The Oak Park Village Board is back at full strength.
Derek Eder, a climate activist and technologist, was nominated June 17 by Oak Park Village President Vicki Scaman and unanimously approved by the board to replace Susan Buchanan, who resigned in May citing burnout. Eder will serve the two remaining years left on Buchanan’s term.
Like Buchanan, Eder has been active with the Oak Park Climate Action Network and he said environmental issues and sustainability will be a key focus for him.
“I am here to continue Susan Buchanan’s climate action leadership at the Village Board,” Eder said after taking the oath of office. “Oak Park is already a leader in climate action but we still have so far to go.”
Eder said sustainability will be a major focus, and he’ll push for “new and expanded electrification programs and new data to measure our impact.”
Eder has fully electrified his approximately 100-year-old home in south Oak Park, a journey he documented on his personal web site. He had served about a year on the Oak Park Building Advisory Commission before resigning that post to take his seat on the Village Board.
He graduated with a degree in computer engineering from Washington University in 2005 and moved to Oak Park from Chicago in 2018. He volunteered on Scaman’s reelection campaign this year and built her campaign web site. He has also been active in the progressive group Activate Oak Park, which supported Scaman in her reelection race.
Eder’s appointment adds another strong progressive voice to the Oak Park Village Board.
“I believe in using the levers of government to undo institutionalized racism that exists in our policing, education and housing policies,” Eder said. “I believe in the need for safe, equitable and accessible biking, walking and transit. I believe that Oak Park should continue to be a sanctuary for all people regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or immigration status and I believe that it is the duty of all of us, but especially our leaders, to stand against fascism, racism, xenophobia and oligarchy.”
Eder, 42, is a partner and founder of the five person firm DataMade, a civic technology company which focuses on writing open source software, making data public and understandable, and empowering citizens through technology. He loves using technology to further participation in government and civic life and said that he was able to turn a hobby into a profession.
“We do work for the city of Chicago, we do work for universities, all of it kinds ties together data visualization, data aggregation, data analysis and sort of trying to take sometimes very complicated data into straightforward simplified things to explain things to further the mission of our partners,” Eder said after his first board meeting.
Eder’s interest in merging technology and civic activism got its start in 2007 when he volunteered for the first presidential campaign of Barack Obama and used his technical expertise to help build the Obama campaign web site. Later he served on transition teams for former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi.
“It is through the lens of technology and data that I’ve gained a deep and valuable education on civics, government operations and policy,” Eder said. “I believe that technology can be a positive lever for good in our society as long as it is centered on transparency, democracy, justice and equity.”
Scaman said that Eder will bring many qualities to the Village Board.
“Derek is compassionate, patient, knowledgeable in government processes,” Scaman said in introducing Eder to the board. “He will be an incredible asset serving alongside the talented trustees elected by the residents of Oak Park.”
Eder, who introduced himself as a civic technologist, climate champion and progressive, said he has a lot to learn about his new role.
“I assume this role with humility with the understanding that there is a great deal for me to learn about Oak Park’s staff, its policies, its organizations, its businesses and its people,” Eder said. “I intend to learn as quickly as I can and to apply my own expertise and experiences to discussions and actions.”
Eder said he favors the installation of bike lanes on Harvard Street, which would eliminate street parking on Harvard, a controversial issue the board will soon have to decide.
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“I’m for the bike lane on Harvard,” Eder said. “I live right around the corner off of Harvard and my kids bike up and down that street all the time and I think that there is just a lot of benefit that will come to the entire community by having a safe way for all ages, all abilities, that’s the framing that we use, to get around safely. I think we have just been allowing cars to take over our lives and I think it really has had some negative effects.”
Before his appointment, he was considering running for the Village Board in 2027 and indicated he probably will run for a full four year term in 2027.
“I do think that’s something that I will probably do in two years but we’ll see, I’ve only been on the board for one day,” Eder said.
Bob Skolnik is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.