Oak Park owes over $150 million in firefighter and police pensions, is expected to take on $70 million in liabilities this year, and raised property taxes by 6.2% in 2024. Despite this rapidly increasing hole in the budget, the village continues to pour money into long-term initiatives with no clear goals, no measurable results, and no end in sight. In other words, the budget shortfall seen today might never stop with the current spending.
Even amid the current fiscal crisis, the village continues to pursue ambitious projects. For example, Police Chief Shatonya Johnson recently announced that the Oak Park Police Department aims for women to represent 30% of the police force by 2030. While well-intentioned, the plan lacks detail: will it require more staff, new divisions, or additional enlistment? In a department already struggling with under-recruitment and high turnover rates, these questions raise concerns about the feasibility and cost. Oak Park has yet to explain how they will pay for both major reform goals and the improvements the village direly needs.
All of this comes at a time of great need for utilizing funds efficiently. Illinois has cut hundreds of millions from its mental health budget in the last decade, leaving fewer than one out of four people with adequate access to psychiatric care. These cuts have placed immense financial pressure on nonprofits like Housing Forward — an Oak Park-based organization that helps house the homeless, many of whom struggle with mental illness. The responsibility to help programs like Housing Forward will fall to the village.
Oak Park’s disoriented spending doesn’t just strain funds — it eats into the limited $25 million budget allocated yearly for village development, and only about $3 million a year to mental health programs. Can Oak Park fund the solutions it needs?
Sources:
https://www.oakpark.com/2025/04/01/oak-park-chief-shares-hiring-goals-as-police-staffing-woes-continue (police initiative)
https://oakparktownship.org/2024/07/assessor-press-release-2nd-installment-bills (tax increase)
https://www.oakpark.com/2024/10/16/oak-park-capital-improvement-plan-finance-debt/#:~:text=However%2C%20it’s%20advised%20to%20keep,over%2020%20to%2030%20years ($25 million budget)
https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/trump-administration-blocks-more-than-400m-in-funding-for-illinois-health-programs/amp (Illinois mental health cuts)
https://www.bhecon.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/IL-Workforce-Fact-Sheet.pdf (¼ of the state’s mental health needs being met)
https://www.oak-park.us/News-articles/Engaging-Community-for-Healthy-Outcomes-E.C.H.O, https://oakparktownship.org/community-mental-health/, https://www.oakpark.com/2025/02/24/oak-park-based-foundation-expands-reach-focuses-on-mental-health-grants (total of ~$3 million spent on mental health)
Nick Dmitriev
Oak Park