Opinion

OUR VIEW

An Altenheim plan at last ?

Forest Park is about to appoint a new official advisory committee to eventually recommend just what the village ought to do with the precious open space it has long owned at the Altenheim.

Consider us skeptical. The village government, in a rare bold move, acquired this site 21 years ago to ward off its sale to likely housing developers. It then took 20 years to finally demolish and remediate the site of multiple derelict buildings on the property. And now, as finally the multimillion-dollar loan used to acquire the site is paid off, there is another committee coming into formation.

We take some heart that the two village commissioners seemingly driving this unexpected action are Jessica Voogd and Maria Maxham. It is unusual in Forest Park village government to see commissioners take semi-independent action and we applaud them for taking this on. Further, they are pledging the process will be “open, transparent and successful.”

That would be new.

Planning for the use of this treasure has been some peculiar hot potato in town for years. A committee was formed and then aggressively ignored. One town hall was held by a rogue commissioner and then aggressively ignored. Suggestions of further public discussions have been rejected by the current and former mayor.

That’s why we’re skeptical.

Healthy that, in announcing their plans to seek applicants for this new committee, Voogd and Maxham (a former editor of the Review) say they want the group to gather up all the previous planning and to consider it as part of the new study. But then at some fairly early point, this committee is going to need basic direction only the mayor and village council can provide.

Specifically, is the village open to, or even eager to, sell off a portion of the site for mixeduse development? If that is a given, and it might reasonably be, let’s get that on the table early. Is the village open to partnering on this project with the park district? That entity is proving itself to be capable in building out active recreation centers. Could they work to create a more passive park setting, too?

Good for these two commissioners for stepping up. Let’s see who applies and who they recruit to serve on this critical committee.

We want our skepticism to be proven wrong.

OPINION

Community Guide is coming, so is the next election

In a few weeks the Forest Park Review will publish the annual Community Guide, complete with many of the small-town businesses and people we know and cherish.

Within this year’s book is a feature that we refer to as “the ransom note,” taking a collage of local fonts from businesses to write out our home town slogan. This homage to typography, was fun to create, and I am happy to discuss with anyone looking to deep discuss fonts with me.

Something clicked in first grade, decoding the puzzle of learning write the alphabet and words. The secret code of crafting shapes that represent sounds and the rules of each of the forms. The riddles of upper and lower- case letters, some just miniature versions (C, P, S, X), some entirely different (a, q, r) some with dots (i, j) and each with a personality. Delightful sizes, angles, shapes of every letter and the artistry is exciting. I was hooked on how the message was written in handwriting and font styles- harsh edges, soft curves, crossing high or low, slanting right or lefteven making graphology my sixth grade science project.

As we all soak in the last moments of an election-free April in town, the countdown has started to April 4, 2023, and in eleven months we will see the full springtime crops of the 2023 election to color Forest Park life. Soon we will be peppered with yard signs, robo-calls, social media ads, literature, door knockers, debates, drama and intrigue. In the last twenty years, the Village leadership has had elections with as few as five and as many as ten commissioners running for four seats. The rumors of 2023 election have started and feelers are going out. I would recommend getting on the ballot to get elected, which means getting a clipboard and a pen, asking people to sign an official petition, having it notarized and turned into the appropriate clerk. Look for the League of Women Voters training and stay in touch with the Cook County Clerk website for details because ballot position might matter. To get on top you may need to be in the lottery with others looking for that top spot on the ballot, or wait until the last minute to try to get the bottom ballot spot.

The campaign design on yard signs is one of my favorite parts of the season. It is home grown, sometimes pure and honest sometimes repulsive and fake. Sometime amateur, sometimes professional, the signs represent the candidate in a 18x24” sign. Several candidates running in Oak Park last spring, flexed their social class muscles with all sorts of added design elements, shapes and colors.

Traditional yard signs are printed with a single color, with the negative white space often revealing the last name in larger letters than the first name. Candidates tend to favor classic colors-red, white and blue- and green, just perfect for the St. Patrick’s Day parade. The allure of a multicolored sign can be exciting, and the additional expense can tip off to voters that the candidates could have lots of financial backers, independent wealth, or insecurity and an inability to manage campaign funds depending on the number of signs that are printed. Sometimes a logo or branded image is included like a star, a stripe, a shamrock, even one year a candidate just outright plagiarized Obama’s campaign sign design and

JILL color scheme. While the crystal Village ball has not quite WAGNER reviled a clear path to the issues dejour, no doubt the sharks will soon be looking for blood. Finding the fear touch points that drive voters takes less effort than respect and hope, afterall. Since I’ve lived here, some issues that come to mind are village cell phone bills, potential strip clubs, Altenheim property, empty storefronts, the horror of slates, the length of time one has lived in Forest Park and the suggestion Forest Park would annex into Maywood. Rest assured, Forest Park is filled with talent, sensibility and the small-town passion that is deep in our Village that will surface during election season, boosted by hot tempers, power, misinformation, and sometimes even a video of poop improperly disposed. It all comes with a price, and long memories. Ultimately voters decide if they want passion, experience, sensitivity, muscle, beauty, detail or fairness in their elected representation. So spring 2023 we welcome the voting season with a full Mayor-Commissioner form of government election, two Park District seats, three seats in D91 and three seats in D209, and welcome those running for re-election and for the very first time. As our small-town democracy unfolds, Forest Parkers are lucky to have people willing to serve the greater community, it takes a special person to run for office. If you’re planning on running, or if the thought crossed your mind, there is no better time than now to get out to events and get to know your community. I have noticed that only the nicest people come to litter pickups, hang out for history, or volunteer at events. So start with the nice people in town, they are everywhere, and can really be the fuel you need when the going gets tough. Elections help our community grow, sides are taken, grudges are exposed, past is forgiven and the democratic process rings out and helps us be present in a moment and build our hopes and values for the future.