Mayor Henry L. Kuspa

Thank You...

Thank to you everyone who voted in this year's election. I am looking forward to serving you again for another four years. Being your Mayor is an honor and responsibility I take very seriously.

Congratulations to Jack Janozik on his win as City Clerk, Rich Simon, Alderman Ward 2, Paul Selman, Alderman Ward 4 and James Hortsman, Alderman Ward 6. I would also like to congratulate and welcome new Treasurer, Ericka Vetter. Ericka will replace JoAnn Kelly who decided not to seek reelection in 2021.

Curbside Clean Up Week April 26-30, 2021

Curbside Spring Clean-Up Week
April 26-30, 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.

Yard Waste Pick-Up Began April 1st

Now through November 30, 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.

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.

City-Wide Garage Sale Cancelled

Due to the recent increase in COVID-19 positivity rates in the Suburban Cook County Area, the City of Oak Forest has determined it is not socially-responsible to promote a city-wide garage sale where it may be difficult to follow current CDC and IDPH safety guidelines.

There will also be no permits issued for block parties.

Pandemic Leads to Permanent Closure of Community Pool

Due to significant budget constraints resulting from the economic downturn brought on by the COVID-19 Pandemic, the City Administrator has decided that the Gingerwood Pool will be permanently closed.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected individuals, families, and organizations at every level. The City is no exception. We have experienced significant financial and operational impacts since the start of the pandemic.

The Gingerwood Pool needs significant repairs, maintenance, and upgrades to keep it operational. The annual costs to operate the pool exceed the revenue generated. After years of providing maintenance and fixes to keep the aging facility open, the City came to the difficult decision to close the pool. It is the long-term intention of the City of Oak Forest to sell this property for development of single-family homes.

Commute With Confidence on Metra

With more vaccines in distribution, it’s time to reignite local businesses and bring Chicago back downtown. And when it’s that time for you, Metra is the right choice to get you to the places you love the most. Metra is going the extra mile to keep riders safe at the stations, on the platforms and onboard its trains. With the most stringent safety and cleaning protocols in the transportation industry, riders can Commute with Confidence on Metra trains.

Since the pandemic began, Metra has kept the trains running and made continual improvements to further enhance safety like installing hand sanitizer dispensers on every train car and requiring masks or face coverings on board.

As part of these continued efforts, the agency recently announced the upgrading of its ventilation system with a three-stage filtration and purification process that uses ultraviolet light, electrical fields and strong filters to create the safest possible environment for riders. Riders can already breathe easy onboard, thanks to Hospital-grade MERV-13 air filters, replacing the air on cars every four minutes.

Additionally, there’s a ridership dashboard that communicates how crowded trains are to help passengers make informed decisions about their upcoming trips. And, if you’re interested in contactless ticketing, you can ride touch-free with the Ventra app. Go to ventrachicago.com to sign up today, where you’ll discover benefits across all RTA services.

You can see all the ways Metra is improving rider safety by going to Metrarail.com where you’ll learn additional details about schedules, alerts and the rider dashboard. We suggest hopping on board to see the enhancements yourself – we think you’ll feel comfortable. And every time you take Metra, you’re helping cut back on highway congestion and air pollution.

It’s crucial to get our economy moving again, and Metra is ready to do its part by getting you there safely.

City Hall Continues to Follow CDC Guidelines Due to Coronavirus

Since the arrival of Coronavirus (COVID-19), the City of Oak Forest, under the direction of the Mayor and the City Council, has followed Governor Pritzker’s Guidelines.

While we were making progress in moving out of Phase 4 toward Phase 5, due to the increased positivity numbers in South Suburban Cook County, there is a strong possibility that more restrictions will be added.

For the continued safety of our clerks and the public, we will not be processing transactions at the front office. Residents will be required to drop off payments for water bills, tickets, vehicle stickers, etc. We strongly encourage residents to pay on-line or use the day and night deposit drop.

As a community, we need to continue to do our best to make sure people remain healthy and safe, which is why social distancing and the use of facemasks are still required at this time. These remain very difficult times socially and economically, so we need to remain vigilant and do our part to help beat this crisis

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 Friday, April 9, 2021:

2,803 positive cases
25,851 people tested
5.3% Positivity Rate (Suburban Cook County, Region 10)

Currently, all regions, including Oak Forest are at Phase 4 Restore Illinois.

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

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.

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 CIC-TV at www.oak-forest.org/live or on one of the following television channels:

AT&T U-verse - Channel 99
Comcast Xfinity - Channel 4
Wide Open West - Channel 6

If you do not subscribe to cable television, visit oak-forest.org/broadcast to learn more about the Oak Forest Broadcast Network.

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.