JOSHUA VANDERBERG

candidate for 2025 OAK PARK VILLAGE Trustee

1. What motivates you to seek this office? What skills do you bring to the office? What sets you apart from other candidates?  What does success look like for you after four years in the position?

I feel called to service because Oak Park is changing in ways that concern me. The village’s unique character comes from its people, but rising costs are making it harder for young people to stay and for longtime residents to retire here. I want to help ensure that Oak Park remains an economically and culturally diverse community.

For years, Oak Park has struggled to create enough housing to meet our community’s needs. I want to change that by building more diverse and affordable housing options—so seniors can stay in the community they love and the next generation has the opportunity to build their future here.

I’ve lived in the Chicago area for 30 years, and in Oak Park for the last 13. My wife and I have raised three amazing children here. I am tremendously grateful to this community for the love and inclusiveness my family has experienced here. I will never compromise those values.

I serve on one of our citizen commissions, and have founded a business here. For over a decade I’ve engaged deeply with local politics, with my own unique brand of data driven leadership.

Success for me will be a village that’s started a journey towards housing abundance and affordability, a village that’s well on its way towards implementing Vision Zero and eliminating serious traffic deaths and injuries, a village that’s walkable, bikeable, and human scale, a great place to found a business, a great place for our children to build a home. Hopefully a place I can retire to.

2. What do you see as the three biggest challenges or opportunities facing the Village in and what role do you see the Board playing to address them over the next four years?

Three major challenges we face:

a) The new administration directly threatens our federal funding sources, and will use every method in its coercive arsenal to get places like us to compromise our values in return for those funds. The board must stand resolute, not compromise our values, and not be complicit in the harms caused by the new administration. The opportunity here is for us to develop more resilient state and locally based funding sources.

b) I have a progressive, forward looking agenda for Oak Park, and one of the biggest challenges I face when advocating for these changes is the entrenched resistance to any change that threatens the status quo. For almost any change you’d like to make, there exist interest groups that will protest and oppose that change vocally. Change parking policy? Build more housing? Put in a new bike lane? Build an affordable apartment? You face concerted pushback.

We need to find ways to engage with the community and get folks to show up protesting for beneficial changes. For example, instead of sending notices to those houses who will lose parking when a bike lane is installed, how about we send notices to all of the families whose children might use the new bike lane to ride to school?

c) The overall issue of affordability is critical to the future of Oak Park. Too many people leave when their kids leave school, which is unsustainable long term, too many people leave Oak Park because they can’t afford to retire here, or can't find a space to downsize to. The opportunity here for Oak Park is to embark on a program of smart growth, building new housing, growing our population, and building our business community. This will create new and more diverse revenue streams, decreasing reliance on property taxes, bring in new residents to share the cost of replacing our aging infrastructure, and make Oak Park a destination that draws in dollars from surrounding communities.

3. What is your decision making process? What steps are steps the Board can take to ensure transparency, clear communication, and community engagement, hearing from the broad spectrum of Village constituents?

In my decision making process, I usually like to start with the data. Good data informs good policy. Good data allows for transparency and clarity in goal setting while working with Village staff. I’ve seen for years the most contentious decision making processes at the Board table are when we lack data, or the data is unclear.

We know that getting feedback from a diverse cross section of Oak Parkers is difficult. The people who show up to protest, or to make public comments usually aren’t representative of Oak Parkers as a whole. I want to see the village continue its efforts with Engage Oak Park, a digital community survey platform, and continue its in person outreach to specific underrepresented communities in Oak Park. I’d also like the Board to take this on as a challenge as well, inviting community representatives, directly, to the board table to present their perspective.

4. Volunteer citizen boards, commissions, and committees advise the village trustees. Do you believe that these entities are utilized effectively? What (if any) changes would you like to see to their authority, responsibilities, and oversight?

I currently serve on the Citizen Information Systems Commission (CISC). I believe commissions play a vital role in advising the board, and more importantly doing useful work for the board to support their decision making. Commissions should do their work always cognizant of their advisory role, and focus on providing expertise, analysis, and community input the board may lack.

I think the current commission process is working well, though we need to do a better job of removing barriers to serving. The onboarding process is slow and involved.

5. Please share your thoughts about the Village’s current financial picture. What’s your understanding of the Board’s role in the budgeting process and the allocation of resources? Do you have organizational finance experience?

The Village at present has a strong financial position, with large reserves, and deep non-property tax revenue streams. I’ve watched the budgeting process over the last several years from afar, and my chief concern going forward will be what we do as ARP funds are depleted, federal grant funds are revoked and we face cumulative inflation of the last 5 years. We are going to have to keep an eye on large capital expenditures like the police department and village hall renovation, ensuring that we provide quality new facilities without breaking the bank.

6. What would you say to voters who are worried about Oak Park’s overall tax burden?

This is a real concern. Over the last 25 years property taxes have grown faster than wages. This has had a material impact on the economic and racial diversity of Oak Park, as people who can’t afford the tax burden leave. The village however is a relatively small portion of the citizen’s property tax bill. We should focus on keeping it that way, ensuring that the taxes we levy don’t grow faster than our ability to pay. But the village is unique in that it has large, non-property tax sources of revenue - sales taxes, liquor taxes, and other fees. We should double down on investing in the economic vitality of Oak Park, growing our business community, to decrease our reliance on property taxes.

7. Given the Village’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement, what steps should the Village take to support underrepresented and disadvantaged people and businesses?  Give an example that is or would significantly advance the Village in achieving its aspirations. Have recent discussions in the larger community and or at the national level informed or changed your thinking?

Having been a hiring manager for years, I’ve worked hard to incorporate DEI practices into my company’s hiring process. I want to call out two key approaches that reduce bias and remove barriers in evaluating candidates: a) clear and measurable job requirements b) removing unnecessary degree requirements.

The village can model these practices in its own hiring. I see many job postings from the village that span 3-4 pages of expansive and often vague job requirements, and have excessive degree requirements. For example there was an IT posting requiring a bachelor’s degree, when I know that somebody with an associates, or even a motivated highschool grad with the right experience could have filled that position well. I want our village to have qualified employees, but we need to ensure that we aren’t creating artificial barriers to more diverse talent.

The Village should also work with the local highschool and community colleges to create job training programs that provide diverse onramps to jobs in municipal government and our local businesses.

The OPRF chamber of commerce has also presented the Board with an economic development plan for Black and Latino businesses in Oak Park. I support this plan and would work to see it developed and funded.

8. What policies and programs should the Village undertake to improve its tax base and help local businesses, and continue to develop a diverse mix of businesses? Are there specific geographic areas on which you would focus? Please share your thoughts about the proposed Economic Vitality Strategic Plan? 

As of this writing we have yet to see the final Economic Vitality Plan from Camoin and associates so I will withhold judgement there. I will say that the final plan needs to be much better than what we’ve seen so far.

The key to having a diverse and thriving business community is to have a diverse and thriving residential base. This is why downtown works. It’s centrally located, and it’s walkable for about one third of Oak Park. Other business districts, like Southtown and the Arts District are also supported by the diverse housing density that surrounds them.

We cannot separate economic development from residential development, if we do we'll be pouring money into commercial corridors that lack customers. We need to make strategic investments in commercial corridors and match them with upzoning residential around those corridors to support it. 

The Chamber of Commerce has an extensive strategic plan that includes many excellent ideas, including a Small Business Development Center, educational programs, an entrepreneur mentorship program, and initiatives designed to generate investment capital. We need to listen to the Chamber and incorporate their experience and work into our plans.

We should also streamline permitting and approval for businesses. We repeatedly hear just how hard it is to found a new business in Oak Park. Let’s make Oak Park work for businesses.

9. What do you see as the most pressing issue relating to housing in Oak Park? What policies would you advocate to address this issue? Do you consider support for affordable housing to be a core function of our village government? Please explain.

The most pressing issue is that we’re hardly building any new housing. We’ve slowed new housing creation over the last 50 years, and brought it to almost a standstill in the last 5.

There are two major causes of this, exclusionary zoning policies, which favor single family homes and prohibit the construction of new multi-family dwellings, and the advent of large historic districts, which are even more effective at preventing new building.

I will advocate for zoning reform to all the ‘next increment’ of density in every district. If a district currently allows single family homes only, it would allow two and three flats. If it currently allows two and three flats, it would allow smaller apartment buildings or townhomes.

I don’t know that affordable housing is a core function of village government, but the village government controls all of the rules that are currently making housing so expensive here.

10. Rental units comprise about 41% of Oak Park’s housing stock. How can the Village better serve the needs of renters in our community?

The village should continue its advocacy for renters rights, and its strong anti-discrimination housing regulations. It contracts with third parties to investigate and ensure that landlords are compliant with state and local laws. This process recently revealed that several local landlords weren’t in compliance, and were still engaging in biased practices.

I support these efforts and would continue them.

Also, the number one concern for renters in Oak Park is rent. We need to build more multi-family housing, which will stop the spiraling rent increases and stabilize rents.

11. How can the Village better serve the needs of the disabled in our community? Those who wish to age in place here in Oak Park?

Much of the existing housing stock in Oak Park is not accessible, and it’s very hard to make it so. Many seniors face the daunting challenge of dealing with a home that’s now far too large and hard to maintain, and increasingly inaccessible as they age. There are very few downsizing options, especially for those with disabilities.

So called ‘missing middle’ housing development can play a key role for the disabled and seniors. Two and three flats can be developed from scratch with accessible ground floor units. The village can play a dual role here - modifying zoning to allow these options, and providing incentives for accessibility that goes above and beyond what’s required by code.

I also support co-housing and shared housing options that can allow seniors and those with disabilities to cope with less accessible spaces for longer than they would be able to alone.

And finally, we should extend and promote our homeowner repair loan program to target accessibility upgrades.

12. Oak Park adopted the Welcoming Village Ordinance in 2017 regarding immigrants, and has often championed expanded rights for marginalized persons. What role should the Village Board play in the face of current national challenges?

Village President Scaman recently called the community together for a shared expression of our continued support for our shared values. She, and representatives of all the Villages elected boards, committed to defending DEI, defending our LGTBQ+ and defending other vulnerable communities in Oak Park. Myself and many other community members stood in solidarity with that call to action.

Our elected officials cannot compromise our values in the face of pressure from the new administration. This might mean some tough choices as funding sources dry up in punishment. But we cannot be complicit. We will continue to defend our most valuable, and we will continue to stand for diversity, equity and inclusion.

13. How do you define public safety and effective policing?  How would you work to create an Oak Park where all community members feel safe?

Oak Park is seen as a national leader in effective and safe policing. Our police are highly trained, and our police chief well understands the needs of the community. But there are still opportunities for improvement.

Good data makes for good policy, that goes for police policy as well. Crime and other police related data have historically been reported inconsistently, and not on a timely basis. This has improved, but there is still work to do. I am encouraged by the Police Department's efforts to improve their reporting and process around police stops, in response to the Thrive report on racial disparities in stops. We need to continue to push the police department to publish all of its data, online, in a standard format. This promotes transparency and trust.

We need to work with the police chief to ensure that the police department is fully staffed, and that they have the facilities they require to support recruitment and retention. Overworked, stressed officers make our community less safe.

I am a supporter of the Alternative Calls for Service program, now called ECHO. We will be piloting it soon. It will better tailor our response to citizen calls. Instead of always sending a sworn officer with a gun, just in case, we will dispatch a person with the skills required to handle the call. This will also free up sworn officers to be better deployed towards deterrence and enforcement.

14. What is your opinion of the Village’s Climate Action Plan and its implementation so far?

It's a good, comprehensive plan. I support the initiatives the board has undertaken to fund the plan, but so far the funding, and results, have been disappointing. It's very hard to see where significant funding for these goals will come from, especially under the new Federal administration. We should continue to fund these efforts, searching for alternative funding sources, looking to the state of Illinois, but I also think we need to look to other sustainability approaches.

People often say that we cannot address climate change at the local level. But local governments have extensive control over how and where we live - key drivers of our carbon footprint. We should reform zoning laws to increase density. New multifamily buildings will be more efficient, density will drive economic development, increase walkability, and decrease car dependency. Zoning reform, though challenging, is free.

15. What approach should the Village take towards intergovernmental cooperation initiatives such as the Collaboration for Early Childhood. Are there other specific initiatives that you would like to implement or expand upon with other local and or regional governing bodies and nonprofits? 

The Village plays a crucial role in supporting early childhood care and education through its partnership with the Collaboration for Early Childhood. I believe early intervention has a profound impact on a child’s long-term success, both educationally and socially. The Village’s should continue funding and supporting these efforts while working in partnership with other local governing bodies to maximize impact.

This model could also be a guide as we face other challenging problems that have a regional component - for example, serving the unhoused population. The Village can play a key role here coordinating with our partners, like Housing Forward, and with other municipalities and local Oak Park governmental bodies that provide services. We can also work to find and develop grant funding that goes above and beyond what Oak Park can contribute locally.


16. Should the Village Board spend its time to make proclamations or take stances on national or international issues? Please explain your thinking.

The Village often makes proclamations about events and issues that extend beyond our borders, proclamations that have meaning and relevance to local communities. These are usually uncontroversial statements which aren’t objectionable to the various communities within Oak Park. Where the board needs to be careful is when such a proclamation or statement interjects the board into a conflict between subcommunities of Oak Park. The national or international scope of such a proclamation I think isn’t important, it’s the local impact to our community members which must be the guide.

17. One of the Village Board’s primary responsibilities is oversight of the village Manager. What criteria do you believe the Board should use to evaluate the performance of the Village Manager?

The Board and the Village Manager are best served by shared, transparent and measurable goals. I’d like to see more specific financial and economic development goals set for the Village Manager. Since the defunding of the OPEDC, we’ve done very little in the way of economic development, and it’s likely our current efforts at creating an economic vitality plan won’t be implemented for quite some time. Going forward I’d set very clear goals and timelines around economic development.


18. Last November, Oak Park voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative that proposed that voters be able to approve ordinances and policies though a direct vote. At this point the vote on the ballot initiative was advisory or non-binding. The next step is for the Village or any other taxing body in Oak Park (as reported by the Wednesday Journal, November 7, 2024) to decide whether or not to place the issue on the ballot as a binding referendum. Please share your views on this initiative. 

I will commit to evaluating such voter initiative legislation with an eye to preventing abuse by special interests and not short circuiting the work of our well informed and dedicated elected officials and staff. Arlington Heights has an ordinance that can be a guide. Ideally this would be an avenue for the community to alert the board to critical issues that need to be addressed, and not a way to substitute good representative government with a plebiscite.

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