Part 1. The drive to serve

This post was originally published on my Substack.

Yes, I’m running for Village of Oak Park Trustee. Or technically, I’ve started the process of collecting signatures to get on the ballot for our April 2027 elections. And people are asking me why.

Often the precise question is, “What is the one thing that made you decide to run now?”

While certainly we have some discussions and decisions happening right now in our village and at the board table that will impact generations of Oak Parkers, it isn’t one thing, one action, one person, one organization that is driving my decision.

I’ve lived in Oak Park for most of my life. And from 1st grade through high school, I benefited from discussions at home and at school about ensuring inclusivity - discussions about leading with kindness.

I grew up in a two-flat- a home that made sure I understood the importance of fighting for racial equity. My grandmother was a fierce feminist advocate for love and frequently repeated, “Love is love - we can’t dictate who we fall in love with.”

My grandmother lived on the top floor when I was young; now my parents do. And my children have been able to see them every day. My youngest son, a senior at OPRF, still goes up every school day to say good morning and goodbye.

Oak Park is home. I’m so incredibly grateful my husband and I moved back here with the intention to be near family and be part of a community that in large part embraces differences.

Now I don’t want you to think I view Oak Park as perfect. I can name some big gaps in any idyllic picture I’d try and paint for you. Maybe I’ll get into some of those gaps I’ve heard about and experienced myself in a future post.

But I do want you to understand that, for all of our imperfectness, I want people who live in Oak Park to feel welcome, accepted, at home. I want people to be able to access the information they need and find new ways to tap into their community.

I want us to be heard and feel heard. I want people to have fun here.

And I want to work for that, volunteer for that.