Oak Lawn mayor sees a busy future for village in 2025

Oak Lawn Mayor Terry Vorderer believes the village has emerged from the shadows of the pandemic and sees a bright future ahead.

The mayor informed a large crowd of guests who attended the State of the Village address on Feb. 11 at the Hilton Chicago/Oak Lawn that the tax levy has not been raised for over a decade and financial institutions have noticed.

“We as a village in the past 15 years have not raised the tax levy, which is less than it was in 2011,” Vorderer said. “We have worked very hard to minimize the impact of property taxes in the Village of Oak Lawn.”

He pointed to the fact that for a second consecutive year that Moody’s has given Oak Lawn a rating upgrade. This was followed by an upgrade by S&P Global.

“It’s one of the things I’m most proud of as mayor,” Vorderer said.

The annual address was sponsored by the village and the Oak Lawn Chamber of Commerce. Vorderer applauded all the departments and said the organizations make the village a better place.

The mayor added that along with the credit rating upgrades, projects will begin this year for the village, including a state-of-the-art combined 911 center and public works department structure that will be built at the current public works site at 98th and 55th streets.

Diane Tousignant, director of Emergency Communications for the Oak Lawn 911 Dispatch Center, said the facility serves six police departments and eight fire departments, and the municipalities of Oak Lawn, Alsip, Evergreen Park, Bedford Park, Bridgeview, Hodgkins, Lyons and Stickney.

Together, they serve 146,000 residents, Tousignant said, adding that improvements were necessary.

“We are supported greatly by the community,” Tousignant said. “We are fortunate because we have a fully-staffed 911 center.”

The new center will feature the 911 wing on the first floor and the public works department on the second floor. The 911 center will feature a wellness room and conference rooms. More space will be provided for storage of vehicles and equipment, Tousignant said.

“This is a huge endeavor by the village,” Tousignant said. “We appreciate everyone’s support.”

Construction will begin this year and will be completed in early 2026, Tousignant said.

Vorderer said that the wellness room is needed at the 911 center because employees deal with so much stress from receiving emergency calls for police, firefighters and paramedics.

Division Police Chief Jim Cummings filled in for Police Chief Daniel Vittorio, who was out of town. He spoke at the event and said the Oak Lawn Police Department is fortunate in having so much support.

“The biggest issue for the police department is to hire police officers and then to keep police officers,” Cummings said. “But here in Oak Lawn we have been very fortunate that since January of 2024, we have hired 10 new officers.”

He added that in the past couple of years they have added former Chicago police officers and another from Evergreen Park.

“Police officers need to know that they can work in towns where they have the support of the administration and the community,” Cummings said. “We truly feel the support we get from the citizens of this town.”

Cummings said that the police force was as busy as ever in 2024, recording 800 felony arrests. Advancement in technology such as license plate readers has allowed officers to make quicker arrests.

“I’ve been here 29 years and I’ve never seen so many guns coming off the streets of the Southwest Side,” Cummings said. “Without your support, it doesn’t happen.”

Mike McMillin is the first fire chief chosen from inside the ranks since 2008. He also mentioned that like the police department, it has been a busy year for firefighters and paramedics. He mentioned that this is the 17th busiest fire department in the state.

McMillin said that the fire department took over 10,700 calls last year, ranging from vehicular crashes and buildings and homes on fire.

“Our members are active in the community, visiting schools and teaching fire prevention at all levels,” McMillin said.

Vorderer also alluded to economic development in the village, including the Stony Creek Promenade at 111th and Cicero that now features Paisans Pizzeria, which opened last summer.

“We cut the ribbon for Paisans Pizza, a $6 million building that they developed and brought to Oak Lawn,” Vorderer said. “This is their prime location.”

Chamber officials said that 75 businesses opened up in Oak Lawn in 2024. In coping with the presence of COVID-19, the village suspended charging fees for businesses the past three years.

Colleen Barkmeier, manager of Oak Lawn’s Economic Development, said that three locations are being looked at for future development. This includes the old Freshline food store site at 95th Street and 54th Avenue. This location was originally supposed to be a Pete’s Market but the owners pulled out of the project.

Another site for development is the old Fifth Third Bank building at 94th and Cicero. The location that once had a Sports Authority at 9633 S. Cicero Ave. is also being looked at by developers, Barkmeier said.

“Every time I come to these meetings, everyone raves about this chamber,” Barkmeier said. “We are grateful for this chamber and for what they do for us.”

Vorderer also was appreciative of the efforts of the Oak Lawn Chamber.

“The Oak Lawn Chamber of Commerce’s mission is to represent the business community and improve the economic atmosphere,” Vorderer said. “I view the chamber as the engine that drives the local economy.”