I want to talk about Shape Oak Park and make the point that Oak Park isn’t just its buildings — it’s the people who live in them and we have a responsibility to each other as neighbors to make this a place that people can afford to buy a home in.
In 2018, my wife Chelsea and I moved to Oak Park for its strong schools, diversity, access to Chicago, and its neighborhoods. Seeing kids playing out in the streets. Driving by block parties. Tree-lined streets and brick bungalows. Also, compared to other places we looked, it was affordable.
Eight years later I love Oak Park even more, but I also know that if we were trying to move here today, we might not be able to do so. Talking to friends our age and younger who want to settle in Oak Park, it has become obvious that buying a home here is becoming increasingly out of reach as the cost of home ownership skyrockets.
Which brings me back to those neighborhoods. I don’t want to just live in a neighborhood: I want to be a neighbor. That’s why I support Shape Oak Park’s efforts to remove restrictive zoning rules. I understand the importance of the character of this place. It’s why I came here, why I’m putting roots down here. But I also want this to be a place families like mine can afford to buy a home of their own. The best way to maintain the character of our village is to take steps to keep it affordable for our current and future neighbors.
Sean Kelley
Oak Park