Mayor Henry L. Kuspa

From the Office of the Mayor

It's the last weekend of August and the last weekend to purchase vehicle stickers at the current rate. New vehicle stickers are normally sold for only a month, but because of COVID-19, the deadline was extended two additional months. Payment can be made online at www.green-pay.us/TMAV-VPAY/of/home.html or you can drop off payment in the drop box by the City Hall front doors through August 31. The fee will double for vehicle sticker purchases after that date.

Clean-up efforts continue after the August 10 derecho/tornado that hit our city. Public Works is doing a phenomenal job picking up the debris from falling branches. Recently the City Council approved hiring a private contractor to assist in this clean-up effort in areas hardest hit by the storm. We are doing our best to finish this job as soon as possible.

Should you have questions or concerns about anything in our city, please contact my office at 708-687-4050, ext. 1005.

Weekly e-Briefs

The City of Oak Forest introduced e-Briefs in February 2015. This free, voluntary e-mail service provides information about city services, activities and events. On a weekly basis, you can also expect to find a message from the Mayor about current events involving the Oak Forest area.

If you know someone who would like to receive the weekly e-Briefs, please have them visit our website to sign up: https://www.oak-forest.org/list.aspx.

They can also send an e-mail to CityofOakForest@oak-forest.org to request e-Briefs. Please note that an e-mail will be sent to confirm a "subscription" to e-Briefs. Also remember to allow mail from listserv@civicplus.com.

COVID-19 Updates

Due to a recent uptick in Covid-19 cases, Governor Pritzer issued on Wednesday, August 26, a new face mask mandate for all restaurant and bar patrons in Illinois. Customers must put on their masks while interacting with wait staff and other employees including when orders are taken and food is being served inside or outside. Additionally, the new mask rule also applies to customers picking up take-out orders.

Oak Forest COVID-19 Statistics

Here are the current numbers for the City of Oak Forest from the Illinois Department of Public Health website:

Numbers for Oak Forest as of 8/28:
Out of 5,554 people tested, there are 403 positive cases.

For more information on the local numbers, please use this link: www.dph.illinois.gov/covid19/covid19-statistics.

For the Southern Cook Area, Region 10 as of 8/27, the current Positivity Rate is 6.7%, which is a slight decrease from last week.

For more information on the Southern Cook Area, Region 10, please use this link:
http://www.dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics?regionID=10.

Restore Illinois Mitigation Plan Updates

Currently, Region 4 (Bond, Clinton, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, St. Clair and Washington counties) and Region 7 (Will and Kankakee counties) have exceeded Governor Pritzer and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) criteria that triggered additional mitigations to combat a resurgence of COVID-19 and prevent uncontrollable spread.

As detailed in the July Restore Illinois resurgence plan, new mitigations will be applied if a region's positivity rate averages greater than or equal to 8 percent for three consecutive days.

Mitigations are applied on a regional basis based on the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Regions that have traditionally guided the IDPH in its statewide public health work. Expanding to 11 regions allows for a more granular approach in this phase of the response to COVID-19. The City of Oak Forest is in Suburban Cook - Region 10.

Read more about the coronavirus.illinois.gov/s/restore-illinois-mitigation-plan.

Vehicle Sticker Deadline is August 31

All vehicle stickers that are housed in the City of Oak Forest must be registered with the City and must display a current vehicle sticker at all times. Vehicle stickers are valid from July 1 through June 30 of each year. Vehicle Sticker Applications are mailed annually to residents that currently have vehicles registered with the City of Oak Forest. Due to the COVID-19 pendemic, the City Clerk's Office requests that you place your registration in an envelope and use the drop box outside City Hall. Or you can purchase online at: https://www.green-pay.us/TMAV-VPAY/of/home.html. Stickers must be completely affixed to the lower right (passenger) corner of the windshield.

National Night Out Goes Virtual

National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. It also provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances.

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, this year's event was cancelled. However, the Oak Forest Police Department created a virtual National Night Out video to familiarize residents with the Oak Forest Police Department.

We hope residents enjoy this production currently airing on CIC-TV, which is Channel 4 on Comcast, Channel 6 on Wide Open West (WOW) and Channel 99 on AT&T U-Verse. You can also watch it online by clicking this link: Oak Forest National Night Out 2020.

Beware of Solicitor's and Home Repair Fraud

The August 10th weather disaster has increased the number of people posting signs for home repair and other services that may not be legitimate. Each resident should be aware that door-to-door solicitation in the City of Oak Forest is restricted. Any organization wishing to apply for a solicitor’s license must do so in the City Clerk’s Office. If approved, there are monthly licensing fees.

Additionally, residents can pick up a NO SOLICITORS INVITED sticker from City Hall.

Avoiding Home Repair Fraud

Please use extreme caution when confronted with the following warning signs of a potential scam:

Door-to-door salespeople with no local connections who offer to do home repair work for substantially less than the market price.
Solicitations for repair work from a company that lists only a telephone number or a post office box number to contact, particularly if it is an out-of-state company.
Contractors who fail to provide references when requested.
People who offer to inspect your home for free. Do not admit anyone into your home unless he or she can present authentic identification establishing his or her business status. When in doubt, do not hesitate to call the worker’s employer to verify his or her identity.
Contractors who demand cash payment for a job or ask you to make a check payable to a person other than the owner or company name.
Offers from a contractor to drive you to the bank to withdraw funds to pay for the work.

Additional Home Repair: Know Your Consumer Rights information can be found on the fact sheet from Kwame Raoul, Illinois Attorney General.

Oak Forest-Crestwood Chamber of Commerce Contest

Please join the Chamber at their #Raiseaglass Contest Kick-off on Wednesday, September 16, 2020, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Oak Forest Bowl Patio at 15240 Cicero, Oak Forest.

Post a picture of your mug at different businesses and locations while keeping it local for a chance to win a prize! Tag the Chamber on Facebook and Instagram pages using #Raiseaglass and #Keepitlocal. Use the mug while golfing, bowling, shopping, at a restaurant, getting your oil changed, at the park, at the library, at work, anywhere!

2020 Road Program Update!

Concrete has been completed on the first group of streets and our contractor has already started on the second group of streets.

Remember, the contractor will notify all the residents a day before any work will be done to your apron or curb with a notice on your door.

This year’s program will include the following eleven street segments to be resurfaced:

1. Willow Lane – Forestview to 151st
2. Condado – 151st to Hillside
3. El Morro Court – El Morro to end
4. Menard – Vine to 147th
5. 149th Street – Laramie to Cicero
6. Essex – Tudor to Reynolds
7. Dolores – Rob Roy to Orogrande
8. Peggy Lane – 159th to Independence
9. Mann – Craig to Blair
10. Newport – Laramie to Bellaire
11. Oakwood Court – Newport to Cul-de-Sac

Maple Tree Removal Update!

The maple tree removals and stumps have been completed. However, due to the recent storm clean-up efforts, restorations have been delayed.

If you have any questions, please call Public Works at 708-535-4090.

Next Oak Forest City Council Meeting

The next Oak Forest City Council Meeting will be held on September 8, 2020, at 7:30 PM. To watch the previous meeting held on August 25, 2020, please click on the image below.

e-Briefs is a free, voluntary e-mail service, which provides information about government services, activities and events.
On a weekly basis, you can expect to find City Council news and agendas, construction updates, public safety reminders, senior and youth news, and much more! Please forward this e-mail to friends and family and encourage them to sign up
for the weekly e-Briefs by visiting the Notify Me section of our website. Contact the City of Oak Forest at 708-687-4050 or cityofoakforest@oak-forest.org.