Close Menu
  • Home
  • News
    • Local
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Health
  • Education
  • Sports
  • Podcast

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

What's Hot

Head Start Gave the Author an Early Inspiration to Share Her Story

Trump’s “Beautiful Black Women” Lie and the Complicity That Betrays Us

Wiseman, Copeland To Lead Teams in Liberty Bowl High School All-Star Game

Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
  • Lifestyle
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest Vimeo
The Windy City Word
  • Home
  • News
    1. Local
    2. View All

    Youth curfew vote stalled in Chicago City Council’s public safety committee

    Organizers, CBA Coalition pushback on proposed luxury hotel near Obama Presidential Center

    New petition calls for state oversight and new leadership at Roseland Community Hospital

    UFC Gym to replace shuttered Esporta in Morgan Park

    Recognizing World Mental Health Day: How families play a crucial role in suicide prevention

    Denied Care, Divided Nation: How America Fails Its Sickest Patients—and the People Fighting Back

    HBCU Football Week 5 Roundup: Jackson State keeps the Good Times Rolling

    Unbreakable: Black Women and Mental Health

  • Opinion

    Capitalize on Slower Car Dealership Sales in 2025

    The High Cost Of Wealth Worship

    What Every Black Child Needs in the World

    Changing the Game: Westside Mom Shares Bally’s Job Experience with Son

    The Subtle Signs of Emotional Abuse: 10 Common Patterns

  • Business

    Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology supplier diversity office to host procurement webinar for vendors

    Crusader Publisher host Ukrainian Tech Businessmen eyeing Gary investment

    Sims applauds $220,000 in local Back to Business grants

    New Hire360 partnership to support diversity in local trades

    Taking your small business to the next level

  • Health

    Recognizing World Mental Health Day: How families play a crucial role in suicide prevention

    Denied Care, Divided Nation: How America Fails Its Sickest Patients—and the People Fighting Back

    Unbreakable: Black Women and Mental Health

    A Question of a Government Shutdown?

    Democrats Dig In: Healthcare at the Center of Looming Shutdown Fight

  • Education

    Head Start Gave the Author an Early Inspiration to Share Her Story

    Alabama’s CHOOSE Act: A Promise and a Responsibility

    After Plunge, Black Students Enroll in Harvard

    What Is Montessori Education?

    Nation’s Report Card Shows Drop in Reading, Math, and Science Scores

  • Sports

    HBCU Football Week 5 Roundup: Jackson State keeps the Good Times Rolling

    Jackson State Dominates Southern on the Road, Wins Boombox Classic

    Conference Commissioners Discuss Name, Image, and Likeness in Washington

    Week 4 HBCU Football Recap: DeSean Jackson’s Delaware State Wins Big

    Turning the Tide: Unity, History, and the Future of College Football in Mississippi

  • Podcast
The Windy City Word
Local

Oak Park Village Hall could be demolished despite historic status

staffBy staffUpdated:No Comments5 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Telegram LinkedIn Tumblr Email Reddit
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest WhatsApp Email

Wrecking balls could be coming to Oak Park under a new plan to potentially tear down Village Hall, a municipal hub listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Earlier this month, the village board of trustees voted 5-2 in favor of a plan to demolish the building, which houses both the municipal government and the police department.

Advertisement

If the plan is enacted, a new combination Village Hall and police station will be rebuilt on the old lot, costing close to $140 million.

The rebuilding would address structural issues and Americans with Disabilities Act noncompliance in the whole building, as well as widespread dissatisfaction with the police headquarters.

Advertisement

“When I walk into here … I feel like I’ve been transported into the past every time,” said Trustee Chibuike Enyia, who voted for demolition. “Any police station I’ve seen has had a better setup than us.”

Village Hall, which stands one and a half stories tall, has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2014.

Oak Park Village Hall, which houses administration offices and the police station, at 123 Madison St., is seen here on July 18, 2023. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

It was designed by Harry Weese, a Chicago architect also responsible for the Time-Life Building and the metro system in Washington, D.C.

“(Weese) had a massive influence on architecture in Chicago and in the Midwest in general,” said Oak Park resident Frank Heitzman, who wrote the Historic Places application for Village Hall. “He’s revered among other communities and it’s a puzzle to me why our government in the village didn’t see that.”

Some upgrades have been made to the 1975 building over time, including new heating and cooling systems in the council chambers as well as computer infrastructure and energy-efficient lighting.

However, the charm has worn off on employees, many of whom lack permanent offices and struggle to stay focused in a crumbling building, Oak Park Village President Vicki Scaman told trustees earlier this month.

“You can hear every single word that anyone says on the first floor … it’s like a microphone is taking what’s being said on the first floor straight to your desk on the second floor,” Scaman said. “There is not one staircase in this entire building that I consider accessible to a person with disabilities. We’re either freezing or we’re unbearably hot.”

A team from FGM Architects started assessing Village Hall in 2018 with an update in 2022, to identify necessary improvements.

Advertisement

In a presentation to the Oak Park board of trustees earlier this month, FGM principal architect Raymond Lee described the building’s systems and infrastructure as “approaching their ‘end of life.’”

Consultants hired by the village found that with the police department’s layout, interviews with suspects and victims can be public and uncomfortable, according to a June 2022 memo.

Working in a subpar space makes village leaders and police officers alike feel disempowered on the job, Enyia said.

“One of my friends who works on the force said, ‘It’s like you want us to be the ‘93 Bulls, but you’re treating us like we’re the New Mexico Lobos,’” he said.

FGM recommended that the village expand its police department space by just over 42,400 square feet.

Trustees hope a new police station could serve as a better place for child surrenders. The village also wants to improve evidence storage and create space for more technology needed to address computer-based crimes.

Advertisement

Structural flair is taken seriously in the 4.5-square-mile village, where famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright remodeled 23 buildings during his 24-year residence.

In 2022, 86% of Oak Park residents participating in a community survey reported satisfaction with the village’s efforts to preserve historical sites. Attitudes towards new development projects hovered lower, at 49%.

Heitzman got the building approved to the National Register 40 years after it was built. Buildings usually aren’t eligible until they turn 50. A longtime proponent of the building’s architectural value and social justice history — its construction was a tactical move against block-busting, he said — Heitzman felt “blindsided” by the demolition vote.

“It’s interesting how the conversation turned from a new police station to a new village hall,” Heitzman said.

Scaman made it clear that while FGM moves into drawing up schematics, Heitzman and other residents will have a chance to speak out.

“While there has not been a great deal of direct engagement between residents and staff on this topic to this point, we know that there is tremendous interest in this project,” Oak Park spokesperson Dan Yopchick said in a statement to the Tribune.

Advertisement

The design stage could take three to four months, during which large-scale public opposition to demolition could motivate the board to switch plans.

“If we get quick, steady pushback from members of our community, then the minimum is that we know that we want a new police station,” Scaman said at the meeting.

Preservation Oak Park, a local advocacy group, will host public meetings of their own at 7 p.m. July 25 at the Oak Park Library and at 7 p.m. Aug. 29 at the Unity Temple. They’ve invited students and contemporaries of Harry Weese to speak up.

“The worst thing about history is that people forget it,” Heitzman said. “You have to be constantly reminded. Maybe this (vote) is a good thing because it will teach people once more that it’s a good thing to remember the past.”

As the board carried out its vote, rainwater trickled loudly into the room. A summer storm was raging outside, and the Village Hall had already sprung several leaks.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp Telegram Email
Previous ArticleAs Kyle Hendricks spins another great outing in win, his Chicago Cubs’ future remains an unknown
Next Article Column: Double Duty Classic players get a history lesson while living out their dreams
staff

Related Posts

Youth curfew vote stalled in Chicago City Council’s public safety committee

Organizers, CBA Coalition pushback on proposed luxury hotel near Obama Presidential Center

New petition calls for state oversight and new leadership at Roseland Community Hospital

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Video of the Week
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxFXtgzTu4U
Advertisement
Video of the Week
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjfvYnUXHuI
ABOUT US

 

The Windy City Word is a weekly newspaper that projects a positive image of the community it serves. It reflects life on the Greater West Side as seen by the people who live and work here.

OUR PICKS

Headlines

Why We Need More Black Children’s Books

Waymo’s Secret Weapon: Real-World Data Powers AI Domination!

MOST POPULAR

Recognizing World Mental Health Day: How families play a crucial role in suicide prevention

Denied Care, Divided Nation: How America Fails Its Sickest Patients—and the People Fighting Back

Unbreakable: Black Women and Mental Health

© 2025 The Windy City Word. Site Designed by No Regret Medai.
  • Home
  • Lifestyle
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.