose use facility,” meaning that it could be used for other purposes when camp is not in session. The 10,000 square foot addition, which would be added to the north side of the building, See ROOS on page 10
ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer
MAKING HISTORY: Rory Hoskins, with wife Monique Hoskins, is sworn in as the first black mayor of Forest Park on May 13.
Paving the way for progress 2019 full of changes, looking ahead By MARIA MAXHAM
The beginning of 2019 found Forest Park still healing from the rift created by video gaming in town, which was perhaps one of the biggest village-wide debates in re-
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cent history. Although video gaming was officially voted out in Nov. 2018, the tension carried over into the new year. A new mayor and two new commissioners elected in the spring gave the village a chance to take a breath and focus on next steps to bring revenue to town and ensure a solid future for Forest Park. 2019 was filled with changes, some of the biggest
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Politics and personnel The April 2019 elections in Forest Park were historic and changed the landscape of politics in town. It was the mayoral election that brought the biggest shift to the decision-making processes in town, See REVIEW on page 6
Meaghan Good, Agent 7601 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130 Bus: 708-366-3779 meaghan@goodsgotyou.com