Dear River Forest residents,
The Madison-Ashland development is very important to the entire River Forest Village Board. The village board has spent time carefully evaluating and considering what would be a good fit for this site. The village board unanimously agreed to move forward with Five Thirty-One Partners to begin the application and planned development process.
Phyllis Rubin wrote an op-ed titled, “A troubling developer” [Viewpoints, March 25] and made assertions that I must respectfully address:
The developer for the Madison and Ashland site was chosen to proceed to the application process by the full board.
Yes, I support the board’s decision to proceed with this developer. But I did not do this alone or in isolation. Additionally, the developer selection process was guided by globally-respected real estate services firm, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), with finalists vetted by Ryan Group LLC. This is their day job, which they have done for myriad communities and development projects.
The involvement by Mr. Jakovljevic as an investor in the Cigar Oasis issue was a concern for some trustees who wanted further discussion of this issue.
I respected their concern and requested further information from Mr. Jakovljevic; and, as village president, I asked the proposed Madison and Ashland developer to come before our board to directly address trustees’ questions. Nobody who served on the board in 2019 and continues to serve now “conveniently forgot” anything. To the contrary, to promote full transparency, Mr. Jakovljevic was invited to be responsive to the issues and concerns that had been raised and quickly agreed to attend out of respect for the trustees and residents.
The village is doing everything it can to ensure that questions which have been raised about the proposed developer and their plans for the Madison and Ashland site — at the three Open Houses, Neighbor Meeting, online and through other means — are fully addressed.
Answers to questions raised by residents may be found at (https://www.vrf.us/uploads/cms/documents/guides/madison_faq_-_march_2026.pdf). These are constantly being updated as new questions arise, and so we encourage residents to check out this online resource throughout the proposed development review process.
Please continue to share your questions. This will allow us to be transparent with our community and ensure that the proposed development at Madison and Ashland is high quality and successful.
Cathy Adduci
River Forest Village President