City Hall Closed on Friday, April 2nd

City Hall will be closed on Friday, April 2, in observance of Good Friday. We will resume regular business hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 5.

Early Voting Open Easter Weekend

Early voting for municipal, school district and other local elections continues at City Hall EVERY DAY through Monday, April 5.

Yard Waste Pick-Up Begins April 1st

Beginning April 1, yard waste can be placed curbside on your scheduled garbage day. Yard waste includes grass clippings, leaves, branches, etc. (no dirt or rock).

Branches should be cut into 3- to 4-foot lengths and be no wider than 6 inches in diameter. Read more about yard waste disposal on the Homewood Disposal Service (HDS) Website.

Place yard waste in brown paper yard waste bags, reasonable-sized bundles tied with twine or string, or a HDS yard waste blue cart. If you don't have one, you can rent the large 95-gallon wheeled yard waste carts from HDS. Visit http://mydisposal.com/cart-form-oak-forest for all cart requests or call 708-798-1004. There is a discount for seniors 65 and older.

"Yard waste only" stickers are only needed when your regular 35-gallon garbage cart is used only for yard waste. Stickers are available at the Clerk's Office in City Hall. There is a limit of two stickers per household.

FYI - It is illegal to dispose of yard waste with regular garbage in the state of Illinois.

Spring Clean-Up Week
April 26-20, 2021

Residents of single-family homes may dispose of multiple bulk items during this time, such as furniture, mattresses, branches, etc. Leave unwanted household items (excluding electronics and hazardous materials) at the curb on your regularly scheduled waste pick-up day.

Public Works chipping crews will be following Homewood Disposal Services pick-up schedule. Please leave your branches at the curb by 7:00 a.m. on your pick-up day . Branches must be less than four inches in diameter and four feet in length and stacked in piles no higher than three feet tall. Larger branches must be cut into logs no longer than 24 inches and stacked in a separate pile at the curb. Stumps, root balls and roots must be free of attached dirt.

For more information, please contact Public Works at 708-535-4090 or visit the Homewood Disposal Service website.

Parking on Sidewalks = Ticket

As weather conditions become more favorable, the utilization of sidewalks by pedestrians throughout the city increases.

As a reminder to all, it is a violation of city ordinance to park across any sidewalk from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

73.02 PARKING ON SIDEWALKS, DRIVEWAYS AND APRONS.

Except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with directions of a police officer or official traffic sign or signal, no operator of a vehicle shall stop, stand or park the vehicle on any sidewalk (including partial parking), from 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m., except that it is lawful to park across and perpendicular to the path of a sidewalk between the driveway and driveway apron area of a single-family residence during the 24-hour period following a snowfall of more than two inches.

Summer Help Needed in the Department of Public Works

The City of Oak Forest’s Public Works Department is looking for summer help!

To be considered for the job, potential candidates must be at least 17 years old (high school/college student) and residents of Oak Forest. Candidates must have pleasant dispositions and be willing to work outside and follow directions.

Work days are Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Salary for the position is $9.00 per hour.

Applications are available at City Hall or in this application link.

All applications must be received by May 14, 2021 for consideration.

Emergency Rental Assistance Applications Due April 2, 2021

Applications are now open for the Cook County Emergency Rental Assistance program. It pays up to 12 months of missed rent and utilities payments and up to 3 months of future rent payments. Payments will be made directly to your landlord and utility company.

Apply online.

Applications will be accepted until April 2, 2021.

Who is eligible?

To be eligible, applicants must:

Live in suburban Cook County and rent their home (Landlords may apply on behalf of eligible tenants).
Lack access to other support (e.g., don’t live in public housing or receive rental assistance from other programs during the same time period).
Have proof of financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meet the household annual income requirements.

What counts as a COVID-19 related financial hardship?
Financial hardships related to COVID-19 include:

Losing your income.
Working fewer hours.
Being furloughed.
Quitting your job because you are at high risk for COVID-19 and need to self-isolate.
Losing work to stay home to care for a child.

When You've Been Fully Vaccinated

COVID-19 vaccines are effective at protecting you from getting sick. Based on what we know about COVID-19 vaccines, people who have been fully vaccinated can start to do some things that they had stopped doing because of the pandemic.

If you’ve been fully vaccinated, you can:

Gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask.
Gather indoors with unvaccinated people from one other household without masks, unless any of those people or anyone they live with is at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

In public you should still wear a mask, stay at least 6 feet apart from others, and avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces.

COVID-19 Vaccination Sign-Up

The State of Illinois, the Cook County Department of Public Health and the National Guard have several COVID-19 vaccination sites in our area. However, appointments are required. They are not walk-up sites.

The State and Cook County have a website available to accept appointments at https://vaccine.cookcountyil.gov/ or by calling 833-308-1988 (from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday).

Residents who need assistance navigating online services can call the toll-free IDPH hotline at 833-621-1284 to book an appointment. The hotline is open 7 days a week from 6 a.m. to midnight with agents available in English and Spanish.

In addition to Cook County Health sites, the Cook County Department of Public Health
has distributed vaccines to more than 90 partner locations including Jewel-Osco, Mariano's, Walgreens, Federally Qualified Health Centers and hospitals who are also offering vaccines by appointment. Additional sites can be found at https://coronavirus.illinois.gov/s/vaccination-location.

See more information about the state's vaccination plan on the IDPH website.

COVID-19 Updates

As of Tuesday, February 2, 2021, all regions, including Oak Forest are at Phase 4 Restore Illinois. On March 18, Governor Pritzker announced plans that the state will be adding a bridge phase between Phases 4 and 5 that will be based on science, but offering incremental approaches towards Phase 5.

The step between Phase 4 and 5 will allow for greater capacity limits for bars and restaurants, social gatherings, museums and zoos, etc., depending on whether they are indoors or outdoors. Bars in particular will be allowed 20% standing capacity, but the six-foot social distancing will still be required. The state's mask mandate will continue.

COVID-19 symptoms may include fever, sore throat, loss of taste, cough or shortness of breath. Visit CDC.gov for more information regarding symptoms.

Oak Forest COVID-19 Statistics

Current numbers for Oak Forest from the Illinois Department of Public Health website (www.dph.illinois.gov/covid19/covid19-statistics) as of Wednesday, March 31, 2021:

2,741 positive cases
24,994 people tested
4.9% Positivity Rate (Suburban Cook County, Region 10)

Next Oak Forest City Council Meeting

The next Oak Forest City Council Meeting will be held on April 13, 2021, at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers.

Residents are invited to attend the meeting (must wear a mask and practice social distancing) or you can watch live on www.oak-forest.org/live.

CITIZENS PARTICIPATION: The Oak Forest City Council invites public comment at its meetings, but it generally does not have the ability to provide an immediate response to some questions raised during the Citizens Participation portion of a council meeting without some reasonable opportunity to review them. Therefore, the City Council encourages questions to also be submitted in writing in the event that they need to be referred to City staff to help assure a more thoughtful and informed response. The Council Chambers is open for the public to attend. Social distancing must be maintained by attendees.

Here is the link to the most recent meeting:
March 23, 2021 - City Council Meeting

City of Oak Forest Emergency Notifications With Everbridge

Everbridge helps the City of Oak Forest send messages out to the entire town or certain areas of the town where a particular emergency is taking place such as a water main break.

Creating an account is easy! Go to the City of Oak Forest website at www.oak-forest.org and look for the Everbridge logo to create an account or click this link: Everbridge Registration.

You can even download the Everbridge app via Google Play on android devices or Apple app store on iPhones or iPads.

Sign up today to help us better communicate with you.