Citizens United in Forest Park (CUinFP), through the dissemination of information, education and study, promotes a greater awareness of the activities and policies of the local government and matters of public record impacting the citizens of Forest Park.   The organization encourages members to actively exercise their rights and duties of citizenship.

CUinFP provides information, advice, direction and assistance to citizens, business owners and nonresident property owners of Forest Park. The organization also promotes resources and opportunities in Forest Park. On occasion, the group may work in concert with other organizations toward similar ends. Citizens United in Forest Park is an Illinois not-for-profit Corporation and is nonpartisan.

The beginnings of Citizens United in Forest Park trace back to 2003. Gloria and Steve Backman had concerns about the lack of parking and parking enforcement in their neighborhood. Marcy Wozniak had concerns about the proposed condo development for the Roos property at Harrison and Circle. These citizens attempted to communicate their concerns to the Village and had little success. Gloria, Steve, and Marcy each wrote letters, attended meetings, and voiced their concerns and opinions. Other citizens had similar concerns about Village matters and began to discuss ideas and common issues. The concept of Citizens United in Forest Park was born out of coordination between these citizens in the summer of 2003.

All of the founders were long time residents of Forest Park and felt that, after the 1999 election, more oversight and involvement was needed with Village Hall. In 2003, another election year, more concerns were raised about the budget and citizens became more attentive to Village matters. The founders reined in citizens who became involved in the election and used the momentum and excitement for change to set up a CUinFP framework. In January 2004 CUinFP began to film each Village Council meeting in response to changes that were being made to the meeting minutes. This action, although often ridiculed, has become a staple of CUinFP and allows the group to keep its own record of meetings and offer copies to the public.

Leading up to the May 1, 2004 inaugural meeting of Citizens United in Forest Park, citizens seemed interested in having a group that can be an outlet for information and a tool to voice their own concerns. Over the years, CUinFP has accomplished many feats. Voter Registration has been very successful as an ongoing activity. We have hosted many speakers, presentations, and workshops on various aspects of local government and other relevant topics, many suggested by our members. We have also played an important role in local and statewide elections by hosting candidate forums.

Current Board:
Mary Rueda, President
Matt Walsh, Vice President of Communications
Jerry Webster, Vice President of Membership
Jon Kubricht, Treasurer
Gloria Backman, Secretary

We are citizens of Forest Park just like you. As our numbers have increased, our collection of beliefs, values and opinions has grown too. Our goal is to assemble a dynamic organization that embraces these differences while seeking out common ground and common sense solutions to the issues facing our community. We are nonpartisan. Trying to form any kind of a consensus for a single party or candidate would destroy the most valuable quality of CUinFP, its diversity. By collaborating with other citizen organizations, we recognize that revenue growth, smart development, congestion and modernization can go hand-in-hand with preserving the look and feel of our neighborhoods. A balance of public and private ventures can serve the community at large. A government can openly serve its people, but the key ingredient is the people. To make things happen we need citizen participation, citizens speaking up. As consumers, we regularly ask for what we want. Why not ask for what we want from our village officials? Join us in asking for what is right for our community. Join CUinFP.