Oak Park Trustee Proposes Honorary Street For Val Cammiletti

OAK PARK, IL — There's no denying that Val Camilletti, the late owner of Val's halla Records, was part of the heart and soul of Oak Park. One village trustee is aiming to make that link official by getting a street named in the local legend's honor.

Oak Park Trustee Deno Andrews announced on August 1 that he planned to present the village board with a proposal to name part of South Blvd. or Harrison St. after Camilletti. Andrews reached out to Oak Parkers for feedback on social media ahead of the meeting.

He asked for residents to weigh in on whether the honorary street name should be on South Blvd. between Euclid and Oak Park Ave., where the first Val's halla Records was located or on Harrison St. near the current store's location.

Andrews also proposed some potential street names, including "Val Cammilletti Way.," "Val's Halla Blvd.," and "Val's Way."

Residents, eager to honor Camilletti's life and legacy, took to the comments section of Facebook to weigh in on Andrews proposal. Many liked the idea of "Val's Way" in the location near Camilletti's first store.

Camilletti died on July 24, following a two-year bout with breast cancer. She was 78.

Days after Camilletti's death, hundreds flocked to Val's Halla Records to celebrate the shop's 46th anniversary and to honor her impact on the Oak Park community and music lovers far and wide. A GoFundMe was started to help keep Val's halla Records afloat after Camilletti's death. In less than two weeks it had raised more than $10,000.

Image via GoFundMe; Patch is a GoFundMe partner