Even in 2013, it can still be unusual for an elected official to be openly gay—unless it's in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park.
Oak Park Village Trustee Colette Lueck, who is running for re-election this year, said that being an out lesbian has never been an issue. "Certainly I've been called to speak about the civil unions bill and marriage equality at various events and have worked actively on both of those measures," she said. "But Oak Park is a unique community and it isn't like other places. There really isn't any concern from the community or push back from the community about having an out elected official." She was actually the village's third openly gay official. In fact, she's had more issues as a woman in what is often still a male-dominated field.
Lueck said that there are stylistic differences between men and women. "Not being as aggressive at the board table yet wanting to be taken seriously and be heard," she explained. She's said politics can be an area that women need to grow into. But it was very good to see so many women entering Congress and government in the last round of national elections.
The issue that has most impacted her term has been the economy. While Oak Park weathered the recession better than many other locations in Illinois, the village was still hit hard and was forced to cut 20 percent of its workforce while still maintaining needed services. Programs such as a public health clinic, early childhood education and affordable house were maintained and helped give Oak Park a better footing to recover.
For her next term, the Eisenhower Expressway—which runs through the village's south side—is the most important issue facing Oak Park. "IDOT [the Illinois Department of Transportation] has been studying alternatives to the Ike [the Eisenhower], including expansion," Lueck said. "Our current commitment is to expansion not going beyond the ditch and we're very concerned with the on-ramps and off-ramps." The ramps in Oak Park are placed in the center of the expressway to decrease noise, congestion and pollution. Plus the bridges across the Eisenhower are in serious need of repair. New amenities could be included in any rebuild of the bridges to improve the quality of life for residents of the village. "It would have such a huge impact on our community."
Economic development is still a top issue as well. Even with coming through the Great Recession well and seeing strong growth in sales-tax revenues, there are still areas of Oak Park, most noticeably Madison Street, that are in need of serious redevelopment, Lueck said. There are different proposals including developing the larger vacant parcels and redesigning the streetscape to be more walkable. The village is looking at how it can help local businesses and has even been approached to help fund a theater for itinerant theater companies in Oak Park.
Lueck has worked for 20 years in children's mental health and is currently a managing director for the Illinois Children's Mental Health Partnership, coordinating statewide efforts to improve mental health services for children and families. That experience has made recent progress in early childhood education for Oak Park a particularly proud accomplishment. Oak Park is the first community in Illinois where local government bodies have agreed to jointly fund services for young children instead of remediation in high school. Studies have shown that every dollar invested in early childhood development have a seven fold return. "If you're going to put your money anywhere, early childhood is the place to put it," Lueck said. The grade school district, high school district and village have come together to fund the early childhood programs in Oak Park.
Oak Park has also joined with other nearby suburbs to work on rehabbing and working with developers on financing and making available affordable housing in the area.
She's also had a great vantage point to see what have been giant strides in marriage equality and civil rights, both nationally and in Illinois. "If anybody had asked me ten years ago would things would be where they are now, I would have said 'not a chance,'" Lueck stated. "The rate at which changes have occurred both nationally and in Illinois is phenomenal." She said it was the result of a lot of hard work by many people and generational changes. And, in some ways, everyone else is catching up with a village with a long history of being ahead of the curve on social issues.
"I think in a lot of ways, other places are catching up to Oak Park and we have to continue to say what's the next way forward, what's the next issue that we need to be on the cutting edge of," she continued. "Not that we have to be the leader in everything, but we always want to challenge ourselves and keep up with new issues."
