West Cook News

The Oak Park Village Board recently welcomed new trustees to the board, said goodbye to departing members and reaffirmed the oaths of those who were reelected.

During the May 2 Oak Park Village Board of Trustees meeting, officials recognized the results of the Spring Election, making changes to the board of trustees as required. Trustee Jim Taglia was leaving his seat after serving on the board for six years. Trustee Ravi Parakkat thanked him for his willingness to listen to others and the wisdom of his financial experience in his CPA career, and added that they will miss him dearly. Taglia’s seat was taken up by Cory Wesley, who was reelected with over 5,000 votes after being appointed part way through a normal term to fill a vacancy. The board also welcomed newcomer, Trustee Brian Straw. His first time running for office saw him receiving 4,983 votes in the April election to secure him. He ran on a campaign of better streets and sidewalks, gun violence safety measures, and tax fairness.

Trustee Susan Buchanan retains her seat, having secured the third elected seat with just over 4,600 votes in April's election. Buchanan was first elected to the village board in 2019, and previously served on the Oark Park Board of Health. 

In her speech thanking the community and board for their continued support for her seat on the board, Buchanan thanked her husband who she called the “sane half of the couple,” and advocated for continued efforts against climate change. Buchanan showcased her continued dedication to efforts like climate change and sustainability measures by wearing a shirt that blended from blue to white to red, which was meant to highlight increasing global temperatures.

She affirmed her efforts to diversity, explaining that while she is white, her life as a woman helps her understand the plight of minorities.

"I also want to include my commitment to racial equity, and equity for every marginalized population of residents," Buchanan said at the meeting. "In this age of obnoxious ‘Karens,’ which I’m sure I’ve been at some point, I realize it might look phony to hear these sentiments from a white woman. I can never truly understand the black experience, but I ask that you not discredit the lived experience I have had by being a woman."

"We live in a society in which men rape us, humiliate us, impregnate us when we don’t want to be pregnant and murder us. I’ve been whistled at, jeered at, belittled, told to be a nurse anesthetist instead of a doctor, talked over, talked at, explained to, and paid less. I’m committed to racial equity because I want equity for all of us,” she concluded.

These comments are similar in tone to a conversation she had when she was first sworn in to the board of trustees in 2019, in which she berated trustees Dan Moroney and Deno Andrews for speaking on racial equity and oppression because they were white men and hadn’t experienced such events in their life. She likened it to them trying to talk to her about menstruation. 

As per tradition, the trustees voted to approve and uphold their village’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statement as a new board, after Buchanan pointed out that this was the approval of a changed statement since 2019. Buchanan attempted to start a discussion about the changes, but the board was ready to move forward with approval.