The ”Chicagoland” section of the June 1 Tribune contained a story that made reference to ”a neighborhood of shabby multifamily homes along Dogwood Street in Park Forest.” The area referred to is one of five independent housing cooperatives that provide approximately 3,000 units of quality, occupant-owned residential housing to citizens of Park Forest.
As a village trustee and a director of one of the housing cooperatives in Park Forest, I am outraged over this derogatory reference to our townhome neighborhood. Far from shabby, the area is one in which numerous residents annually receive municipal ”beautification” awards, one in which ongoing building maintenance programs–such as window replacement, sandblasting, tuckpointing and re-roofing–are being undertaken at annual costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars and one in which several people who are active with our village`s various boards, commissions and community organizations reside. I cannot believe that The Tribune would so flippantly describe the area as
”shabby.”
I am aware that a subsequent edition of The Tribune published a
”clarification” regarding the use of the word. Somehow I find that less than sufficient to undo the harm that was done.
