The Oak Park River Forest Chamber of Commerce wants to start a youth internship program in 2025, with financial help it hopes to get from the village government.
The program would be called “NEXT,” or Navigating Employment and eXperience Training, and would be open to students between the ages of 14 and 21 who either attend local schools or have a primary residence in Oak Park.
The village has not yet officially committed to paying the projected $149,000 in costs of the program but has agreed to discuss it further.
Darien Marion-Burton, the chamber’s executive director, proposed two cohorts for the program to start: one in summer 2025 and one in the fall of 2025. Each cohort, as proposed, would have 20 interns work at local businesses.
Interns would be paid $15 an hour, slightly higher than the minimum wage, and would work up to 20 hours per week. Both interns and local businesses participating would be vetted by the chamber. Businesses would also be required to dedicate 25% of the internship time to educational purposes.
Marion-Burton said that in a survey of the local business community, respondents said their biggest concerns are the economy and staffing. This internship program is intended to help workforce development.
“People grow up in this community, they then go to maybe a Big 10 school or a liberal arts college, they then maybe move back to Chicago and live in the city, and then they come back to Oak Park,” he said. “One of our goals at the chamber is to shorten that boomerang.”
The chamber is asking the village to fund the entire program in 2025, for a total of $149,000. That would encompass intern compensation reimbursement, administrative costs to run the program, marketing and supplies.
Trustees initially seemed unsure at their Nov. 21 meeting if they wanted to fund the entire program, but eventually reached a consensus to move forward with discussions about the program as proposed. Some trustees suggested funding one cohort and then adjusting as needed before funding the next one. Village President Vicki Scaman suggested cutting the number of interns to 10, from 20.
“20, to me, seems extremely ambitious,” she said.
“We’ve been doing ambitious things for the last three years as an organization,” Marion-Burton said. “While I think it’s ambitious, I think we’re prepared to do it.”
Program details
Students looking to participate must attend Oak Park and River Forest High School, a District 97 school or, for those in college or private schools, must have a primary residence in Oak Park. Students under age 16 must have a work permit to participate. And students have to be in “good academic standing” and “able to meet behavioral expectations,” according to the chamber proposal.
The summer cohort would be from May to August, and the fall would be September to December of next year. The cohorts would be 12 weeks long.
The goal of the internship program, Marion-Burton explained, is to support local businesses, bolster youth employment and improve talent retention.
The chamber intends to work with local school districts to publicize the program and help with the application process. The chamber would also host training workshops for local business supervisors and collect feedback from interns and supervisors to help adjust the program moving forward, if needed.
Businesses will have to pass safety standards to participate and a site visit evaluation. Interns will be expected to have a mentor at the business, someone with at least two years of professional experience.
The proposal says that businesses would cover the initial payroll to interns, with 75% reimbursed through the chamber process. And businesses that promote diversity and inclusion will receive priority for the program, according to the chamber proposal.
The chamber is asking the village to fund 100% of the program in 2025. But Marion-Burton said their goal is to add positions internally in the chamber and invest resources to make programs like this one self-sufficient through individual and private institution donations in the future.
Trustee comments
Trustee Lucia Robinson said she’d like there to be some human resources function for the businesses and interns to lean on. Marion-Burton said the chamber would be responsible for those functions, and a dedicated program manager would likely help address issues that might arise in addition to onboarding efforts.
Robinson first suggested funding one cohort before committing to funding both. Trustees Ravi Parakkat and Brian Straw initially agreed. But the board ultimately decided to move forward with discussions about the proposal as written.
Trustee Cory Wesley was in full support of the program as proposed. He pointed out that the program doesn’t have to be perfect right away; it just has to be better than what’s available now.
“Ambition is the only way to get things done,” he said. “All of us sitting at this board table were ambitious to run for office and here we are.”
And Wesley said in discussions with local high school students at a civics-focused event, he repeatedly heard their desires to get an internship, job or volunteer in the village. He said he’s “more than willing” to help give these young students the opportunity to succeed.
Several board members emphasized the importance of collaboration with other community stakeholders to share the burden of running this program and to not duplicate similar ones.
But Wesley said while partnerships are important, he doesn’t want this to take more time. If it doesn’t work, he said, at least they tried.
“As government, we should get out of our own way sometimes and actually get the thing done and then figure out if we can make it better,” he said.
The board will still have to officially decide whether or not to approve the full funding amount for the program.
