Bob Skolnik

4 days ago | chicagotribune.com | Bob Skolnik

Oak Park and River Forest High School is getting a $3.5 million state grant to help pay for the geothermal heating and cooling system that will regulate temperatures in the new portion of the school that is being built to replace the school’s southeast corner that has been demolished.

1 week ago | chicagotribune.com | Bob Skolnik

Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 has hired an administrator experienced in curriculum to be its new assistant superintendent for student learning to replace Laurie Fiorenza who resigned, effective June 30, without explanation in April. Fiorenza’s replacement will be Jen Hester, who has worked for the last five years as the director of student curriculum, instruction and professional development at Homewood-Flossmoor High School District 233, a one-school district like OPRF.

1 week ago | chicagotribune.com | Bob Skolnik

The Oak Park Village Board is back at full strength. Derek Eder, a climate activist and technologist, was nominated June 17 by Oak Park Village President Vicki Scaman and unanimously approved by the board to replace Susan Buchanan, who resigned in May citing burnout. Eder will serve the two remaining years left on Buchanan’s term. Like Buchanan, Eder has been active with the Oak Park Climate Action Network and he said environmental issues and sustainability will be a key focus for him.

1 week ago | chicagotribune.com | Bob Skolnik

As opponents of the location of the new fieldhouse for Field Park in northwest Oak Park desperately reach out to anyone they can think of in an attempt to change the location of the structure, the controversial new Field Center building came in significantly over budget delaying the start of any work on the new building to at least August.

1 week ago | chicagotribune.com | Bob Skolnik

While approximately 75,000 people rallied in downtown Chicago on June 14 for what was called No Kings protests to voice opposition to President Donald Trump on his birthday, thousands of other protesters attended rallies across the Chicago suburbs to amplify the message. One of the largest No Kings suburban rallies was in Oak Park where a few thousand protesters gathered in downtown Oak Park, filling Scovill Park and parading for a few blocks along crowded Lake Street sidewalks.