👋 Hello Wednesday Journal readers! We have kicked off our fall fundraising campaign, and we need your support.
Our goal is to raise $10,000 by September 27.
We’re raising this money to bolster our ability to document change, hold local institutions accountable and shine a light on people making a difference in Oak Park and River Forest.
Will you help us by chipping in?
Viewpoints
Supporting Straw’s zoning change
I am writing to express my support for Brian Straw’s proposed zoning change, specifically the proposal to reset the maximum building height standard to 60 feet and the requirement that any future development proposal include a complete project plan before consideration by the Zoning Board of Appeals or a vote by the Oak Park Village.
Zoning overhaul is not needed
As noted by Rhoda Bernstein [The middle isn’t missing, Viewpoints, Sept. 2] there is no “missing middle” of housing units in our area: 43% of the housing units in Oak Park are in the “middle” style buildings.
Oak Park, are you paying attention?
Magicians use sleight of hand to focus an audience on one thing while something else happens out of view. In Oak Park, our policy process can sometimes feel remarkably similar. Consider the current zoning debate.
Fridays under the lights
As I write this, it has been exactly 17 years since the first OPRF Friday night football game was played “under the lights” at the school’s stadium. The lights had been installed during the second half of August 2009 after a years-long legal battle.
And what do you think? We want to know!
One Views
Oak Park’s missing middle
Oak Park passed its first zoning ordinance in 1921 and made race-based housing segregation a key part of its culture from then until passing the Fair Housing Ordinance in 1968. This includes hiring Harland Bartholomew to rewrite our zoning code in 1946.
Shrubtown: Exclusion
We are proud to offer our neighbors a place to share their viewpoints. Help us keep the conversation going.
Columns
Building community through bike-commuting
By Nicole Chavas
The Monday before school started, 65 new middle-schoolers and a handful of parents gathered at elementary schools across Oak Park to practice their new commute by bike. The Middle School Connections Ride, a parent-led event organized by local advocacy group Bike Walk Oak Park (BWOP), sent riders from Beye, Holmes, Lincoln, Longfellow and Whittier out to Brooks and Julian, with a popsicle break at the halfway point.
Forwarded this email? Subscribe here.
Sent to *|EMAIL|* Change email preferences | Unsubscribe
Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* NEWSWELL. Our mailing address is: *|LIST:ADDRESSLINE|*