Franklin Avenue Closure, Community Blood Drive, Veterans Day Ceremony and More!

Thursday, November 10, 2022

Dear River Forest residents,

Veterans Day is tomorrow, November 11. I would like to thank all of our military, both past and present, for their service to our country. I would also like to honor those veterans who currently serve the Village including: Fire Chief Tom Gaertner, Police Sergeant Michael Swierczynski, Firefighters Matthew Krall and Brian McKenna and Water Operator Mike Thomasino. The Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest will be hosting a special Veterans Day Ceremony tomorrow at 11 a.m. More information about the event can be found in the article below.

At Monday’s Village Board meeting, the Board will consider approval of a contract for an engineering firm to perform an electric vehicle infrastructure study. The goal of the study is to identify locations for electric vehicle charging stations and related improvements. The Village is committed to making electric vehicle charging more convenient for residents and will explore grant funding for future projects.

The Board will also consider the estimate of the 2022 Property Tax Levy. The proposed property tax increase on existing property will be 4%, well below consumer price index figures hovering at nearly 8%. Although the impact on individual homeowners will vary, the average increase in the corporate levy for individual homeowners should be less than 3.7% total. This levy of 3.7% is only for the Village operations which represents a little over 11% of your tax bill. In other words, if your property tax bill is $1, the Village only collects 11 cents, the schools (D90, D200 and Triton) collect 72 cents, Cook County collects five cents and the rest of the remaining dollar is made up of Park District, Library, Township and Water Reclamation districts. River Forest’s composite tax rate compares favorably to other nearby communities, and the Village continues to look for economic development opportunities to further stabilize property taxes for all residents.

Finally, Winter Preparedness Week is Tuesday, November 15 through Saturday, November 19 this year. Please take a moment to stock your first-aid kits and make sure your homes are winterized. A list of winter weather health and safety tips can be found here.

Sincerely,

Cathy Adduci, Village President

Village of River Forest

Franklin Avenue Closure - Friday, November 11

Franklin Avenue between Vine Street and the alley just north of Madison Street, will be temporarily closed for portions of Friday this week and on a rolling basis next week. This closure is required for the sewer connection to be made for the adjacent Alley Reconstruction Project. To minimize future impacts, the contractor will also install a sewer connection for the alley to the east, which will be reconstructed next spring. Though the closure will be minimized as much as possible, there is a significant amount of work to be completed. The work will be stopped at the end of the day, at which time the roadway will be reopened. Drivers are encouraged to utilize Vine and Madison to Park or Ashland as a detour.

Property Tax Bills

The second installment of property tax bills is expected to arrive around Thanksgiving. Once property tax bills have been received, residents will have 30 days to submit payments. For assistance with property tax bills, or for more information, click here.

Congratulations to Eagle Scout

James Panton

Last month, resident James Panton was sworn in as an Eagle Scout. For his Eagle Scout Project, James built a tennis storage cabinet at Walther Christian Academy to provide tennis equipment for underserved community members. Great job James!

WaterSmart Portal

Join more than 300 of your neighbors that have already joined WaterSmart! The Village's online portal makes it easy to access a number of services without ever leaving your home! You can pay utility bills online - including your water bill, thanks to the new WaterSmart Portal. Applications for building permits, service requests, commuter parking payments and more can also be accessed online! To see the full range of online services, click here.

LIHEAP

Stay current on your ComEd bill with help from the Illinois Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Residents who need financial assistance are able to apply now through March 31, 2023. This program is open to eligible residents on a first-come, first-served basis while funds are available. An application to determine if you qualify can be found here.

Historical Society of Oak Park River Forest Veterans Day Ceremony

All veterans, their families and friends, and local residents are invited to attend the annual Veterans Day ceremony hosted by the Historical Society of Oak Park River Forest on Friday, November 11 in the Ballroom of the Nineteenth Century Building. The ceremony begins at 11:00 a.m. More information can be found here.

Community Blood Drive

Save a life this holiday season! Join The First Presbyterian Church of River Forest on Monday, November 28, from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. for a Community Blood Drive in partnership with the American Red Cross.

Someone in the U.S. needs blood every two seconds and your donation could help cancer patients, premature babies, trauma victims or organ donation recipients. Sign up now at redcrossblood.org and use sponsor code FIRSTPRESRF. If you have questions, please call the church office at 708-366-5822.

Conserve Water!

Conserving water is easy - consider ordering a rain barrel to capture and store rainwater coming off your roof. Captured water can be used for your lawn, garden or household plants, and also reduces stormwater runoff and strain on sewer systems during major storm events. Learn more here.

Using other water-saving techniques can save you money and divert less water from our rivers and other water sources, which helps the environment! Click here to learn about different ways to conserve water.

River Forest Business Spotlight!

Contact Gagliardo Realty Associates for all of your real estate needs! They have more than 30 licensed realtors who are highly-recognized and respected in River Forest and the greater Chicagoland area. Learn more at https://gagliardogrp.com/.

Please support local businesses whenever possible! You can find a listing of River Forest businesses on the Village’s website. If you’d like your business to be featured in the weekly Business Spotlight, please send us an email.