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2020 Winter Newsletter WWW.OAK-BROOK.ORG | Winter 2021 OAK BROOK Quarterly Newsletter | Volume 95- Winter 2020 news President Gopal Lalmalani, M.D., M.B.A Clerk Charlotte K. Pruss | Trustee John Baar Trustee Philip Cuevas Trustee Michael Manzo Trustee Moin Saiyed Trustee Edward Tiesenga Trustee Asif Yusuf VILLAGE LECTED OFFICIAL USTEES • I • • I • I I I • • 2 WWW.OAK-BROOK.ORG | Winter 2021 OAK BROOK news 3 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Message from Dr. Gopal Lalmalani 4 From The Manager’s Desk Message from Rick Ginex 5 6 7 8 INSIDE THISNEWSLETTER 9-10 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES Internet Security for your home 11 LIBRARY Update POLICE 12 VILLAGE CLERK HB 3653 Election Information FIRE 13 GOLF Winter Safety fip/Portable Space Update Heaters PUBLIC WORKS 14 FINANCE Snow &Ice 2021 Budget DEVELOPMENT SERVICES 15 BATH & TENNIS CLUB Update Jackie & Ricardo say "I Do" During COVID-19 CONNECT WITH THE VILLAGE Website I www.oak-brook.org • Facebook I "Village of Oak Brook" Twitter I @OakBrook Village Regular meetings of the Village Board are held on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 7pm, except no fourth Tuesday meetings in the months of June, August and De- cember. Live streaming of Village Board meetings now available. Videotaped broadcasts of Village Board meetings air on Comcast Cable Television, Government Access Channel 6 or 110 Mondays at 7pm and online atwww.youtube.com/oakbrooktv Questions or comments? Contact us. Connie Reid • creid@oak-brook.org 3 WWW.OAK-BROOK.ORG | Winter 2021 Gopal G. Lalmalani, M.D., M.B.A. Village President 630.368.5026 glalmalani@oak-brook.org President’s Message By Dr. Gopal Lalmalani Dear friends and neighbors, On behalf of the Village Board, I would like to wish everyone a happy, healthy, and hopeful New Year! Last year at this time, our community was looking forward to a productive and prosperous year. There were many exciting new projects about to begin and after the disappointment of having to cancel the Taste of Oak Brook in 2019, we were looking forward to bringing back our iconic festival. Who could have predicted the events that transpired in 2020! Even though the pandemic has not yet been contained, there is now optimism in the air with the arrival of the vaccines for Covid-19 infection. Beginning in 2021, we need to switch gears and commence the rebuilding process. Our economy has taken a huge hit because of the pandemic. As your Village President, the Board and I have had to be make some hard decisions in order to balance the budget, but our top priority is always the safety and well-being of our residents as well as maintenance of high quality services which each one of you so richly deserve. As I write this, approximately 2% of the DuPage County population has been vaccinated for COVID-19. I am hopeful that the supply and deployment of the vaccine will increase so that everyone has the opportunity to get immunized. Please take the time to register for updates on the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine at www.dupagehealth.org/covid19vaccine, or email Metro Infectious Disease Consultants at vaccine@midcusa.com. MIDC is scheduling appointments for vaccines for anyone 65 or over and Teachers, Healthcare Workers, Police Personnel and Fire Personnel. During this period, it remains vitally important to continue to socially distance, wear face coverings, wash hands frequently, and avoid large gatherings. The mutated strain of Coronavirus could be more contagious than the original. However, we need to be patient for a little while longer. This, too, shall pass. In addition to our personal lives, most commerce was adversely effected by the pandemic. However, building construction was one of the few industries that operated with little interruption, and Oak Brook was fortunate to have some substantial projects in the works. We should be seeing the opening of the new Lifetime Fitness at Oakbrook Center and the Senior Lifestyle Sheridan development shortly. The beautiful new Restoration Hardware structure and the Hines project are well underway. There are many other new and exciting developments (including new high-end restaurants) that will enhance our community. Looking forward to summer, the construction on the Bath & Tennis Club pool will have been completed and the Oak Brook Park District will hopefully plan to open the Club on schedule in May. They will begin to take membership applications in April; kindly visit their website at www.obparks.org for more information. Lastly, I would like to thank everyone for their cooperation and understanding during this past year. Though I don’t think anyone will look back fondly on 2020, we did witness fortitude and courage as people rose to the challenges. These worst of times brought out the best in people. For that, we can all be proud. As always, the Trustees, staff and I are here to serve you. Please contact us with your thoughts, ideas, and concerns. Kind Regards, 4 WWW.OAK-BROOK.ORG | Winter 2021   Riccardo F. Ginex Village Manager 630.368.5026 villagemanager@oak-brook.org From the Manager’s Desk By Riccardo F. Ginex Dear friends and residents; First, I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday season. I am sure many of us had to celebrate it away from family members and over social media instead of all being together as usual. It has been a very busy few months as we wrapped up the end of the year for the Village. The Village Board held two Committee Workshops related to the 2021 budget. The Public Hearing on the 2021 budget and its approval was held at the December 12th Board Meeting. 2020 was a very challenging year for the Village. For at least nine months, we had to deal with Zoom meetings for all Village business. We dealt with the majority of our hotels, commercial properties, restaurants and the Oakbrook Mall closed for extended periods. Additionally, we had to contend with the social unrest that came to so many cities and towns across the nation. Overall, we came out of all of this safe and still growing economically. While we anticipated a significant loss of revenue, we scaled back expenses; non-union staff took furlough days and delayed projects until 2021. This austere approach allowed us only to be down 6.7% in our total revenues at the end of the year. In addition, since I last wrote to the resident’s, DuPage County did reimburse the Village for $415,549.44 we spent on COVID-19 expenses. During 2020, we saw the start of construction for several developments such as the Oak Brook Commons Development from Hines, Lifetime Fitness’s 120,000 square foot fitness center, the construction of Senior Lifestyle, a 200-unit development consisting of independent, assisted living and memory care and the construction of Restoration Hardware. All of these should be open within 2021 and providing a significant economic boost to our economy in Oak Brook. Recently, we saw the rollout of the COVID vaccines. It is our hope that the State of Illinois and the DuPage County Health Department continue to receive an increased number of vaccines, so that all our residents have the opportunity to become vaccinated. Per the Health Department, they want to get vaccines to Hospitals, Pharmacies, Outpatient Providers, the Health Department, Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers and then large employers, so they have a number of places people can turn to for the vaccine. I would encourage our residents to sign up for information on the DuPage County Health Department website as it allows the Health Department to send information directly to the residents. Please go to: https:// www.dupagehealth.org/covid19vaccine. Once there, please click on the “Sign Up for Weekly Updates” button to get on their e-mail list. Finally, Gail Polanek, our Planning Technician of 28 years, has retired. She was one of our longest serving and hardest working employees. Gail worked on so many major developments over the past three decades and helped guide the Plan Commission, Zoning Board and Planned Development Commission through their decision-making process. All the employees loved working with Gail. I wish her well in her retirement and will miss her. I look forward to getting back to a normal life in 2021 and wish you all health and safety. 5 WWW.OAK-BROOK.ORG | Winter 2021 I am requesting help from our community to urge the Governor to veto HB 3653. This bill will have a tremendous impact on the ability of law enforcement to keep our communities safe. The bill was passed through the General Assembly in the early morning hours of January 13, 2021. The speed in which the bill was presented and ulti- mately passed provided little to no opportunity for transparency or input. The law enforcement community values and wel- comes the perspectives of all citizens that help us do the job effectively and appropriately to protect their communities. We are always evaluating and analyzing the most appropriate ways to modernize our profession. We stated throughout the lame duck session a desire and willingness to work col- laboratively with sponsors of this legislation. We did not, however, believe that this limited session provided ample opportunity to do that. We main- tain that commitment to always participate in con- versations for the betterment of all our communi- ties, while ensuring the protection that they de- serve. The haste in which this bill passed, and if signed, will create situations that will not further those protections. We are still in the process of under- standing all of the impacts contained in the 764 page bill. However, I would like to share some of the most significant concerns identified thus far including, but not limited to: Prevents officers from taking immediate, po- tentially life-saving action in critical situa- tions The no cash bail provision makes it difficult to keep people locked up who are awaiting trial. Without bail, many dangerous offenders will walk free within hours of their arrest Places numerous mandates on police agencies with no funding source for local communities The ability to file anonymous complaints against any officer without having to swear that those complaints are true, and those com- plaints remain in the officer's file. The careers of good police officers can be ruined by any- one willing to anonymously submit lies. Let me give you just one example on Page 286: The bill modifies the definition of 'imminent threat" to the Peace Officer's Use of Force in Making Arrest law. The bill states, "A threat of death or serious bodily injury is "imminent' when, based on the totality of the circumstances, a rea- sonable officer in the same situation would be- lieve that a person has the present ability, oppor- tunity, and apparent intent to immediately cause death or serious bodily injury to the peace officer or another person. *An imminent harm is not merely a fear of future harm, no matter how great the fear and no matter how great the likeli- hood of the harm, but it is one that, from ap- pearances, must be instantly confronted and ad- dressed." Consider the following scenario: The police respond to an armed offender that just committed a crime with a gun running towards’ Butler Junior High School during outdoor gym classes. Under current law, an officer would be authorized to use deadly force to stop him. Under the new definition of "imminent" however, they cannot stop the subject and would have to wait for him to actually get to the school yard and threaten the children and potentially shoot one before they could use deadly force to stop the subject. These drastic changes to the Officer's Use of Force stat- ute will result in more bloodshed and more lives lost. Make no mistake, this new law is not about law enforcement’s safety, it’s about YOUR safety! Our officers can protect themselves, but our abil- ity to protect you will be greatly diminished. Please become informed and contact your state legislators and the Governor’s Office and urge them to amend or veto this dangerous law. *Newly added verbiage. Police HB 3653 By James Kruger James Kruger Police Chief 630.368.8710 jkruger@oak-rook.org 6 WWW.OAK-BROOK.ORG | Winter 2021 WINTER SAFETY TIP / PORTABLE SPACE HEATERS Portable electric space heaters can be a cost effective and convenient source of supplemental heat for your home in cold weather, but they also increase the risk of fire and electric shock if not used properly. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), half of all home heating fires occur in December, January and February. Heating equipment is the second leading cause of home fires in the United States. More than 65,000 home fires are attributed to heating equipment each year. These fires result in hundreds of deaths, thousands of injuries and millions of dollars in property damage. Fire and electrical hazards can be caused by space heaters without adequate safety features, space heaters placed near combustibles, or space heaters that are improperly plugged in. Safety should always be a top consideration when using space heaters. Here are some tips for keeping your home safe and warm when it’s cold outside: Make sure your space heater has the label showing that it is listed by a recognized testing laboratory. Before using any space heater, read the manufacturer’s instructions and warning labels carefully. Inspect heaters for cracked or broken plugs or loose connections before each use. If frayed, worn or damaged, do not use the heater. Never leave a space heater unattended. Turn it off when you're leaving a room or going to sleep, and don't let pets or children play too close to a space heater. Space heaters are only meant to provide supplemental heat and should never be used to warm bedding, cook food, dry clothing or thaw pipes. Install smoke alarms on every floor of your home and within 10’ of all sleeping areas and test them once a month. Proper placement of space heaters is critical. Heaters must be kept at least three feet away from anything that can burn, including papers, clothing and rugs. Locate space heaters out of high traffic areas and doorways where they may pose a tripping hazard. Plug space heaters directly into a wall outlet. Do not use an extension cord or power strip, which could overheat and result in a fire. Do not plug any other electrical devices into the same outlet as the heater. Place space heaters on level, flat surfaces. Never place heaters on cabinets, tables, furniture, or carpet, which can overheat and start a fire. Always unplug and safely store the heater when it is not in use.  Fire Safety & Information By Barry Liss Barry Liss Fire Chief 630.368.5200 bliss@oak-brook.org 7 WWW.OAK-BROOK.ORG | Winter 2021 Public Works Snow & Ice By Doug Patchin Doug Pacthin Director , Public Works 630.368.5272 dpatchin@oak-brook.org Winter is upon us and gives us all an opportunity to enjoy the great indoors. There are a few things we should look at to insure that there are no unwanted surprises in the spring. Gutters and downspouts should be inspected to insure that periods of snow melt don’t cause ice-damming along gutter lines. Similarly, area drains and sump discharges should be cleared. Now is a good time to make sure furnaces, including filters, are serviced. Chimneys of active fireplaces should also be inspected. The biggest concern for Public Works will be snow and ice control, here are some notes on how we go about it: The goal of the Village’s Snow & Ice Control program is to mitigate vehicular and pedestrian hazards caused by the accumulation of snow and ice on all Village maintained streets and parking facilities owned by the Village. To assist in achieving this goal, the Village is divided into five (5) separate routes. These routes were created due to geographic location, lane miles of pavement, and specialized equipment needs. Each route is assigned sufficient equipment and man- power to clear all snow, curb to curb, within eight hours after a typical snow event has concluded. Typically, this objective is reached, however, there are times when it cannot be. This is usually due to the amount of snow (over 8”) and/or type of snow, (heavy wet snow requires more truck passes to clear than light dry snow). Following are the routes, the areas included in each route, and the primary streets within each route. In order to facilitate plowing operations, and to open up streets where the most benefit will result, the “Primary” streets are cleared of snow/ice first, followed by secondary streets and cul-de- sacs/dead ends. There are a few other items of particular importance you should note. Although the Village does not have Village wide restrictions on parking on streets during snow storm events, it is advisable to keep your vehicles in your driveways until plowing operations have been concluded. Vehicles parked on the street make it more difficult for snow plow operators. Additionally, due to the weaving around parked vehicles, significant piles of snow can remain on the pavement. Many roadways that bisect the Village are not the responsibility of the Village to maintain. The Illinois Department of Transportation has the responsibility for 22nd St. (from the I-294 bridge, west to Rt. 83) also, Rt. 83, and Butterfield Rd. The DuPage County Division of Transportation has, Meyers Rd., Midwest Rd. 31st St. and York Road south of Dover.Should you need to contact the village or either of these agencies, these phones are answered during the normal hours of operation, the numbers are: Village of Oak Brook Public Works: 630 368-5270 M- F 7:00 am – 3:30 pm Illinois Department of Transportation, Oak Brook Yard: 630-832-7330 M-F 6:30 am – 3:00 pm DuPage County Division of Transportation: 630-407- 6920 M-F 6:00 am – 2:30 pm If you have a snow plowing service clear your driveway, please advise them to make sure they deposit the snow onto the parkway behind the curb or edge of pavement. In many cases, this is not done and when our plow trucks come back around, whatever snow they have left in the street will certainly be plowed back into your driveway approach. SNOW AND ICE CONTROL Area ROUTE 1 Commeraal. tmberTralls, ,1enyln & Yolk.shire '\loads ROUTE2 YofkWoods. Hin Oub. Woodside Estates, & Forest Glen ROUTE3 Broo Forest ROUTE4 Fulersburg, Tm1ty Lakes, Robin Hood Ranch ROUTE t5 Sadcle BrOOk. & GlngerO-eek Primary Streets Jone BMI . Spnno Rd . Harger Rd , Commerce Dr , 22nd Str (Rt 83 lo Clearv.aleronty). 16th SIT .. EnterpnseDr. castle Dr. nsorOr., ForeslTral. !Mlodland Or .. rmber View Dr . mber E doe Dr lirrtlerTrail. & Yorkstwe l\foodloop. eo., er Dr., Sheffi er d Ln, •• HuR Oub Dr.' HlxltOubln •. Forest Glenln.. Winsor Dr., Bra«ord Ln. •. Wood Glen Ln., l,1odJngblrd Ln , RegMI Or, Kimberly Crde·. Concord Or Kingston Or Spnng Rd (south ),,. 3d'50n, INood, SI Frands C lrde. Ma ms Rd • Acorn HII Ln ' Tnnily Ln ' 35st 35th, SaddeBrook Dr. HarrtJletonlan Dr. Farv1 ewAve .• RotalVal eOr.. &BaytlrookLn.. Avenuel.oire, l\fhleOakLane -Only porlJonsof these streets are con dered Pnmary 8 WWW.OAK-BROOK.ORG | Winter 2021 Development Services Update By Tony Budzikowski Tony Budzikowski Development Services Director 630.368.5104 tbudzikowski@oak-brook.org Economic Development—Winter 2021 2020 was a very challenging year from a development and real estate perspective but local construction in Oak Brook did remain steady and building permit revenue eclipsed $3.0 million for the third year in a row. The Kidzania children’s entertainment center planned for the former Sears store in Oakbrook Center was an unfortu- nate casualty of the pandemic. Kidzania has chosen to withdraw their building permit application and will no longer be pursuing their project. Many other projects remain on track after short “pauses” and they’ve continued their construction activities in 2021. Some of the exciting new projects that will be opening this year are as follows: The Sheridan (Senior Lifestyle) anticipated to be com- pleted in March 2021. This senior residential com- munity will include up to 200 dwelling units and consist of independent, assisted living and memory care. Marketing and open house activities are cur- rently underway and inquiries can be made at their on-site sales office or 630-394-5055. Lifetime Fitness, 2000 Oakbrook Center is targeted for an April 2021 opening. The project includes a 120,000 square foot fitness center and a sales trailer for membership activities was opened on-site this past December. The Restoration Hardware project at Oakbrook Center on 22nd Street is also expected to be completed in September 2021. The three (3) story, 43,000 square foot furniture showroom and restaurant has seen steady progress this past fall/winter and an opening this fall is also anticipated. Sheridan (Senior Lifestyle) 2055 Clearwater Drive – Photo January 7, 2021 Lifetime Fitness, 2000 Oakbrook Center—Photo January 7, 2021 Finally, the Hines Oak Brook Commons redevel- opment at the former McDonald’s Plaza across from Oakbrook Center is still moving forward and making much progress. Most site, infrastructure and utility work has been completed along with landscaping, lighting and the central park open space. The Hines luxury apartment building also started construction in mid-November with this work on-going as the vertical construction begins for the 17-story apartment building. Additional construction is expected this summer at Oak Brook Commons with a 70,000 square foot medi- cal office building and the Fogo de Chao restau- rant at the northeast corner of Spring Road and 22nd Street. We look forward to getting back to some normalcy in 2021 and taking advantage of all of the restau- rant, retail and entertainment venues that Oak Brook has to offer. Please remember to shop and dine locally to support the Oak Brook business community. Stay healthy and safe! 9 WWW.OAK-BROOK.ORG | Winter 2021 Information Technology Services By Jim Fox Jim Fox Director of ITS 630.368.5174 jfox@oak-brook.org Internet Security for your home -- Tips to help thwart cyber criminals. Securing the home network should be a top priority for each of us interested in keeping the data safe and secure. ODDS ARE YOU WOULDN’T DISCLOSE personal details, like when you’re planning to go on vacation and leave your house empty, to a random stranger on the street. But many people happily post that sort of information on their social feeds for mil- lions of people to find—and if you’re not divulging your family’s schedule (and secrets) online, your teens just might be. Review the following do’s and don’ts to help you and your family stay safe in to- day’s super-connected world. Recommendation 1 -- DO educate your family about cyber risks. Children don’t understand the risks of the online world. It's up to parents to teach them the dangers of sharing photos and personal information, like vaca- tion routines or daily schedules—information that could be used by stalkers, for instance, to harm them. Teach them, too, that it’s a good practice to avoid downloading apps from obscure or untrustworthy developers and playing games or taking online sur- veys that ask for personal information. Children don’t understand the risks of the online world. It’s up to parents to teach them the dangers of sharing pho- tos and personal information. Recommendation 2 -- DO keep your personal info private. Be careful about sharing valuable personal infor- mation, such as Social Security numbers, credit card information and birth dates, in a text or email with people you don’t know well or trust. If you are enter- ing them online—say on a shopping site—always look for “https” and a lock symbol in the address bar of the site you’re visiting, and use a password, passcode or biometric login to protect your accounts online. Recommendation 3 -- DON’T leave your home network unprotected. Be sure to change the password on your router as soon as you install it. The router is the gateway to your home and touches all of your connected devic- es, from phones to smart home gadgets. Also, don’t forget to configure security and privacy settings on your devices, and invest in reputable antivirus soft- ware for your computers. Download software up- dates on all the programs you use—automatically, if that’s an option. Software companies often discover vulnerabilities before cyber criminals do and rush to fix them. The longer you wait to update your soft- ware (or operating system), the greater the chance you’ll be targeted. Recommendation 4 -- DON’T drop your guard on public Wi-Fi. We’re so used to using our devices everywhere (or so concerned about hitting the data cap from our cell phone provider) that most of us don’t think twice about logging on to the free public Wi-Fi system at the airport, coffee shop or dentist’s office. Some Wi -Fi connections can’t be trusted; cyber criminals can infiltrate these systems and collect data that’s sent through them. That’s why it’s always best to take the precaution of connecting to sites through secure connections (look for “https” and a lock symbol in the address bar) or via a VPN connection. Recommendation 5 -- DON’T use easily guessed passwords. Despite repeated advice from all corners, some peo- ple still use the most basic of passwords for their email, shopping and financial accounts. Or worse, they use the same password for all of their online accounts, making those accounts especially vulnera- ble to cyber criminals. Variety and randomness are your best bets, so if one password is discovered, then your other accounts won’t be at risk. Even bet- ter, consider using a password manager, which as- signs a random password to accounts. That way you only have to remember a single master password— for the manager itself. 10 WWW.OAK-BROOK.ORG | Winter 2021 Information Technology Services By Jim Fox Jim Fox Director of ITS 630.368.5174 jfox@oak-brook.org Village of Oak Brook Mass Notification Alert System It is critical to keep our Village of Oak Brook community informed. The Village has a system in place to send updates and emergency alerts to Village residents and businesses through emails, phone calls, text messages, or social media channels. When the Village first started using this mass notification system over 10 years ago, a landline telephone number was automatically added to the system through telephone company data, residents were automatically entered into the system. With more and more residents using cellular telephones instead of landline telephone service, these new telephone numbers are not available to the Village. It is important that you register your contact information with the Village. Rest assured this information will be kept confidential and is only used for mass notification purposes. If you are not receiving messages from the Village, please register with us today. Additional information about this system is available on the Village website at: http://www.oak- brook.org/303/Mass-Emergency-Notification If you are already receiving messages, you can also add additional contact methods such as additional cellular telephone numbers and email addresses. If you have further questions or concerns about this service please call the Village at 630.368.5174 or you can email us at alerts@oak -brook.org 11 WWW.OAK-BROOK.ORG | Winter 2021 Library Update By Jacob Post Jacob Post Head Librarian 630.368.7706 jpost@oak-brook.org With the start of a new year, I’d like to remind you that the Library is here to provide you countless resources during these trying times. Do you need help with the new tablet or smartphone you got for the holidays? Schedule a one-on- one learning session with one of the Library’s knowledgeable reference librari- ans over the phone. They can assist you in setting up the device, downloading an eBook or just give you some useful tips. And while you are talking to the knowledgeable staff, ask about the electronic resources the Library offers. For instance, did you know you can have free access to Morningstar Independent Investment Research? All it takes is a valid Oak Brook library card for you to unlock all the useful investment tools to help grow your financial portfolio. If you haven’t signed up for a library card yet, visit the Library’s website and fill out the online form. A card will be issued to you temporarily until you can pro- vide in person information showing that you live in incorporated Oak Brook. Do you have a young child in the family? Make sure to visit the Library’s YouTube channel to see online story times that the Youth Services department offers. So as you can see, the Library is more than just books. However, not to forget the books, the Library’s Winter Reading Programs for both kids and adults and runs through February 27. We are giving great incentives for com- pleting the reading logs. So come to the Library this winter, whether it be for the books or the other offerings; you will not be disappointed! Do note that as the ongoing pandemic lingers, the Oak Brook Public Library continues its commitment to provide safe and effective services to the commu- nity. In doing so, the Library has adjusted many procedures. When creating these procedures the recommendations of various health, library, and municipal organizations were taken into account. For the latest information, including temporary closures, programing updates and schedules, visit the Library’s web- site. Thank you for your support and patience as we all navigate these difficult times. 12 WWW.OAK-BROOK.ORG | Winter 2021 Village Clerk By Charlotte Pruss Charlotte Pruss Village Clerk 630.368.5052 cpurss@oak-brook.org Election Information There will be a Consolidated Election on April 6, 2021. If you have recently moved, be sure to Register to Vote. Voter registration occurs from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Butler Government Center. The last day to register to vote or to transfer registration for the April 6, 2021 election here at the Village Hall is March 9, 2021. Residents may then register at DuPage County or Cook County Election Offices or at a location designated by the elections authority for this purpose. Early Voting will begin Thursday, February 25, 2021 thru Monday, April 5, 2021. Early Voting sites and information is posted on the Village of Oak Brook website www.oak- brook.org or you may go the DuPage County Election Commission site www.dupageelections.com to confirm the location where you should vote. Vote by mail applications will begin on Thursday, February 25, 2021 for any registered voter presently within the confines of the United State, to make application by mail or in person to the election authority for an official ballot. On April 6, 2021 there will be a Consolidated Election which will include Municipal Elections. The Village of Oak Brook will be electing: TRUSTEES – Three (3) to be elected for a four (4) year term The ballot placement for Municipal Officers for the election will be as follows: For Trustee - Three to be elected for a four year term Phil Cuevas John Baar Charlotte K. Pruss Suresh Reddy James P. Nagle Laurence Herman 13 WWW.OAK-BROOK.ORG | Winter 2021 Golf By Sean Creed Sean Creed Golf Club Manager 630.368.6460 screed@oak-brook.org Dear Oak Brook Golf Community, Our team is busy planning for the upcoming golf season, we are optimistic that we will be able to reopen without the restrictions that we endured last year. Weather permitting, the golf course will open in March and the driving range will open no later than April 1st. Information regarding memberships and programming for the 2021 season will be updated on our website at www.golfoakbrook.org the week of February 8th. Past members will be receiving renewal forms via email in the next few weeks. Our restaurant and bar will be ready to open as soon as capacity restrictions are eased. We are hopeful to reestablish indoor dining and bar service in March. The outdoor patio has become a very popular venue for community gatherings and we look forward to fostering the continued success. We have every intention of hosting our fun patio parties with live entertainment this season. A calendar of events will be available when we establish dates with local artists. For those interested in new golf equipment, please know that our golf shop offers special order pricing on all equipment, apparel and hard goods. Our pricing is very competitive! The golf shop is currently open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 4:00pm. Call the Pro Shop at 630.368.6400 for pricing and product inquiries. ,auct 1nqu1nes . 7.0AK-BROO K.ORG I W inter 2021 14 WWW.OAK-BROOK.ORG | Winter 2021 Finance 2021 Budget By Jason Paprocki Jason Paprocki Finance Director 630.368.5070 jpaprocki@oak-brook.org The 2021 Proposed Budget was presented and discussed during the Village’s two budget workshops, which were held on November 11th and 17th via Zoom video conference. At these meetings, Village department directors presented their respective 2021 goals and objectives, as well as funding requests. In addition, various public infrastructure projects were intro- duced and discussed. The Village Board provided feedback and direction to staff on the pro- posed budget requests. Video recordings of these meetings are available on the Village’s website for public viewing. The final 2021 Budget was approved at the December 8th Regular Board of Trustees meeting. Illinois Compiled Statues requires the Village to adopt the annual budget prior to the begin- ning of the fiscal year to which it applies. The final 2021 Budget, as well as the 2021-2025 5- Year Plan, can be found on our website for review. The Village’s General Fund cash reserve balance deserves special mention, as it continues to be an important aspect in the Village’s position of fiscal strength. One of the Village’s finan- cial policies is to maintain a General Fun cash balance reserve of at least six months of oper- ating expenditures. The projected ending cash balance for 2021 in the General Fund is $24.0 million, which is equal to 13.0 months of operating expenses. This is approximately $12.9 million above the Village’s six-month operating reserve requirement. The Village’s 2021 Budget will be submitted to the Government Finance Officers Associa- tion (GFOA) for consideration of its Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. The Village has achieved this award the past nine years and we believe the 2021 Budget continues to meet the standards required by GFOA. The Village uses the review comments from the GFOA each year to enhance future budget documents and make an overall stronger, more transparent budget document. Budget In Brief Document The Village is excited to release its third Budget in Brief document for fiscal year 2021. This document presents a high-level summary of the Village’s 2021 annual budget that some users may find easier to read and understand. The full 2021 budget document spans over 300 pages in length and details nearly $63 million in spending. The Budget in Brief boils down the full budget into a handful of pages that is much easier to follow. We hope you find this document both informative and useful and encourage those who want to learn more about the Village’s finances to review the full 2021 budget document. These reports, along with other financial documents, are available on the Village’s website at http://www.oak-brook.org/180/Finance. 15 WWW.OAK-BROOK.ORG | Winter 2021 Bath & Tennis Club By Marianne Long Jackie & Ricardo Say “I Do” During COVID-19 As we all very well know, COVID-19 has affected the wedding days of so many cou- ples across the globe. Jackie and Ricardo were no exception. This lovely couple had originally planned their dream wedding at the Oak Brook Bath & Tennis Club for June 2020. While their dream day may not have hap- pened as they anticipated, they were officially married in June on their original wedding date and postponed the recep- tion to September to celebrate safely with 48 of their closest friends and family members. The day was magical and worth the wait! A PATIENTLY AWAITED CEREMONY AT THE POND After patiently waiting three months to say “I Do” with their family and friends, Jackie and Ricardo renewed the vows they said in June in a gorgeous and emotional ceremony alongside our pond. Surrounded by the colorful orange and red leaves of the changing seasons and the cool fall breeze swirling around, they were so very ready to start this next chapter in their lives together! OUTDOOR FUN & GAMES After the ceremony, guests were ready to mingle (with masks, of course!) and catch up after months spent apart. The best way to catch up? A little friendly competition! Guests enjoyed a handful of giant-size games like Uno, Jenga and Connect Four, with hand sanitizer and wipes readily available. It was such a fun touch that made use of the gorgeous green space outside. Rempel Photography Rempel Photography Rempel Photography CHICAGO- INSPIRED WELCOME Throughout the wedding, Jack- ie and Ricardo brough little bits of Chicago into their big day. In a city they love and call home, it was only fitting to incorporate a special place with so many memories! They wel- comed guests to the reception by a seating chart where each table was named after a Chica- go landmark. They included Buckingham Fountain, The Art Institute, Wrigley Field, United Center, Lincoln Park Zoo, The Bean, Sears Tower and the Chicago Theater – all spots where their love blossomed over the years! SWEET ENDINGS Then it was time to cut the wedding cake! The delicious des- sert was provided by Sweet Blessings and was devoured quickly by all the guests. In addition to cake, they had a tasty s’mores dessert station perfect for fall! They said goodbye to their guests with one last Chicago- themed treat: the iconic Garrett’s Popcorn! It was the sweet ending Jackie and Ricardo had awaited pa- tiently for months, and it was just as dreamy as they imagined. Rempel Photography Rempel Photography Rempel Photography 1,M, c. ~-, I~ \ .. '