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The
Glenview Watch February 25, 2001 |
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TELL
US WHAT YOU REALLY THINK
Since our first e-mail hit the Internet, we have wondered about the
polling potential of a community newsletter like Glenview Watch.
Not only is our village hampered by the lack of good news
coverage, but no one really knows what residents think about anything.
Village Hall has yet to do a credible survey on most
serious issues – from redevelopment of the Navy base to high-density
development downtown, so local government is often a guessing game.
We'd like to know more about your views on the issues – and, of course,
we're curious about the likely outcome of April's election.
That's why we decided to do our first e-poll.
All responses are confidential. If,
however, you are seeking complete anonymity, feel free to reply by snail
mail to 3537 Maple Leaf Drive in Glenview.
1) Are you a Glenview resident?
2) Do you intend to vote in the village election on April 3?
3) If the April 3 village election were held today, would you vote for:
– Larry
Carlson and the Unite Glenview ticket
– Donna
Pappo and the Good Government ticket
– A
Combination of Candidates
4) In the last local election, did you vote for
– Glenview United
– Glenview First
– Didn't Vote
5) If you live in District 34, how will you vote on the school issue?
– Support the tax hike
– Oppose the tax hike
– Don't know
6) Do you think the current teardown
ordinance is
– Too strict
– Not strict enough
– Don't know / Don't care
7) Is high-density housing in downtown Glenview a good way to spur
economic development?
– Yes
– No
– Don't Know
8) Should the village purchase and preserve more open space in Glenview?
– Yes
– No
– Don't know
The more of you who answer, the more our leaders will know about what
residents really want, and we think that's important information.
So give this a try. If you have
difficulty with the technology, feel free to call us at 291-7434.
And thanks for taking part!
PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING ACADEMY GETS THE GO
Glenview Trustees have voted to lease land at The Glen to the Northeastern
Illinois Public Safety Training Academy (NIPSTA), a coalition of 25
communities hoping to train policemen, firemen, paramedics and other
emergency personnel. Each city, village or fire district will pay a
membership fee at the outset, but organizers hope that over time the
academy will begin to generate profits and make dues unnecessary.
Now that they have the site, planners will begin raising the $23.5 million
needed for the facility which will include an indoor training course, a
railroad emergency simulator and a driving pad where trainees can practice
high-speed maneuvers. The NIPSTA will use old Navy buildings located
near the new park district golf course.
SMALL HOMES DRAW BIG CROWDS TO THE GLEN
Patriot Boulevard is now open from Lake Avenue to the site of Cambridge
Homes – a development of 244 townhouses, two-flats, duplexes and
single-family homes that will begin at the new METRA station and stretch
west to Patriot. The properties range in size
from 1700- 3,500 square feet and are priced from $368,000 - $529,000.
Sales began a week ago for people who had pre-registered with Cambridge.
In the first seven days, 54 units were sold. Models are now
being built, and the public will be allowed to buy starting March 17.
The first homes will be available for occupancy by year's
end.
Editor's note: Buyers beware. A map in the sales packet
shows three parks, a sculpture garden and a recreation center. The
parks and garden will not be built until the entire area is developed, and
that could take years. The 2.5 acre parcel marked "Lehigh
Recreation Center" was originally designated by the village. It
is no longer slated for recreational purposes, but may be used for METRA
parking or a shopping center.
EZ-GO IS COMING DOWN
One month after the village announced a suit against Bulk Petroleum, the
owner of an abandoned filling station near Waukegan and Pleasant Drive,
has secured a demolition permit, and officials are hopeful the local
eyesore will soon be coming down. Bulk must clean the site before it
can be sold.
CARLSON LAYS CLAIM TO THE ENVIRONMENT
In what some are calling a blatant bid to improve his public image on the
environment, Larry Carlson proposed that two pieces of land in Glenview be
declared Environmentally Significant Areas. So
far, only the Air Station Prairie and The Grove enjoy ESA status with
formal protection from the impact of development.
The properties Carlson had in mind are the Techny Basin – a 55-acre
preserve along the Chicago River and the Woodworth Prairie, a five-acre
site at Milwaukee and Greenwood. The chance of
any development taking place at either location is virtually nil.
Techny is a detention basin, flooding at various times of
year by design. Woodworth is owned by the University of Illinois, which
maintains it as a living laboratory for students of botany and ecology.
Editor's note: Carlson's idea that Glenview should tell the
university's eminent scientists how to protect their prairie is laughable
and makes a mockery of the candidate's claim that he wants "simple,
common sense government."
Carlson's hypocrisy is even more apparent when we look back to the spring
of 2000. Prairie advocates took the village to court, asking that
Glenview enforce the ESA ordinance at the Air Station Prairie and
surrounding industrial park to protect endangered birds and plants.
Trustee John Patton called the action a "frivolous suit" and
proposed that Glenview counter-sue to collect its legal fees from the
plaintiffs. Larry Carlson seconded that motion.
As for the Techny Basin, the village board added an extra 10 acres to the
site last year, buying adjacent property that was zoned for industrial
development. Carlson was the only trustee to vote against the
purchase.
TRUSTEES RACE TO PLEASE THE PUBLIC
With an election one month away, Carlson wasn't the only one out to please
the public Tuesday. In fact, the trustees were tripping over one
another in a race to show voters how much they're doing for Glenview.
A mechanic who hoped to open a truck repair shop on Johns drive seemed
pleasantly surprised, for example, when Trustees Fuller and Cook protested
terms imposed by the Zoning Board. According to the document needed
to do business, the guy would have to close at 3 p.m. on Saturdays and
would not be allowed to store a tow truck at the site.
The mechanic said he didn't have a tow truck and couldn't afford one.
He wasn't sure if business would ever require him to work past 3 p.m. on
Satudays, but the board insisted on giving him the right to stay open
until 6 and to store tow trucks if he wanted to.
RELIEF FROM GAS PAINS
Trustee Pappo also had a prize for the public. With natural gas
prices more than 100 percent higher than last year at this time, she asked
the village manager to work the numbers and let the board know if Glenview
could provide some relief from the utility tax. Manager McCarthy
said he'd be happy to check on that.
Pappo also asked how residents of Solar Park, a small subdivision just
east of Wagner Road and south of Glenview Road, might secure historic
designation for their neighborhood. The area, built in the 1940's,
was one of the first in the nation to use solar power in heating homes.
Today, many smaller houses are being torn down and replaced with mansions
heated by gas and electricity.
A PAT ON THE BACK FOR BERNIE
Builder Bernie Schmidt, Glenview's best known teardown artist, was back
before the board presenting a new plan for his development at 1300 Oxford
Lane. Schmidt had been sent home by the Plan Commission and Village
Board on several other occasions because the neighbors felt he would cause
flooding problems and cut down too many trees.
At long last, Schmidt had found a way to save the trees and provide
adequate flood control prompting a rush to kiss and make-up.
"I've been the first to criticize you in the past when there have
been some problems," said Trustee Carlson. "I think it
only fair that I be the first to commend you for going to the effort to
save those trees."
"I'll second those comments," said Trustee John Patton.
"I think you did a wonderful job with what you had to deal with
there, knowing that you have a lot more projects and can expect to have a
lot more projects in Glenview, it's good to see you working with the
village."
Editor's note: What choice did he have? No concessions, no
building permit. No building permit, no profits. It's a pity
Patton and Carlson weren't tougher with the likes of Bernie Schmidt before
they had political opposition.
THE WORD ON WILLOW – A SHORT REPRIEVE
At the start of Tuesday's meeting, President Nancy Firfer announced that
she, the president of Northbrook and State Senator Kathy Parker had met
with Illinois' Secretary of Transportation, Kirk Brown.
Afterward, he penned a letter to Parker confirming what he told them:
"We have no plans on proceeding with the widening of Willow Road
between Landwehr and Waukegan Road. Rest assured that during my
tenure as secretary of transportation the road will remain four
lanes."
Firfer read the note aloud, and Trustee Pappo asked the obvious question.
"What is the tenure of Kirk Brown?"
"Nobody knows," said an apparently flustered Firfer. "It's,
it's as long, I mean, it's, it's, this is, um, in Springfield it's an
appointed position, so, and the, the point is, you can't do, y'know,
he's the one that governs it, and so you, there's nobody else that can
make that decision but him at this point. There's no guarantees once
he leaves or doesn't leave, and that's at the point when you need to start
being watchful."
Editor's note: "Nobody knows?" Not quite, Nancy.
Cabinet members in state government serve two-year terms. Gov.
George Ryan recently re-nominated Brown for a new two-year term, which
must be confirmed by the Illinois Senate. The decision on widening
Willow is not just in Brown's hands. If the governor and
Illinois Legislature gave the green light for the project, do you think
Secretary Brown would balk, saying I promised in a letter to Glenview and
Northbrook I wouldn't widen the road. The true value of
Brown's letter: the price of one page of IDOT letterhead.
IS ANYBODY EDITING?
Once again, Glenview's crack editorial team at the Announcements delivers
something less than what the community deserves. A few weeks after
misidentifying the G3 party and one of its candidates, the paper writes
about two women who are crusading against the widening of Willow Road.
Reporter Mike Ulreich's story begins:
"Glenview resident Anne Reynolds lives six-tenths of a mile from
Willow Road. Debbie De Vito lives two blocks away. Last
December they formed Glenview Citizens Against Widening Willow and held
their first meeting Jan. 18 at Willowbrook School. `There's very
immediate safety concerns and if nothing else, it will be a horrendous
construction period,' Williams said."
Williams? Who is Williams? Since Debbie De Vito is quoted
several times and Anne Reynolds is not quoted at all, we assume that the
quotes attributed to "Williams" were actually things said by
Reynolds.
DISPATCHING THE FACTS
Proving that it is not a real news organization but a vehicle for
announcements from public officials, our town's only paper offered a story
headlined "Officials tell why board opted out of RED Center."
In that story, reporter Ulreich quotes Village Manager Paul
McCarthy: "The proposal we gave to our board of trustees clearly
indicated that we could deliver a bigger bang for the buck quicker,
cheaper and smarter – in Glenview, Illinois."
That's a very nice quote. McCarthy is a master of the very nice quote, and
the Announcements is again satisfied to reprint his glib remarks without
question. The reader gets no figures on what
the new dispatch center will cost, and no reporting on the annual price
tag for staying with RED Center. The paper
does quote a village consultant, S.B. Friedman, who claimed costs for all
RED Center members would double. RED Center
denies that, and Glenview's own Plan Commission chairman, an expert in
accounting and finance recently expressed doubts about Friedman's
work.
Had the Announcements bothered to get the numbers from RED Center, had
they talked with people in our own fire and police departments, they might
have told a different story. There is
every reason to believe that launching our own dispatch service will be
far more expensive than staying with RED Center and that equipping our
police department to handle 911 calls would not necessitate a $900,000
investment and hiring of three additional dispatchers.
Before the village manager decided to throw this big bone to Fire Chief
Joe Robberson, Glenview's police department was planning to add just one
dispatcher to handle cellular 911. Northbrook
is also taking a conservative approach – adding one person to the police
radio room. This year's budget for Glenview includes money to hire eight
fire department dispatchers.
Finally, the Announcements concludes its story with McCarthy's own
conclusion – that it's too late for Glenview to change course on this
matter. "The ballgame is not only over;
the lights are out and the parking lot is empty." Again,
it's a clever little line that obscures the facts.
The village had not invested one penny in new personnel, equipment or
construction. Plans for a new dispatch center
existed only on paper, and the RED Center would still be willing to
include Glenview at its new center in Northbrook.
GLENVIEW GRAZING
Sweet Tomatoes, an all-you-can-eat soup, salad and pasta buffet, holds its
grand opening in Glenview February 26 at 11 a.m. The
California-based company is managed by three men from Chicago who opened
their first restaurant, Souplantation, in San
Diego. Today, they have 92 eateries including
the one at Willow and Old Willow Roads next to the new Chipotle Grill.
In addition to a choice of six soups and chillies, Sweet Tomatoes features
salads made fresh every 20 minutes, hot rice and pasta dishes, muffins and
focaccia breads and non-fat frozen yogurt. The
chain has modified some of its recipes just for us. "Midwesterners
demand more meat than Californians," says the manager.
Also open for business in northwest Glenview – Ichiban of Tokyo – a
Japanese restaurant featuring table-top stir fry dishes, sushi and
tempura. The name means "number
one," and sushi chef Ishida hopes to live up to that claim.
He trained for nine years in Japan.
Located in the Plaza del Prado at Pfingsten and Willow Roads, Ichiban also
serves beer, cocktails and an intriguing choice of ice creams: mango,
green tea and red bean.
READERS WRITE:
JW writes about our story on the Glenview Announcements: "How
frustrating but all too painfully true are your comments and citations as
to the Glenview Announcements completely biased reports and published
letters regarding the forthcoming village elections and the paper's
obvious courting of developers for its own business interests. How
many times I've wanted to cancel my subscription, but it 's the only game
in town. Please continue your citing of the biased reporting of
which it is so guilty!"
And WA offers his support: "Keep up the excellent work.
You are a definite credit to our community. We hope that your
readership expands and that funds come in to make it possible to continue
your good work. Without it we of Glenview would not only be
uninformed, we would be misinformed and totally without a clue as to what
is happening in our city. Your analysis of the press's bias confirmed our
suspicions. Keep asking questions of the board, too. The
response by one of the trustees toward you was uncalled for, but showed
his real character -- something he should not be proud of. Don't let
it worry you, just consider the source."
Lisa Helford comments on coverage by the Announcements: "I
loved last week's "Closer look at the Announcements! I too have been
overwhelmed by the bias toward the UG Party.
"At the same time as a strong supporter of the School District 34
referendum, I can't help but notice that the Announcements coverage is
also incredibly imbalanced. News coverage always includes opinions of
Larry Miller and John Ranz (apparently the only two active members of
CARE). I fail to understand why a newspaper feels the need to give equal
press to such a small organization. Certainly when summarizing different
opinions they deserve press, however the Announcements quotes their side
with every news story.
"In letters to the editor, just as UG letters lead and G3 supporters
are tucked in the back, Larry Miller and John Ranz's repetitive and
unfounded arguments are published weekly. If any reader wants to know the
facts they could attend a school board meeting or speak to any of the
current school board members.
"If the school district referendum does not pass, budget cuts will
drastically affect the education of children in this community and
Glenview property values. I urge all Watch readers to vote YES to support
our schools!"
Larry Miller is back with a response to Chuck Baron's letter:
"My former District 34 board member is dead wrong when he says that
the district spends less money per pupil than it did in 1987.
He ought to know better. District
34 has not reduced operating expenses compared to 1987.
"From 1987 to 2000, District 34's real operating spending increased
19 per cent, $4.6 million after adjusting for both inflation and for
enrollment increases. Last year's operating
expense per pupil was $8,403, but in 1987 the operating expense per pupil
was $4,628; restated in 2000 dollars, 1987 operating expense per pupil was
$7,038.74 – an increase $1,364 per child.
"In 2000, we had average daily attendance of 3,389 students.
That $1,364 dollars per pupil extended across 2000
attendance is $4,622,310 more than in 1987.
"Chuck could have learned all about this and how District 34's tax
receipts will grow by millions without a referendum if he had read our
white paper. He and any other interested
citizens can get a free copy by e-mailing us: CARE at
CARE2001GLVW@aol.com. We'll send you a
document in WORD 6.0."
The North Suburban Y's Executive Director asks for your help: "Only
25 percent of our members come from Glenview, but over 45 percent of our
scholarship recipients at the Y were from the village. Individuals may
never know that their neighbors turned to us when they needed some
continuity in their lives. Our mission is to build healthy spirit, mind
and body for all, and our greatest joy is to serve the families of
Glenview and its surrounding communities. The Y turns no one away for
inability to pay."
F. Pinsler asks about Amtrak: "Why can't the village
talk to Amtrak to have their trains stop at the new north station instead
of creating massive traffic jams for needless extended periods at the
downtown station?"
The Watch replies: At the request of Trustee John Crawford, METRA
invited Amtrak to discuss the matter, but Amtrak wasn't interested.
The two railroad operators have a cooperative relationship at our downtown
station. Amtrak contributed $89,000 to construction of the building, and
it was designed to meet the needs of Amtrak travelers with baggage
storage, security and an office. Amtrak sees no reason to move since
its trains stop only six times a day in Glenview for very short periods.
The village is concerned, noting that Amtrak trains carry more freight now
and are getting longer, but as The Glen develops, traffic along Chestnut
is expected to increase, and Amtrak trains stopping at the north station
might end-up blocking Chestnut.
And GPN would like to lose the jam at Dewes and Waukegan: "One
of my pet peeves is getting a red light at an intersection of a main
street with a side street, and there are no cars traveling on the side
street. For example, going north on Waukegan and approaching Dewes
Street, quite often I will get a red light but there are no cars on Dewes.
To make it worse, I have to wait longer when the southbound traffic gets a
left-turn arrow for a nonexistent street -- to go east of Waukegan on
Dewes. Can something be done about this?"
The Watch replies: IDOT checks traffic lights on roads it controls,
like Waukegan, and in response to your letter Village Hall has asked for a
review of the Dewes intersection. Assistant Village Manager Joe Wade
warns, however, that he's gotten complaints from people who say the light
facing Dewes is too long, and planners must take into account what's
happening with the light at nearby Glenview Road.
The Watch goes global with a letter from across the pond. Barry
Gardner writes: "I have a friend in Glenview who forwards on to
me The Glenview Watch. I must say that I find it extremely
entertaining and very honest in its reporting. I very much like the
way you quote the individual statements.
"I am a local English councillor from a borough called Havant on the
southeast coast of the UK. I am a Member of the Labour Party, and I
represent a community called West Leigh in which there
are 6,000 voters. I would very much appreciate receiving the
Glenview Watch on a regular basis in case my friend forgets to send it
on."