Defending Oak Forest

I wrote a little piece which I entitled, "Does Oak Forest Match Its 'All Good Things Close To Home' Slogan?"

It was a just a little article that I wrote to spread some good will amongst Oak Foresters far and wide and you can imagine my surprise when there was a barrage of comments bashing our fair city. I have to say that I am delighted to find out that people are actually reading my articles. I haven't had much feedback yet, so although most of the comments were negative and disagreed with my assessment of Oak Forest, I was still glad to see them. If you didn't see the Facebook post, you can go here so you will know what I am referring to in my rebuttal of the rebuttal or what I am calling, "Defending Oak Forest".

First of all, many of the comments disagreed with my assessment that the tag line of Oak Forest is true. The devil is in the details here. Read the tag line carefully. Oak Forest does not claim to have all good things in the boundaries of our city, it claims to be close. One of the definite draws to Oak Forest is location, location, location. Oak Forest is minutes to 3 expressways and a 30 minute train or car ride (on a good day, that is) to downtown. A resident of Oak Forest is literally a half hour to everything and anything possibly defined as good. So no, Oak Forest does not have everything you might want, but you have to admit, we are close.

Now, to all the complainers on the Facebook post about the lack of big box stores, the low number of big restaurant chains and the fact that every strip mall does not have a gorgeous facade, I would respond, "Why did you move here?" It is not like Oak Forest pulled some big false advertising ploy promising you streets of gold and a Home Depot within walking distance. You knew what you were getting into. Oak Forest has not changed much in the 14 years I have been here. I think it is unfair for a person to make Oak Forest their home and then complain that it isn't as good as another city. Oak Forest never claimed to be anything but Oak Forest.

Next, to the people who were comparing Oak Forest to Orland Park, you are comparing apples to oranges. A median home in Oak Forest is $182,000, one in Orland Park is $273,100 and that is not where the differences end. I grew up in a blue collar neighborhood and I suspect that many of you did too. Oak Forest feels like a blue collar neighborhood. It has that feeling of neighborhood and the connection that comes with it. I love that my kids grew up in a place where they played kickball in the street. I love that I know the names of my neighbors. I love that almost every time we get an ice cream cone at Jack Frost, I see someone I know. I would describe the relationship between Oak Forest and Orland Park like this; Oak Forest is the cool guy in jeans and work boots who you get a beer with every Friday night, Orland Park is his snobby brother who shows up to the family barbecue wearing a sport coat and talks way too much about his boat. I am sticking with Oak Forest.

Is Oak Forest perfect? No, of course it isn't. There are problems in Oak Forest. And to each and every one of you that complained about something in Oak Forest, I challenge all of you to show up. I challenge you to get involved, run for office, attend the monthly City Board Meetings, voice your opinion, join one of the many volunteer groups, create a coalition, make a difference, help Oak Forest make a change. You might feel differently once you are in the inside of a problem, instead of judging it from the outside. Once a person gets involved, complaints turn into problem solving and problem solving turns into solutions.

Lastly, it was said that I am only writing about the good in Oak Forest and not seeing the bad. I see the bad, but I have chosen, as a volunteer writer for the patch, to write about the good. There is enough bad news out there and there are plenty of places to read about it. I want to write about the great things that our kids are doing, the fun things that are happening around our city and the wonderful people I have met in Oak Forest. What can I say, I really like Oak Forest. It is the place that my kids are growing up, it is the place where I call neighbors my friends, it is the place where I can sit on the front porch and talk with the people walking by. So if you want to call me the good news cheerleader of Oak Forest, really, I don't mind.