The Oak Park Village Board’s leaf-bagging decision is a slap in the face to voters who overwhelmingly oppose it, and I for one will vote accordingly. Wednesday Journal, though, also has failed us. Your coverage has been meek and shallow. The story reporting the board’s final vote was buried inside the newspaper.
Your stories repeatedly allow village officials to claim there are annual leaf-pile fires; when and where did those happen? A quick internet search turns up nothing except the now-infamous fire in November 2023. You allow them to claim concerns about child safety, but are there any data to support those claims? There has been no report of such an accident. Those village officials also claim parking, biking, and flooding concerns. Again, where and when and how severe?
Wednesday Journal is an award-winning newspaper. It is time to step up and do your job.
Stephan Benzkofer
Oak Park