Mayor Henry L. Kuspa

Spring Begins on March 20th

It's been a hard winter after a tough year. I'd like to thank our Public Works Department for keeping the streets clean from snow and tending to water main breaks. I'd also like to thank all the emergency personnel from the Fire and Police Departments and Emergency Management Agency for their continued professionalism and dedication. Additionally, I'd like to say thank you to all the City Employees who work day in and day out to keep our city running smoothly.

The Oak Forest City Council and I wish you and your family a wonderful Spring.

Oak Forest High School News

Despite the postponement and COVID-19 restrictions, we are very proud of the recent accomplishments of these Oak Forest High School athletes.

Boys Swim took 2nd place in Conference
Dance/Pom took 2^nd place in IDT State
Boys Basketball went 11-2 and won their Conference
Girls Basketball went 12-1 and won their Conference
Cheer won State for only the 4^th time in school history
Boys Bowling took 1^st place in their Conference
Girls Bowling took 1^st place in their Conference

Congratulations to all the athletes, coaches, and staff for their accomplishments!

Bremen Township Services Available to Residents

In Cook County, Township government often gets overlooked amidst the various local governments including municipalities, school districts, park districts, community college districts and others.

Bremen Township services help citizens to maintain a quality of life that might otherwise be out of reach. Meals and transportation for senior citizens, groceries, counseling, and emergency assistance for those in need. In addition, Bremen Township is an extension office for Salvation Army and CEDA representatives.

For more information about their services and how they may help, please visit their website at brementownship.org or call 708-333-9530.

Apply Now for Emergency Rental Assistance

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 open March 11, 2021 and 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.

ComEd Assistance Options

It's been one-year since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic nears, ComEd recognizes that families and businesses are still dealing with continued financial challenges.

Last year, ComEd increased its annual bill-assistance options, connecting customers to a record of more than $70 million in financial assistance and supporting more than a quarter of a million customers with stabilizing grants. This year, ComEd encourages customers to contact the energy company immediately to see if they are eligible for millions of dollars more in bill assistance now available. There are also extended payment options to help customers with their past-due balances.

Any customer experiencing a hardship or difficulty with their electric bill should call ComEd immediately at 1-800-334-7661 (1-800-EDISON-1), Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to learn more on how to apply. Information on each of these options is available at ComEd.com/PaymentAssistance.

Property Tax Exemptions Automatically Renewed

Due to COVID-19, the Illinois legislature took action to allow the Cook County Assessor to automatically renew the following exemptions for taxable year 2020, for homeowners who received them last year (taxable year 2019):

Senior Freeze Exemption
Homestead Exemption for Persons with Disabilities
Homestead Exemption for Veterans with Disabilities

The above one-year renewals are in addition to the automatic annual renewal of the Homeowner Exemption and the Senior Exemption.

The Cook County Assessor’s Office will send a letter to homeowners with the list of exemptions that will be automatically renewed. Tens of thousands of renewal confirmation letters will be mailed in early February 2021.

Read more about the legislative change here: https://www.cookcountyassessor.com/news/automatic-renewal-3-property-tax-exemptions-2021-due-covid-19.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, please reach out to Guy Gattone, Oak Forest Taxpayer Advocate at ggattone@oak-forest.org.

Veterans Assistance

The Oak Forest Veterans Commission would like to make residents aware of assistance to Veterans in Cook County. Qualified veterans can visit vacofcookcounty.org for more information.

Program Description
The Veterans Assistance Commission (VAC) is a separate distinct unit of local government created by State Law and funded by Cook County. The VAC provides emergency financial assistance to Honorably Discharged Military Veterans and their families, who reside in Cook County.

Types of Assistance

Assistance with Rental and Mortgage payments.
Utility payment assistance with Electric, Gas and Water.
Public Transportation (CTA/PACE} to Outpatient/Medical appointments, CWT/School, Job Interview, Employment, Housing Search.
ALDI Food gift card.
Burial assistance for veterans.
Job service assistance referrals.
Records requests: Birth Certificate 0D214 Application

For more information, please email ofveteranscomm@oak-forest.org.

Early Voting Begins March 22nd

Early voting for municipal, school district and other local elections will be held at City Hall from Monday, March 22 to Monday, April 5.

Oak Forest City Hall
15440 S. Central Ave
Oak Forest, IL 60452

ELECTION DAY is Tuesday, April 6. Please go to your assigned polling place at Find my Polling Place.

Note: City Hall is NOT an Election Day voting place.

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.

Recover! Retool! Renew!
The COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout

SSC presents a Virtual Town Hall Meeting: Recover! Retool! Renew! The Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout

South Suburban College Business & Career Institute, along with the South Suburban Small Business Association (SSSBA) and SCORE will present a virtual Town Hall Meeting with Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Director of the IDPH entitled RECOVER! RETOOL! RENEW! A Town Hall Meeting with Dr. Ngozi Ezike on Tuesday, March 23^rd from 6 p.m. - 7:15 p.m.

Dr. Ngozi Ezike is the Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) – the first Black woman appointed to lead the 143-year old state agency. Dr. Ezike is a board-certified internist and pediatrician who previously worked for the Cook County Department of Public Health, where she served for more than 15 years. She also was medical director at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.

Moderator Kristi DeLaurentiis is Executive Director of the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association (SSMMA), an intergovernmental agency dedicated to meeting the needs of communities in the south suburban Chicago area. Throughout the pandemic, SSMMA has served as a clearinghouse for information on COVID-19 impact within the region.

Register for this free virtual Townhall Meeting at http://bit.ly/sscrecover2021. A link will be sent to registrants prior to the event. For more information please contact Lois Fuentes at lfuentes@ssc.edu.

COVID-19 Vaccination Update

Cook County is currently in Phase 1B which includes individuals 65 and over and frontline essential workers. On Monday, March 22, we will be expanding to Phase 1B+ which includes persons with specific health-complicating conditions or status.

Due to limited vaccine supplies, not all who become eligible that day will be able to get vaccinated on the first day they are eligible.

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

Tinley Park Convention Center at 18451 Convention Center Drive, Tinley Park, IL 60477

South Suburban College at 15800 South State Street, South Holland, IL 60473

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 Friday, March 19, 2021:

2,697 positive cases
24,073 people tested
3.6% Positivity Rate (Suburban Cook County, Region 10)

COVID-19 Testing Site Open in Tinley Park

A drive-thru coronavirus testing center is located at 7460 Duvan Drive in Tinley Park. It is open daily and offers PCR testing, with results in 1-3 days, rapid testing at $125 and antibody testing.

An appointment is required. Visit the NAS Testing Center website or call 708-649-0333.

Next Oak Forest City Council Meeting

The next Oak Forest City Council Meeting will be held on March 23, 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.

Here is the link to the most recent meeting:
March 9, 2021 - City Council Meeting

City of Oak Forest Emergency Notifications With Everbridge

The new Everbridge system replaces Reverse 911 as a means to notify citizens. Critical situations like severe weather and criminal activity require information to be shared quickly and effectively with residents.

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! If you ever move and do not want any notifications, you have the ability to delete your account.

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.

Enter a cell phone number for voice and text, landline phone number for voice, email address for notifications, as well as home address. Entering your home address helps the City of Oak Forest send messages to only certain areas of the town that a particular emergency is taking place.

Sign up today to help us better communicate with you.

Coyote Mating Season

Department of Wildlife says that the aggression of coyotes will be on high for the next several weeks.

The next 4-6 weeks is mating season for coyotes. Please pay attention to your dogs and cats when outside. The outcome can be tragic because coyotes will attack your pets. Coyote breeding typically peaks in late February and early March. Male coyotes can become more aggressive during this time of year.

For more information, go to the wildlifeillinois.org website.