Oak Lawn Village Officials continue to ignore youth and seniors

OAK LAWN, IL — Per an article in today’s Daily Southtown, Fall on the Green will be limited to those 18 and older for the September 2022 event. As quoted in the article, Village Manager Tom Phelan stated, “Teens and sadly tweens have become more disruptive, almost dangerous.”

In 2015, Girl Scout Troop 60162 (8th graders at Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School at the time) met with then Mayor Bury with their concerns about the lack of events and spaces for teens and tweens to socialize in positive ways. One of their concerns was the lack of any activities or events for teens at Fall on the Green.

Well, seven years have passed, and this particular issue remains unaddressed. Fortuitously, last week I completed a FOIA request for the detailed Fall on the Green budgets for 2019 and 2021. Here are some numbers for Oak Lawn residents to consider.

Fall on the Green 2021 costs included $27,000 in entertainment (primarily bands and for the beer tent). Costs for children’s events (face painter, balloon artist, etc.) were $17,500. There was no line item in the budget specific to the tween/teen crowd, most of whom likely did not need a balloon animal. The sponsor hospitality tent (sponsorships brought in $208,000) incurred a cost of $14,745. Organizers spent almost the same amount on a food and drink tent for sponsors as they spent on activities for children.

The Fall on the Green 2021 event netted over $132,000. That’s correct; the event made money. So where were activities which catered to our tweens and teens? Clearly there was some money available to provide some positive, engaging activities for this “disruptive, almost dangerous” population of Oak Lawn. Some of those monies could have been used for additional security if a concern exists for public safety. How about a karaoke area, an open mic night, a dance competition? An advisory group of teens and tweens would likely be happy to share ideas for not only Fall on the Green, but other village events.

Per the 2020 census, 21% of the Village population are under the age of 18. While they themselves do not pay taxes, their parents and guardians do. The Village also recently canceled the Farmers’ Market, abandoning yet another family-oriented event which could have been expanded and improved upon.

How are our elected Village officials and Village Manager working to make Oak Lawn a friendly and welcoming environment for our families with children, tweens, and teens?

Yes, we have lovely parks. And many thanks to the Oak Lawn Park District for being fiscally responsible so they may upgrade and maintain wonderful parks for all to enjoy. But the Village also needs to do its part to make the Village welcoming to families.

Fall on the Green will now just be a spectacle of public intoxication and, at least according to Facebook posts today on the Oak Lawn Talk of the Town page, a public nuisance for the neighborhood in the surrounding area.

The Village mayor and trustees need to ensure we consider all ages when planning events for the residents of Oak Lawn. It’s time for the citizens of Oak Lawn to communicate concerns with Mayor Vorderer and the Village Trustees. Email your concerns, make phone calls, attend Village Board meetings. These representatives need to hear from all of us about our concerns. And the Mayor and Trustees need to respond to constituents. (I have yet to receive a reply to my email of 3/14/22 to Mayor Vorderer and Ralph Soch regarding promised updates to the Village website).

Please read my next op-ed for information on how the Village of Oak Lawn continues to fail our senior citizens with a decade-long run-around for a Senior Center.