There has rightly been a lot of coverage about the fiscal cliff that has faced every public transit agency in the Chicago metro area. There were plenty of machinations in Springfield, most recently during the now-ended fall veto session. Just a week back, it seemed as if the combo of transit reform and added funding was about dead.
It got resurrected in the final hours of the session. So now there will be both reform – with the end of the RTA and arrival of a new oversight agency – and necessary funding.
Deep within that funding plan is a major win for Forest Park and its mayor, Rory Hoskins. The Mayor has been lobbying for multiple years to secure state reimbursement for the escalating number of ambulance runs the village makes to the Blue Line terminal on Desplaines Avenue. And he got it included in the bill.
The village estimates it has spent nearly $1 million annually the past couple of years sending paramedics to the el station. That doesn’t include the cost of police response. That is a major cost to a small village which is always counting nickels.
So kudos to Hoskins for building his political alliances in state government and working them effectively for this very fair and necessary revenue source for Forest Park.
Pocket parks honored
We’ve been touting the meaningful collaboration between Forest Park’s village government and the park district on remaking the long-ignored pocket parks for a long time.
Nice to see these entities, which have not always played well together, being recognized by the Illinois Association of Park Districts with its Best of the Best Award for intergovernmental cooperation.
Representatives of both the village and parks were present on Oct. 24 to accept the award for what they have jointly accomplished.
Four small but lovely park spaces have now bloomed across the village. The village has long owned these parks but did little but cut the grass. The long-term lease deal gave the park district, which had both the financial resources and the expert talent, the incentive to invest in these neighborhood parks.
The upgrades are like night and day. And when we spend time in Forest Park, it is plain to see that our neighbors have found these newly polished jewels.
How now Brown Cow?
A final thanks to Connie Brown, the founder of the Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor. This week, she is turning over the ownership of the iconic gathering space to new proprietors.
Good for her in recognizing the business needed new talent and energy and then steering it into the hands of two couples who will move it ahead while, we hope, nurturing the deep community ties this place h
