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== Government == ===Village=== Since 1951, Oak Park has been organized under the [[council-manager]] form of municipal government. The village government includes an elected president and an elected village board, which hires a village manager to conduct the day-to-day affairs of the administration. Oak Park also has five additional governments which levy [[real estate tax]]es. These include the [[Oak Park Township, Cook County, Illinois|Oak Park Township]], the high school district (which also levies from adjacent River Forest), the elementary school district, the library district, and the park district. The [[United States Postal Service]] operates the main Oak Park Post Office at 901 Lake Street and the Oak Park South Post Office at 1116 Garfield Street. ===Elections=== Oak Park's village board, village president, and other elected officials are elected through a two-stage election process. A primary election is used to nominate party candidates, and a general election is used to elect government officials. Oak Park's election turnout varies greatly depending on whether it is a municipal or national election. In the 2012 presidential election, Oak Park had the highest voter turnout in suburban Cook County; 79.8% of registered voters cast a ballot.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oakpark.com/Community/Blogs/11-7-2012/Oak-Park-has-highest-voter-turnout-in-suburban-Cook-County/ |title=Oak Park has highest voter turnout in suburban Cook County |author=Lothson, Anna |date=November 7, 2012 |publisher=Wednesday Journal |access-date=July 6, 2015 |archive-date=November 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111083127/http://www.oakpark.com/Community/Blogs/11-7-2012/Oak-Park-has-highest-voter-turnout-in-suburban-Cook-County/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Municipal elections for the board of trustees and village clerk generally have much lower voter turnout, averaging around 20% and are held in spring, consistent with state law. The municipal elections are considered nonpartisan, as the national political parties do not put up the candidates. Candidates step forward, or are found by a citizens group that works to find people to have new candidates for each election cycle, encourage participation in local issues. ===Schools=== [[Image:Oak park library.jpg|thumb|right|Oak Park Public Library]] The public [[primary school]]s (Lincoln, Mann, Longfellow, Beye, Irving, Holmes, Whittier, and Hatch) and the [[middle school]]s, [[Percy Lavon Julian|Percy Julian]] Middle School (formerly [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]]) and [[Gwendolyn Brooks]] Middle School (formerly [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]]) are operated by [[Oak Park Elementary School District 97]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.op97.org/# |title=Schools |publisher=Oak Park Elementary School District 97 |access-date=September 6, 2007 |archive-date=September 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929075542/http://www.op97.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> These ten schools serve the entire city limits.<ref name=CookCoSchoolDistMap>{{cite web |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st17_il/schooldistrict_maps/c17031_cook/DC20SD_C17031.pdf |title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Cook County, IL |publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]] |page=6 (PDF p. 7) |accessdate=July 6, 2021 |archive-date=July 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210701025131/https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st17_il/schooldistrict_maps/c17031_cook/DC20SD_C17031.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> There are also multiple private schools. Performance ratings for schools in Oak Park (as evaluated by standardized statewide tests) are released periodically, known as the school report cards.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://schools.chicagotribune.com/city/oak-park |title=2014 Illinois school report cards, Oak Park Schools |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |access-date=July 6, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150314184221/http://schools.chicagotribune.com/city/oak-park |archive-date=March 14, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The renaming of the junior high schools, now middle schools, after prominent African-Americans rather than famous American literary figures was done in part to motivate minority students in their educational pursuits. A gap in school performance, referred to as "this intolerable and persistent inequity,"<ref>{{cite web |author=Oak Park African American Achievement Study Team |date=May 2003 |title=The Learning Community Performance Gap at Oak Park River Forest High School |url=http://www.oprfhs.org/documents/LearningCommunityPerformanceGap2003.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709055636/http://www.oprfhs.org/documents/LearningCommunityPerformanceGap2003.pdf |archive-date=July 9, 2015 |page=18}}</ref> remains, as of the date of the report.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/12-19-2006/Here's_what_District_97_is_doing_about_'the_gap' |title=Here's what District 97 is doing about 'the gap' |author=Andersen, Kevin |publisher=Wednesday Journal |work=Opinion |date=December 19, 2006 |access-date=July 1, 2011}}</ref> Oak Park is the home of two high schools: [[Oak Park and River Forest High School]], the sole school in educational District 200, which also serves the entire city,<ref name=CookCoSchoolDistMap/> and [[Fenwick High School (Oak Park, Illinois)|Fenwick High School]]. Oak Park and River Forest High School is a public school with its district including both Oak Park and neighboring [[River Forest, Illinois|River Forest]], and Fenwick High School is a Catholic college preparatory school run by the [[Dominican Order|Dominicans]], affiliated with the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago]]. Both high schools have a long history of high academic standards. Oak Park and River Forest High School bestows the Tradition of Excellence Award to distinguished alumni, including [[Ernest Hemingway]], [[Ray Kroc]], [[Dan Castellaneta]], football Hall-of-Famer [[George Trafton]], actress [[Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio]], astronomer [[Chad Trujillo]], geochemist [[Wallace Broecker|Wally Broecker]], and environmental leader [[Phil Radford]]. Oak Park and River Forest High School is one of seven secondary educational institutions in Illinois with the ability to induct students into the [[Cum Laude Society]]. === Park District === The Park District of Oak Park was first organized in 1912 as the Recreation Department of the Village of Oak Park. Under the direction of Josephine Blackstock and her successor, Lilly Ruth Hanson, it embarked on a vigorous program of recreation for villagers. The playgrounds were named by Blackstock after famous children's writers. In the late 1980s, the Recreation Department was dissolved, and the Park District of Oak Park was created as a separate tax-levying body. It comprises thirteen parks scattered throughout the village, for a total of {{cvt|80|acre|m2}} of parkland, a historic house available for functions with payment of fees, the [[Oak Park Conservatory]], and two outdoor pools. The Park District also provides dog exercise areas where dog owners may bring their pets with payment of fees. A second outdoor pool, an official-sized ice rink, a green roof and synthetic-turfed playing fields are at Ridgeland Common at the corner of Lake Street and Ridgeland Avenue, originally built in 1962. It was completely renovated from March 2013 to June 14, 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pdop.org/about/park-facility-improvements/ridgeland-common-renovation/ |title=Ridgeland Common is Now Open! |access-date=July 6, 2015 |archive-date=July 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707104230/http://www.pdop.org/about/park-facility-improvements/ridgeland-common-renovation/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/6-5-2014/Ridgeland-Common-ready-for-public/ |title=Ridgeland Common ready for public |date=June 5, 2014 |author=Farmer, Marty |publisher=Wednesday Journal |access-date=July 6, 2015 |archive-date=July 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707091020/http://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/6-5-2014/Ridgeland-Common-ready-for-public/ |url-status=live }}</ref> === Public library === Founded as a public library in 1903, after electing its first board of trustees, the [[Oak Park Public Library]] has a rich and celebrated history. The library has a main campus overlooking [[Scoville Park]] at the corner of Oak Park Avenue and Lake Street, and two branches, the Dole Branch Library (at Dole Community Center) and the Maze Branch Library.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://oppl.org/ |title=Oak Park Public Library |access-date=July 6, 2015 |archive-date=July 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703123110/http://oppl.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As a member of the SWAN library consortium, the Oak Park Public Library offers its cardholders access to nearly 8 million items. === Public Safety === ==== Fire ==== Providing fire protection and emergency medical services, the Oak Park Fire Department currently operates from three fire stations, located throughout the village, Fire Station #1 (headquarters), Fire Station #2 (north), and Fire Station #3 (south) under the command of a battalion chief per shift. The Oak Park Fire Department operates three ALS engines, one ALS truck, three ALS ambulances, one ALS paramedic squad, one command unit, and several specialized MABAS divisional apparatus.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oak-park.us/village-services/fire-department |title=Fire Department |date=January 22, 2013 |publisher=The Village of Oak Park |access-date=July 6, 2015 |archive-date=July 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702033925/http://www.oak-park.us/village-services/fire-department |url-status=live }}</ref> '''Fire station locations and apparatus''' {| class=wikitable |- valign=bottom ! Engine company ! Truck company ! Ambulance ! Special unit ! Command unit ! Address |- | || Truck 631 || Ambulances 612β614 || 618 (pick-up truck), Squad 611, the MABAS Division 11 T.R.T. Unit and MABAS Division 11 Hazmat Unit 1100 || Command Unit 620 (battalion chief) || 100 N. Euclid Ave. |- | Engine 602 || || || || || 212 Augusta St. |- | Engines 603 and 604 || || || MABAS Division 11 Air Support Unit || || 900 S. East Ave. |} ==== Police and Crime ==== The village is protected by the Oak Park Police Department employing roughly 118 officers, with 23 sworn officers per 10,000 residents.<ref>{{cite news |title=Oak Park to hire more cops |url=https://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/2-13-2018/Oak-Park--to-hire-more-cops/ |work=www.oakpark.com |access-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-date=July 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702203701/https://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/2-13-2018/Oak-Park--to-hire-more-cops/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2019, Oak Park's reported violent crime rate per 100,000 residents was 298, 28% lower than that of Illinois as a whole. The reported property crime rate, at 3,047, was 50% higher.<ref>{{cite web |title=2019 Crime in the United States - Table 8 - Illinois - Offenses Known to Law Enforcement by City |url=https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/tables/table-8/table-8-state-cuts/illinois.xls |website=FBI Criminal Justice Information Servies Division |access-date=September 15, 2021 |language=en |archive-date=October 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006132917/https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/tables/table-8/table-8-state-cuts/illinois.xls |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2019 Crime in the United States - Table 4 - Crime in the United States by Region, Geographic Division, and State, 2018β2019 |url=https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/tables/table-4 |website=FBI Criminal Justice Information Servies Division |access-date=September 15, 2021 |language=en |archive-date=September 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927180707/https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/tables/table-4 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020 the village experienced a ten percent increase in reported crimes, including more thefts, robberies, and aggravated assaults/batteries, but fewer burglaries, compared to 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=Police release 2020 crime statistics |url=https://www.oak-park.us/newsletters/marchapril-2021/police-release-2020-crime-statistics |website=Village of Oak Park |date=February 25, 2021 |access-date=September 15, 2021 |language=en |archive-date=September 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916040955/https://www.oak-park.us/newsletters/marchapril-2021/police-release-2020-crime-statistics |url-status=live }}</ref>
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