Residents raise due-process, safety and environmental concerns over Field Park capital project

John Mitchell, a longtime Oak Park resident, told the Village Board on May 13 that neighbors object to the Park District’s planned capital project at Field Park and wanted their concerns about location recorded. "They blew us off basically," Mitchell said, adding the project was scheduled to start in mid-June and that he and other neighbors gathered about 300 signatures opposing the chosen site.

Mitchell said the project budget is $2,800,000 and that the Park District had promised three community meetings but held none in the neighborhood until Oct. 23. "They said they were gonna do a traffic study and they never did," he told trustees, and said his own counts found a car every 29 seconds near the Woodbine and Berkshire intersection during active park use.

Separately, Les Golden, a public commenter who said he had submitted a longer written document to the village, framed the project as raising racial equity and environmental concerns. Golden argued the Park District’s chosen location could displace or negatively affect private dance studios that serve predominantly Black students and said removal of mature trees and grading of a park hill would harm bird and insect habitat. He also warned that artificial turf could increase local heat, saying the installation "will cause direct heating of the atmosphere as documented in a peer reviewed, technical publication." Golden asked trustees to read the document he submitted to village staff.

The speakers spoke from the public-comment period; neither Mitchell nor Golden asked the board to take a specific legal action and board members did not announce a formal response during the meeting. Mitchell acknowledged the village and park district are separate entities and said he did not expect the village to control the Park District’s decision, but wanted the objections and alleged procedural shortcomings entered into the record.

What happened next: trustees did not take formal action on the Field Park project at this meeting. Mitchell identified Park District staff member Chris Lindgren as the project supervisor; Golden said he had shared a detailed written submission with the village manager and the village attorney.

Why it matters: neighbors raised safety and access concerns near a heavily used park and school area and alleged the Park District did not meet its stated community engagement steps. If tree removal and artificial turf proceed, commenters warned of environmental effects and local business impacts.

Community details and clarifications: Mitchell said the project is $2,800,000 and that he collected roughly 300 signatures opposing the location (not the project itself). He said a promised traffic study due in April was not completed. Golden said his submission addresses fiduciary obligations, DEI implications, and environmental impacts including tree loss and effects on insect and bird habitat; he told the board the document had been emailed to village staff that afternoon.

Speakers quoted in this article spoke during the non-agenda public-comment period and identified themselves on the record.