W E D N E S D A Y
February 18, 2026 Vol. 46, No. 33
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JOURNAL @oakpark
Remembering Frank Paris, longtime River Forest village president
of Oak Park and River Forest
Page 31
Avenue landlord says preservation ignored Oak Park board by Oak Park’s ‘Renew the Avenue’ project approves design direction for Village Hall renovation
Bushouse says area beneath Oak Park Avenue’s vaulted sidewalks should be preserved, considers lawsuit
Police station expected to cost north of $63 million, Village Hall renovations more than $26 million
By LACEY SIKORA and GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporters
James Bushouse isn’t happy about Oak Park’s Renew the Avenue project, the sewer and streetscape project that has long been planned for Oak Park Avenue, the street bisecting town. It’s not just that the street closures which will run through Thanksgiving will affect his tenants in the building he owns on the southeast corner of Oak Park Avenue and Lake Street. Bushouse also argues that the village is effectively practicing eminent domain in seeking to fill in the area beneath the vaulted sidewalks adjacent to his historic building with concrete. That, he says, will ruin a part of the village’s history that should be preserved. Bushouse is seeking support for his position from state historic preservation officials. But if that support does not come through, he is threatening to sue the vil-
By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter
TODD BANNOR
Scoville Building owner James Bushouse in the vault under the Oak Park Avenue sidewalk on Feb.12. lage to stop its plans. The massive and costly sewer and water system project has already begun on blocks north and south of the Hemingway District commercial area. The current timeline has construction beginning on the 100 blocks of North and South Oak Park Avenue in late March or early April.
Any delay could make it difficult to complete the work before the holiday shopping season which is critical to small businesses. The village had acknowledged in a January interview that there was no legal See SIDEWALKS on page 14
The future of Oak Park Village Hall and the long-promised standalone Oak Park Police headquarters came into sharper focus last week. A 5-2 majority of Oak Park’s board of trustees voted to give support to a construction plan that would see an addition built on to the south side of Village Hall that would house a new council chambers alongside a new building entryway and welcome desk. The plan puts construction costs for Village Hall renovations at an estimated $26.2 million on top of $63.7 million in expected construction See VILLAGE HALL on page 10
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