Oak Park Borrows $10 Million For Road Improvement Projects

After a $10,005,000 bond sale, the Village of Oak Park has now borrowed enough money to put toward its planned alley and road repaving and resurfacing projects.

The Oak Park Village Board approved the plan to borrow $10 million for its street improvement projects Wednesday, the Pioneer Press reported. Final numbers were presented to the board Monday.

The bond sale was won by Bank of America, who also put money toward the village’s Elevate Oak Park development project earlier this year. Bank of America won with the $10,005,000 bid at 2.99 percent interest for 20 years.

The sale was issued to tax-exempt bonds.

“We had three bidders who put in eight bids,” Kevin McCanna of Speer Financial Services told the Press. “This was a real good sale.”

According to the Village of Oak Park, funds for capital projects this year were budgeted at $15.6 million. Street and alley improvements make up $5.7 million of that number.

Because of current financial issues in Illinois, McCanna said it’s difficult to generate buzz with potential bidders.

“The more we learn about this, it’s even bad just being in Cook County just as there’s a penalty being in Illinois,” he said.

The sale was ultimately approved by the Village Board in a 6-0 vote, with one trustee absent from the meeting.

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Photo by Anicka Slachta for Patch.