Meet Mary Jo Schuler

Mary Jo Schuler is the forward-thinking president of Oak Park’s Pleasant District.

She is also a third generation Oak Parker, a businesswoman, a local philanthropist and a working mom who deeply cares about, and is invested in, the doings of her hometown.  

In 1980, upon graduating from Oak Park and River Forest High School, Mary Jo was awarded a full ride scholarship for field hockey to Kent State University, where she earned a bachelors degree in Psychology.  She went on to earn a master’s of science degree from Southern Illinois University, and later, a Ph.D. in Higher Education from Saint Louis University.  Post college, she launched her career in higher education, eventually going on to become interim dean of students at Triton College in River Grove. 

When she and her husband Stephen, another long-time Oak Parker, purchased and rehabbed an historic home in Oak Park, Mary Jo realized that she liked building things, and she shifted gears.

In 2004, Mary Jo launched Final Finish Properties.  Then, she became a partner and co-owner in the Marion Street Cheese Market and the Madison Highlands project, a commercial and retail business development.

Last summer, Mary Jo co-founded Greenline Wheels, an L3C social business located across the street from the restaurant that rents bicycle and electronic vehicles in an effort to promote green transportation initiatives in Oak Park.

In addition to their many business ventures, Mary Jo and Stephen have founded and run the Good Heart/Work Smart Foundation to reflect their deep commitment to serving and inspiring local youth.  Mary Jo also holds board positions with several local and nearby organizations.   

As the oldest of nine children in a close-knit Irish Catholic family, the District 97 mom enjoys her home life as well. She and Stephen, co-founder of Getco LLC, are raising two children.

Mary Jo Schuler on the recent redo she hopes will extend and synergize her local business community

WJ: How has South Marion Street changed since you and Eric Larson arrived on the scene?

Mary Jo: When we purchased this site to expand Marion Street Cheese Market, we had empty storefronts up and down this area of the district. One of the things I feel most proud about is building this small little economic engine here in the Pleasant District and witnessing the domino effect since we arrived.

WJ: During the construction, what have been the challenges?

Mary Jo: Our first challenge was to pull the members of the Pleasant District Association together and build a common voice. We have achieved that. In addition, we have been doing this in a delicate economy, so it has been challenging and scary for businesses to open their hearts and minds to a streetscape change. A majority of the businesses did fine during the construction, but there were a couple of businesses that were struggling before it started, so it did not make business any better for them. One thing that I continue to remind everybody is that we had one hundred year old pipes underneath the street. We were scheduled to replace those pipes, and were going to tear up the street one way or another.

WJ: Why the continuity in design to North Marion Street?

Mary Jo: We wanted South Marion to look similar to North Marion because we believe that consumers way beyond the borders of Oak Park and River Forest, if they sense that there is a large shopping district, it will make Oak Park a more attractive destination. The great thing about it though, is that we still get to maintain our own identity.

WJ: Any thoughts about establishing retail only zoning in the Pleasant District?

Mary Jo: We are in a place in time where it makes economic, environmental and personal health sense to build walkable communities. That means that our residents need to have access to things like banks, maybe financial planners, amenities such as dry cleaners and other non-retail entities that help to make a community walkable. A district can be walkable if you use that second floor space in the right way, but I don’t want to forgo the walkability of an area just to generate more tax revenue. But I must say, that I am proud that Marion Street Cheese Market does generate tax revenue, and that is something that helps keep our community affordable and working well.

WJ: Post project, any thoughts?

Mary Jo: This has been a community accomplishment, and what I think is really remarkable is that the Village Board approved this streetscaping improvement project in early May. We broke ground by June 1 and are having the official ribbon cutting on December 1st. This project required a high level of teamwork from all parties involved, including the Village of Oak Park, the Pleasant District, George Sollitt Construction and all the sub-contractors. The disruptive construction process has encouraged all of us doing business in the district to go beyond ourselves to think about if there is something else we can do to help our neighboring businesses. That is the Oak Park way, neighbors helping neighbors.