W E D N E S D A Y
April 30, 2025 Vol. 45, No. 43
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Special Section
of Oak Park and River Forest
Page B1
Julian streetscape takes shape More vetting, no voting on village hall
Design consultants debut concepts for Percy Julian streetscape project By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter
Oak Park’s plan to honor the legacy of trailblazing scientist Percy Julian with an installation on Chicago Avenue is beginning to come together. Oak Parkers were asked to give feedback on design concepts for the Percy Julian streetscape project, a corridor along Chicago Avenue from East Avenue to Austin Boulevard. The project will include artwork and installations paying tribute to Julian, a groundbreaking chemist whose accomplishments include first-of-its-kind soybean research that pioneered bioplastics, hormonebased medications and cortisone treatments. One of the most successful African American scientists of all time, Julian obtained over 130 chemical patents over the course of his career. Residents provided feedback on the concepts at a village hall open house on April 22, voting on what elements of the proposals most appealed to them. The corridor will stretch along Chicago Avenue from Austin Boulevard to the Julian home on East Avenue, with different sections of the street dedicated to different aspects of Julian’s life. The project will also involve elements of Oak Park’s “Vision Zero” traffic safety plan, including by widening pedestrian crossings on the street. Architectural design firm Planning Resources Incorporated, real estate firm Prescott Group and engineering group TERRA Engineering are all serving as village consultants on the project. See PERCY JULIAN on page 8
When it is presented this summer, expect three proposals at three price points By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter
PROVIDED
JULIAN CORRIDOR: Giving a local trailblazer his due with a Chicago Avenue streetscape.
Building Community since 1993
There has been another delay in presenting architectural and financing plans for a new Oak Park police station and the large-scale renovation of village hall. This delay, likely until well into the summer, will push the discussion past the term of the currently constituted village board and leave it to the next village board (beginning the first week of May) to evaluate and decide. Plans had been for the current board, which has been working on this project for two years, to have an opportunity to discuss the latest incarnation of the work before they leave office. With that goal in mind, a meeting was set for March 18, which was delayed until April 30. Around the time residents expected to be able to view that meeting’s agenda last Friday afternoon, the village announced that the meeting had been cancelled and that the proSee VILLAGE HALL on page 14
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