Before we close the book on 2011, let’s take a look at the stories that made news in Oak Park and River Forest. You won’t be surprised to hear that not all of these stories wrapped up tidily in 2011. You’ll still be reading about several of them in 2012. And maybe 2013.
The corner of Lake and Forest was still empty as we went to press. Not even a snow pile. But come January, Oak Park’s village board will get the final word on the proposal for a 20-story retail and apartment tower at this key intersection.
With the TIF lawsuit just settled between the village and the two local school districts, the Lake and Forest development deal might also be the final grand plan to be funded by the now-neutered TIF.
Rising concern about drug and alcohol abuse by our teenagers led the school board at Oak Park and River Forest High School to expand, and actually to enforce, the closed-campus model for both freshmen and sophomores. We give 2011 a big sendoff inside.
Read on.
Bricks, blizzards and a building collapse among the big Oak Park stories in 2011
A year of delay and resolution
Twenty-eleven was a year that saw several notable projects continue to drag on, while other battles in Oak Park finally came to an end. Oak Park Village Hall at last resolved a nearly two-year long lawsuit with the public high school, but not before some $685,000 was spent on the dispute.
A look at River Forest in 2011
Red light cameras, a rare murder and a new police chief topped the list of top stories
The River Forest village board adopted an ordinance in August allowing red light cameras to be installed at three locations in the village, and approved an agreement with a camera vendor in October.
Education created some of Oak Park’s biggest stories in 2011
Referendum for District 97, partly closed campus for District 200
School news in 2011 in Oak Park was highlighted by twists, turns and surprises — before, during and after the April 5 elections. District 97 got its long-awaited tax hike referendum, but also some unwanted publicity before the election because of confusing ballot wording and a lawsuit after the election by referendum opponents stemming from said ballot wording.
Oddball Oak Park stories from 2011
Oak Park saw its fair share of the unusual this year
At the end of every year, we like to take a look back at some of the odder stories that have come across our desks. Here are a few that stood out in Oak Park in 2011 (sorry River Forest, but you came up short on the oddball side these past 12 months).
Remembering just a few of those we lost in 2011
Ten who made a difference
If you want a flavor of the remarkable array of individuals who inhabit these villages, all you have to do is read Wednesday Journal’s obituaries. The frustrating part is finding out about so many of them when it’s too late.
All eyes were on the ‘big melt’ after Oak Park blizzard
OakPark.com asked readers to predict when snow would melt following Feb. 1 snow storm
On Feb. 1, Oak Park and River Forest witnessed a snow storm of epic proportions, depositing more than 20 inches of snow in the Chicagoland area. Oak Park Public Works crews quickly turned the vacant lot at the corner of Lake and Forest into a dumping ground for the excess snow, forming a virtual mountain range named the “Oak Park Alps.”
Bestselling books for 2011 at The Book Table in Oak Park
The Book Table’s Jason Smith provided us with a list of the store’s bestselling books of 2011.
Top 10 films for 2011 at The Lake Theatre in Oak Park
Classic Cinema’s Mark Mazrimas sent us the Lake Theatre’s top movies for 2011.
