Ken Trainor has always been a favorite writer to read because there is a kind of innocence, or more so a belief, that Oak Park stands for and can stand for something better [Open space to celebrate our openness, Viewpoints, June 13]. He is proud of Oak Park’s world-recognized architecture and the literacy that has come out of Oak Park. A fan of his writing or not, he gets you thinking and that is a good thing.
Money flows easily right now and Oak Park is the place to build. The saying you can’t fit 10 pounds of baloney into a 5-pound casing is true, so how much baloney will the village board allow the developers to pile into Oak Park?
This project will take all of the space, leaving very little setback to protect Austin Gardens, and if you think the new design will help, then you have no idea how public relation firms work at creating illusions for their clients.
Ken, your thoughts of having that location open to the public was very nice to read and painted a picture of people gathering and enjoying all of what Oak Park offers after a week of the hustle and bustle of working in the city.
Why and where people move to live should be worth thinking about. Maybe thinking is being replaced by the cellphone.
People have short-term memories about a lot of things that are not important. An example is when the Vantage people asked for another $100,000 and might have received it, except for Coopers Hawk finding out. Where that money would have gone is worth thinking about.
We have the best police and fire department paid with taxes. That is getting value for your tax dollar. We will need to increase both departments as the demand for services increase.
The school pool project is back on. Those who think it is just for a few parents should think how the students will be out of high school by the time the pool is built. There must be another reason for it.
Plenty more room to build high-rises in Oak Park as long as investors can earn a profit and taxpayers are willing to sell off Oak Park for a profit.
Oak Park is open for business and the question is for whom. If you haven’t noticed taxes being lowered then expect the same going forward.
Ken, do what you do best and keep thinking what could have been. If things get too expensive, maybe the publisher can suggest an area in Berwyn some of us can move to. Nothing wrong with Berwyn, and the homes work by turning on a switch. What a wonderful reason to leave Oak Park.
Bill Maxwell is a longtime resident of Oak Park.
