State puts Oak Brook Park District Improvement Project and Playground Donation on Hold

The $400,000 Open Space Land Acquisition and Development [OSLAD] grant that was slated to fund a portion of the Oak Brook Park District ball field renovation project has been put on hold by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. A letter from the IDNR dated January 27, 2015, stated that the grant was on hold and requested the park district "NOT incur any costs related to this project until further notice."

While the Oak Brook Park District plans on submitting the executed contract to the grant administrator, the contract will be held until further instructions are received from the Governor's Office.

As part of the park improvement project, the Oak Brook Park District planned to donate a $25,000 piece of playground equipment to Butler School District 53. The school district has been without a playground since June of 2013 when its existing play structure was deemed unsafe and removed. The donation of the playground equipment was contingent on redeveloping its current location in Oak Brook Park District's Central Park. "While we have some concerns, we are optimistic that we will still receive the necessary funding and the project will move forward, just at a later date," says Laure Kosey, Executive Director of the Oak Brook Park District.

The Governor's Office is reviewing the grants, but no definitive timeline is available for a decision at this time.