When Alla Litovchenko and Natalie Mikhailovsky came to this country, they had a dream. After years of teaching young children, they wanted to open a day care center. Something like that was impossible in the former Soviet Union, but in America it could be done. The two women got certification from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and began the search for a suitable space. Glenview’s zoning ordinance only allows day care in commercial areas, but they found a building at 1814-1818 Waukegan Road that filled the bill. It had enough room for four classrooms to accommodate 50 children, and there was a space out back where they could build a playground. (Glenview’s park district doesn’t allow daycare centers to use public parks, and DCFS requires an outdoor place for children to play.)

Alla and Natalie secured home equity loans and work began inside the place they call Children’s Land Daycare. They hired a staff, put an ad in Reklama, a local newspaper serving Chicagoland’s sizable Russian-American community, and soon had 50 children signed-up for September.

Then they hit their first roadblock. Appearing before Glenview’s plan commission, Alla and Natalie were told they needed professionally-drawn architectural plans for the playground. They came back two weeks later with drawings from a respected Chicago architect and won speedy approval. Only Commissioner Peter Brinckerhoff objected, arguing that the playground was too close to the neighboring Burger King drive through and the Glenview Car Wash where cars often idle. Brinckerhoff also noted the fully fenced playground was within 12 feet of a dumpster, but Chairman Howard Silver said that was not the Plan Commission’s concern – that the Department of Children and Family Services was the agency charged with assuring a healthy environment for daycare kids in Illinois.

Running behind schedule for the grand opening but buoyed by approval from the plan and appearance commissions, Alla and Natalie requested final sign-off from the Glenview Village Board, but members raised a series of concerns, then sent the two women packing. Trustee Donna Pappo asked about rubber tiles being used at the base of the playground with openings that should allow storm water to run through into a pre-existing drain. "The first thing that occurred to me is mold and mildew," said Pappo. "You have children playing above it, which is a health concern."

Alla was surprised. The manufacturer claimed the product was "completely safe and approved by everybody. The playground has a slope, and water doesn’t stay under the tile," she explained.

"The other concern I had was the close proximity to the dumpster, the car wash, the Burger King and the traffic," said Pappo. "This does not seem like a good spot for child care. I think we owe every resident of this village – including children who can’t speak for themselves – to take care of their safety and welfare."

Alla said Glenview’s health department had not objected to the dumpster, and the day care center would not be preparing meals on site, so there would be no food in the garbage container. As for the issue of air quality, Alla noted that another Waukegan Road day care – Poco Loco – was next to a gas station and across the street from a car dealership.

Trustee Rachel Cook was not convinced. She shared the concerns of Pappo and Plan Commissioner Brinckerhoff "with regard to health, safety, welfare, light and air that the children are breathing. It is such a congested location. I live in close proximity to Poco Loco, and I’m waiting for the day that an accident happens that seriously injures a child at that location," she said. "It’s a dangerous location, and I think that’s rural compared to your location. I think we need childcare, but we don’t need more child care on Waukegan Road."

Trustee Jeff Lerner said the site was surrounded by negatives, raised the specter of carbon monoxide from idling cars, repeated Pappo’s concern about mold and suggested the manufacturer could not be trusted to vouch for the safety of playground materials. "I don’t know that that’s good enough for us," he said.

Lerner added that the village had barred anyone from building on the E-Z Go gas station site across the street from Children’s Land, "in an effort to reduce the congestion and the traffic, because there’s a perception that this is a dangerous area for traffic."

Only Trustee Mary Beth Denefe was prepared to give approval, correctly arguing that the state of Illinois regulates day care centers -- not the village.

What Pappo, Lerner, Cook and Brinckerhoff had said seemed reasonable, but common sense doesn’t always cut it where health and science are concerned. Glenview Watch contacted the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to ask about the proposed location of Children’s Land. We described busy Waukegan Road, the Burger King and car wash. Bob Swinford, Supervisor of the Air Quality Bureau, gave us a surprising assessment.

"I would be amazed if there was a problem," he said. Noting that today’s cars are equipped with effective emission controls and burn cleaner fuels, he said the department had not seen excessive amounts of carbon monoxide anywhere since the early 90's. "We have monitoring stations right up against the tollway, and we never see excesses." As long as the playground was open, he assured us car fumes would disperse quickly posing no health risk to children or adults.

We then called Reese Recreation – an Arlington Heights firm that sells rubber flooring materials for playgrounds. President Sally Reese said such products had been on the market for more than 30 years – sold to park districts and schools in Chicago, Glenview and other Midwest communities. There had never been a problem with mold or mildew, she explained, because the water drains away and no biological organisms can live on rubber. Glenview park planner Ken Wexler confirmed the claim, saying he had never seen mold or mildew on the rubber mats used here.

Finally, the E-Z Go gas station site remains empty, not because the village is concerned about traffic congestion, but because the land must be cleaned-up by its owner before it can be sold.

Editor’s note: If the trustees were so concerned about traffic on Waukegan Road, one has to wonder why they approved significant expansions for Bredemann Lexus and Jennings Volkswagen earlier this year. Indeed, on the very night that Alla and Natalie were sent away bewildered, the board agreed to expanded service at the new Chinese restaurant near the corner of Willow and Waukegan.

Yes, Waukegan Road is a busy street, and perhaps some parents would prefer to take their children to a more pastoral center, but that is a parent’s choice. Every day, millions of children are cared for in busy, urban settings. Upscale families in New York and Chicago walk children to nursery schools on congested Park and Michigan avenues without fear for their safety. Conversely, many Glenview residents brave chaotic traffic to drop kids off or pick them up in front of our public schools.

Glenview's trustees are entitled to make unfounded assumptions and to act on them in their personal lives. If they suppose a setting is not wholesome or safe, they don't have to take their kids there, but when they act in an official capacity they must do so based on facts. That is the fair and professional thing to do. What's more, failure to secure expert opinions before putting someone out of business invites a lawsuit. Of course, the trustees wouldn't be paying the legal fees. We taxpayers would get that bill.

We’re also concerned that this wrong-headed regulatory action by our village board may create a crisis for the families of 50 kids. While not commenting specifically on Children’s Land, District 34 schools’ Superintendent Dot Weber says, "Quality day care in this area is a real issue for so many families. Most of the centers have waiting lists, and the need is increasing as the population grows."

Another of Glenview’s Waukegan Road car dealers may be planning to depart. Finish Line Dodge would not confirm it, but the Northbrook Star says the dealer may be talking with our neighbor to the north about building at the 5-acre site of Salvi’s Caravel Inn near Techny Towers. Northbrook’s village president and one trustee reportedly met with an unnamed dealer to discuss a $120,000 annual tax break for the next ten years. In exchange, that community would get about $400,000 in sales tax revenue.

Another trustee who was not involved in those talks says a tax rebate could be trouble since Northbrook has two other dealerships that might expect similar treatment. On the other hand, the suburb learned a costly lesson some years ago when it refused to provide a tax break to CDW. The computer supply giant is now paying mega-taxes to Buffalo Grove.

Village President Larry Carlson came back Tuesday with a revised proposal designed to silence trustees who would share information discussed in private, executive sessions, as long as the subject was protected by Illinois’ Open Meetings Act. Labor negotiations, real estate deals and litigation, for example, may be discussed by elected officials behind closed doors.

Once again, Trustees John Crawford and Mike Guinane questioned the need for a proposed $500 fine in cases where a board member could be proven to have violated the law. Guinane said he had surveyed other communities and none of them had penalties for leaking information after executive sessions.

Referring to a public report that Trustee Mary Beth Denefe had left an executive session early, Crawford again described the proposal as an attempt to legislate against gossip.

Trustee Jeff Lerner disagreed. "Whoever gossiped probably said other things. I can’t imagine that after a one or two hour meeting, the only thing that came out of it was one sentence of gossip. That may have been the only thing published, but I think it’s appropriate to have an ordinance that has a penalty."

Crawford described the effort as a waste of time and suggested a penalty for exercising freedom of speech might be unconstitutional. He again attacked the board for on-going violations of the open meetings act – failing to review minutes of executive sessions every six months and to release those that no longer needed to be confidential.

He added, however, that to his knowledge no trustee had ever leaked information that might be harmful to the village. "I have trust in the integrity of the people on this board to keep their mouths shut about anything that would hurt the village."

A heated exchange with Lerner followed, and Crawford finally demanded: "Which of your fellow trustees do you not trust?"

"It’s not a question of not trusting," said Lerner.

"Well then why is it necessary?" Crawford thundered.

"Because there is a section of the law with no penalty," Lerner replied.

"You’re like an old maid looking for burglars under the bed!" Crawford concluded.

In the end, Crawford, Cook, Pappo and Guinane voted the proposal down. Denefe, who favored the penalty, added a postscript, demanding to know which communities Trustee Guinane had checked.

"Mary Beth, I’ll follow up with you in the morning. I’ll give you a call at home, and I’ll give you that information," said Guinane.

"I’d appreciate it if that information could be transmitted to the village attorney or to the village manager," said Denefe.

"Sure, Mary Beth," said Guinane.

Editor’s note: There are many laws on the books that carry no penalty. One that is near and dear to our hearts is Glenview’s Environmentally Significant Areas Ordinance which is supposed to protect natural open space. If Trustee Lerner is so anxious to tighten-up local laws, we suggest he start by establishing penalties against officials who fail to enforce the ESA.

Glenview trustees have finally approved plans for a parking lot at the corner of Lake and Greenwood so members of the Canaan Presbyterian Church will not take spaces at the parking lot of Westbrook School during baseball season when little league teams play there. Trustee Jeff Lerner insisted the lot only be used during religious services and not be available to people participating in events at the Korean Education Center just south of Lake Avenue. Finally, the board insisted a gate be installed to keep people out except when services are held.

Editor’s note: In making these rules, we must again ask if the Korean church has been singled out for unnecessarily tough treatment. We cannot imagine Glenview’s trustees dealing in this way with OLPH, the Glenview Community Church or St. Peter and Paul’s. We also feel the excessive regulation penalizes area residents since the lot will not be available for overflow parking by parents attending events at Westbrook nor can it be used if things get busy south of Lake Avenue.

As a result, people living near the Korean education center may see street parking and congestion that could be alleviated if the parking lot were used instead of sitting vacant.

At Tuesday’s meeting, a village staffer presented proposals that could mean special fees for people who build or add on to homes in areas lacking storm sewers. He praised the simplicity of regulations crafted by the plan commission, but Trustee John Crawford found the whole thing confusing. "I’m not an engineer, I’m a poet," he joked. The board agreed to delay the discussion providing more time for trustees to review the issues of who would pay how much and when.

Glenview resident Biff Thiele has spent the last three weeks researching a subject near and dear to his heart – crows. Thiele has raised pet crows, and the news that they were being stricken by West Nile virus upset him. He no longer saw crows around Glenview and neither did any of his friends. He sent e-mails to about 200 people to see what they were seeing. Many confirmed the lack of crows. Then Thiele jumped in his car and began driving – covering nearly 200 miles around the north shore, and still he found no crows.

The Chicago Tribune’s Lisa Black did a story about Thiele and quoted a state wildlife biologist who thought maybe the crows were "staging" or gathering in different communities as they prepare to migrate south. Thiele was outraged by the remark.

"Her biologist consultant in a state office doesn't know squat about crows and certainly is not here in Glenview to substantiate anything," said Thiele. "If he suggests they are staging, that's just a crock. Staging for what, a Stones concert? They are territorial. They live in particular areas and they are creatures of habit. They go home at night. They eat in the same places every day. They didn't all fly out to Iowa because the corn is better. Crows rarely migrate and never in the summer. They are not staging someplace. They are dead."

The local Aubudon Society has since confirmed Thiele’s observations that crows have been wiped out in the northern suburbs. A spokesman said the future of the species in this area is uncertain but noted that in other states where West Nile hit last year, bird populations have rebounded.

Village President Larry Carlson said, Tuesday, that local houses of worship have been asked to participate in a 9/11 remembrance of "our countrymen who were murdered." Pausing frequently and fighting back tears, he explained that bells would ring at the times when each of four planes crashed in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. A small ceremony is also planned at the police station to commemorate police and firemen who gave their lives, and the Rotary Club of Glenview -- Sunrise will hold a candlelight memorial at 7 p.m. in Gallery Park or at the Park Center if it rains. For more information, call the village manager’s office at 847-724-1700.

For those who fear America’s desire for justice will turn into a misguided war of vengeance, peace advocates are proposing two Call-In To Congress days – September 9 and 10. If you feel an unprovoked war on Iraq would further destabilize the Middle East, kill thousands of U.S. soldiers and innocent Iraqi civilians, increase anti-American sentiment abroad and undermine international cooperation, call Congressman Mark Kirk, Senators Dick Durbin and Peter Fitzgerald at 202-225-3121 to express your views.

Pulitzer Prize winner Studs Terkel will speak Thursday, September 26 at 6 p.m. at the Glenview Community Church, Elm and Glenview Road. The 90-year-old author will discuss his latest book, "Will the Circle be Unbroken?" which deals with his personal search for faith as well as the need for faith in dealing with an inevitable reality -- death. Chicago Tribune columnist Rick Kogan says hearing Studs talk on this subject is "positively mesmerizing – almost an out of body experience." The book will be available for purchase by check for $28, with a portion of the profits to benefit church programs. Admission is free. Dinner – probably from the Pizza Bakery – will be served at 5:15. The cost – $7 for adults, $4 for kids. For more information, call 847-724- 2210 or e_mail petergrant@madisonplan.com.

The Northbrook Environmental Quality Commission is hosting a presentation on green buildings September 19 at 7 p.m. in the board room of Nortbhrook Village Hall at 1225 Cedar next to the library. People who want to learn more about energy efficient, environmentally friendly designs and about ecologically effective ways to manage storm water are encouraged to attend. RSVP by calling Mary Bernier at 847-272-5050, extension 247 or by e-mailing bernier@northbrook.il.us.

JL responds to Fritz who accused School District 34 of hiring a "spinmeister" to promote another referendum: "Regarding the rationale behind District 34's hiring of Brett Clark, the recommendation to establish a position dedicated to identifying and securing grants came out of last year's Citizen's Finance Task Force which was comprised of community members with financial and accounting expertise. The decision to hire a communications person was based on the results of a broad community survey, also done in 2001. The responses clearly indicated that Glenview wanted more information regarding the school district, and wanted the information presented more clearly and concisely. I would recommend, Fritz, that you check the facts before tapping the keyboard, or people will start realizing that you are the spinmeister."

A Concerned Dad wonders what is happening at Springman: "Most or all the teachers for the Mosaic team at Springman Junior High quit at the beginning of the school year. The neighborhood kids say the teachers quit because of death threats from a student, but that sounds like b.s. We heard from friends that many teachers at Springman have put in for a transfer to the new Attea Middle School when it opens because the morale at Springman is so bad."

The Watch replies: District 34 Superintendent Dot Weber says there were 21 resignations from Springman by August 1, but no one cited a death threat in explaining his or her departure. Four teachers retired and one went on maternity leave. Four moved out of state and three got jobs closer to their homes. Weber says the commute can be a real killer for hard-working teachers, and there’s little affordable housing for educators in Glenview. Three more teachers took jobs that paid better, one went to Hoffman and one – a student from DePaul – had finished her internship here. Three teachers were let go and one may have had a beef with District 34. As for future assignments, about half of the faculty have asked to stay at Springman while the other half wanted to teach at the new Attea Middle School when it opens next year.

NC asks about traffic on Glenview Road: "Is it my imagination, or has the westbound traffic backup on Glenview Rd. beginning at Harms around 4:30 p.m. gotten worse over recent weeks?

I think the timing of the lights has changed at the intersection of Glenview Rd. and Wagner. The green light for west bound drivers is extremely short contributing to a terrible back up, often to Harms. Sometimes you can't even get through Harms because of the backup. Once passed Wagner, it's wide open. Who can I call to complain? Who regulates stop lights and their timing?"

And JM has been sitting at Glenview and Wagner wondering: "Who is responsible for the traffic light at that intersection? It seems the timing heavily favors cars on Wagner as during the nightly rush hour cars are backed up sometimes to Harms Road on Glenview."

The Watch replies: According to Police Commander Scott Stewart, traffic light cycling on Glenview Road is under the control of Cook County’s Highway Department. They can be reached at 847-827-1164. They set the cycles after conducting traffic studies at different times of day. The intersection of Glenview and Wagner is now at 45 seconds for east/west traffic and 25 seconds for cars going north and south.

BC is concerned about Lake Avenue: "What is happening to Lake Avenue East and West bound at 5:30 p.m.? Traffic was backed up for miles Tuesday and Wednesday. Traffic was backed up from east of Landwehr all the way to Milwaukee. I have never seen it that bad."

To which Commander Stewart replies: "The problem is related to heavy traffic on Milwaukee. The light at that intersection is regulated by the Illinois Department of Transportation: 312-793-2250." Of course the cycles can be altered in the event of power outages, fire department emergencies or accidents.

KS thinks traffic should be directed to Steak ‘N Shake: "I must not have gotten all the facts straight about Steak ‘N Shake. It seems totally ridiculous to deny them a license because of a drive through or the design of their building. Any established business that has a good balance sheet should be welcomed to Glenview. I don't get it. The banks, Walgreens, McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell can all have drive through service, but not Steak ‘N Shake? What is that? If this is a problem for the police, then let's hear about that. I drove past a Steak ‘N Shake the other day and took a close look. The building has very clean lines and is attractive. I think the village is really kidding itself if it thinks it has achieved something special or unique at the Glen. One man's garbage is another man's treasure. Something will wind up on that land, and in all likelihood it won't be anything spectacular."

And JH says: "Once again the village is getting ready to run a business out of town. First they said Steak ‘N Shake couldn't be open 24 hours. Why not? It’s not a residential area, and there are plenty of people who work a midnight shift at UPS nearby. This would be a convenient place for them to go. Not to mention our fine police officers who work all night and have to visit another town in order to be able to purchase a meal. Now they want to say no to a drive thru window. What's the reasoning for this? It becomes more and more apparent that businesses will continue to go elsewhere while our trustees continue to make arbitrary decisions about what they feel is proper. I hope Steak ‘N Shake decides to go elsewhere. Then maybe another dry cleaners or bank will open in its place. Just what we need."

A local merchant writes about downtown redevelopment: "Has anyone at city hall ever looked at the success of Naperville or Wheaton with their quaint downtown shops instead of the new sterile shops Village President Larry Carlson recommends. There is no way anyone but a chain could afford the new construction, and there are enough chains at Old Orchard, Golf Mill and The Glen. Try looking at the tiny charming town of Frankfurt and their successful craft fair over Labor Day. Their chamber of commerce brings in thousands of people. It would be nice if we had a chamber that supported our downtown instead of ignoring it and planning golf outings. Downtowns are supposed to be "mom and pop" charming, unique shops, not masses of high rises with chain store shops as if traffic isn't bad enough! Lake Forest just to our north was not rebuilt and is very successful. I love Glenview and hope to stay here."

CWW also writes about plans for downtown: "So the Milwaukee Consultants tell us that the Downtown Glenview Road corridor should become a three-story canyon of brick and mortar buildings, and we should acquire and teardown Patio Shops/Colonial Court and replace them with a plaza and a new library. For this advice, we taxpayers paid these consultants a whopping $300,000, and it’s not unlikely the "Tear it down-Bulk it up" crowd on the Village Board and Plan Commission will sing an Amen chorus as they roll up their sleeves to get started. As usual, citizens repeated comments at Comprehensive Plan meetings against three-story buildings due to unwanted density, small town character destruction, lack of parking and worst of all, more and more traffic, will be ignored. Not to mention the mega-bucks cost that will likely inspire our politicians to create another unwanted TIF. To our politicians, consultants know best and citizens know least. The "Tear it down-Bulk it up" crowd just can't bring enough development into Glenview. Just look around. That same crowd will ignore repeated past comments of citizens in Glenview Watch, Announcements and Comprehensive Plan meetings not to mention their own survey of residents to keep the library at its current location and expand and rebuild in place. After all, they have their hearts set on a Taj Mahal library/plaza complete with a brass plaque inscribed with all board members names. Time for a reality check by Village Trustees, Commissioners and Library Board before we taxpayers do it for them."

Another concerned resident writes about rumors of a floating cop car: "On the morning of our recent rain storm a police officer apparently drove his car under the overpass at Willow and Shermer. You can guess what happened next. The car became stuck, water flowed over the roof and wrecked all of the equipment inside. As a taxpayer, I now have to fork out money for some officer’s stupidity? If my Ford cost $30,000, what does a fully loaded police car cost? Where was the supervision that day?

The Watch replies: According to Commander Scott Stewart, the incident occurred at around 2:30 a.m. as the officer in question was investigation reports of rapidly rising water near Shermer and Old Willow. The car was covered by insurance and was scheduled to be replaced next year.

And BD was pleased to see a class action lawsuit filed by owners of properties built with a stucco-like material called Dryvit. The stuff has now been banned in Glenview, but the prohibition may not have been strictly enforced: " I hear that Dryvit buildings built not long ago already have vapor lock problems (the material doesn't breathe like real stucco), and you can punch your fist through them. There are about three hideous standardized colors that can be seen on virtually every fast food restaurant and countless of the village's most odious and shocking MacMansions and Faux Chateaux (seldom by the better high-end builders, not surprisingly.) It's really embarrassing for the village that it's not being more vigilant about outlawing this cheap, notorious material."

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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