More than 100 citizens turned out last
month in celebration of the volunteers who serve on one of the Village's
more than 25 volunteer boards and commissions. The Volunteer of
the Year award for service was presented to Frank Heitzman who
served for many years as a member and chair of the Universal
Access Commission, which works to promote and ensure
accessibility throughout the Village. A special plaque was
presented to Rob Barren to honor his late mother, Pat Madden,
for her work as chair of the Barrie Park Citizen Advisory
Commission. Event speakers included Jay Butler, Citizen
Involvement Commission chair, Village President Joanne Trapani,
Park District President Tim Kelly and Village Clerk Sandra
Sokol. For more information on the event or on becoming a
member of a citizen volunteer board or commission, call
358.5670 or email clerk@oak-park.us.
For the third straight year a delegation
of Village representatives traveled to Washington, D.C. to
personally convey community concerns about the potential impact
of the Illinois Department of Transportation's plans to
expand the I-290 Eisenhower Expressway. The delegation,
whose April visit was timed to coincide with consideration of
federal transportation funding legislation, urged lawmakers to
ensure that an objective multimodal evaluation of alternatives
be undertaken. Talks in the nation's capital stressed
earmarking funds to increase the capacity of current mass
transit routes and add new ones, steps that could reduce Ike
vehicle traffic and serve as substitutes for highway expansion.
The delegation also urged support for the grant in the House of
Representatives version of the legislation for further funding
the study of the potential for capping the Eisenhower to
reconnect the community from the divide created 40 years ago by
the original highway. For more information, call 358.5770 or
email village@oak-park.us. Information also is available at www.oak-park.us.
Village President Joanne E. Trapani (left) and
Trustee Diana Carpenter with U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis whose 7th
Congressional District includes Oak Park.
Applications are now available to participate
in the Independence Day Parade, scheduled for 2 p.m., Sun.,
July 4. The parade route will be north on Ridgeland Avenue from
Longfellow Park (Ridgeland Avenue at Jackson Boulevard) to
Augusta Boulevard, ending at Whittier School where a variety of
children's entertainment sponsored by the Park District
of Oak Park is planned. For an application or more information
on the event organized by the Community Relations Commission
call 358.5406 or email comsvcs@oak-park.us.