W E D N E S D A Y
January 9, 2019 Vol. 39, No. 23 ONE DOLLAR @oakpark @wednesdayjournal
JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
Shriners spokesman has passion for sports Sports, page 32
D97 leads state in ‘gold standard’ teachers
District is 24th in country for number of National Board Certified teachers By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter
Last year, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards announced that there were roughly 180 new National Board Certified teachers in Illinois — 20 of them, or 10 percent of the state total, were from Oak Park Elementary Schools District 97, according to National Board data. In 2018, no other school district in the state See TEACHERS on page 13
SAY CONNECTS EVENT
Photo by Paul Goyette
TRUSTEE HOPEFULS: Candidates Thomas Gary (left), Cory Wesley, Jim Taglia, Arti Walker-Paddakotla, Graham Brisben and Christian Harris, represent just over half of the 11 Oak Park village trustee candidates who turned out for a candidate forum, Jan. 9, hosted by Suburban Unity Alliance. The municipal election is set for April 2.
Taxes front and center at Oak Park trustee debate Eleven candidates lay out positions on affordability, transparency, development By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter
Youth take the lead
Jan. 17. Details on page B16
Election season kicked off this year with a candidate forum, hosted by the Oak Park-based advocacy group Suburban Unity Alliance, for those vying for Oak Park village trustee.
Eleven candidates are running for three open seats on the seven-member board of trustees in the election set for April 2 – only one candidate, James Taglia, is an incumbent. Candidates laid out their positions on topics such as the rising tax burden, affordable housing, high-rise developments
downtown and transparency in local government, among others. The eleven candidates are: Tim Thomas; Cory Wesley; Susan Buchanan; Bridgett Baron; Thomas Gary; James “Jim” Taglia; Joshua Klayman; Graham Brisben; James See ELECTION on page 14
defy expectations. ffc.com/defy