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The Southwest Side community is as close to Chicago as it gets – the suburban village shares two borders with the city.
Interactive map: More from our series of community reports
The region has one of the largest park districts in the state, said park district manager Tom Hartwig with 24 parks. Renovations to one of them, Lawn Manor, were just completed this spring.
If you are looking for mental training, Oak Lawn offers this Escape room south side According to owner Brandon Udishis, this is a one-of-a-kind, one-hour team building experience. It’s a nine-room “who made” in which people walk through the “mansion” he and his wife designed; it’s like a live action clue.
Udischas and his wife, Allison, create the story and design the entire space – which they change from time to time so that guests can return to solve a new mystery.
“We try to build our escape rooms with a wow factor, where something happens and the environment changes on you – it’s something different than you expected,” Udischas said.
If you’re looking for mental training, Oak Lawn offers what South Side Escape Room owner Brandon Udishis says is a one-of-a-kind, one-hour team-building experience. This is a nine-room “who made” in which people walk through the “mansion” that he and his wife designed. (WTTW News)
Oak Lawn is also home to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where Dr David Barounis is the ICU Medical Director. Barounis said he hopes the delta’s surge has reached its peak, but as colder weather approaches, it’s hard to say how the community will be affected.
“People like to ask us to look into our crystal ball, which is covered in concrete, peel it off and imagine what we’ll see. It’s hard to say, ”Barounis said. “I think what we know is that there are over 90 million Americans who are eligible for the vaccine and have not yet been vaccinated, and the more people we get vaccinated, we know that. ‘they are less likely to be hospitalized when they are vaccinated. . “
The hospital currently has around 70 COVID-19 patients
Oak Lawn is also home to the Advocate Christ Medical Center. (WTTW News)
Oak Lawn saw its population start to take off in the 1970s when the White Chicagoans left town.
According to census data, the majority of residents are white – but there is also a large Arab population – something the last census did not count accurately, said Dilara Sayeed, educator and president of the Illinois Muslim Civic Coalition.
The census counted all American Arabs as white, Sayeed said. Other challenges, such as the pandemic, have also made it more difficult to reach hard-to-count populations.
“We now have an incorrect count of the communities in this region,” Sayeed said. “Unfortunately, the census is a major data point for the redistribution, and the maps that help elect officials for each district. For this reason, we now have maps that do not represent the racial demographics of this region. To put it bluntly, we have districts of Arab communities, which will not be able to vote or will probably have a candidate of Arab origin as they are counted as blanks on the district maps.
Video: Watch our full interview with Dilara Sayeed
In Bridgeview, a 12-minute drive from Oak Lawn, Karen Danielson is a member of The Mosque Foundation. Many Muslims in Oak Lawn and surrounding areas love it.
Danielson said that while Islamophobic rhetoric existed before 9/11, the terrorist attack increased it. In the days following the community protests against the mosque, there was a lot of fear, which she said was a wake-up call to the community. For about a week Danielson said she couldn’t leave her house.
“We were associated as the culprits, as the culprits,” Danielson said. “So we had to try to figure out how to involve our society and not continue to be this community isolated from the American public. We knew the best way was to become familiar to the American public for who we really are. “
An interfaith coalition of religious organizations in Oak Lawn, Bridgeview and surrounding areas had gathered for a few years prior to September 11, of which Danielson is a part. After the attack, the coalition began to focus its efforts on promoting dialogue to combat prejudices and stereotypes against American Muslims.
Remembering Oak Lawn’s Efforts with 9/11, 20 Years Later
The physical remains of the 9/11 tragedy are on permanent display at Oak Lawn. The first responders memorial is right on the Oak Lawn Patriot Station Metro stop. The spiers of the memorial are partly made with beams from the World Trade Center.
Local first responders were instrumental in raising funds for the project, including Police Officer Pat Curran. In 2001, when he had only been in the service for two and a half years. Curran volunteered to travel to New York to help the police there, weeks after the attack.
“We actually went down to Ground Zero itself,” Curran said. “It was as bad as the pictures you see. The fires were still burning. I will never forget the smell of rubber; it was like diesel fuel in the air, it was just… I can’t forget that.
Curran said he served as a relief for New York City police who were working around the clock: searching trucks near high-value targets and checking IDs at checkpoints.
“I remember walking between missions at one point and we were walking by St. Patrick’s Cathedral and a police officer said, ‘Hey, can you come for a funeral? There were no officers there because they were all working, ”Curran said.
A lot has changed since then, Curran said. As memories linger, he says his concern as a law enforcement officer has changed – now he’s more worried about domestic terrorism than international terrorism.
The First Responders Memorial is located right at the Oak Lawn Patriot Station Metra stop. The spiers of the memorial are partly made with beams from the World Trade Center. (WTTW News)
Oak Lawn Fire Chief Zackary Riddle was deployed to the Middle East about 17 months after the attack. He has made nearly two tours in Southwest Asia and Iraq.
Riddle says 20 years later he wants to focus on recognizing and respecting first responders and the military.
“I think the thread of selfless service runs through the men and women in uniform,” Riddle said. “It doesn’t matter if they’re in the military, a first responder, or some other leadership role in the community. Everyone is trying to do great things and do their part. “
Video: Watch our full interview with Zackary’s Riddle
Oak Lawn is holding a memorial service at 9:11 a.m. on Saturday at its 9/11 Memorial at Oak Lawn Patriot Station.
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