W E D N E S D A Y
Talking EQUITY. What’s working. SAY event Nov. 28, page 35
JOURNAL of Oak Park and River Forest
November 21, 2018 Vol. 39, No. 16 ONE DOLLAR @oakpark @wednesdayjournal
Building a better assessment system
Oak Parker Fritz Kaegi gears up to make good on campaign promises By TIMOTHY INKLEBARGER Staff Reporter
Oak Parker 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 largely overlooked by most of the public — Kaegi says he’d like to make it that way here, too. 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 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 County Democratic Party, and faced no serious opponent in the general election. The success of the political outsider — Kaegi previously worked as an asset manager for Columbia Wanger Asset Management — was a direct challenge to the power structure of the Cook County Democratic Party. Now Kaegi is working to make good on his campaign promises to fix a broken assessment system, which he argued was unfair and benefitted wealthy property owners. “Everyone in the Chicago area has their own stoSee KAEGI on page 15
Photo by Paul Goyette
CHANGE NOW: Student activists with OPRF’s Black Leaders Union and Students Advocating for Equity speak during the public comment portion of a regular school board meeting on Nov. 15. They want the district to speed up its implementation of a racial equity policy and related procedures.
‘We urge you to move quickly on this!’ OPRF students, community leaders urge school board to enact equity changes By MICHAEL ROMAIN Staff Reporter
For two Sundays in a row this month, student activists at Oak Park and River Forest High School have circulated petitions, protested and led marches in order to pressure District 200 administrators and board members to act swiftly in implementing a series of demands in the area of racial equity.
SAVE THE DATE
During a regular board meeting held Nov. 15, students and community members kept the pressure on even as they acknowledged the support they’ve received from district officials, particularly D200 Supt. Joylynn Pruitt-Adams and board President Jackie Moore. As a crowd of roughly 100 people stood in support, students with clubs such as the Black Leaders Union (BLU) and Students Advocating for Equity (SAFE) told board members during public comment
that they would like to see the district hire and retain more teachers of color. “We’re asking that you all consider [forming] a racial consciousness committee as far as hiring, because, unfortunately, whiteness isn’t something that just affects white people,” said OPRF senior and SAFE member Grace Gunn. “It affects people of all colors, too. Examine every teacher you all hire.” See EQUITY on page 12
SAY Connects presents, After “America to Me”: On the Ground in Oak Park and River Forest
A community conversation for our villages on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018 Julian Middle School Auditorium • 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
FREE RSVP at: www.OakPark.com/sayconnects