Why I'm Running

Hi, I am Josh Vanderberg, and I’m running for Village Trustee.

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 and I’m an Irving Dad. I am tremendously grateful to this community for the love and inclusiveness my family has experienced here — and I’ll never compromise those values.

I serve on the Citizen Information Systems Commission where I’ve focused on data transparency and worked with the board and police department to create new regulations that give citizens a voice in the use of police surveillance tech. 

In my professional life, I co-founded a successful energy analytics firm that helps renewables projects integrate with the electrical grid, then founded an Internet startup in Oak Park designed to spur independent citizen journalism and support our business community.

Because of my background, I believe in the power of data to inform our decisions — good data makes for good policy and transparent government. Modern technology holds the promise to make our Village easier to live in and easier to do business with. I’ll advocate for much faster modernization.

For years, Oak Park hasn’t created enough housing to meet our community’s needs. This has resulted in rising costs and rents that are impacting our cultural and economic diversity.  I want to change that by enabling 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 love Oak Park for its walkable streets and vibrant business districts, and I want to double down on what makes that work. I will invest in economic vitality and support our business community.

To make our village more welcoming, sustainable and safe, I’m fully committed to Vision Zero and our Bike Plan. My kids bike to school every day, but I always worry about them. I am confident we can make changes to our streets that will make them safer for everyone.

I have a bold vision for Oak Park that champions affordability, safer streets, thriving local businesses and modernizes village government to keep our community diverse, flourishing and ready for the future.

I hope you’ll vote for me for Village Trustee April 1st.

March 4th Meeting Minutes in a Minute

The Community Design Commission exits stage left and the OPEDC makes a comeback. If our new economic development plans pan out, you will be able to join Trustee Straw for some techno at the new local dance club.

Why I support Vision Zero

My kids bike to school most days, and every day I worry about them. Oak Park has a significant number of serious traffic related injuries every year. This most impacts children and our seniors. The last three pedestrian fatalities in Oak Park were senior citizens.

When involved in a crash, fatality or serious injury is 12x as likely for a cyclist and 15x as likely for a pedestrian. We must stop accepting these statistics as a matter of course and do something to address this critical safety issue.

I strongly support Vision Zero, a comprehensive plan designed to decrease and eventually eliminate traffic deaths in Oak Park. 

Vision Zero uses a 'traffic calming by policy' approach to give our city planners the tools they need to to keep pedestrians and bicyclists safe. Staff will be able to use traffic, crash, and injury data to deploy targeted traffic calming measures without waiting for citizens to request them.

The Vision Zero plan is part of a national movement to make streets safer by design, using measures such as pinch points, speed tables, chicanes, and intersection daylighting to control traffic, even when the police aren't around to hand out tickets. The design of the streets and intersection enforce proper behavior by default.

Vision Zero provides a proven toolkit I will work hard to see it implemented in Oak Park.

February 11th Oak Park Village Board Meeting Minutes in a Minut

MIMBY Candidate Forum Questions and My Answers

The MIMBY Candidate forum was held Wednesday February 5th at 7PM in the Oak Park public library. Here are the questions they asked, and my pre-written answers that my forum participation was based on.

What have I been up to lately?

I've been working hard on the website and campaign materials. I am planning a campaign Kickoff event for early February at Kettlestrings Tavern.

I've been spending a lot of time meeting with folks. I've met with all of the sitting village board members, and have a few of the candidates left to meet with. I've also met with a wide range of community members to get their take on the issues. If you'd like to meet with me, you can find a time here: Calendar Signup. Once you schedule I'll reach out and work out the details.

I've designed and ordered my yard signs. I am not sure these will be all that useable until the ground thaws, but put if you put in an order now, you'll be ready for the Spring.

I've also been exploring video content. I've recorded videos of my 'tax explainer' series, and will be looking to add many more videos in the next month. I think it's a great way to connect with folks, and they've been well received. 

Get your Yard Signs!

You can order your Yard Signs here: Yard Signs signup

My assessment went up 30%, why didn’t my taxes go up the same amount?

Oak Park recently had a property tax reassessment where the average property increased in assessed value about 30%, but most people’s property taxes stayed the same, or only increased slightly. How does that work?

A short video primer on where your local property taxes go.

You'll be surprised!

Where your property taxes go

In the last installment we talked about the various taxing bodies in Oak Park, and what they did. In this installment we dive into the details to get an idea of how each local governmental unit impacts your tax bill.

An Introduction to Property Taxes in Oak Park

Learn about the various taxing bodies in Oak Park, I wrote this article as part of a six part explainer series on Oak Park property taxes. It's an excellent example of my data driven approach to Oak Park issues, and my commitment to education and transparency.

We've done it!

Thanks to all the dedicated Volunteers, we successfully collected over 900 signatures for my candidacy and filed the paperwork. I am now officially a candidate.