The Village of Oak Park | 123 Madison St. Oak Park, IL 60302 | village@oak-park.us
Oak Park offers a variety of services that can be accessed online from a computer, tablet or smart phone. Some of the services are managed directly by the Village, while others are third-party vendors authorized by the Village to conduct transactions.
The Village of Oak Park provides a wide range of services, from public safety programs like fire and police protection to support for housing, historic preservation and neighborhood relations. Don't see what you are looking for? Use the search feature at the top of the page.
Oak Park operates under the village manager form of government. A part-time, elected legislative body of a president and six trustees hires a professional manager to oversee the day-to-day administration of government programs and services.
Oak Park boasts excellent schools, world class architecture, shopping, dining and an extensive public transportation network. But Oak Park is more than a place – it also is a way of life. Use the links in this menu to learn more about our community and the many services available to residents and visitors alike.
Oak Park offers a variety of services that can be accessed online from a computer, tablet or smart phone. Some of the services are managed directly by the Village, while others are third-party vendors authorized by the Village to conduct transactions.
The Village of Oak Park provides a wide range of services, from public safety programs like fire and police protection to support for housing, historic preservation and neighborhood relations. Don't see what you are looking for? Use the search feature at the top of the page.
Oak Park operates under the village manager form of government. A part-time, elected legislative body of a president and six trustees hires a professional manager to oversee the day-to-day administration of government programs and services.
Oak Park boasts excellent schools, world class architecture, shopping, dining and an extensive public transportation network. But Oak Park is more than a place – it also is a way of life. Use the links in this menu to learn more about our community and the many services available to residents and visitors alike.
Here are links to some of the most popular items on the Village web site.
Here are links to some of the most popular items on the Village web site.
March 8, 2024 – The Oak Park Police Department investigated 3,352 crimes in 2023, compared to 3,199 crimes in 2022, a modest 4.5% increase, according to data compiled by the Police Department for the FBI’s National Incident Based Reporting System used by law enforcement agencies in the United States for collecting and reporting data on crimes.
“As we reviewed the investigated crimes in 2023, we were especially pleased to see that crimes against persons, also known as violent crime, decreased last year,” said Oak Park Police Chief Shatonya Johnson. “At the same time, we want to remind and assure all of Oak Park that community safety remains our top priority. Through a combination of community-based policing and proactive measures, our officers will continue to uphold the peace and security of Oak Park to foster an environment where everyone can safely thrive.”
Oak Park’s year-over-year numbers reveal that crimes against persons decreased by about 7.5% to 501 in 2023 from 539 the year prior. The largest offense within that category is assault/battery, which accounted for more than 93% of crimes against persons last year.
Police officials attribute the overall jump to an increase in crimes against property, primarily in the category of thefts. Discounting thefts, overall crime would have been down approximately 3% last year. That offense category did rise from 726 in 2022 to 952 in 2023, however several other areas in crimes against property saw sizable year-over-year decreases including criminal damage to property (25.1%), deceptive practice (22.9%) and burglary (17.5%). In total, crimes against property accounted for 75.3% of all investigated crimes in Oak Park in 2023.
The third type of crime investigated is those committed against society. Those numbers increased by about 14.4% last year and can be attributed to increases in disorderly conduct and criminal trespass to property. Some cases in the latter category could have been retail arrests, however affected parties may have elected not press charges. One critical decrease that officials noted was a 47.6% reduction in weapons violations to 21, marking the lowest total in that category since 2020.
September 2023 saw the most crimes investigated by month with 345. The number dipped to 261 in October, however, marking the third lowest month of last year. For comparison, July produced the most crimes in 2022 at a total of 355. Both the third and fourth quarters of 2023 saw slight reductions from 2022 counterparts, while the first quarter saw the sharpest increase from 2022 to 2023.
Traffic enforcement fell by about 17.7% in 2023 with citations accounting for about 15.3% of last year’s total. Verbal warnings were issued in just over 25% of stops, while a total of 260 written warnings were delivered to drivers. While traffic enforcement numbers continue to sit below a pre-pandemic high of 8,442 in 2019, police officials have placed a renewed emphasis on this area and believe based on the first two months of data this year that enforcement will eclipse 2019 numbers in 2024.
Johnson is scheduled to deliver an in-person report on Oak Park’s 2023 crime statistics and other police department updates to the Village Board at its regular meeting on Tues., March 19. The meeting is scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers (room 201) at Village Hall (123 Madison St.). It will be streamed live and archived online for on-demand viewing, as well as cablecast on VOP-TV, which is available to Comcast subscribers on channel 6 and ATT Uverse subscribers on channel 99.
For more information about the Oak Park Police Department, visit www.oak-park.us/police, call 708.386.3800 or email police@oak-park.us.
About Oak Park
The Village of Oak Park, located just nine miles west of downtown Chicago, offers a distinctive urban/suburban lifestyle in a thriving, multi-cultural community. Well-known for progressive values, tree-lined streets and bustling business districts, Oak Park serves as an ideal place to live, work and play. As a longstanding community of choice, the Village benefits from convenient access to local and regional transit, high-quality public schools, and arts and cultural attractions, including Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and studio and his acclaimed Unity Temple, which was recently designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
