Oak Lawn Metra stop to be named ‘Patriot Station’

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A view of the Oak Lawn Rotary Club's 9/11 First Responder Memorial at the Oak Lawn Metra Station Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011, at 9525 S. Tulley in Oak Lawn. | Matthew Grotto~Sun-Times Media

Updated: March 18, 2012 8:23AM

Oak Lawn’s Metra station soon will be named “Oak Lawn-Patriot Station” in honor of the village’s 9/11 First Responders Memorial.

The village board this week approved the new name for the station, which is adjacent to the monument. Metra still must approve the village’s request, Mayor Dave Heilmann said.

The monument, which features beams from the fallen World Trade Center, was dedicated on Sept. 11 — the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

The Oak Lawn Rotary Club raised the money for the monument, and Rotary president Dr. Sandra Bury proposed the name for the station, 9525 Tulley Ave.

In a letter to Heilmann, Bury said renaming the station was an opportunity to promote the village. She asked Heilmann to support the name change, and the board decided to vote on the matter at Tuesday’s meeting.

“It’s hallowed ground,” said Christina Finn, president of the Patriot Pillow Project.

Jim Garrett, president of the Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the monument portrays the spirit, meaning and lessons of Sept. 11.

“The Patriot Station will be your legacy,” Garrett told trustees.

Heilmann initially suggested waiting until the board’s Feb. 28 meeting before voting on the name change so residents would have an opportunity to offer input.

“I love the name. I love the concept. I think it would be better off without making a decision tonight,” Heilmann said.

“There is no rush on this,” Trustee Carol Quinlan said.

Finn chastised trustees for considering putting off a vote.

“This is in honor of an event that affected a nation,” she said. “Why you wouldn’t be able to vote is bothersome to me.”