Welcome to Friday and the Journal’s Oak Park newsletter.
Here’s what we know and some of what we are working on for the days ahead.
Brian Straw is running for reelection to the Oak Park village board. He talked about his priorities with Sydney Lovan, our summer intern who is newly minted as the Journal’s Oak Park reporter.
The election is next April but the race is taking shape now. Straw and fellow trustee Derek Eder are in. Trustee Cory Wesley is so far mum on his plans. And there are two independents already in the race.
I admit to an odd fascination with the hundreds of feet of vaulted sidewalks along Oak Park Avenue near Lake Street. Back in the news as the village works to make a deal with a challenging building owner to avoid a delay in the massive infrastructure redo on The Avenue.
We’re working on a story about the opening of Blackberry Market in the old Buzz Café space in the Arts District. And we’ll be following a note that Good Earth, the River Forest garden center and café, has backed out of its plans to open a second location on Harlem in Galewood.
Oak Park will mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11 with a ceremony this morning at the main fire house. We’ll be there for that, too.
Keep reading. Lots going on.
Dan Haley
Interim editor
The Lead
Brian Straw announces reelection campaign for Oak Park village trustee
Oak Park Village Trustee Brian Straw, who drew national attention as one of the “Broadview Six,” is running for reelection.
Straw officially announced his campaign in a recent video posted to Facebook. The election will be held April 6.
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More news
History of zoning will be topic of planned panel discussion
As it continues its community engagement process related to overhauling Oak Park’s single-family zoning policies, the village board on Sept. 1 approved a plan to host a panel of experts to discuss the history of zoning in the village.
At Home Avenue, Oak Park plans ‘a statement’ with new bridge
The plan to rebuild the pedestrian bridge over the Ike at Home Avenue took a major step ahead Sept. 1 when Oak Park’s village board chose one of three architectural designs and approved the broad financial obligations the project will require.
Aspire Center wins Landmarks Illinois award
The 2026 Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award was given to eight sites, including one that preserved the Robert Emmet Elementary School building in Austin.
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