W E D N E S D A Y
August 13, 2025 Vol. 46, No. 7
1980 - 2025
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J URNAL WJ45
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of Oak Park and River Forest
West Sub in financial crisis, says owner on same day Weiss is closed By DAN HALEY
Goal to increase housing affordability by adding some density
Interim Editor
See WEST SUB on page 12
Page 3
Eliminating single family zoning up for discussion
State reps Ford and Lilly commit to seeking state financial help
On the same day that Weiss Memorial Hospital in Uptown was closed by Resilience Healthcare, its owner Dr. Manoj Prasad attended a press conference at West Suburban Hospital in Oak Park where he was flanked by two West Side state representatives who said they would work to secure more state aid for the struggling safety net hospital. Prasad said the two hospitals had been in crisis for the past four months initially due to a difficult conversion in its billing system which left two-thirds of its potential revenue unbilled and then by severe issues with its air conditioning systems as summer heat arrived. That problem was called “catastrophic” at Weiss and led to severe overheating and the hospital’s inpatient rooms being closed several weeks ago. After the federal Center for Medicare Services took the rare step of terminating Weiss’ participation in Medicaid
St. Edmund school for sale
By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter
TODD BANNOR
Oak Park is making progress towards one of the village board’s most ambitious goals. On several occasions in recent months, multiple village trustees have spoken of a desire to eliminate the single-family only zones from Oak Park’s zoning map in an effort to create more “missing middle” housing in the village. The board took a step towards that goal at its Aug. 5 board meeting by approving a contract with Opticos Design to study what remaking Oak Park’s zoning policy will look like. Jennifer Settle, Opticos’ Chicago office leader, is an Oak Park native, and the firm has a well-versed understanding of Oak Park through other projects it’s completed in the
CLOUDED DIAGNOSIS: West Suburban Hospital CEO Dr. Manoj Prasad speaks at a press conference at the hospital on August 8.
See ZONING on page 14
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