Oak Park officials are eying a bank building for a new police station and an addition at Village Hall for a new room for Village Board meetings.
Village trustees recently provided guidance on plans for improvements at Village Hall that include an addition on the south side of the building. Last week, the Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee backed a request from Oak Park to use “quick take” powers to take ownership of the U.S. Bank building at 11 Madison St.
Village trustees in January backed the use of “quick take” powers after talks with US Bank stalled. Quick take allows a governmental body to acquire private property for a public project before setting a final price. The move, however, requires approval of the state legislature and that the public body pay fair market value.
The village’s request is moving through the Illinois Senate and was scheduled for a second reading on March 10.
Estimates provided at a Feb. 10 village meeting indicate improvements at Village Hall, which also include upgrades to mechanical systems such as heating and cooling, could cost $26.2 million. A new police station would come in around $63.75 million.
Village trustees must still sign off on any final plans for any work at Village Hall or for a new police station.
Oak Park’s Village Hall is 50 years old and the police department has long outgrown its space in the building’s basement, officials said.
“Our police department needs to be a modern police department,” village President Vicki Scaman said.
Police Chief Shatonya Johnson said the cramped quarters present numerous challenges for her department. Evidence storage space is short, the department’s roll call room doubles as a lunch room and training space and space for police equipment storage is tight. While the current station has a practice firing range, it can only be used at night or on weekends, when Village Hall is not open to residents.
Johnson said a new building would provide enough space for a training room, a wellness room where officers can take a break or have lunch and proper storage space of equipment and evidence.
“Supporting officer wellness supports the community,” Johnson said.
A U.S. Bank representative in January objected to the village’s plans to use “quick take” powers to take ownership of the building. Although the bank sought to sell the building, it never planned to move out, the representative said during a January village board meeting. Rather, the bank had hoped to find a buyer that would lease the building back to them.
“We do not want to leave or be forced to leave Oak Park,” the official said in January.
However, in a news release, Oak Park officials noted that the bank had closed other locations within the village limits.
The village attempted to reach an agreement with the bank before moving to quick take. During those discussions, the property was appraised at $2.3 million, a price Scaman said the village is willing to pay.
“Our timeline is one that this is the most prudent way to proceed,” she said.
Alicia Fabbre is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
