an elected board. In November 1952 voters approved this plan by a three-to- one margin. Today the community is still governed by this efficient system. Few villagers were prepared for the tur- moil of the sixties and seventies as the country endured assassinations, riots, the war in Vietnam and turmoil on col- lege campuses. Closer to home, a wave of panic peddling in neighboring Austin changed the racial makeup of that com- munity from white to African-American almost overnight. All of these events made Oak Parkers reassess their values. And one of the things most people agreed on was that, if change was coming, they would man- age that change and not have it manage them. At a time when the minority popu- lation in Oak Park was less than one per- cent elected officials and citizens chose to constructively meet the challenge of integration head on. The creation of a Community Relations Commission, Oak Park’s 1968 Open Housing Ordinance and the Village’s landmark 1973 policy statement, “Main- taining Diversity in Oak Park”, were the opening salvos in the village’s battle against segregated housing. Today Af-
rican-Americans represent 22 percent of Oak Park’s population. The seventies also brought a reawak- ening of interest in Oak Park’s diverse architectural heritage. Today Oak Park’s three National Historic Districts that in- clude venues of national interest includ- ing Unity Temple, the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio and Ernest Heming- way Birthplace and Museum and Oak Park Conservatory attract thousands of visitors from around the globe to Oak Park each year. In 1984 the Village Board took a stand against handgun violence when they passed an ordinance forbidding private ownership of handguns within the com- munity. In 1994, trustees passed a Do- mestic Partnership Ordinance followed three years later by an ordinance to es- tablish a Domestic Partnership Registry in Village Hall. The past decade has seen a dramatic increase in new residential construction as well as the upgrading of Oak Park’s aging housing stock. Homeowners in record numbers are investing in their homes with improvements that ranged from new porches to 2-story additions and total interior renovation.
Other improvements in the quality of
life for Oak Park residents include a new Oak Park Public Library, renovation of the Dole Learning Center and the addition of the new Urban Horticultural Center to the Oak Park Conservatory. In addition, the Village Board is working to encour- age appropriate economic growth and redevelopment in Downtown Oak Park and the village’s ten other business dis- tricts. -Jean Guarino
FamOus Oak Parkers Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of “Tarzan”
Ernest Hemingway, Nobel & Pulitzer Prize author
Doris Humphrey, Modern Dance Pioneer
Percy Julian, chemist whose research led to the development of the birth control pill and the drug Cortisone
Joseph Kerwin, astronaut on first NASA Skylab team
Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald’s Corp.
Marjorie Judith Vincent, 1991 Miss America
Frank Lloyd Wright, Prairie School Architect
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14 2011-2012 Oak Park River Forest Chamber of Commerce Community Guide
www.oprfchamber.org
OAK PARK: AT A GLANCE
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