W E D N E S D A Y
October 7, 2020 Vol. 41, No. 10 ONE DOLLAR @oakpark @wednesdayjournal
JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
Police department ‘audit’ divides Oak Park village board Proposal called ‘massive’ and ‘costly’ By STACEY SHERIDAN Staff Reporter
Four Oak Park village trustees were ready to abandon the idea of hiring a third-party consultant to audit the Oak Park police department during a divisive discussion Sept. 29 over the project’s drafted request for proposal (RFP). The project’s responsibilities, as outlined in the RFP, were criticized as being “massive” and the expense of carrying out the audit “costly.” The village board directed staff to create an RFP to solicit potential consultants to conduct the police audit during its June 22 meeting, as part of the board’s commitment to investigating and eradicating systemic racism in local law enforcement. The laundry list of project requirements in the RFP presented Sept. 29 include an evaluation of the police department “in regards policing, techniques, training, accountability and community engagement,” as well as a “study of community needs regarding policing and safety,” among many others. Village Manager Cara Pavlicek told the board the audit would hopefully be completed within the first quarter of 2021 and cost around $25,000. Trustee Simone Boutet suggested the board reconsider the decision to hire a consultant, believing that the many requirements reflect a board not in consensus. “It’s gigantic. It’s a fishing expedition and it seems like we’re not really responding to something we all agree on to be a problem,” said Boutet. Boutet found the completion timeline unreasonable. “I can’t imagine reviewing every aspect of our police department in Q1,” she said. “There’s no way a consultant would be able to do all that.” The $25,000 price tag of the audit seemed inconceivably low to Boutet, who thought the audit more likely to cost over $250,000 and take much longer to complete. Boutet called the project “costly” and suggested having Police Chief LaDon Reynolds review the police department. See AUdit on page 14
ALEX ROGALS/Staff Photographer
Topsy-turvy Tavi Calin-Jagermann hopes for a smooth landing at Barrie Park.
Privilege or passion? Parents feverish over D97’s COVID plan
Efforts to return to class prompt calls of white privilege By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter
Last week, District 97 administrators announced that they plan on transitioning to hybrid learning from full remote learning by Nov. 30 — the first day of the second
trimester. The announcement came after a swirl of controversy over petitions and rumors of protests as parents in D97 got more aggressive in their pushback against what they considered to be Supt. Carol Kelley’s poor leadership and lack of communication amid the pandemic. But the parents’ pushback provoked vocal counterreactions from some community members, particularly Black and Brown leaders in Oak Park, who lauded KelSee CONTROVERSY on page 16
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