Community Corner

Your Best Content

One year later, a look at some of Patch's best submitted content.

I've said it before and I'll take the occasion of our one-year anniversary to say it again: We just couldn't do this without you — your photos, your news tips, your calendar submissions, your videos, your story comments, your blog post, your choice to be a source in our news stories. Thank you.

Here's a look at some of the best contributions from the past year.

Find out what's happening in Oak Park-River Forestwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

After covering a wide range of news stories, from human tragedies to endless civic government meetings, the February 2011 blizzard ranks up there with my favorite assignments ever. Why? Because I met so many other people doing just what I'd done: bundled up, grabbed a camera, walked the streets and started documenting.

By the time I'd arrived home, more than 80 pictures had populated the gallery.

Find out what's happening in Oak Park-River Forestwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


A popular hot dog and Italian beef stand closes in River Forest. The community comes out in droves to support owners Simon and Agnus Chung, who sell out of may ingredients before the official last day. We ran a nice story. Then, bam, out of nowhere, a YouTube serenade perfrormed by Jim Dooley to the Chungs appears alongside the story.

Reporting, writing, editing, Tweeting, Facebooking and photographing breaking news can be a lot to handle at once. And sometimes point-and-shoot cameras or smartphones just can't get the job done in those scenarios. 

That's why I was eternally grateful to Oak Parker Sheri Gilley, who provided these wonderfully detailed shots that found their way onto our home page.

Who's a sucker for cute pet pictures? We are. A promotion between Downtown Oak Parki and the invited residents to submit a photo valentine and a donation to the ACL. Pet lovers sent pics to ACL, the fundraiser organizers sent them to us, and the result was this rather adorable gallery.

It's always nice to see kids expressing their creativity — which was the whole point of a summer exercise at Creative Changes, the agency run by Oak Park's Christopher Wallace. He submitted a handful of photos from a kids photography camp, where students learned to shoot, print, mount and display photos for a show. 

Patch Blogs

We've got an impressive roster of Oak Park and River Forest residents blogging about what's important to them: health, the environment, local business, illustration, yoga, gardening and more. They're all contributing their time and talents — and finding an audience along the way.

If you're interested in blogging, simply fill out out the online application form and we'll get you set up.

Once again, a sincere thanks to everyone who's helped us grow this past year. The best part? We're just getting started.


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