Remarkable progress under President Scaman
Photo by Paul Goyette, in Oak Park Village Hall Council Chambers
by SUSAN BUCHANAN
January 21, 2025
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This letter is in response to Trustee Ravi Parakkat’s One View published in Viewpoints on Dec. 18 [A vision for change in Oak Park]. His characterization that the current village board has a “distracted agenda lacking focus and prioritization” is inaccurate.
Trustee Parakkat’s editorial starts by listing some important accomplishments by the current board, and I share his pride in our progress on those initiatives. We could not have reached this point without intense focus and intentional prioritization, led by our village president, Vicki Scaman.
President Scaman creates the board agendas with the village manager, based on shared board goals, staff feasibility, and strategic priorities chosen under her leadership. She prepares study sessions and facilitates board discussion so that, as trustees, we can come to the board table fully informed and make educated decisions. Having served under two village presidents and witnessed how village business can be stalled or ignored at the whim of the sitting president, I can say with confidence that President Scaman should receive enthusiastic kudos for the list in Trustee Parakkat’s letter, plus many more.
The village board discusses Flock cameras.
The Council Chambers during an Oak Park Village Board meeting.
He goes on to criticize the village’s response to the migrant crisis as “well-intentioned but inefficient.” This criticism is offensive to the numerous civic partners who worked together to solve the immediate needs of our community. Village staff put in extra hours, our Community of Congregations came together to extend resources, and President Scaman’s actions on the night migrants were dropped off in our police department lobby were heroic. The options to care for the migrants were few, and our village manager and his staff, as well as President Scaman’s work to get them immediately housed in her church’s basement, required out-of-the-box thinking.
The call to action from our community required a leader who has long-developed connections and has deep experience in coalition building — the families involved, and Oak Park, were truly lucky to have Vicki in her position at the right time. It is because of the diligence of village staff applying for grants and President Scaman’s persistent calls to the city of Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois state government, that the village’s ultimate financial expense was minimal.
Continuing with his letter, Ravi implies that the board discussions on whether to include a new village hall with the new police facility somehow affect the staffing of our police department. This is a gross mischaracterization. Public safety experts report police staffing shortages nationwide as a result of the pandemic, combined with the public response to the police murder of George Floyd. Oak Park’s police department has not escaped this trend.
Fortunately, Chief Shatonya Johnson has implemented multiple initiatives that are slowly showing results, and she projects increased staffing in the near future. Meanwhile, public safety has not been adversely affected. Importantly, President Scaman has advocated for the welfare of our police officers, including increased pay and benefits as well as a new facility.
Oak Park faces serious challenges that are not unique to an urban suburb. The current board, under President Scaman’s leadership, has made remarkable progress on critical issues facing our village. Our list of accomplishments is broad and deep, notwithstanding Trustee Parakkat’s negative assessment.
Susan Buchanan is an Oak Park village trustee.
This post was originally published on January 22, 2025 in the Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest
