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MatchMaker details inside on page 40
W E D N E S D A Y
Vol. 46, No. 20
1980 - 2025
$2.00 @wednesdayjournalinc
J URNAL WJ45
November 12, 2025
@wednesdayjournal
@oakpark
of Oak Park and River Forest
OPRF High School construction on the site of the old field house.
OPRF OKs ‘recapture’ of $2.1M in past taxes PROVIDED
Contributing Reporter
The then president of the Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 Board of Education used to brag about how much money the district left in the pockets of taxpayers by not levying the
maximum allowable property tax. Now those days lauded by Tom Cofsky appear to be over. With the district spending $44.2 million from its reserves for the Project 2 construction project and borrowing another $45.3 million in debt certificates that must be paid back from the school’s operating funds going forward,
Page 4
Oak Park board to vote on pepper ball investigation
Citizen Police Oversight Committee could oversee investigation into Halloween use of force
With special ed costs rising, district moves to increase funds it didn’t previously levy By BOB SKOLNIK
Good buzz about The Buzz
By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN Staff Reporter
OPRF is entering a new financial world. By a vote of 5-2 on Nov. 6, the OPRF school board gave tentative approval to the maximum allowable levy for this year. At the same time, it decided to use a relatively new state law that allows
Oak Park’s board of trustees will vote on if it will direct the village’s Citizen’s Police Oversight Committee to investigate the use of pepper balls during the multi-agency police response to downtown Oak Park on Halloween night.
See OPRF TAXES on page 22
See PEPPER BALL on page 22