W E D N E S D A Y
March 25, 2026 Vol. 46, No. 38
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JOURNAL
SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Easter guide
of Oak Park and River Forest
@oakpark
Page 13
Voters sink Park District proposal for indoor pool
Park leader says Ridgeland Common ‘nostalgia’ on display as new indoor pool rejected by over 75% of voters By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter
strategy was not to raise millions of dollars and carpet the neighborhoods with mailers, but to focus on the people he has met in the 7th Congressional District,
Oak Park voters overwhelmingly rejected the Park District of Oak Park’s proposal to raise millions for a new indoor pool in the village. The measure failed March 17 in a landslide defeat, with more than 76% of Oak Park voters voting “no” on the referendum question. Just under 16,900 Oak Parkers voted on the issue, good for a 40% turnout in the village as Democratic primary elections for U.S. senator and U.S. representative drove people to the polls. Oak Park had the largest turnout of any suburban Cook County referendum election,
See FORD WINS on page 8
See POOL on page 10
TODD BANNOR
La Shawn Ford election night victory party on March 17
Ford wins 7th, beats big money State rep stuck to ground game as PACS piled on in 7th District By BILL DWYER Contributing Reporter
As boxer Mike Tyson famously said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.”
When La Shawn Ford got punched in the face — or more aptly, hit below the belt — by a multi-million dollar attack ad campaign by cryptocurrency interests, he hit back. But he stayed on plan. He had insisted since last fall that his campaign
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