Opinions in Oak Park, IL

With the criticism of Dan Moroney even coming from the Wednesday Journal it’s a wonder how anyone in Oak Park, Il can come to a compromise in regard to diversity and creating a statement on how to proceed with a plan of inclusion. But these are the people chosen by the residents of this village to lead and make the decisions.

Expenditures on Rush Oak Park’s revamped Emergency room plus a new six story parking garage to help with the extra congestion to a renewed way to deal with making decisions for the curriculum of the OPRF freshmen class. There are always differences of opinion, however with those opinions should come solutions as always with Oak Park, IL this article gave a vote of “No” to all of these issues. But no way to fix the issues that were discussed.

Please read this opinion piece so that you too, can see what type of bullshit exists in Oak Park, IL. It does give valid points, but the lack of solutions is just disheartening, and it makes this village just another part of the politically idiotic spectrum. Nor does it make the village anything special it is just part of the county’s (cook) dismal fabric.

Here is the short article taking about the points happening in Oak Park, IL:

https://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/10-22-2019/Always,-it-is-about-control/

Greenplan crap how I got there…

I remember how my journey or time in Oak Park, iL started when I began the rental con-tract with Green shit properties. I was deleting some old emails and found this beauty:

I should have read between the lines and saw the “control play” written by the representative of Greenplan Management it was such an underlining “who-gives-a-fuck-pay-us-money” attitude between each word. I really should have known. Please note that renting is a business however with every business to have happy customers there must be some type of showmanship or sense of empathy/humanity. But most entities in Oak Park, IL lack these traits. Actually, these businesses do not even try to portray them, because to them: “We are helping you.”

As if renting a lead-painted vintage apartment in Oak Park, IL with the help of the stoic frigid personalities of this organization was high on one’s bucket list. I should have been gracious for entering such a judgmental hypocritical community that I should have been helping the entitled spawn that gets out of school after 3pm cross the street so that they do not have to separate themselves from their iPhones.

I know I sound like I am ten thousand years old but I do not feel the need to be a part of a community that has a stuck up attitude, on one hand, wants me to play “village mother” on the other and then wants me to be grateful for such treatment. Same with Greenplan management, paid on time, kept the apartment in one piece, had parties but kept it respectful. However, Greenplan management would rather throw that away, lose a good renter for the optics of a situation that is judged by their crappy representatives.  Thank God I rent elsewhere and if you are renting from them anywhere in the Chicagoland area you should try to do so as well.

Val’s Halla Records in Oak Park IL

Val’s Halla Records may be closing at the end of the month having “financial troubles” for awhile the store a fixture in Oak Park, IL will most likely be missed. I have always driven past the store in the little arts district that it resides in. It is kind of hard to find parking in the area. Well at least for me. I am not sure if that added to its decline or the fact a lot of music went digital. But either way, if you are a fan of vinyl you need to go quickly to 239 Harrison St in the village to get all the products you can get before the end of the month.

Here is the short article discussing Val’s Halla Records’ fate:

https://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment-and-culture/2019/11/10/20955280/record-store-close-oak-park-vals-halla-records-vinyl

 

Snow removal parking plan in Oak Park, IL

I always forget that when the snow falls Oak Park, IL to watch out for tickets! If there is a two-inch snowfall then the village’s Snow Removal Parking Plan goes into effect and therefore main streets must be cleared, and the influx of traffic on other streets increases.

Meaning it becomes harder to find a parking spot. And do not try to park in a spot that is already shoveled out, I did that by mistake once and got a “hey golly!” for my troubles. Seriously. Then on the side streets, it’s parking on the side of even-numbered address on even days and parking on the side of the street with odd-numbered days on odd days. Just the dumbest shit ever. And yes, I have gotten a ticket or two, for not remembering the odd day-odd parking placement requirement. This happened once when I had a day off and just slept in for the day. And the other times was when I was bedridden sick and could not go out into the cold.

These type of parking games is just infantile. I bet it probably stresses the shit out of seniors who still drive (and park on the street) when winter comes to Oak Park, IL. Because it sure unnerves the shit out of me. Plus, this type of arrangement makes me wonder why there is not an emphasis on building parking garages for rental properties or just residents in general to combat the need for such stupidity.

This is the parking rules verbatim from the article:

 

Main streets posted as snow routes must be cleared of all parked cars. These include Augusta Street, Austin Boulevard, Chicago Avenue, Division Street, Garfield Street, Harlem Avenue, Harrison Street, Jackson Boulevard, Lake Street, Madison Street, North Avenue, Oak Park Avenue, Ridgeland Avenue, Roosevelt Road and Wisconsin Avenue from Madison Street to the emergency entrance of Rush Oak Park Hospital.

Non-snow route streets allow parking between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. on the side of the street with even-numbered addresses on even days and the side of the street with odd-numbered addresses on odd days.

Designated commercial parking areas as posted follow the odd/even rule between midnight and 8 a.m.

Snow parking rules do not override other parking regulations, such as time limitations and prohibitions.

Vehicles parked in violation of the snow restrictions are subject to ticketing and towing.

Map of snow routes where parking may be prohibited during a major snowfall

Here is the link to the article talking about the Emergency Snow removal Parking rules:

https://www.oak-park.us/news/snowfall-can-trigger-parking-restrictions

Halloween party went to sh*t like the weather today

By the way yeah, my Halloween party on the 31^st was canceled. Due to the cold weather, I was so busy getting things together at the last minute I did not watch the news reports for the weather. Also, I did not take care of the Blogger problem until now because I was too busy taking down decorations and eating leftover food and candy.

So now my fat ass has been figuring out ways to get rid of candy at work, friends and family places/houses. Also lugging these decorations back into storage, a bit at a time has been a pain in the ass too. Flashbacking to the blogger issue I finally got the password issue with Google taken care of, but now I am posting “happy Halloween” in November.

So, the last two weeks have been just about cleanup. But what else is new when dealing with Oak Park, IL? I will change various plans due to the weather being as cold as hell. And today’s weather is just bad, cold and not worth going out in. but at least I am getting this blog back on track.

Posting on blogger for Oak Park, IL

I am trying to catch up and post on the blogger version of this blog. However, Google is doing that crazy-ass thing where it wants me to add the blood type of my grandmother to my profile to even sign into the account. I refuse to do that or add my phone number because I figure Google is selling enough of my data to various companies, so I will just wait until I have time to get to a dedicated computer to finish that task.

Therefore, if you see this post on the blogger version of this blog it was a success. I just love how Google is taking away all the freebies they once were offering like some people won’t just leave out of principle.

#assholes

Painting away the vintage in Oak Park, IL

I have been painting my apartment recently nothing major just a shade lighter so that the association cannot tell, but I get better light. It is a shame because in Lakeview I was able to paint that apartment over there, so long as the color was not a gloss black. Really. That specific. And I can understand the reason behind it because trying to cover the color black is hard enough, but gloss black? UGH.

Also means that someone painted an apartment in gloss black before. Why? I have no idea but it was a caveat. Here is Oak Park, IL it seems that there is a moratorium on improving the rental living spaces even by the associations that run them. The old vintage look is definitely over with, updates should be required by the village alas they are not. When looking at where all the new development is happening I can definitely say that the village planners are not exactly the brightest crayons in the box. Therefore when it comes to new regulations being written for older exiting buildings I doubt I will see anything in my lifetime.

The nostalgia trip Oak Park, Il seems to be riding also leaks into its politics and social economic policies, but right now I am just bucking the system to get more light into my apartment with the old ass light fixtures I have. Just a tad shade lighter and my rooms are looking better than ever and hopefully sealing in all that lead paint. That way I won’t die from “vintage” Oak Park, IL

Oak Park, IL is violent af

I recently was doing a search for stuff on Oak Park, IL for the Halloween Season because it’s so boring here. And I used Google which had a list of questions that was frequently asked on the site. The site question was: “Is Oak Park IL safe?”  LOL Really people are we trying to find out if this hippie-fascist village is safe? At this point it is a foregone conclusion, especially if you are reading this (you are still alive).

But according to the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) you have a one to thirty-two chance of being a victim of a reported crime. Yes, I said reported crime, because not all crimes are reported. Taking into the basic population of Oak Park, Il around 51 thousand people that is a not a good statistic most of these crimes are property related. But the village average of violent crimes is higher than the state (Illinois) average of violent crimes, averaged out to 348 violent crimes per square mile in the village.

Meaning that Oak Park, Il is not as safe as it appears to be, the village might as well integrate with the Austin area and bring down its crime rate. Hahahahahaha! Wild wild west: Oak Park, IL. And now you wonder why people do not want to live in this dusty lawless little burb. Do not believe the hype.

Here is the website with Oak Park, IL statistics:

https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/il/oak-park/crime

Working in Oak Park, IL… not with the company Wayup!

I was trying to get a job close to the village and was working with this New York City recruitment agency called Way up, the experience was terrible. I had a phone interview with one of their people to get me closer to the village and eliminate my travel time on the 290. During the interview I told them about my current job, my experiences and responsibilities but for some odd reason at various times during the interview I felt that the interviewer needed further explanation. But when I asked if they needed further explanation they of course stated it was not needed.

This company is strange because they ask you if you want feedback after the interview and of course wanting to get in a foot in the door you say yes. UGH. When I got the e-mail from the interviewer one of the things they stated I should have explained my job “terminology” more. They also wanted me to have a “proper greeting” when answering the phone like “Hello this is Mike Jones… how may I help you..” Now when answering a call from an unknown phone number you are not identifying yourself like it’s the 1980’s anymore. So a lot of the points in which were mentioned as negatives in this email were a joke. I therefore went online through Google found the company and made a review.

The reviews, the positive ones were made by members high up in the company (the CEO was one of them), of course and the negative ones were made by job seekers who also had similar interactions. All of the sudden a few weeks later the company Wayup is no longer listed on the Google maps section and all the reviews were deleted with it. Ending any type of transparency for local job seekers in the Oak Park, IL area to know what they are dealing with when it comes to WayUp. I am glad to contribute to this local blog and inform local residents about how this New York Company treats job seekers who are hopeful in giving back to (the village) local community.

More traffic on Lake street in Oak Park, IL

To add to the traffic congestion on Lake Street in downtown Oak Park, IL there is now a movement to assist in creating a Holiday Inn hotel on 1140 Lake Street. This is right above Nando’s Peri Peri, if you are trying to picture it without google. Although the discussion for this has been ongoing for more than a year and a half, it is finally picking up steam. With additions of upper floors to the existing building, for extra hotel rooms.

The good thing is that financial subsidies are not being asked for the project as of yet. But we know that could change as with any project. While trying to sell how the area is “evolving” as a reason for the hotel, the parking around the area or availability of spaces of course will suffer. When brought up the Mayor stated that there is a 1,200 parking garage behind the building.

Yeah. So where is the rest of the parking? Is it expected that everyone that works in the area to use public transportation to free up the parking for customers of local businesses? Will there be a limit for customers to be parked in the garage like a two hour limit because the 1,200 car garage will not be enough for the area? Once this thing is complete the area will be highly congested and that leads to other issues not discussed or thought of by the village. Of course to have thoughts that lead towards common sense would be a new thing for Oak Park, IL a new thing indeed.

Here is the link to the article explaining the extra traffic: https://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/10-15-2019/Holiday-Inn-on-Lake-Street%3F/