GROWING COMMUNITY WEDNESDAY JOURNAL, INC.
ForestParkReview.com
Vol. 101, No. 47
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F O R E S T PA R K
REVIEW NOVEMBER 21, 2018
Former commissioner, mayoral candidate announces run PAGE 4
More D91 candidates emerge PAGE 8
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Residents, National Park Service present final Cultural Park reports Committee repeats suggestion during National Park report presentation By ROBERT J. LIFKA
F
Contributing Reporter
ollowing a final report by the National Park Service on possible uses for village-owned property near the Altenheim Retirement Home during the Nov. 13 village council meeting, Ralph DiFebo, chair of the ad hoc Cultural Park Committee, reiterated the group’s proposal that the north end of the Altenheim property be sold to help fund development of the park. The Cultural Park Committee was formed in December 2016 and is headed by DiFebo, a resident who has been advocating development of the property since 2015. This September, the group recommended to village of officials that they consider selling a portion on the north end of the property to a developer and use the proceeds to retire outstanding debt; pay to demolish crumbling structures on the south end, including a chapel; and fund a feasibility study. The committee also suggested that village officials create a tax increment financing (TIF) district along See ALTENHEIM on page 18
ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer
ALTENHEIM: Forest Park firefighters Mark Maylath, left, and Tim Ryan, practice ladder throwing on the side of one of the vacant Altenheim buildings in Forest Park. The fire department regularly uses the old, vacant buildings to practice different routines.
Building a better assessment system Fritz Kaegi gears up to make good on campaign promises By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter
Fritz Kaegi has a little less than two weeks before becoming Cook County assessor, a position that in most other parts of the country is a largely unknown job overlooked by most of the
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public — Kaegi says he’d like to make it that way here, too. Kaegi is a resident of nearby Oak Park. Kaegi’s goal is not to fly under the radar when he takes office on Dec. 3; his idea is to make the assessor’s office and its business so transparent and routine that it becomes trusted and free of the
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consternation most building owners have historically dealt with concerning their property tax assessments. In the March primary, Kaegi soundly defeated incumbent Joe Berrios, who also served as chairman of the Cook See KAEGI on page 11
Meaghan Good, Agent 7601 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130 Bus: 708-366-3779 meaghan@goodsgotyou.com