Oak Park

Ernie's Market: A Slice of Americana, Baby

Tom Keshishian | Posted 03.27.2012

Tom Keshishian

Ernie greets every customer by name. If it's your first time, he calls you Baby, makes you hold out your open palm, hands out a bunch of Hershey Kisses, and then introduces himself as a friend for life.

Gun Advocates Target Suburb Developing New Gun Laws

Posted 01.25.2012

A Tuesday meeting of the Oak Park Board of Health attracted the attention of gun rights advocates across the state, who fear the village may approve l...

PHOTOS: America's Most Beautiful Neighborhoods

Travel + Leisure | Posted 12.05.2011

Travel + Leisure

Urban planner Jeff Soule remembers the moment he first fully appreciated the beauty of Baltimore's Charles Village.

No Eating While Driving? Town Mulls Ban

Posted 12.12.2011

As cities are increasingly legislating against multitasking on the road, a Chicago suburb is considering a ban on eating behind the wheel. Oak Par...

Weekend Plans: Ladyfest, Airplanes & Glorious Ice Cream

Posted 10.19.2011

While some of our weekends will be dominated by large-scale celebrations of Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez Day, it may be worth pausing that festive ...

Steven Hoffer

Charges Dropped In Front Yard Gardening Case

HuffingtonPost.com | Steven Hoffer | Posted 09.14.2011

The city may not have the dirt it needs on Julie Bass's garden, so it's going after the farm animals instead. Prosecutors in Oak Park, Mich., have ...

Woman Faces 93 Days In Jail Over Garden

The Huffington Post | Steven Hoffer | Posted 09.07.2011

This post has been updated with new information and quotations since it was first published on Friday, July 8. This isn't your typical, garden-vari...

Suburban School District Sues Family for $30K, Claims They Don't Live in Town

Chicago Sun-Times | Posted 08.08.2011

Suburban high school officials are suing the parents of two students enrolled in classes during the 2009-2010 school year, accusing the family of livi...

Yepoka Yeebo

Investors Cash In On Foreclosed Homes

HuffingtonPost.com | Yepoka Yeebo | Posted 06.10.2011

Mary Jane McGraw knew her foreclosure ordeal was over when a man showed up on her doorstep and told her that her home in Oak Park, Calif., had been so...

Owen Wilson Lookalike Wanted In Coupon Fraud

Oak Park-River Forest Patch | Posted 05.25.2011

Business owners and police in Oak Park are on the lookout for an imposter faking his way into discounts by redeeming bogus shopping certificates. ...

Student Suspended For Ranking 50 Girls On Looks, Promiscuity

Posted 05.25.2011

A student at suburban Oak Park-River Forest High School in Illinois could face expulsion for publishing a list of 50 of his female peers, ranking them...

WATCH: Oak Park High School Teaches You How To Huskie

Posted 05.25.2011

Okay, so we admit that despite it being the hottest new dance move of 2010, we're still not entirely sure how to Dougie. But that didn't keep us fro...

WATCH: Oak Park Dad Builds A Cupcake Car

Posted 05.25.2011

A stay-at-home Oak Park dad looking for something to do while his daughter napped in the afternoon decided to start a rather unusual project: creating...

Village Of Oak Park Sued For Anti-Gay Discrimination

Posted 05.25.2011

Michael Aguayo, an employee of the village of Oak Park, has sued his employer over alleged harassment due to his sexual orientation. Aguayo has worke...

Dress Code For Cabbies? Oak Park Considers It

TribLocal | Posted 05.25.2011

Oak Park is looking into placing some new restrictions on taxi drivers and companies, such as a loose dress code and a ban on smoking by either the dr...

Oak Park Named One Of The Top Ten Neighborhoods In The Nation

Posted 05.25.2011

Striking the perfect balance between lively city and historical hub, west suburban Oak Park has been named one of the top ten neighborhoods in the Uni...

PHOTOS: Chris Ware's REJECTED Fortune Cover

Posted 05.25.2011

When Fortune magazine asked comic book artist and Oak Park resident Chris Ware to design the cover of their "Fortune 500" issue, they were probably no...

Clarence Ervin Arrested Again: Green Line Panhandler Arrested 180 Times

Chicago Tribune | Posted 05.25.2011

A man who has been arrested almost 180 times -- and whose presence on the CTA's Green Line has instilled fear among riders whom he aggressively panhan...

Oak Park Couple's Effort To Eliminate Anti-Gay Slurs In Classroom Angers Local Conservatives

Chicago Tribune | Posted 05.25.2011

What Beye Elementary saw as an effort to prevent anti-gay slurs in the classroom turned into a tug-of-war over whether teachers should discuss same-se...

The Chicago Public School Teacher's Husband

David Murray | Posted 05.25.2011

David Murray

Our troubles had begun when my wife Kirsten took the job teaching art, K-8, at a West Side elementary school. Then came the informal adoptions.

Court Upholds Homeless Candidate's Removal From Oak Park Ballot

Associated Press | Posted 05.25.2011

A Cook County judge says a suburban Chicago homeless man can't run for the village board because he doesn't have an address. The judge on Monday uphe...

Oak Park Administrators Conceal $175,000 Payment To Connected Consultant

Oak Leaves | John P. Huston | Posted 05.25.2011

Oak Park village administrators concealed a $175,000 payment to a consultant, who happens to be in a book club with the village chief financial office...

Home: Finding Out Just Where That Is

Cathleen Falsani | Posted 11.17.2011

Cathleen Falsani

In hindsight, I'm certain I was in shock. Shaken. Utterly broken. I turned on the radio dial to Chicago's WXRT as I drove and heard a familiar voice singing.

Oak Park Sees Increase In Drug Use

Oak Leaves | John P. Huston | Posted 05.25.2011

Oak Park officials are privately on high alert as drug use increases, threatening to allow gang influences to break through the village's borders. Wi...

Middle Schooler Harassed Over McCain T-Shirt

Chicago Tribune | John Kass | Posted 05.25.2011

As the media keeps gushing on about how America has finally adopted tolerance as the great virtue, and that we're all united now, let's consider the B...