The Village Manager Association (VMA) proudly endorses its slate for the upcoming elections in Spring 2009:

“We are extremely pleased with the candidates we have slated,” said Bob Kane, VMA President. “The Candidate Selection Committee held interviews with several strong candidates over the course of seven weeks, and we are confident that we have endorsed a slate of very qualified individuals.”

David Pope was elected President of Oak Park in April 2005. He brings to the role a professional background as a management consultant, having served as a Principal with Price Waterhouse’s Strategy Consulting Practice.  Mr. Pope has made intergovernmental coordination a priority and has instituted improved accountability and a results orientation that goes well beyond typical public sector practices. In 2007, the senior leadership of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (the Mayors of Trenton, Miami, and Seattle) appointed Mr. Pope to that organization’s leadership group (comprised of 40 mayors from around the country) and named him Co-Chair of the Conference’s Sustainability Task Force. Mr. Pope also represents Oak Park’s interests as a member of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus among other regional forums. Prior to his election as Village President, Mr. Pope served as a Village Trustee and as a Member of the Oak Park Plan Commission. He received his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School as an Austin Fellow.  He is a founding Board Member of RAINN – the United States’ national rape crisis hotline.  He also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand for two years.

Glenn E. Brewer currently serves as a Community Affairs Specialist, Community Affairs Program, Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection with the FDIC, in the Chicago Regional Office. Glenn began his career with the FDIC in November 1993. As a Community Affairs Specialist for the Chicago region (covering Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin), Glenn’s responsibilities include acting as a liaison between community groups, bankers and the FDIC on fair lending regulations and community development and reinvestment opportunities. Glenn also acts as a resource person for FDIC compliance examiners on matters concerning fair housing and fair lending laws. Prior to his current FDIC position, he investigated complaints on fairness in housing in his role as Investigations Manager for the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities, one of the premier fair housing agencies in the country. Glenn is also a real estate and family law attorney, in practice for 12 years. Mr. Brewer lived in Oak Park 25 years ago, moved away, then returned to Oak Park in 2002. He lived in Bellwood for 16 years. While in Bellwood, Mr. Brewer volunteered on the Zoning Board of Appeals and Planning Commission, and served there for five years, with the last two years as Chairman. After returning to Oak Park, Mr. Brewer continued his record of community service. He joined the board of the Oak Park Regional Housing Center in 2005, and has served as President since 2006. Mr. Brewer currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation as Treasurer. He received his undergraduate degree in Communications from Northwestern University. Mr. Brewer is a graduate of Chicago-Kent College of Law – Illinois Institute of Technology and a member of the Bar of the State of Illinois and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

John Hedges is a current Village Trustee elected to a two-year term in 2007. He has a long record of service to the village, having served as Director of the Park District of Oak Park for twenty years. During this time he also served as the interim Village Manager. Other work experience included Directorship of the Lyle and Franklin Park Park Districts, Executive Director of the Pleasant Home Foundation, Faculty at the University of Iowa, and Officer in the U.S. Navy. His community service work includes: Village Trustee (elected in 2007 to a two year term), Board Member of the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust, Board of Governors of the Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park United Way and Community Chest (President and Campaign Chair), Madison Street Business Association (Vice President six years), Oak Park Council of Governments, Pleasant Home Foundation (Board President and recipient of the John L. Hedges Preservation Award), Oak Park River Forest Rotary Club (President and Chair of the Scholarship Committee), Oak Park River Forest High School Citizens Advisory Committee on Athletics and Activities(Chairperson), Village of Oak Park and School District 97 Task Force on Diversity (Co Chair of the Education Sub-Committee), Oak Park Area Convention and Visitors Bureau(President), Oak Park River Forest Gang and Drug Task Force (Charter Member), Oak Park River Forest High School Strategic Planning Committee, Recipient of the Oak Park Education Foundation William Stazack Award for service to youth. Mr. Hedges’ education includes B.S. in Business Administration Indiana University, M.S. Recreation and Park Management Indiana University.

Collette Lueck is a current Trustee who recently was selected to serve as Oak Park Trustee to fill the term vacated by the resignation of Ernest Moore. Ms. Lueck, LCSW, is Managing Director for the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership (ICMHP), a statewide collaboration charged with developing and implementing a Strategic Plan for Building a Comprehensive Children’s Mental Health System in Illinois, with annual progress to the Governor. Prior to joining ICMHP, Ms. Lueck served as Clinical Director for System of Care Chicago, a federal initiative with the goal of developing a system of care approach by providing mental health staff and Family Resource Developers to identified Chicago Public Schools. She has worked for over twenty years in community mental health with a focus on developing parent partnerships, school based collaborations and home based services. She also authored three chapters of the Child and Adolescent Training Curriculum, developed by the Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health, and has conducted numerous state and national trainings on mental health system development. Ms. Leuck served as a member and then Chair of the Oak Park Plan Commission. She has also served as a member and then chair of the Oak Park River Forest High School Parent Teacher Organization Liaison Program, and a member of the District 97 Finance Work Group, the Collaborative for Early Childhood Care and Education Project Steering Committee, and the Board of the Village Manager Association. She is Chair of Forum Oak Park. She was selected as “Volunteer of the Year” in 2006.

Teresa Powell, formerly Teresa Wedoff, is a 32-year resident of Oak Park. Prior to moving to Oak Park, she worked as a Congressional Aide to Abner Mikva where she was a liaison to governmental agencies to assist constituents to resolve issues with the Federal government.  She worked for 13 years at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, where she established a business travel department which automated systems for greater accessibility and was recognized for customer service and responsiveness. As President of the Midwest Business Travel Association, she received the 2004 Business Professional Leadership Award. Since 2002 she has worked with the Arts and Business Council of Chicago, where she currently serves on the Board Development Team. Ms. Powell has a long record of Oak Park community involvement: she served on the Racial Diversity Task Force in 1982 as Secretary of the Education Committee; was Chair of the Education Committee of the Community Relations Committee; served on the AIDS Committee of the Board of Health in the early 90’s; and served on the Task Force considering a Performing Arts Center of the Oak Park Area Arts Council. She has also worked with a number of local non-profit organizations in leadership positions and as a consultant. For twenty years, she owned an apartment building on Harrison Street, and was a member of the Oak Park Regional Housing Center. If elected as Village Clerk, she would bring management and leadership skills, as well as experience in selection and implementation of new technology and streamlining of customer service processes. She holds an MBA in Health Information Management and an MPH (Public Health) from University of Illinois, and holds a MS in Education from University of Chicago.

Mr. Kane added, “With the challenges facing the Village in 2009 and beyond, these candidates will bring a great mix of continuity, strong leadership, and fresh perspective that will be essential to helping Oak Park not only survive, but thrive in the next four years.”

“Shared Voices” Series Begins May 31 with Focus on Development and Historic Preservation

The Village Manager Association (VMA) presents the first in its series of community forums on May 31 at the Veterans’ Room of the Main Branch of the Oak Park Library from 7:00 – 9:00 pm with a panel discussion entitled: “Our Architectural Future: Development and Historic Preservation in Oak Park.”

“This is a central issue for many of the discussions faced by our elected officials and our citizen commissions,” said Bob Kane, VMA President. “We believe by providing a panel discussion with experts from across the spectrum of interested parties, we might be able to eliminate some of the angst which has occurred in recent years, and approach this subject on a more informed and rational level.”

David Sokol, a former Village Trustee, member and former Chair of the Historic Preservation Commission, and currently the Director of Museum Studies in the Department of Art History of the University of Illinois in Chicago will serve as the moderator of the panel. Guest presenters include Royce Yeater, Director of the Midwest Office of the National Trust; Frank Lipo, Director of the Historical Society of Oak Park; Douglas Gilbert, Chair of the Historic Preservation Commission of Oak Park; Phil McKenna of Kay and McKenna, a specialist in public policy and public finance; and Beth Scanlan, Preservation Architect who works for the City of Chicago.

“There have been so many controversies about individual homes and commercial buildings, about the implications of preservation and the ramifications of tear-downs, and about the balance between property rights and trying to influence the type, scale, and style of new construction, that this kind of forum is long overdue,” said Sokol.

“The issues are complex but the tension in Oak Park is palpable and the stakes are high. Future generations of Oak Park citizens deserve the outcome and solutions that this kind of effort by our generation might bring to the table. We want to have a very professional discussion away from the pressures of specific hot button issues”

There is no charge for the event.

According to Kane the VMA will present forums quarterly on critical local issues. “Our goals in this “Shared Voices” series is to inform and engage as many people as possible both in terms of presenters and ideas on the table as well as in terms of those who attend. We will welcome feedback on this first effort and certainly encourage topics for future discussion,” he said.

The next forum, tentatively scheduled for late July, will look at current diversity issues in the Village and how the dimensions of diversity have or have not changed in Oak Park during the last 10-20 years.

• The Taxman Group and their Focus Development partner have developed numerous projects in the Chicagoland area. Regardless of whether you like the style or architecture, the Taxman Group has been a developer that had confidence in Oak Park long before any others and the relationship has sustained permanent damage. The $19.5 million dollars (or $27 million including the proceeds from the sale of the Colt and 1145 Westgate) that the Taxman Group received from the sale of the Shops will likely not be reinvested in Oak Park. Lets see what happens.
• When Trustees meet and negotiate deals with their party officers involving policy decisions on Village acquisition of property and exclude both the public and the rest of the elected officials, there is cause for great concern. Discussions behind closed doors fly in the face of open and transparent government, but equally as important it casts a pall on the entire process.
• Likewise, the fact that any substantive negotiations were held begs the question: how could non-Trustees possibly have all the information they would have needed to hammer out a compromise? As all Board discussions since the last public meeting with the Taxman Group were held in Executive Session, it would appear that confidential information could have been shared. Was it.
• How is it that the recommendations from the Board-appointed DTOP Superblock Steering Committee can be cherry picked and still succeed? In other words, the opening of Marion Street was recommended in conjunction with the construction of a new street. Similarly, the location of the proposed parking structure also contemplated that new street. What now? And how will citizens be involved? Are we destined to hire more consultants, get more public input, and possibly end up with another recommendation to tear down the Colt Building and add a new street? Isn’t that a waste of taxpayers time and money.
• Given the strong presence of preservationists on the DTOP Superblock Steering Committee that recommended against buying and rehabbing the Colt Building, how could the plan be deemed anti-preservation.
• To think that Oak Park exists in a vacuum is both naive and damning. Other developers, businesses, and investors are watching and listening. They will see or hear or talk about this turn of events and take their ideas, their money, and most importantly their potential tax dollar generation elsewhere. That is a huge loss for our schools, our parks, and all of us who depend on tax revenues.

The VMA hopes that all citizens will view this series of actions for what it was  a manipulated, closed process, which not only ignored the input of the community and its Commission members, but also flies in the face of any campaign promises made by the newly elected Trustees. The fallout of this decision to buy the two buildings, no matter the ultimate outcome, will be with us for a long, long time.