In many ways, Oak Park and River Forest are as different as apples and oranges. The former is a microcosm of Chicago, with abundant commercial property, ample multifamily housing and a heterogeneous population; the latter, a homogeneous bedroom community with large, single-family homes and few businesses.
Nonetheless, Oak Park and River Forest have a long history of cooperation that began in the 1920s, when the two towns were growing in parallel fashion. They shared a common stop on the Chicago & North Western railroad line and a shopping district around Lake Street and Harlem Avenue.
Today, Oak Park and River Forest have independent governments, but their public works, police and fire departments have close, cooperative
relationships. And residents of the two towns share a variety of recreational facilities and service organizations.
”We need to work together because we are neighbors and have much in common; somewhere in the past, the towns realized that there were many things they could do better together than separately,” says Rev. Robert Sorenson, president of the Oak Park-River Forest Community of Churches, a 65-year-old group of about 30 congregations that sponsors religious activities and social services.
”There are some people who feel a rivalry between the two towns, but there has been considerable change over the last 10 years due to the almighty dollar, which says, `You will cooperate and get along because you can`t afford not to,` ” observes Cricket Porter, executive director of the Community Chest of Oak Park and River Forest, which raises funds for 12 human-service organizations.
”I`ve noticed more and more that the two towns are cooperating,” says James G. Locke, executive director of the Oak Park-River Forest Chamber of Commerce. ”They both have general interests in being stable and viable.”
They`re tied together in their common educational interests for their children. Also, I think there`s an appreciation that some problems Oak Park has been facing over the last few decades are now facing River Forest, such as economic development.”
Oak Park-River Forest High School, which has students from both communities, epitomizes the spirit of cooperation between the towns, many residents say.
”It`s the most significant institution that binds the villages together; it`s the institution in which we have the largest mutual investment–our children`s future,” says Leah Marcus, former president of the school`s Board of Education.
Cooperation is also evident in the many social-service organizations Oak Park and River Forest share.
”I`ve experienced much cooperation between the two towns in terms of human services; they`re unique in that they`re open to examine issues and don`t deny that problems exist,” says Donald Woolf, executive director of the Family Service and Mental Health Center of Oak Park and River Forest, a mental health and substance-abuse counseling agency.
One problem the communities have tackled is hunger. The Community of Churches` Hunger Task Force has operated a food pantry for needy Oak Park and River Forest residents for the last 10 years.
”There seemed to be a lot of people needing food,” says Pat Koko, Hunger Task Force coordinator. ”A lot of churches were trying to meet the need on an individual basis. It made more sense to collect all the food in one place.”
Located in Oak Park`s Faith United Methodist Church, 171 N. Cuyler Ave., the food pantry offers free meat, bread and canned goods to 20 to 30 families each week. Some 30 Oak Park and River Forest congregations donate the groceries, which volunteers distribute. The pantry also gives food baskets to the needy for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.
Oak Park and River Forest residents have raised more than $33,000 for world hunger organizations through 10-kilometer Hunger Walks in the last two years.
”Hunger is an issue that doesn`t divide people–it unites them,” Koko observes.
Another cooperative venture between the two towns is ASSIST, a nonprofit network of volunteers providing services unavailable elsewhere, such as rides to the doctor or emergency child care. The Community of Churches also sponsors the group, which runs a 24-hour phone hot line.
Oak Park and River Forest residents work together closely in fundraising activities for the towns` joint Community Chest, an independent United Way agency. Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, the organization raised $425,000 last year for Oak Park and River Forest mental health and child-development agencies, organizations serving the elderly and groups such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.
More than 200 Oak Park and River Forest volunteers participate in the Community Chest`s annual fundraising campaign, which begins with a ”Chest Fest,” an outdoor auction featuring entertainment and food from local restaurants. The organization collects additional money through phone and mail soliciting.
More than 300 volunteers from both towns work cooperatively to raise funds for the Oak Park-River Forest Infant Welfare Society, which provides free medical, dental and psychological services to needy children from infancy to age 19. The 70-year-old organization operates a clinic at 14 W. Lake St., Oak Park, with a paid, part-time staff of four pediatricians, three dentists, a social worker and several nurses.
Infant Welfare Society volunteers assist clinic professionals and donate blankets, hand-knit garments, diapers, clothes, toys and supplies to the needy. Each year they raise $50,000 to $70,000 by charging admission to an American Society of Interior Decorators Showcase House, an Oak Park or River Forest home decorated for the public to view. The Infant Welfare Society donates some of its funds to other local agencies, such as the Oak Park-River Forest Day Nursery and the Community Nursing Service.
The towns also cooperate to help older children. The Oak Park-River Forest Youth Network Council consists of more than 30 youth-service agencies including schools, social-service groups, the police departments and private organizations. The council meets monthly.
Though each town has separate programs for senior citizens, they share the Senior Citizens` Center of Oak Park and River Forest, also known as the Farson-Mills House, 217 Home Ave., Oak Park. Volunteers there teach oil painting, quilting, wood carving, chair caning, jewelry making, weaving, ceramics and needlework.
Just as they work together in human-service ventures, Oak Park and River Forest residents cooperate in sports. The towns have a joint Community Athletic Association that sponsors baseball and soccer leagues serving 2,200 preteen and teenage youngsters. About 350 Oak Park and River Forest volunteers serve as coaches for the teams.
”We`re just a bunch of athletic nuts that like to work with youth soccer and baseball,” says Vince Dierkes, the association`s commissioner and the one who organized the first youth baseball teams 36 years ago.
The Oak Park-River Forest Pony League, a baseball group for 13- and 14-year-old boys, has participated 16 times in the national Pony League`s World Series, a competition including teams from across the nation. The team won the 1960 World Series and took third place in 1984 and 1985.
Dierkes says he sees cooperation rather than rivalry between Oak Park and River Forest youngsters playing baseball and soccer.
”The two towns have quite a difference financially, but that makes no difference in sports,” he says. ”The kids forget that one is driving a Jaguar (to baseball or soccer practice) and one is riding a bike if they`re on the same team.”
In addition to sharing sports teams, Oak Park and River Forest have a common chamber of commerce, with some 600 business and professional members. Now celebrating its 90th anniversary, the chamber provides information about both communities to new residents and encourages economic development by helping local businesses communicate with one another.
The chamber sponsors educational programs at Oak Park and River Forest schools to inform students about how business operates and how to get jobs. This summer it will host its first Taste of Oak Park, a festival featuring specialties from area restaurants and entertainment.
Because Oak Park has four times more people than River Forest, it serves as headquarters for most organizations the two communities share. Some River Forest residents object to this situation. Others say that Oak Park is insensitive to River Forest`s needs.
”Oak Park has been a very progressive community over the years in social programs, and River Forest has not taken the same progressive attitude,” says River Forest Village President Thomas Cusack Jr.
”Oak Park can take over the joint programs we get into and doesn`t always take into account the different philosophical outlook River Forest may have,” says George A. Gregg, River Forest Township trustee. ”I think there`s improvement as Oak Park tries to be more sensitive to River Forest, but they don`t always want to listen to the conservative viewpoint, even though they`re happy to take our money. . . . We in River Forest sometimes contribute more than we get back in terms of service.”
But Oak Park Village President Clifford Osborn observes: ”I can`t think of any instance where we`ve moved ahead without some degree of conferring
(with River Forest). I wouldn`t say the towns are close, but we try to communicate on an open basis.” If we`re doing something in Oak Park, we try to let them know in River Forest in case it has any impact on them.”
