The Forest Park Community Center is one of the village’s idiosyncratic gems. Through the loving care of two long-term directors, the not-fancy facility on Desplaines Avenue has become a hub of small-town connection for little ones and families, elders, kids after school, organizations, and anyone in need.

This week, we report the retirement of Karen Dylewski. She has served as the center’s director for nearly 20 years. She has worked for village government for 25 years.

Dylewski worked hard in helping, by solving problems, by keeping a low profile. She never sought coverage of her efforts, always turning the attention to those who volunteer or have a need to be filled. 

As the village council honored her at its last meeting with a proclamation, it was really the heartfelt comments and stories from the mayor, commissioners and village administrator that told the story of Dylewski and her service.

Karen Dylewski is one of those Forest Parkers who rise up from this village to embody its loving and connecting values, who always welcomes, who, as Mister Rogers liked to talk about, is a helper.

Failing leadership

There’s something wrong at village hall. 

A lack of leadership from Mayor Rory Hoskins. A lack of trust among commissioners. And something stronger than that between some commissioners and department heads.

And while somehow, during a testy council meeting in late January, the council managed to back into the unanimous passage of necessary updates to commercial building codes, it all still felt dysfunctional.

In what has become typical, commissioners Michelle Melin-Rogovin and Jessica Voogd continued to express doubts about the recommendations of Steve Glinke, the public safety and building department chief, and the village-paid consulting firm, over aspects of the code changes. 

The more dramatic tension during the meeting involved the mayor, when Commissioner Ryan Nero criticized Hoskins for his lack of involvement in discussions. Sounding a lot like a Review editorial, Nero said the problem was Hoskins’ lack of leadership, his near-perpetual silence during meetings, or any attempt on his part to create consensus on major issues. That ended suddenly when Hoskins had Nero’s microphone shut off. 

Commissioner Maria Maxham then raised a red flag, when she said the lack of action by the council on issues like updating commercial building codes or residential zoning changes had brought economic development to a halt in Forest Park. 

“We are suffering financially in ways that I don’t think this village has ever seen, and I don’t think most people in the community are aware that we’re in a really desperate situation,” Maxham said.

There’s the news out of the meeting. And it is past time for this mayor and council to resolve their internal issues and focus on the big, and gloomier, picture.