Politics & Government

Park Board Slate Comes Alive, Sort Of

After absence, candidates emerge.

A slate of candidates vying for spots on the Oak Park park board, including a woman who tried unsuccessfully to withdraw her candidacy, has emerged after relative obscurity.

The Alive! Our Parks! party recently distributed a press release announcing the candidacy of Diane Dunn, Thomas Finch and Julie Grossman MacCarthy.

The slate is squaring off against incumbent , Vic Guarino and for spots on the Park District of Oak Park Board of Commissioners. 

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to a Patch candidate questionnaire. Dunn and MacCarthy did not return multiple attempts to reach them. None of the candidates appeared at a recent candidate forum held at the . 

On Feb. 23, MacCarthy attempted to withdraw her candidacy, citing time commitments. In an e-mail to Park District of Oak Park executive director Gary Balling, she wrote: 

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"I could not devote an adequate amount of time to fulfill the responsibilities of a commissioner. Consequently, I filed a Withdrawal of Candidacy with the Cook County Election Department." 

But election officials say the withdrawal was filed too late and that she will remain on the ballot. 

Why did she withdraw in the first place? Turns out, the voting public won't know unless the slate wins on April 5.

They're promising the "actual reasons" for the withdrawal attempt will be "addressed in detail in a news conference if the “Alive! Our Parks!” slate is victorious." 

The slate's four-page press release, which is posted as an accompaniment to this story, addresses a wide range of concerns, including: 

  • A relocation of the Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest that paves the way for the creation of a "full-fledged" senior center at the Mills House. 
  • Selling the district's administrative buildings to recoup property tax money and capping park district salaries. 
  • Creating a sports complex funded "entirely by corporate naming rights and philanthropic donations" that would include a youth sports hall of fame, indoor batting cages and a banquet hall. The slate estimates the facility would bring in about $2.6 million annually.
  • Instituting an ethics policy, based on admittedly anecdotal accounts of wrongdoing by various park district officials. 


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