Free Readers Ensemble


Wm. B. Sullivan Realty & Co.
Estate Planning and General Law

RAVINIA
"A Great time in a
Wonderful Place" SJC 


Adopt a Pet, Come for a Visit


CAGIS Archaeological
Consulting Services

September 27. 2009


A woman has collapsed on the sidewalk near new housing construction
located at South Boulevard and Home Avenue.  One of Oak Park's
two ambulances comes to her aid.  Loyola University has recommended
that Oak Park have three ambulances.
 © Suburban Journals of  Chicago Inc. photo

On the Fourth Day Of Waiting, Barwin
Meets with Firefighters and Agrees to
their Proposal
commentary by Ed Vincent

A couple firefighters,  Union President Tom Blecha and
Past President Rick Wilkie met with Oak Park Village
Manager Tom Barwin to discuss a proposal offered to
Mr. Barwin a number of days earlier.  On September 22nd
the Village of Oak Park chose to end the employment of
5 Oak Park firefighters.  Oak Park Fire Chief Bell was
given the task of informing his employees that same
morning.  

Firefighters are a team of men and women who operate, respond, think, and function like a well tuned orchestra
of life saving professionals.  Firefighters eat, sleep, work,
and risk their lives together as a team, your team, your
security and families lives are protected and saved by
these team players. 


Oak Park's population continues to grow and we are already short
one ambulance according to Loyola University, but this woman is
lucky on this day.
 © Suburban Journals of  Chicago Inc. photo

I know several firefighters who took their own vacation time
to pay for their flights to New York city and worked burials
and funerals for their fellow firefighters who gave their lives saving others, when New York and United States were attacked on September 11, 2001.  Why should I even for a moment be surprised that some of our local firefighters who are coming
due to be eligible for retirement have offered to retire earlier than they would wish, to get jobs back for those who lost
them? 

These firefighters are a strange breed, a tight knit family of workers and friends.  These folks are the insurance that this Village has on the lives of every man, woman, and child in
our town. 

I wonder how the local realtors would feel if they could choose
between the current below level ambulance service (as viewed
by the Loyola University medical staff) or expanding our fire and ambulance service, where the need shall become even more apparent once the new 14 story building and additional new construction of housing units all over town are done.

Would it not be a better sales point to say that we just added an additional ambulance and keeping quiet about the fact that we should have done so a while back?

It was on Saturday, September 26, 2009 that we saw a woman
who was being administered life saving services right in front
of new construction site at Home Avenue and South Boulevard
in Oak Park.  I am sure that she was pleased there was an ambulance available to give her assistance.

This community needs more firefighters, building inspectors,
and other service workers--and with current contracts in place.

 The way this Village acts regarding Unions and working folk
could give people the impression that this was some far western region of Illinois where the officials hate Unions and forgot
why this country has Unions.  Do we have "closet Republicans
on our Board?"  That can't be the case since I have seen
most of them at Democratic fundraisers in town.

The Oak Park police too have had some loss in their
numbers and they always help the ambulance work.



© Suburban Journals of  Chicago Inc.
published by Suburban Journals of  Chicago Inc.