W E D N E S D A Y
September 4, 2019 Vol. 40, No. 5 ONE DOLLAR @oakpark @wednesdayjournal
JOURNAL
Golf teams get into the swing
of Oak Park and River Forest
Page 47
Not our problem, railroad tells River Foresters
Danny Davis pledges collaboration on sound barrier By MARIA MAXHAM Staff Reporter
In a standing-room-only town hall meeting Aug. 27 led by Cong. Danny Davis (D-7th), River Forest residents and village officials had a chance to talk to Union Pacific and Metra representatives about the ongoing conflict over the Union Pacific (UP) and Metra Third Rail Expansion project. This more than $100 million initiative’s goal is to prevent bottlenecks and idling trains through the installation of additional train tracks. Locally, the project involves 1.8 miles of new train line. River Forest residents claim that the project is creating dangerous safety and noise problems and are demanding UP fix these issues. Although Davis began the meeting by saying this sort of town hall is the “hallmark of democracy” and was hopeful that everyone would be heard and a solution reached, UP and Metra officials did not budge, and residents left the meeting disappointed and angry. River Forest Village President Cathy Adduci See RAILROAD on page 14
Consider yourself at home
ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer
Students and parents parade past the welcome signs at Irving School as they head home last Wednesday after day one of the 2019-20 school year.
Preservation commission rejects Wright plan By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter
The Oak Park Historic Preservation Commission unanimously rejected a proposal by the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust to demolish or remove a residential building and alter another near the famed architect’s Home & Studio to make room for a visitor and education center.
Dozens of Oak Park residents, architects and representatives of historic preservation organizations turned out for the Aug. 28 meeting, most of them voicing opposition to the proposal. The plan, revealed to the public in June, proposes to demolish or relocate a residential building at 925 Chicago Ave. and alter a second building at 931 Chicago Ave. — both buildings are immediately
east of the home and studio — by removing additions to the building, some of which may have been designed by Wright. A number of organizations, including Landmarks Illinois, the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, testified against the proposal. Bob Miller, chairman of the board of See PRESERVATION on page 15
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