- Eliminated $100,000 annual cost of providing crossing guards to the schools (nobody liked doing this, but the proper government to fund crossing guards is the schools they serve — like in most communities across the land)
- Eliminated $20,000 annual cost of providing a nurse to parochial schools (another cost that should have always been paid by those private schools, not the village)
- 10% of village staff has been laid off since 2007 (River Forest has fewer employees per 1,000 population than 72 percent of comparable Chicagoland suburbs — click here to see the numbers)
- Important positions have been left vacant to save money (which has hurt the village’s ability to function efficiently, costing us more in the long run)
- Non–union salaries have been frozen since 2008 (how long can we ask our employees to let their incomes shrink?)
- No raises for members of the Public Works union this fiscal year (again, how long can we ask our employees to let their incomes shrink?)
- Village services deferred including tree trimming cut back 20%, fewer street and sewer repairs (the Lake Street resurfacing is being done by the State of Illinois which owns the street)
- Money not placed in the village’s Capital Equipment Replacement Fund for the past three years (reducing the amount of money available for future replacements of fire engines and police cars and other necessary equipment)
- Preventative maintenance deferred (a frustratingly approach that will cost us more in the long run)
- Printed village newsletter mailed to your home replaced by online newsletter (which of course, few residents see now, especially our most senior neighbors who are not Internet users)
- Vehicle license fees raised
- Residents now pay the entire cost of garbage collection which had been partially paid by the village [Because we are not home rule the village cannot, without a referendum, roll the cost of garbage collection into our property taxes which homeowners can deduct from their income taxes, resulting in a lower cost for each of us.]
- METRA parking fees raised in village–owned lots
- Building permit fees raised in 2008
- Inspection fees raised
Send an email: 
Author: River Forest Resident Daniel Lauber