W E D N E S D A Y
February 26, 2020 Vol. 40, No. 31 ONE DOLLAR @oakpark @wednesdayjournal
JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
Connects Page 19
River Forest to let SafeSpeed contract expire But village will seek to continue red-light camera program in the future By ROBERT J. LIFKA Contributing Reporter
River Forest officials appear committed to keeping the three red-light cameras in the village, but they apparently will not be operated by SafeSpeed LLC. At the Feb. 24 village board meeting, Village Administrator Eric Palm informed officials that staff intend to decline to renew River Forest’s contract with SafeSpeed, allowing the contract to expire July 1. Separately, staff intend to issue a request for proposals for services to consider other vendors. The village originally contracted with SafeSpeed in 2011. In addition to River Forest, SafeSpeed LLC See SAFESPEED on page 16
Photo by Paul Goyette
FRAMING THE NARRATIVE: Juanta Griffin during the Uniquely You Tea Party she hosted on Feb. 23 at The Echo Center inside of the Euclid Avenue United Methodist Church in Oak Park. The tea, which is centered on the emotional development of girls of the African diaspora, is emblematic of why the center exists.
A space they can call their own
The Echo Center comes into focus By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter
On the second floor of the Euclid Avenue United Methodist Church, 405 Euclid Ave. in Oak Park, there are five deftly decorated multipurpose rooms named for iconic people of color: the African American writer James Baldwin, the AsianAmerican activist Fred Korematsu, the
Latinx singer Celia Cruz, the African American poet Audre Lorde, and the African American activist Ruby Bridges. “We’ve had a challenge in the community for a while around having spaces that are owned, so to speak, by folks of color,” said Linda Francis during an interview earlier this month inside of the Audre Lorde Library. “Folks have asked how we can get more people of color to the table, but it’s always been this model of a table that is owned and structured by someone else.” Francis is one of five volunteer board members of The Echo Center, the formal
name and governing entity of the secondfloor Euclid Avenue space that had its soft opening in November. The center is “intentionally designed … for exploring the narratives of marginalized people and coalescing the community’s equity efforts,” according to its website. “The center promotes art, theater and other modes of storytelling, serves as a hub for nonprofits and other initiatives led by people of color, and advances equity and social justice efforts.” See ECHO CENTER on page 12