West Cook News

Senate President Don Harmon attended the unveiling of Oak Park's new mural. 

The first in what organizers hope is a series of murals in Oak Park and Galewood was installed on Nov. 13, and the project was started by the North Avenue District, which hopes to unite Chicago and Oak Park as well as other neighborhoods in the area.

"It was a pleasure to attend the #buildingbridges mural art project unveiling and reminded me of my own days at St. Giles! #artoftheday #GoLions The North Avenue District, Inc. @DistrictNorthAv #pawpride ... I look forward to more! Thanks again for helping our community," Harmon said in a post to his Facebook account. 

Other members of the legislature also praised the project.

“This is what we need in our community,” state Rep. Camille Lilly said. “I’m very excited about the energy that’s bringing together the local businesses, the government and the residents to the benefit of North Avenue.”

Jocelyne Adkins, the program director for By Discovery, also praised the students effort. 

“Their dedication to their task never wavered,” Adkins said. “Nor did their ability to enjoy the process.”

Students from the St. Giles Catholic Parish School painted the mural at Code Ninjas, according to Oak Park's site. The school may be located in Oak Park, but it also serves students in Galewood. Harmon recently traveled to London (as did Gov. J.B. Pritzker) to encourage international investment in the state of Illinois.

Judith Alexander, the North Avenue District’s chairwoman, said that crowded traffic and a lack of quality pedestrian crossings hinders the ability of residents of the two communities to support each others’ businesses, according to Oak Park's website. One of the goals of the mural series is to change those conditions. Improvement to sidewalks and landscaping are other measures being considered to encourage cross pollination. 

Oak Park's website also said that in the future, professional artists may collaborate with students for more murals.