The Cook County Clerk's office in Maywood has instituted a new policy - you MUST have an…read moreappointment if you intend to acquire birth or death certificates or marriage licenses. This is a very new, and little known new rule. There is no sign prior to entry that indicates you MUST have an appointment. That means that members of the uniformed public arrive, with the expectation to wait in line for an available clerk, obtain the certificates needed, pay and leave, as has been the customary ritual. But NOW - if you don't have an appointment, you are either turned away or told to go outside, make a call to the clerk's office - in the moment - and request an appointment. That appointment however may not be an IMMEDIATE appointment. You may receive an appointment that requires you to WAIT - possibly an hour, before you can acquire the certificates you need. If that happens, you are told to SIT AND WAIT IN YOUR CAR - until your allotted time! Really? Having a appointment, however, is still not enough - you need to also have a CONFIRMATION NUMBER for that appointment. If you happen to be a representative from a funeral home that has been sent to pick up death certificates for upcoming services - the confirmation number was likely emailed to the office manager - but not the representative that has driven some distance to the clerk's office. The confirmation number is emailed to the office manager. Whether as a representative of a funeral home - or as a member of the general public - you do not expect to be turned away, told to hang out in the parking lot for how ever long it may be, or have to make a second trip, if your wait time is too long. This is not efficient, friendly, or helpful to the public. Hire more staff to accommodate the needs of the public, as you are there to serve the public.

Stopped by here to drop off my mail in voting ballot. The parking lot was well mapped out and easy…read moreto navigate through. The parking lot was also huge and had plenty of spaces to choose from. They had large signage outside to notify people which building the drop off box was and they were easy to read. There were a few friendly police offers outside the door directing people where to go. Since I was dropping off the ballot my process was super quick and simple. I literally walked into the building and put my ballot in the box. They had another officer inside and what looked like a few volunteers helping direct people also. Everyone inside was wearing masks and there was even a large touch-free hand sanitizer to use at the door. People were respectfully social distancing as well. A woman was holding some stickers by the box to have after dropping off your ballot which was appreciated. Who doesn't love stickers!? They make for the best post-voting photos too also.. everyone know that;) Anyway, super easy voting experience and it felt good to drop off that ballot!

This is the headquarters of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. We are so lucky to have…read morethis institution here as well as sister agencies in the suburbs and other areas of Illinois. I'm from Oregon which has lots hiking, state parks, and so on, but the forest preserves are special. They provide a lot of great programming and the agency maintains over 70,000 acres of woodlands, wetlands, trails, and other outdoor spaces in Cook County. My experience with the FPDCC has been to attend various programs they're hosting. Usually those are some sort of hike or trail walk with a naturalist providing context and education along the way. Whilst there's several nature centers (kind of akin to the field houses at parks in the Chicago Park District) in the FPDCC system with different amenities, there are picnic groves, walking/hiking trails, camp sites, aquatic centers, and places for folks to have events, etc. I've been to the more "typical" events you'd expect of a forestry agency, such as a night hike at Sand Ridge Nature Center; hike learning about and looking for beaver activity at Trailside; owl education at River Trail Nature Center; and so on. An event about nature journaling held by a FPDCC volunteer piqued my interest in learning more about and doing some nature journaling, and led me to join the Chicago Nature Journaling Club. But they also have tried to expand to include some cultural programming and that's totally my bag. One of the signature programs supported by the department of Conservation & Experiential Programming is the American Indian Center's annual pow wow at Schiller Woods. I haven't been to that yet but it's on my list! Today I went to one of the Black History Month programs they're hosting, which was a lecture-style program with an indoor poetry trail and a discussion and introduction to Black naturalists and environmentalists from the Chicago area and beyond. It was a really interesting presentation and I'm only sad that I was the only person besides the employees who showed up! But we did have some good conversation about trying to reconnect Black folks to nature, environmental racism, how the issues early Black activists were concerned about are still germane today, and what folks are doing in the present to ensure these concerns remain part of the conversation. I really appreciate the discussion I had with Art, Bill, and Will. I'll be attending the BHM program at Sand Ridge that is a self-guided tour through trails that connected to the Underground Railroad. The forest preserves are fascinating, y'all!

Thank you for having an employee that offers excellent customer service at Sullivan Camp. Thank you…read moreRod for your assistance with my family trip.

I've had the opportunity to find myself up in Forest Park in the last year. Some people refer it as…read morethe Oak Park's stepchild, it really isn't it surely doesn't have as much however why should it? It's smaller. What it does have, is a nice small town main street feel on Madison Ave. starting at Harlem going west. Here you have a mix of diner's to casual eateries, an independent coffee house, and a couple of franchises, some bars, a hipster brew pub that serves up really good food, a liquor store, a place that teaches archery, and a bakery that specializes in brownies along with some healthy treats. Surrounding this you have a mix of single family and multi-unit homes that remind me of the Oak Park next door, you also will find a mix of condos, some were built in the early 70s those are value priced, however newer builds are coming up with indoor heated garages, etc. Overall prices and taxes are lower. The area is serviced by Pace for buses, however the real perk is the Blue Line ends here making commuting to the city a breeze. A surprising nice area close to Oak Park and the city. An afternoon is enjoyable, and I could almost live there, if only it were on the lake. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY IT WAS CHANGED TO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE? NOT THE WAY I PUT IN THE REVIEW, I HAD NO DEALINGS WITH THEIR COC.

Red Light Ticket Trap at Harlem Ave. & Lake St. Got $100…read moreticket for turning right on red at 10:30pm with no pedestrians around. The camera flashed when I was 10 feet from the intersection. I had slowed way down but did not make the final tap on the brakes. Went to Village Hall to go before the Judge and he ruled I was liable. He said I still needed to go to a total stop before turning red and that No Turn on Red with Pedestrians was secondary to the complete stop. I am unsure about the brain power over at the Village hall. They need to take the hundreds of thousands they make on the Red light ticket trap to develop more parking for their Municipal Building. It has a ridiculous 4 spots for people coming to conduct official business! They are also spending their money installing concrete bump-outs on Chicago Ave to impede snow plows and yellow sticks on Washington Blvd to block left turns and back up traffic.

they set up parking tickets rules so difficult to appeal but so easy to pay literally to rob you …read more I just moved in to the area and had no idea where to park so I got three days overnight pass and still got ticket for this! Since I worked long hours didn't problem solve this and for next night I literally called police department and asked them what to do. The Person from police department told me to park on street and contest tickets later. so I got second ticket and than saw that you can pay online but in order to contest they give you only one date / time to contest and there is no online or zoom option!!!!! so the man from police dep literally tricked me into getting second ticket that I will now pay as I can't show up on the date they gave me!!!

Oak Park's parking enforcement department has a serious selective enforcement problem, and I have…read morethe documentation to prove it. Time and time again, I have witnessed two vehicles parked in close proximity where one has more severe or repeat violations and receives absolutely nothing: no ticket, no citation, no warning. Meanwhile, a vehicle with a valid license and a paid permit parking pass gets cited for something trivial. This is not an isolated incident. This is a pattern. At this point I have to ask, what is driving these decisions? Because from the outside, it doesn't look like enforcement. It looks like targeting. There is no logical explanation for why the most egregious violators walk away clean while compliant, paying residents get penalized. The people who are actually invested in this community: paying for permits, following the rules, deserve fair and consistent treatment. That is the bare minimum expectation of any municipal department. Right now, that expectation is not being met. This is not something I'm going to let go. I will continue to document every instance, continue sharing what I find with community members, and continue escalating this through every appropriate channel available until there is real accountability. The hypocrisy here is not just frustrating, it's a legitimate problem that deserves serious attention.

Police and Fire are good and the rest of the departments are nothing to brag about. Overpriced in…read moreall aspects of living. There are nice people but way too many that think they are big shots living in Oak Park. Oak Park is not the village it once was. It's much like living in a Socialist Republic. You can do much better in another city, town or village and another township. Just cross Austin Blvd into Chicago and you can find better prices and services. Oak Park if you are a renter is the pits as they offer basically no protection for bad landlords and also if you know someone that is what you need to get anything done or for them to look the other way.

I purchased an item that had to make its way through this Post Office. Unfortunately, the item…read morenever made it out. Getting anyone on the phone here is a joke. USPS still hasn't located the package, but thankfully, I got a refund from the company. If USPS hasn't investigated this location, they should. When you Google this location, you'll find dozens of customers who have written reviews about how their items have gotten "lost" here. Pray that you never have a package that has to come through this location because this is where packages come to get stolen, er, lost.

Packages get sent back saying address doesn't match but I've ordered the package before and it came…read morethis is ridiculous can't even order packages to my own apartment.

Why is it that Law and Justice are two different things and its as if they aren't associated…read more There are services that landowners need the help of Cook County Sheriff's to help enforce which come with a cost.. a fee which has to be paid. But when the County can't commit or delay for months at a time, your monies are lost! Why T.F. do we pay taxes? I needed work done by the Sheriff's office which they were to act on a court ruling. Since all the legwork is done through lawyers, at first, they said the Sheriff's could only go out when the weather got better! Why?? They aren't doing any manual labor.. And at the time they were quoting an estimated time of 6-8 weeks! 6-8 Weeks later, nothing has been done. So I had the work done on my own. Now I'm told the fee is non-refundable! I wish they would remember these "lost fee's" when they call your house looking for a donation! Or when they ask the public to pay more money for taxes to help support them. How about supporting us?? the good guys, the ones you don't have to go and arrest. The ones that smile at you on the street or waive hello. The ones that defend you and think that you stand for........... something?

Nazia helping out ICE is all you need to know. anyone who fights for trump's SS army is a traitor…read moreto this country. lol esp at the poc members of the force who sold out their great grandparents' memory

Working with the Bellville office has been the worst experience. The Supervisor Emily Posth does…read morenot return calls, lies and uses deceptive practices. She does not uphold her duties to work in the best interests of reuniting family. She fosters an environment where the social workers under her are the most incompetent and negligent individuals you will ever deal with. They continually contradict what they advise and speak to you in a very condescending manner. They know that families are at the mercy of DCFS and take no urgency to resolve any issues. Emily Posth does not and will not uphold you nor your child best interests. She will personally use deceptive practices and make up lies. Move with extreme caution if you ever have to work with her incompetent staff. you need to be careful in dealing with them. I have so much empathy for anyone that's has had to encounter her! She is a horrible example of Supervisor. It no wonder this office has a running list of issues and a terrible turnaround. She has absolutely no accountability!

They are the most unprofessional government agency! They don't help families. They destroy families…read moreand go on false accusations! They need to learn how to do their jobs properly. They drag every thing out. My husband wrote a letter to the governor! I hope they get in trouble for how they treat people.

Amazing! Offers something for everyone! Very helpful when ordering books and movies! My grandson…read moreloves it when he comes into town as there is a playroom in the downstairs children's library! The staff is exemplary! In a small town we are very fortunate to have such a great library!

I came here on Saturday to update my library card. I moved to the Forest Park Area a few months…read moreago. I looked online and was happy that they were offering a complimentary parking pass to The Chicago Botanic Garden. The guy behind the counter was nice and helpful. It took him some time to get my information to get my library card. I walked around a bit and this library is quite nice. Very nice and clean on the inside and outside. There are many programs and workshops this place offers. You can check online for events young, teens and adults. I love the banner outside that says "Everyone is Welcome" Its also cool that FPL is Fine Free which permanently eliminates fines.