Mayor Henry L. Kuspa

From the Office of the Mayor

Today is Patriot Day, which is observed on September 11 to commemorate the lives of those who died in the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Virginia, as well as those who perished when the hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania. It is a day I will never forget.

We were honored to have been chosen to receive a beam from one of the World Trade Centers. This memorial is on display in the City Hall courtyard by the Veteran's Memorial. On September 11, members of the Public Works Department gathered around the WTC Memorial to pay their respects. As another tribute, Fire Station 1 has a display of flags in honor of the 343 Firefighters who lost their lives on that day. At our recent City Council meeting, a moment of silence was held in memory of those who perished on that dreadful day.

Our battle these days remain with COVID-19. As the weather switches to cooler temperatures, we are nearing flu season and many health experts are predicting another spike of COVID-19 cases, with no vaccine or cure in sight. In order to prevent the spread of this disease, please remember to be vigliant and wear face masks or coverings, wash your hands and remain socially distanced.

Be safe and contact my office at 708-687-4050, x1005, should you have any questions or concerns.

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

On Wednesday, August 26, Governor Pritzer issued 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 (www.dph.illinois.gov/covid19/covid19-statistics) as of Friday, September 11, 2020:

468 positive cases
6,297 people tested
6.0% Positivity Rate for the past 3 days (Southern Cook Area, Region 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% 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.

Sealcoating at the Gateway

Our partners at The Gateway, home to Oak Forest Train Station, First Savings Bank of Hegewisch, Starbucks, ATI Physical Therapy and CVS Pharmacy, will begin asphalt patching/sealcoating work on the driveway and parking lot starting on Friday, September 11 and continue into the following week.

Signs will be posted to indicate closures to entrances and traffic patterns. Please plan accordingly.

National Night Out Goes Virtual

Due to COVID-19, National Night Out was cancelled. However, the Oak Forest Police Department created a virtual National Night Out video to familiarize residents with the Oak Forest Police Department.

Enjoy this production currently airing on CIC-TV. Tune it to 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.

Spotlight on Small Business

Oak Forest is home to more than 350 businesses. Many are small, independent businesses at the core of our community.

In response to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Oak Forest collaborated with the Oak Forest-Crestwood Chamber of Commerce to create a new Small Business Spotlight for 2020.

The goal is to raise awareness to residents about the businesses and show them how much they mean to our community. This Spotlight will focus first on the retail, restaurant and service businesses that serve consumers directly. Each one must have less than five total locations and be located only in Illinois.

New spotlighted businesses will be posted to social media and added to this site weekly. Check the website at https://www.oak-forest.org/535/Small-Business-Spotlight and follow City of Oak Forest on Facebook and Twitter.

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 by placing 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!

Homer Tree Services has completed removal of specifically designated maple trees that were determined to be hazardous, as well as their stumps.

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

Next Oak Forest City Council Meeting

The Oak Forest City Council Meeting will be held on September 22, 2020, at 7:30 PM. To watch the previous meeting held on September 8, 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.