2nd I-Gov AssemblyOak Park Elementary School District 97

Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200Oak Park Public Library

Oak Park TownshipPark District of Oak Park

Village of Oak Park

May 9, 2015

• Welcome and Call to Order: Ms. Andrea Ott• Roll Call – State Name and Taxing Body Officials: Ms. Andrea Ott• Introduce Gil Herman: Mr. Jim Gates• Purpose/Process/Payoff for Assembly: Mr. Gil Herman• Introduce Guest Speakers: Mr. Gil Herman

• Guest Speaker Presentations:

1. Mr. Ali ElSaffar, Oak Park Township Assessor

2. Ms. Cathy Yen, Executive Director Oak Park River Forest Chamber of Commerce

3. Mr. John Lawrence, Vice President of the Oak Park Area Association of Realtors

4. Mr. John Lynch, Director of Oak Park Economic Development Corporation• Panelist Q and A: Mr. Gil Herman• Table Discussions and Sharing of Summaries with the Assembly• Recap: Mr. Gil Herman• Call to Adjourn: Mr. Jim Gates

Mr. Ali ElSaffar,

Oak Park Township Assessor

Longitudinal property tax burden by property type (Longitudinal residential, multi-family, commercial, and industrial)

Tax Levies for Government Units Serving Oak ParkComparison of Taxes Paid in Tax Years 1999 and 2013

(Excluding TIFs and Special Service Districts)

1999 Total Levy % of Overall 2013 Total Levy % of Overall Overall Avg. AnnualUnit of Government (Paid in 2000) 1999 Tax Bill (Paid in 2014) 2013 Tax Bill Levy Growth Levy GrowthSchool District 97 $33,052,919.55 37.44% $59,999,048 35.84% 81.52% 5.82%High School District 200 $22,264,289.57 25.22% $40,405,566 24.14% 81.48% 5.82%Village of Oak Park $12,026,691.58 13.62% $24,632,197 14.72% 104.81% 7.49%Cook County $6,447,508.75 7.30% $7,667,610 4.58% 18.92% 1.35%Oak Park Library Fund $3,706,908.70 4.20% $9,789,895 5.85% 164.10% 11.72%Water Reclamation District $3,163,356.16 3.58% $5,709,631 3.41% 80.49% 5.75%Triton College District 504 $2,393,279.01 2.71% $4,449,952 2.66% 85.94% 6.14%Oak Park Township $2,514,075.42 2.85% $4,477,337 2.67% 78.09% 5.58%Oak Park Park District $1,864,794.68 2.11% $8,667,138 5.18% 364.78% 26.06%Miscellaneous Agencies $853,124.69 0.97% $1,588,291 0.95% 86.17% 6.16%

Totals $88,286,948 100.00% $167,386,663 100.00% 89.59% 6.40%

Mr. John Lawrence,

Vice President of the Oak

Park Area Association of

Realtors

Mr. John Lynch,

Director of Oak Park

Economic Development

Corporation

Business in Oak

Park:

The Competitive

Landscape

May 9, 2015

What makes Oak Park

attractive?

- The Pilates Factor – a strong core makes all the

difference

- Money and brains with urban sensibility

- It ain’t your typical mall – thriving independents in

addition to national draws

- You can get there from here to there – and you don’t

even need a car!

- It’s true – we are a little cooler than everyone else

What are our challenges?

- Wide demographic range – hard to be all things to

all people

- The island perception

- The little shopping center 10 miles west

- The real estate problem – fitting 2 acre pegs in 1

acre holes

- The aging of Aquarius

What limits success for our current businesses?

We may not yet have that “something special” to be a magnet for customers from other western suburbs with money to spend

- OPRF residents produce 48% of local spend- Elmhurst .06%- LaGrange .04%- Hinsdale 0.2%

Real state costs (and yes, that includes taxes)

Insufficient spillover from downtown other districts- Some districts too small to create critical density

and a compelling identity

–

With whom are we competing and how do we stack up?

- Oak BrookNational retailers, large restaurants/entertainment,

hospitality- Evanston, Highland Park, Naperville

National or regional retail/restaurant concepts exploring suburban locations-Elmhurst, LaGrange, Western Springs, Hinsdale

Upscale independent restaurants and small retailers-Forest Park, Berwyn

Casual restaurants, taverns, music clubs-Chicago, (e.g. West Loop)

Progressive restaurants and niche retail

Other random musings

- Our diversity is great! But…

- Our history is awesome! But…

- Chicago: “You’re the inspiration” or at least

maybe you should be…

Thank you to our guest speakers, elected

officials, citizen guests, and the press for

attending the 2nd IGOV Assembly