The winner of the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation’s Big Idea initiative will work to implement the concept behind Felony Franks throughout the community.
Felony Franks’ Rescue Foundation was the winning idea at the Big Idea pitch party Feb. 22 at the Wire in Berwyn, meaning the foundation receives $50,000 from the community foundation’s Entrepreneur Leaders in Philanthropy group to expand its mission within the community.
“There’s so many good projects here that, win or lose, the community wins,” said Deno Andrews, owner of Felony Franks and current candidate for village of Oak Park trustee, after the winning idea was announced. Entrepreneur Leaders in Philanthropy is a giving group of about 40 local entrepreneurs.
John Houseal, a member of the ELP’s core committee and the master of ceremonies for the event, said 27 ideas were submitted and narrowed to five finalists. The ELP wanted to see transformative, sustainable ideas that effect real change within the Oak Park and River Forest community.
“These ideas varied wildly,” Houseal told the crowd. New this year: the ELP offered a coaching session for finalists who wanted to hone their delivery, he said.
Finalists included ideas to assist senior citizens who want to age in place, fill empty storefronts with art, promote organic, useful gardens and lawns, and increase college and career readiness among high schoolers. Finalists had four minutes to present their ideas and then took questions from judges.
For the judges, who deliberated for about 45 minutes, the toughest decision was choosing between Andrews’ plan to promote hiring of ex-offenders and the 100 percent College and Career Ready idea.
“It’s great and great. How do you decide between great and great?” said judge Keith Huizinga with Kinslahger Brewing Company.
The idea: expand the Felony Franks Rescue Foundation to help other local businesses hire ex-offenders, Andrews told the crowd. He hopes to see 50 ex-offenders hired at businesses in the community in the first year and shared a success story from one of the employees at his North Avenue restaurant.
“Tonight is your opportunity to invest in those second chances,” Andrews told the crowd.
The key, Andrews said, is proper training and mentoring of ex-offenders. In the two years Felony Franks has been operating and hiring ex-offenders, Andrews said they’ve seen a 0 percent recidivism rate. He said local business owners he’s talked with are receptive to the idea because Felony Franks has experienced such success.
“This topic is now, and it’s current,” he said. “Obviously, the program starting tomorrow gets much expanded.”
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Judges felt Andrews’ initiative represented a new effort in the community, said Huizinga. Ron Halverson with Halverson Group noted there might be a reluctance on the part of employers to hire ex-offenders, and Andrews’ program looks to crack that code.
“Who else besides a group like this to get behind it?” Halverson said.
Kristin Carlson Vogen, president and CEO of the community foundation, said they hope to see all ideas benefit from the exposure the event brings. Those in attendance used tokens to vote for their favorite ideas; Houseal said $2,000 would be divvied up among the finalists to reflect crowd votes. Among the crowd votes, Felony Franks had 39 percent of the votes, followed by Take 2 and Contemporary Visual Arts Hub (17 percent each), 100 percent College and Career Ready (14.5 percent) and the Deep Roots Project (12.5 percent).
“It really is great to see it Year 2 and see how it’s evolving,” Houseal said of the initiative.
Caitlin Mullen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.