Security cameras needed at OPRF.. why??

Every time I turn around I hear that the local high school needs something, if it is not a swimming pool, it’s a garage, if it’s not a garage, then the high school needs ovens and security cameras. I mean damn if it needs all this crap just tear the whole thing down! The construction of a new school will take about 5 years so send those kids to like Bellwood or CPS for a while, that will toughen them up to the point they wont need crossing guards at nearly every corner, and then bamm put the class of 2026 into the new school and get it over with.

I just hate hearing about how our taxes are consistently going to patch work for the Oak Park and River Forest High School, and this patch work always has inconsistencies that are mind blowing. For example, the high school was about to get an upgrade over the next five years, but now there is an additional 110 extra cameras that will be added. Come on, does that not sound like someone got a fat contract out of the village and is cashing in? I mean it is not like Oak Park, IL is the harbinger of crime, it is not the Austin area (they made sure of that with cul da sacs) or Englewood. So why is there an influx or increased need for security?

Are they importing/transferring inner city kids to the high school and they are worried about what might happen?  Did someone tell them that my westside ass lives in the area? It is not like the school has security to monitor these cameras in real time in case of an incident, the extra cameras will just be there to record the pre-event, event and the post event time lines, therefore what good is it? Why is it that the proposal cannot be audited or looked at to see what its original intent is supposed to be? There are so many questions, no answers, and large black holes of vagueness surrounding how this operation will unfold that it makes a local taxpayer wonder what the hell is going on here? Just Oak Park, IL being Oak Park, IL again

The article about the high school needing more shit:


Albion, Albion, Rush Oak Park, Albion, and Albion some more..

Holy shit so after reading this article (“Oak Park Plan Commission issues findings on Albion, Rush”) you are telling we will be hearing about this Albion crap in about two years?? Again? First off, I am glad that the village is expanding the Rush Oak Park Hospital, it is practical well thought of and ideal if the village wishes to expand its population base. Expanding the population base also expands the tax base too, so I know the village is drooling over the thought of all those additional tax dollars with the different high rises they are trying to push through. It is the same crap in Chicago, Oak Park, Il is no better. But the idea of expanding the hospital to me makes sense and I am glad it is out of the reasonable decisions made by the village board.

However, with this Albion crap they have just gotta let it go. Stroll down to the comments and the majority of the people commenting don’t want the friggin thing so why not listen to the people or put it to a ballot to end to this nightmare. Why not ask the people what they want or have a bunch of designs and put those designs to a vote, either through ballot (paper) or online. I just do not want to hear about it for the next two years, well, hopefully I won’t be trapped here that long! Then I can really crap on Oak Park, IL! (LOL) I am glad that most of my favorite places are back in the “trendy” places in the Chicagoland area, and the ones that I do like in the Oak Park, IL area are on the borders so I do not have to put up with the traffic problems.

I mean let’s be realistic an 18-story building is going to bring a lot of traffic to that area, and the plans provided do not have any ideas realistically to deal with that influx. What a parking garage? If that was a solution then why doesn’t Oak Park, Il not have dozens of parking garages all around the village then to truly help the residents? Because there is no money in that type of thinking, with that type of logic you know that the story of the Albion development if defeated in the next couple of months will just “pop” back up in two years’ time. Hey, everyone loves a sequel right? Ugh.

Here is the article talking about the dreaded Albion development rising from the dead like an extra from a George Romero movie:,-Rush-/

No mention of the good works done




Trip through the old neighborhood: Lakeview

Nothing like a trip to the old neighborhood to do one well, I visited some of the old spots, but since I had to drive back to Oak Park, IL I could not drink! It was great hitting up crisp, molly’s, sultans market then flying through the DePaul university campus (area). And I realized that it took less time travelling from Lakeview to Damen than it takes me to get from Ridgeland to Oak Park ave on lake street. I left liberated traveling at 25 mph and actually getting somewhere!

Something most people in Oak Park, Il will never understand unless they travel outside of the village. I overheard one coworker stating that she only drives from River Forest to her home, condo in Oak Park, Il. Yeah, I know! I felt sorry for her…. But not really lol.

She doesn’t know what she is missing and I wonder if there are others like her. It is very sad to have such a limited view of the world and to limit one’s experiences to one part of the world like that. But that is cool I rather be running rampant through Lakeview etc. than stick my head in the sand and drink Oak Park, il’s Kool aid any day.








The Oak Park village board trying to eliminate the Super-majority for the Albion development.

I love Oak Park, IL politics it makes me feel at home (Chicago) the shadiness, the backstabbing, the other handed deals, and the don’t-give-a-damn-about-the-voters-until-election-time attitude this Albion development is just right up the alley of my interests. Although I am loving this Simone Boutet, blondes are not my thing however the fact that she is a constant thorn in the village board’s side is exactly what Oak Park, IL needs to make sure there is transparency in government.

The idea to rewrite a zoning ordinance to overcome the 5-2 super majority needed to approve the Albion development is the type of underhanded crap the opposition to this plan and the voters never figured on this nor did they have the political literacy to understand the village board is unrelenting. The Mayor is now on defense, and acting defensively. “Duplicative language” my ass. As stated in the article the residents do not trust this village board however there should be more push back than one person on the board speaking up, and a couple of “family” rallies to oppose the Albion development.

The village board is at war with the residents only thing is that they are the only ones who realize it, the taxpayers are just in limbo about this situation. Changes as mentioned in the article must be transparent for the residents to know what the heck is going on in the village. The village board is playing to win, although they are getting frustrated with working this hard, the opposition is not organized to make that great of an impact.

Much like a water dripping on rock to make an impact or wear it down, if there is enough time the opposition can do this in regards to the Albion development however the village board is not willing to give the opposition time. The village board is making sure that time is on THEIR side, and being well organized, you can be sure they will try something like eliminating this supermajority again.


Here is the article discussing the rewrite, shady as hell:


The Albion development in Oak Park, IL needs a super majority and it will get it.

So an ode to greed now that Albion development needs a super majority as per the law to be approved. This is great for the residents of Oak Park, IL now the village board has to vote upon the measure and let their votes be known to the voting public in Oak Park, IL. With three trustees who ran on being against this measure it will be very hard for the village board to get a 5-2 super majority vote for the development to go through.

One of the major issues that is now hanging on making sure that the votes stay that way is coming up with an solution that replaces the two story empty building at Lake and Forest, apparently even though the residents are telling the village board no to the Albion development they are not coming up with a solution or replacement to this building. Funny how this is now an issue, or becoming a major factor to changing the way those original No votes to a Yes vote instead.

The idea is creating Economic Development for the village to deter raising taxes as the village residents who do not understand one fig of politics or tax structure will fail in their opposition of the Albion development. The Albion development is inevitable and the old ways of Oak Park, IL with its cute little parks, low level buildings and bike lanes will be a thing of the past. Although the comment section is littered with intelligent responses these are not being translated into actions that will deter the village board and the Mayor in particular to pushing this development forward.

The fault is no longer with the village board for being greedy and backing out of campaign promises, the fault also lies will the voters especially the opposition to the Albion development. Without making educated decisions, but emotional ones, the opposition to this development is dealing with individuals who are constantly maneuvering to get this development started. Without hesitation, without distractions this village board has made this development their mission as the opposition only does this part time who do you think will win?

This is the article that talks about the super majority needed:

The new Target in Downtown Oak Park, IL is getting a liquor license

I think it is fantastic that the new small format Target on Lake and Harlem is getting a liquor license! You can get a bottle and drink before you go into Bar Louie or anywhere else in downtown Oak Park, IL the funny thing about this vote is that the mayor abstained like he is above liquor licenses! But hey he will build high-rises all over the place probably is looking at Ernest Hemingway’s home as a possible area for development too!


It is time to bring liquor to downtown Oak Park, Il and show the residents how we party and how we can be just like Chicago. I hope everyone realizes that with this September 5th vote that the old Oak Park, Il is becoming extinct. It is wine time homies! Hopefully Target will be able to sell liquor at all times, and have better prices that the liquor stores down Harlem (at Madison Avenue, for example). I am really glad that the area will be getting more traffic and now liquor whooo great job village trustees to breaking down the old Oak Park, IL and replacing it with one that is being sold out at a rapid rate!


Here is the article briefly mentioning the liquor sells at the new Target in downtown Oak Park, IL:

Oak Park, IL blog related: Ernest Hemingway quotes

I noticed on imgur that there were some crazy Ernest Hemingway quotes, I found some of them funny as hell. Now I do not know if any of them are direct quotes (this is the internet) but the picture of Hemingway coupled with these quotes is just hilarious! Although there are the “experts” out who will kill this fun for the rest of us, but f them. I am posting some of them on Facebook and here on the blog because I think it is hilarious.

  • “Write drunk edit sober”
  • “Never go on trips with anyone you do not love..”
  • “I drink to make other people more interesting”

Hell, it will make you look smart while unnerving the “purists” who will argue the quotes. On the basis of Hemingway making the quotes it would go like this:

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“If Hemingway actually made the quotes, or not….”

“If Hemingway actually made the quotes, why…. (what circumstances lead to it)”

“If Hemingway actually made the quotes, who were they meant for….”

“If Hemingway actually made the quotes, was it a part of his mental issues….”

As annoying as that is, it IS what I get from time to time, just little ridiculous lunatics proving their brain power, instead of actually getting outside and mingling a little bit with others. People, dogs, pigeons, whatever light the world ablaze with these funny quotes and pictures (memes).

Confusing parking Signs “A letter to the editor”

I recently read a “letter to the editor” on about the confusing parking signs and I found it hilarious. The author, I hope is being sarcastic, is hoping that the new parking signs will encourage more walking and more bike lanes. The reality is that more walking is not in the cards for tourists and visitors who come to Oak Park, IL with major dollars to spend. They are trying that crap in downtown Chicago, but there are a couple of differences between the Oak Park, IL’s downtown and Chicago’s downtown.

There is a huge population in Chicago that pays tons of freaking taxes that subside bike lanes that Oak Park, IL does not have, obviously if the author of this article is being true to themselves then they like to pay MORE taxes (property, etc.). Second the layout of Chicago is massive compared to the compact area Oak Park, IL encompasses the bike lanes with hinder travel even more than it already is. Imagine local businesses trying to get deliveries, or how about regular people like you and me getting regular packages with more bike lanes taking up those parking spots?

The reality is that the parking signs are a mess and the spots available for parking for EVERYONE, needs adjustment or realignment. Major businesses that are invested in Oak Park, IL are going to wonder if their customers will have enough parking for the upcoming holiday season as they battle Amazon and other online retailers these businesses will want the make their brick and mortar stores even more attractive not less, because of less parking places.

That is something most residents do not understand, if they want there “haven” in Oak Park, Il to remain that way, nowadays they need to do. For the future Oak Park, Il needs to build and restructure its infrastructure not eliminate it. That revenue made from parking passes, village stickers, etc., with new bike lanes and more “walking” means that the village board will need to sell more properties to development companies to build an Albion development just to offset the money lost with the elimination of those tax dollars.

Yes, lets eliminate parking spaces altogether and see the chaos unfold.


Here is the article/letter to the editor that made me laugh so much: