Meet Maria

Maria Maxham and husband Jason moved to Forest Park in 2002 and celebrated 20 years as residents in town this past August. Their three children, Alex (19), Tobias (18), and Cassidy (13), were all born and raised in Forest Park, where they attended or currently attend District 91 elementary schools and D209 high schools.

Deep Knowledge of the Village of Forest Park
Maria Maxham worked as the lead reporter and editor of the Forest Park Review until she was appointed as a Village Commissioner in July 2021 after a previous commissioner moved out of town. She hit the ground running as part of the Village Council with a deep understanding of local politics and government gained while reporting on all things Forest Park.

Involved In Local Public Education
One thing that sets Maria Maxham apart from the other commissioner candidates is having children in both the public elementary and high school districts, which provides her and her family with a personal understanding of both District 91 and District 209. In addition to serving as a Forest Park Village Commissioner, Maria is actively involved in campaigning to change the school board of Proviso Township High Schools District 209 in the April election so there is more transparency and an end to the terrifying and infuriating current downward trajectory of all three Proviso public high schools.

Focus On Relationships
Maria believes in building and maintaining strong relationships, not just in her personal life but in a political role as well. She has developed meaningful and respectful relationships with village staff, residents, and many business owners in town. Without mutual respect, it’s hard to get things done.

Issues

Maria Maxham is working on mental health initiatives, spearheading a partnership with Proviso Mental Health Commission to bring more resources to residents. This includes Connect 2023, a mental health and social services expo planned for May 6 at the Howard Mohr Community Center.

Economic Vitality

Maria Maxham will push for economic strength of Forest Park through supporting current businesses; recruiting new investments in our village; seeking new sources of revenue; fiscally responsible spending; and deepening the village’s collaboration with the Forest Park Chamber of Commerce to work hard on economic development for our town. She recently pushed for providing the Chamber with ARPA funds to support their marketing and economic development efforts for Forest Park.

Public Safety

Maria is a huge fan of all of Forest Park’s first responders and supports their continued providing of outstanding service. She has pushed for long-overdue improvements to the fire department building; she has supported the purchase of cars and equipment for both the police and fire departments; she was a proponent of the recently installed village camera system to aid in crime prevention and detection. Moving forward, the potential move of paramedic services in-house will require village support of the fire department, and Maria will advocate for ensuring the first responders have what they need to continue their service to Forest Park.

Community Input

Maria encourages and will find more ways for residents to provide input into village governance before major decisions are made. She recently held a town hall to engage residents in the discussion of allowing a limited number of backyard hens; she organized a Q &A on the issue of rats in town; and the Altenheim Advisory Committee she was part of creating has public engagement as one of its critical goals.

Sustainability

Maria has been engaged in the early meetings of Forest Park’s involvement in Cross-Community Climate Collaborative (C4), to find ways to bring sustainability to Forest Park in a financially responsible and collaborative way. She will push for continued and robust village participation in the program. Additionally, rather than a piece-meal approach to green initiatives, she advocates for the development of a strong, thoughtful, and comprehensive plan to address environmental concerns.

Changing our form of government

Maria believes that it is time for Forest Park to adopt a different form of government, as the Commission form is outdated, inefficient, and can create toxic work environments for staff. The Forest Park Review recently applauded Maria on making this a pillar of her campaign.

Working well with others

Maria places high value on relationships, and has developed respectful and compassionate relationships with Forest Park’s department heads. She is confident she can provide support in a collaborative and respectful way, as she has with the Department of Public Health and Safety, with whichever department she oversees if elected in April 2023.

Achievements

Maria Maxham was appointed to the position of Commissioner of Public Health and Safety (which encompasses Building, Planning, and Zoning for the village) in July 2021, and in a little over a year has already accomplished several important goals, including:

Hosting a townhall on the topic of backyard hens to gauge resident opinion prior to drafting code. This was the first town hall held by the Village in some time, and Maria believes resident input needs to become a regular part of Forest Park’s governing process.

Taking part in the creation of the Altenheim Advisory Committee, comprised of highly skilled and credentialed residents of Forest Park, with the eventual goal of coming up with an outline for an RFP for the property.

Pushing for creation/sending of the weekly village newsletter that is emailed and posted to Facebook, which as a result of her support began to go out shortly after her appointment.

Supporting the combining of the Plan Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals for a more streamlined development process.

Planning and hosting a meet-and-greet for representatives from all volunteer groups in town.

Working closely with her department (Public Health and Safety), which provides rapid, professional, and comprehensive service to residents and businesses.