The county’s superintendent of highways will appear at 7 p.m. Thursday, August 1 in the Lakeview Room of Park Center to discuss Lake Avenue widening and its impact on Wagner Farm. Wally Kos is expected to explain why he wants a 20 x100-foot swath of the farm along Lake Avenue and a 10-foot stretch of land along Wagner.

At other spots where turn lanes are planned, Cook County will take 10 feet from each side of the road, but at Wagner Farm it’s asking for 20 feet. Critics wonder if North Shore Country Club, across the street from the farm, would be spared by the generous park district deal. They have also asked to see drawings of what the county has in mind.

Parks Executive Director Tom Richardson admits the park district is not obliged to part with the land but would get more than $120,000 for about a third of an acre. If Glenview refused to sell, Richardson says Lake Avenue would have to jog south, creating a dangerous situation.

At its last board meeting, members of the public criticized the park district for failing to inform citizens about this matter. By way of concession, Park Board President Judy Beck promised to arrange a meeting with Kos, but many residents may not know about the meeting. The announcement of a date and time came too late for this week’s edition of The Glenview Announcements.

The Trego, Wisconsin animal sanctuary that accepted Bart the Bull reports he’s doing well – enjoying his new stall and coral. He spends most of his time outside, something he was unable to do here in Glenview and reportedly plays with several horses and a steer named Hershey. Sanctuary owner Susan Slater says the exercise has done him good:

"Because he was kept in a stall for so many years, he came to us with a lot of fat which made him look very large," she says. He has now lost weight but is building muscle – and a local following. Slater says the farm, near the Minnesota border, gets lots of visitors from the Twin Cities, and Bart is a popular attraction.

Glenview residents are invited to stop by any time, and a North Shore cable television show plans to tape a segment at the sanctuary this fall with Glenview residents Biff Thiele and Debby Rubenstein. The two recently established the Wagner Farm Rescue Fund to raise money for three cows slated for slaughter when the park district decided they did not meet programming needs. Thiele and Rubenstein used their own money to send those animals to a temporary home in Peotone, giving the Wisconsin sanctuary time to prepare a space for them.

You can visit the sanctuary’s website at www.arfs.org, contribute to the fund or join Bart fans in a fall field trip to Trego, by contacting Thiele at 847-998-0312 or gtouspl@aol.com. Checks payable to the Wagner Farm Rescue Fund can be sent to 2031 Wagner Road, Glenview, IL 60025.

When the Midwest milkshake and burger chain Steak ‘N Shake asked permission to build a restaurant in the Willow Road shopping center that now houses Target and Kohl’s, plan commissioners complained that the white tile building with striped black and white awnings would stand-out from other buildings in the area. Noting the original concept for the shopping center included prairie-style architecture, they asked the Indiana-based company to do something different.

Steak ‘N Shake returned Tuesday with a whole new look. The company had called the shopping center’s developer to find out who supplied the building material for Kohl’s, then drew plans using those same light and dark brown bricks.

The chain also bent to village concerns about a 24-hour operation, saying it would close from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., but it would not back down on having a drive through window – something that gave several members of the plan commission pause.

Commissioner and architect Gary Wendt was not happy. "This is a halfway measure," he said. "If we want this building to fit in more with the complex, it doesn’t do that. We’ve asked them to compromise from white-glazed brick. Now they’re proposing concrete block, which is a lower quality than glazed brick. If it’s a Steak ‘N Shake, just let it be their standard Steak ‘N Shake design. This is not a prairie-style building. It may be less appealing than their well-honed Steak ‘N Shake building."

Chairman Silver was taken aback. "Here you tell them you don’t want it to look like a Steak ‘N Shake, and they come back with something different. Now you’re saying you want it to look like a Steak ‘N Shake."

Commissioner Steve Bucklin praised the company for trying to fit in, doing what village planners had asked and said he was satisfied with the new drawings. "I don’t think it’s going to be a bad looking building." Others on the panel agreed, approving the plan and sending it to the Appearance Commission for further review.

Jennings Volkswagen got the okay Tuesday to proceed with construction of a new building – four times larger than its current facility – adding storm water detention to the site and providing some additional landscaping in front of the Chevrolet dealership next door.

Commissioner Gary Wendt was disappointed that the dealer had not been required to add landscaped islands within its lot and urged Jennings to create two feet of green space along Overlook Drive. "That’s about 700 square feet," said Wendt.

A spokesman for the dealership said that area was needed for snow storage in the winter and would be screened from public view by a berm and landscaping on the public right-of-way. "Who’s going to see it?" he wondered aloud.

"There’s a benefit when there’s a square foot of dirt that allows water to go through it as opposed to asphalt," said Wendt. "It may not be a visual thing. It may be an environmental thing. It is helpful."

Others on the commission apparently disagreed, giving Jennings a green light to visit the village board for approval of its construction plans.

A shopping center planned for The Glen faced another hurdle this month when public officials heard plans for parking garages at the site. Developer Oliver McMillan showed drawings of a bridge leading from one of those facilities to the Von Maur department store.

"Is that going to be covered?" asked Glen Redevelopment Commissioner Mary Novotny.

"No," said a spokesman for the developer.

"Wouldn’t that be slippery or icy in the winter?" asked Novotny.

"We talked about covering that with Von Maur, and they did not want to," said the developer.

The garages are being built by Oliver McMillan, but the village will own and maintain them, so liability for public safety in the garages falls to Glenview as does the obligation to plow snow.

GRC Chairman Howard Silver wondered where plowed snow would go in the winter. Oliver McMillan’s Paul Buss said that at busy times it would have to be hauled away from the site. "I think we need to find out more," said Silver, "because it costs $80 to haul a dump truck full of snow away. That becomes a real expensive burden on the taxpayers."

At that point, Glenview’s development director Mary Bak snapped – telling the commission that this was, in essence, none of its business. "When the village approved the parking structures as the owner of the property, the village also accepted responsibility for the maintenance. Hauling snow is one option. Snow melt machines is another option. It’s not relevant to the appearance of the structures that you’re talking about, but it has been taken into consideration by the village board, and they have accepted that responsibility. Those contracts are in place with Oliver McMillan."

The commission sat, uncertain of its next move. Members had almost certainly heard arguments that to jeopardize the retail project could mean long-term financial problems for Glenview’s schools. After more than 20 seconds of silence, Chairman Silver spoke. "If nobody wants to do anything, we have a problem. If nobody wants to make any motion, we’re sort of sitting here. I’m not sure what happens." After another lengthy silence, Commissioner Ron Greco moved to approve the project and the others followed suit. "Sometimes we’re painted into a corner with a project," said Silver, "and it’s my understanding that the deadlines and consequences are real, so I will have to vote yes."

Glenview’s Village Board has been sticky over the issue of banner display, telling Burhop’s and at least two banks that they could not exceed a 10-day limit on display, but the trustees are making an exception for St. Peter and Paul’s Church. That’s where political insider Jim Smirles attends services. Smirles lent thousands of dollars to the campaign of Village President Larry Carlson, Trustees Jeff Lerner, Mary Beth Denefe and Mike Guinane.

Last week, the church asked to hang a banner advertising its annual festival for a month. "Do we do this for anyone else?" asked Trustee Donna Pappo. "I think we need to be fair across the board."

"Even on the application, it says the village does not allow or consider requests for display of one sign for more than 10 days per calendar quarter," said Assistant Village Manager Joe Wade. "We really try to control that."

Village Manager Paul McCarthy said Glenview had historically allowed the church 30 days.

Trustee Jeff Lerner recalled that the church reimburses Glenview for the cost of police and paramedic services provided for the annual food fest and suggested that the privilege of longer banner display be extended for one more year – a compromise that won unanimous board approval.

Glenview trustees had hoped to dodge a controversy on Greenwood Avenue, voting to put off a decision about the Canaan Church’s plan for a parking lot there. Neighbors oppose the idea, and the village board had agreed to wait until the comprehensive plan for Glenview was complete, but a staffer at Village Hall recently informed the trustees that the area is not in the comprehensive plan.

Trustee Donna Pappo suggested the design be sent to the appearance commission before a vote is taken. "The landscaping, the berming is so important to how this fits into the neighborhood and would determine whether or not I would be able to vote for it," she said.

President Carlson didn’t like the idea. "It’s something we normally don’t do. It normally goes to appearance after us," he explained. "I think we can trust the appearance commission to do the right thing on this as long as we give them some idea of what we want done."

Trustee Rachel Cook disagreed, saying review by the board made sense in this case. "I want to make sure the residents know they’ve been heard and they’ve been protected."

Even Carlson’s steadfast ally Trustee Mary Beth Denefe voted to let the appearance commission look first. Carlson was startled. "Wait. For clarification, this is to send it to the appearance commission," he said.

"I’m trying not to explain my vote," said Denefe cryptically.

"Okay, that’s fine," said Carlson.

"It sounds to me like to get this off square one we need to get it back to appearance," she added.

After the vote to get appearance commission input, Trustee Jeff Lerner proposed that the lot be restricted to use for religious services only and not for social activities, like a picnic or car wash. "That would diminish the impact on the neighborhood," he said.

Speaking for the church, the Reverend James Lee said that would be fine.

Editor’s note: While the Canaan Church is to be commended for its patience on this matter, we think parishioners should be raising cain. No other congregation in this community has been subjected to this kind of scrutiny and limitation. Requests by OLPH, The New Church, St. Peter and Paul and other churches with politically-active congregations are routinely accommodated by the village board. We also note that the parking lot could prove useful to Glenview Youth Baseball and Westbrook School in the event of unusually large turnouts for their games or meetings. The church has expressed a willingness to share, and we hope the village board does not preclude that possibility. Placing restrictions on the use of the parking lot will not keep cars from coming into the neighborhood, but may contribute to traffic congestion if vehicles are not allowed to park there.

– Glenview police officer Bill Golden won a special commendation last month for fast thinking in the face of an emergency. In the midst of the morning rush hour, the radio room put out a call. A family on Rugen Road reported their baby was choking – unable to breath. Golden was on Lake Avenue, adjacent to Rugen. Driving to the address would take time he didn’t have. So Officer Golden parked his squad on the shoulder of Lake, scaled a fence, found the frantic parent and cleared the child’s airway.

– A Topp Lane landlord was arrested and charged with two counts of battery after allegedly spraying two of his tenants with a garden hose while saying, "You’re dead bitch. I’m going to kill you." The case goes to court in September.

– A 40-year-old man was charged with disorderly conduct just before midnight at Grandpa’s Place after allegedly causing a disturbance, pouring drinks on the bar counter and refusing to leave. The accused was apparently irate because someone had placed a "kick me" sign on his back.

– It appeared to be a case of vandalism. A dozen residents in the Castillian Court and Cove Lane complexes reported damage to their cars, but Glenview police tracked down the real culprit and referred victims to Metra for compensation. A piece of machinery used to cut brush along the railroad tracks had apparently thrown stones, causing damage to the vehicles.

– The Glen Club reported a $2,000 loss in mid-July when someone damaged sod on greens and fairways, then made off with flag pins from four holes.

– At its meeting Tuesday, July 30 at 7:30 p.m. the Glenview Village Board will again discuss the Borders sign on Hangar One, an audit of village spending in 2001 and a review of expenditures for the first half of 2002. The trustees will also debate Glenview’s storm water management program.

– Wagner Farm hosts its first annual Threshing Day Saturday, August 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with hayrides, games, farm tours and demonstrations. The charge is $3 for adults. Children are free. For more information, call 847-998-5490.

– The Glenview Park District will sponsor a mini-triathalon Sunday, September 29 at Park Center. The event includes a 300-yard swim, 10-mile bike ride and 5K run. Registration is limited to 150. For details, call 847-657-3249.

With November’s election closing in, Congressman Mark Kirk held another town meeting

Saturday in Vernon Hills. In a pre-recorded telephone greeting, Kirk invited residents to attend and described the topic: "Our country needs a patients’ bill of rights, and we must modernize Medicare to cover the cost of prescription drugs."

Democrat Hank Perritt, who hopes to unseat the first-term Congressman in November, scoffed: "Mark should be ashamed of himself. He has opposed meaningful patients rights in the bill he voted for – which is more aptly referred to as an insurance company bill of rights. He helped put together and voted for a sham bill on prescription drugs, a bill that subsidizes insurance companies yet imposes no requirements on who gets coverage or which drugs are covered." Perritt added that when he calls residents, he does so himself rather than playing a recording.

Planners and consultants hired by the village of Skokie have mapped out a network of bike routes, including lanes designated specifically for bicycles along Main and Church streets. Skokie is also planning to replace sewer grates that catch bike wheels and repair crumbling curbside pavement.

Meanwhile, in Wheeling, Arlington Heights and Prospect Heights sidewalk improvements are planned. According to the Chicagoland Transportation and Air Quality Commission, "The development comes after three years of effort on the part of several community groups that became alarmed when plans were made to widen Palatine-Willow Road from four lanes to six with no sidewalk improvements. . .They were concerned over the issue of safety for children walking to school in the area."

John Kozicki drives north on Waukegan Road and doesn’t like what he sees: "With all of this complaining about stripes on awnings, whose idea was it to allow a new billboard over the train tracks visible when heading north on Waukegan Road near McDonald's? That's not very appealing at all, and I'm sure Jim Jennings wouldn't be too happy since it is an ad for Cars.com."

The Watch replies: The billboard is attached to Metra property, and according to John Hedrick, an attorney and head of the Scenic Glenview Committee, railroad right of ways are exempt from local regulation under federal law.

JL is fed up with development around town: "Here's a great idea that the village trustees will love. Let's knock down the library, the whole block of stores on Glenview Road and just blacktop the whole thing for a giant skate park. Then, we can move everything to The Glen -- the fireworks, the library, all the shopping, the post office, fire station and the Christian Science Reading Room. Maybe if the trustees did a bit more reading and a little less pontificating and making change for change sake, we would have a balanced community. As it stands, we might as well pack it in and pitch tents in Gallery Park. I, for one, am up to my back teeth in The Glen. What a terrible mess. Bring back the Navy. A few loud planes would be heaven compared to the financial drain and constant pouring of resources and attention into that upscale ghetto. Gads. What a world!"

Mike Luxem laments the plight of trees and taxpayers at The Glen: "With so little rain this summer, Patriot Boulevard trees are dying. Many trees were replaced this spring, and it looks like the death rate this summer will be high again. Remember when The Glen was first graded? Earth movers scraped all the top soil into a large mountain for the developers to use. Core samples around the dying trees show very poor soil. Clay backfill that the trees were planted in dries rock hard and bakes the tree ball like a muffin tray. My concern is that we, the taxpayers, are paying for watering and yearly tree replacement so some developers can have a nice landscape to sell all those new residents. I have a feeling when the dust settles Glenview taxpayers will be left with a huge bond debt for many years as the developers ride off into the sunset with record profits."

BD is concerned about the Lehigh triangle – Glenview’s main industrial corridor: "Just wondering if anyone else thinks it's strange of how the barricades on Lehigh are popping up all the way to Glenview Road? Could it be that someone is looking to hurt the businesses in the Lehigh Triangle that the village wants to be rid of because it's an eyesore to the new residents? Hmmmm. Makes you wonder how serious they were when they said they were going to leave them alone."

The Watch replies: While it has been possible to drive from Glenview to Chestnut, that’s about to change. Weather permitting, construction will start on Lehigh between Lake Avenue and Chestnut this week. For more information on the schedule and routing of traffic, call The Glen Redevelopment office (847-998-9500) and ask for Larry Kulman.

John McCartney took a drive, then wrote: "I have been a resident of Glenview for more than seven years, and for some reason I hadn't driven over to check out the new housing at The Glen. After reading about that area I was curious and headed over there. I was amazed at what has transpired at The Glen after all of the debating. I sure don't know why anyone would spend $700,000_$900,000 on any of those homes. They are so close together. Also, the town homes look like row houses in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago. It looks like they tried to squeeze as many lots as possible in that area to make as much money as possible. It was very disappointing to see what has transpired at the old Navy base. What could have been a very beautiful transformation is now a very crowded suburban area. Too bad!"

EB sees a clear link between the post office and the health of downtown Glenview: "I can't imagine anyone wanting to set up a business on Glenview Road because of the post office truck parking lot at the hardware store. Is it legal to use store parking space for trucks? I suspect the parking results in dollars to the store owners. I think that it is time for our village manager and elected officials to demand that Glenview has a serviceable post office. The post office dragged its heels when there were available building areas. Now they hide behind the excuse that no land is available. There is land near Dominick’s, so let them proceed to build on that ground."

The Watch replies: The post office continues to plead poverty, so if we want that facility to move, we may have to provide financial assistance. While there is no local prohibition on postal trucks parking at the paint store, there is an ordinance banning parking on the sidewalk. Maybe Glenview’s new bicycle patrol could start ticketing those trucks that now block pedestrian passage on the west side of Lehigh Road.

Mark Levy directs his remarks to GRC Chairman Silver who questioned tool rental at Home Depot because "everyone on the North Shore hires somebody to do the work for them. Levy writes: "Not everybody, Mr. Silver, is as pretentious as you. Some of us, actually a lot of us, enjoy doing the work ourselves. It's not a matter of money. I personally get a lot of satisfaction from doing a job myself. I can stand back and look at my handiwork and say, ‘I did that.’ It's not the same as saying, ‘I paid someone to do that.’ I for one will rent tools from Home Depot, just as I've rented them from several of the other rental places in Glenview. Also, many contractors (you know, those people that Mr. Silver hires to avoid cutting off his fingers) will rent tools that they don't use often in order to do work at a client’s home or business.

"As for Ms. Novotny’s remark about Home Depot's floors, I don't go there to soak up the ambiance. I go there to get the supplies I need to take care of my home. I don't care that the floor is concrete, particularly if that means lower prices. What would you like next, Ms. Novotny, an espresso bar? Perhaps live music? It ain't Bloomingdale's, you know."

DS hopes Chairman Silver is kidding. "I would like to challenge him on his claim that everyone on the North Shore hires somebody to make home improvements for them. That is an outrageous statement. Chairman Silver has forgotten that some of us taxpayers are working class people who use tools but can not afford to buy every tool that is needed? I question if the chairman is honestly representing the people of Glenview."

And Nancy Chadwick adds: "Well, 'scuse me, Mr. Silver. Not everyone from the North Shore pays someone else to do their home repairs. If there's anything you could learn while sitting in your Chairman chair, it is that you can't and shouldn't make generalizations about something you don't know. My husband and I would be ecstatic about a place where we could rent tools. We couldn't possibly afford to buy nor would we have the space for all the tools that we need to tackle our home projects, and we certainly wouldn't hire someone to do a project when we could do it ourselves at a fraction of the cost. So please Mr. Silver, don't assume residents of the North Shore would rather pay someone to do their home projects rather than renting a tool and doing it themselves."

BT is thinking about library locations: "Is there some reason why the paint and glass store next to the library can't be bought and the library expanded that way? The parking could be under a second story expansion like in Arlington Heights. More parking, more space and same location sounds like a win/win solution to some of us."

KR recalls a library poll showing 60 percent of residents wanted to keep the library downtown. She thinks "maybe someone should do a poll again now that more people are living in The Glen? We're moving there, and I wouldn't mind the seven block walk from The Glen to the downtown library. It's just the library obviously needs more space, and there is a nice piece of property behind Dominick’s. Any ideas what they might use that property behind Dominick’s for if the post office or library don't move there?"

The Watch replies: The village would be free to sell the property to a developer or could use the site for a new Village Hall, but no plans have been announced.

Terry Wodder applauds the resignation of Donna Berndt from Glenview’s library board: "The entire board has been guilty of malfeasance and should resign in mass. The only difference between Enron, WorldCom and the way the library board has mishandled the planning process for a new or expanded facility is one of scale. Every buzz word used to describe the misdeeds of various corporate CEO's and board members applies. The board never conducted a capacity utilization or patron seating study to determine actual usage by time of day, department, etc. Members failed to explain why Glenview needs a facility nearly 80 percent larger than over 20 suburban libraries surveyed, or why it needs twice as many patron seats as recommended by the leading authority on patron seating. The board failed to acknowledge a dramatic decline in attendance and circulation from 1997 to 2001 until challenged by a guest essay in the Glenview Announcements last March. The present facility has a replacement cost value of over $15 million. The most cost-effective plan is to build a 30,000 to 35,000-square-foot addition by relocating EPCO Paint and making the post office an offer it can't refuse."

@lexis writes about a Michigan consultant hired to study the market for business in downtown Glenview: "Why not hire consultants who have had local success in more current downtown developments, like Deerfield and Lake Forest, rather than some from Detroit? How about approaching our community for ideas, since they are most likely to use the area.

YOUR TURN: Write to glenviewwatch@aol.com or 3537 Maple Leaf Drive, Glenview, IL 60025. If you haven’t already done so, please consider making a contribution to support The Watch. Non-deductible checks should be payable to Glenview Watch. Thanks for your support and for reading. Dean Schott and Sandy Hausman, Co-Editors.

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