It may be a new year, but there’s plenty of topics that dominated local conversation last year that will continue to be big stories through 2026.
Last month, Wednesday Journal published an article on the challenges that defined 2025 in Oak Park, a historic year by any measure. That article featured looks back at the impact that ICE and Border Patrol’s operations had on Oak Park and its neighbors, the village’s evolving plans to give the Oak Park Police Department a new headquarters and the impact of federal funding cuts on local organizations, all of which will still be relevant in 2026.
Like that piece, this is not an exhaustive list of hot topics, but a look at a few other stories that will likely leave a lasting impact as they evolve this year.
Zoning reform
Big changes to Oak Park’s zoning code look like they’re on the way.
On several occasions in 2025, village trustees spoke to the desire to eliminate the single-family only zones from Oak Park’s zoning map in an effort to open up development opportunities for more “missing middle” housing in the village. The board took a step towards that goal at its Aug. 5 board meeting by approving a contract with Opticos Design to study what remaking Oak Park’s zoning policy will look like.
The consultants’ project has preceded as a public engagement effort called “Shape Oak Park.”
“Missing middle” housing is defined as medium-density housing “that provides diverse housing options along the spectrum of affordability, which includes duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and bungalows,” according to the National League of Cities. In an Oak Park context, village leaders have identified a lack of multi-bedroom condos and other affordable housing types suitable for families as a gap in the village’s housing stock.
When the village board took a vote to ratify the zoning code in May, as municipal boards are required to do each year by state law, trustees Cory Wesley and Brian Straw voted against ratifying the village’s zoning code in protest of the inclusion of the single-family zones. In explanation of his protest vote, Wesley said that single-family zones have historically been used as tools used to covertly restrict racial integration in northern cities.
“We’re a progressive community, we believe in racial equity, and yet we’re sitting on top of racially inequitable zoning,” he said.
Following the protest votes, Village President Vicki Scaman said the board was primed to embrace zoning reform in the near future.
“What I’m hearing tonight is when that comes forward to us in the (Requests for Proposals) that we will be ready to act,” she said in May. “I just think that we will be a pretty amazing group to host the conversation and the sense of urgency is heard.”
West Suburban Hospital
2025 was filled with headlines covering troubles at West Suburban Hospital, Oak Park’s century-old safety-net hospital.
Journal reporting on the institution last year covered failed elevator and fire safety inspections, HVAC issues amid sweltering summer heat, the mid-shift dismissal of the hospital’s family birthplace nursing staff, the abrupt closure of its neonatal and obstetric units, the shuttering of its acclaimed family residency program and its parent company Resilience Healthcare’s tens of millions in reported debts to both public and private entities. The Oak Park hospital took these hits as Resilience Healthcare announced in August that West Sub’s sister institution, Weiss Memorial, would cease operations.
During a village board strategy session over the summer, Oak Park Village Manager Kevin Jackson remarked that Oak Park leaders were preparing for a worst-case scenario when it came to West Sub.
“The hospitals are a focal point in our economic vitality strategic plan,” Jackson said. “We need to really be strategically focused on protecting them, but also opportunities to expand. They support a large workforce and support other industries.”
“We also want to look at it from a standpoint of ‘if the worst thing happens.’ We’re thinking about that.”
With the hospital facing an uncertain future, Wednesday Journal will continue to monitor the state of affairs at West Sub, which has cared for people in Oak Park and Austin since 1912.
Streetscaping for Oak Park Avenue and Chicago Avenue
There are a few big-ticket construction projects to watch in Oak Park as they proceed into the new year, in both the public and private sector. Those projects are headlined by major streetscaping efforts in development for both Oak Park Avenue and Chicago Avenue in the village.
In September, the village board approved design concepts and construction costs for a Chicago Avenue streetscaping project that will honor famed chemist, civil rights advocate and Oak Parker Percy Julian.
The project will add artwork, historic installations, new sidewalk paving and other design elements to Chicago Avenue from Austin Boulevard to East Avenue — where the Julian home sits at the northwest corner.
Work will also soon begin on streetscaping for Oak Park Avenue between Ontario Street and Pleasant Street. In addition to traffic safety and aesthetic upgrades, the project also includes extensive water and sewer work to replace century old below-ground infrastructure.
This “Renew the Avenue” streetscaping project had been expected to take place last year, but construction was pushed back to 2026 after the initial round of bidding for the project only received one, well-over budget proposal.
Construction is expected to begin the week of Jan. 19, according to the village.
