The $150 Million Village Hall / “Municipal Campus”: Decisions impacting community affordability and safety

The project, variously referred to as the “New Village Hall,” “New Civic Center,” or “Municipal Campus,” comes with a staggering price tag of approximately $150 million—funded entirely by your tax dollars. For the average Oak Park homeowner, this means at least a 25% increase in annual property taxes for every household for decades. And yet, it is unnecessary.

Most residents spend less than five minutes a year at Village Hall, a number that will likely decrease as more services move online. Meanwhile, well over $2 million has already been spent on this project, with multiple architects involved with no progress. This has delayed and complicated the urgent and well established need to replace our outdated police facility.

Oak Park’s police department is experiencing a 30% staffing gap, in part because the current facility makes it harder to recruit new officers. This directly impacts community safety. Instead of pursuing an extravagant municipal campus, I will prioritize what truly matters—ensuring a modern, functional police facility that strengthens public safety for all.

I highlighted these concerns in the Wednesday Journal article on July 11, 2023

Leaf Disposal: Listening to resident concerns key to defining solutions and managing change

The decision to switch to a bagged leaf disposal method affects most Oak Park households, with a particularly disproportionate impact on seniors and residents with disabilities. While the Village Board has the authority to make this change, I have always believed that residents should have a say in such significant decisions—rather than simply being subjected to them. That’s why I articulated my concerns in a Wednesday Journal article on May 7, 2024, and advocated for a referendum at the board table.

In stark contrast, during the March 12, 2024, board meeting, President Scaman unilaterally declared that street sweeping was “broken” and that “leaf bagging is the way we’re going to go.” Rather than engaging residents, she directed the board discussion and staff action toward immediate implementation. Instead of seeking public input, the Village launched an “education” campaign promoting the benefits of leaf bagging—effectively treating the decision as final.

Only after overwhelming community outrage did she reverse her vote unsuccessfully to delay the change. Yet she now falsely claims she was always seeking resident input. The record tells a different story. The March 12 Village Board meeting video and a Wednesday Journal article from January 7, 2025, provide clear, irrefutable evidence of what actually happened.

Regardless of where one stands on the leaf bagging policy itself, we can all agree that the process President Scaman followed lacked transparency and disregarded resident concerns. Oak Park deserves better.

With the Village’s January 28 Fall Leaf Collection Metrics and Insights Report for 2024, it is clear ignoring citizens is still a huge problem.  On page 4 of the report it presents data on leaf tonnage collected.  In 2023, it was 2196 tons, and in 2024, it dropped to 580 tons.  There was extensive discussion of the cost savings associated with this large decrease, from Village labor to diesel fuel, but there was zero discussion of the direct implication of that 1616 ton, 73% drop.  That 73%, 1616 tons of leaf disposal in 2024, was left to residents.  There was no attempt to mention, let alone estimate, the resulting labor and dollar cost to Oak Parkers.  Unless we believe that 73% of total annual Oak Park leaf fall is now in our flower beds, residents had to also personally pay for removal of whatever isn’t.  For all this, each homeowner was compensated with a one-time $29.04 credit on their water bill.

 In 2024, we didn’t save a dime on LRS disposal services to remove 27% of the leaves disposed of in 2023.  But even armed with this new knowledge, the report states that there will be no change in LRS charges for 2025!  What a sweet deal for LRS, lousy deal for the Village, and worst of all for residents bearing the brunt of this change.  

Pay increase for Village President: Ravi pledges to donate his pay raise to community organizations

I opposed the ~60% pay raise for Village President for the reasons articulated in the Wednesday Journal article from October 29, 2024.  

As Village President I will donate my pay raise to organizations that in some way improve the quality of life for Oak Park residents. This would include food and housing, sustainability, economic development and early childhood education.  Worthy candidates would include Beyond Hunger, Housing Forward, The Day Nursery, New Moms to mention a few.

The Percy Julian Home $1million “Set-aside”: Oak Park deserves a transparent process

Dr. Percy Julian’s groundbreaking contributions to science deserves recognition, and Oak Park has honored his legacy by naming both a middle school and now a business district after him. However, the future of his home in Oak Park warrants thoughtful discussion, community input, and transparency. It is also important to clarify the Village’s role in this pursuit which is typically handled by private foundations.

Despite this, President Scaman unilaterally “set aside” $1 million in taxpayer dollars for the property—without resident input, board discussion, or a clear plan—through a motion made after the public hearing on the 2025 Village Budget. This motion failed to outline how or for what purpose these funds would be used. Meanwhile, the property carries an unpaid tax liability of $169,000, raising further concerns about fiscal responsibility and oversight.

There is a detailed and informative Wednesday Journal article on this topic published on December 23, 2024