Glenview Watch is about to mark its third anniversary in service to the community, and we want to take this opportunity to thank our readers for your support.  The steady growth in visits to our website and the fat file of letters and e-mail we've received over many months attest to the importance of an independent newsletter where residents can share concerns and opinions, ask questions and get answers.  We also thank those of you who have sent checks to help with our expenses.  We are an advocacy group, so donations are not tax deductible, but they are appreciated.  Checks should be made payable to Glenview Watch and mailed to 3537 Maple Leaf Drive, Glenview, IL  60025.  

With no board or commission meetings scheduled this week, we expect to take December 29 off but look forward to our next edition on January 5.  In the mean time, happy holidays to all!     

William Darr, a political consultant who guided the Unite Glenview ticket of Larry Carlson, Mary Beth Denefe, Mike Guinane and Jeff Lerner to victory, has been named by federal prosecutors in their corruption case against Governor George Ryan’s former chief of staff. Darr, who is the state commissioner of Banks and Real Estate, allegedly worked on a number of campaigns on state time according to a recent story in the Springfield Journal-Register.

In particular, federal prosecutors claim Darr assisted the campaigns of Republican House candidates and presidential candidate Phil Gramm in 1996 while collecting a check from the taxpayers.

When Glenview opted to leave the regional emergency dispatch center, Village Manager Paul McCarthy said it would be costly to remain. The RED Center intended to build a new facility in Northbrook, and McCarthy called it "a palace." Former Fire Chief Joe Robberson agreed, saying, "a dispatch center inside a fire station may not be pretty, but it’s a lot cheaper, and the extra cost of a stand-alone building isn’t warranted."

Glenview and Wheeling then established their own emergency dispatch service at a cost of about $500,000. All but one dispatcher came on board with fewer than six months of experience in this area. On several occasions, emergency medical personnel were sent to the wrong community or had trouble finding fires, and a tornado siren was accidentally activated in the wee hours not long after 9/11, leaving sleepless residents to wonder if Glenview might be under attack.

Meanwhile, the RED facility opened. It’s a modest brick structure filled with state-of-the-art equipment, staffed by experienced dispatchers who used to work in Glenview. The total bill came to $888,000 to be paid off over 10 years by nine different communities.

Now comes word that the state of Illinois is providing a $1.8 million dollar grant to the RED Center, allowing it to retire all construction debt.

The Glen Redevelopment office will officially announce how much tax increment financing money will go to schools, parks and the library Monday at 3 p.m. So far, only the park district has announced its expected share: $281,476. That’s about 56% of what the district would have gotten had The Glen not been declared a tax increment financing district. The public is invited to attend the meeting at 1370 Shermer Road, north off Lake Avenue in the double-wide redevelopment office.

Road construction is so prevalent in Glenview that students who take buses are unable to get to school on time. That’s the word from District 34 which has opted to add nine new bus routes at a cost of $60,000.

The District 225 caucus endorsed three new candidates for the Glenbrook High School Board, turning its back on incumbent Andy Olson. Those slated are Bob Boron and Keith Babb of Northbrook and Glenview resident Skip Shein. Olson said he was disappointed but would not run without the caucus stamp of approval. He noted that as many as 200 people could have taken part in candidate review, but only 47 turned up. "I believe in the caucus process," Olson told the Glenview Announcements, "but I don’t think it’s good that 47 people are deciding something this important."

Incumbent Paul Schabinger says he might run for the District 30 school board as an independent. He was not slated by that area’s caucus of just 20 people. District 30 includes Willowbrook and Wescott Elementary schools and Maple Middle School.

State Representative Beth Coulson led the fight for a new law which will require people who give massages to be licensed. Applicants must submit to a criminal background check, take 500 hours of coursework and pass a test. Coulson, who is a physical therapist, hopes the new law will give police another weapon in their fight against "vice in our communities."

Susan Garrett, who will soon be sworn in as a state senator representing part of Glenview, is already playing a critical role in government. She’s been named vice chair of the Government Ethics Reform Committee and will look for ways to implement government reform. During her tenure in the Illinois House, Garrett proposed legislation to limit campaign contributions from special interests and to prohibit donations from public employees to the politicians for whom they work.

One of Glenview’s commissioners on the Cook County Board will play a key role in working with the state and federal government. Larry Suffredin, elected to replace Cal Sutker, has been named to chair the Legislation and Intergovernmental Relations Committee – tracking state and federal money earmarked for county programs and reviewing appointments to county boards and commissions.

At least 50 police officers, two canine units and a small plane gave chase last week after two armed men allegedly robbed a dry cleaner in Highland Park. The duo headed south on Skokie Valley Road where they were spotted by an officer from Northbrook. He attempted to stop the gunmen, but they sped off. When the driver lost control and crashed through a chain link fence just south of Dundee Road, police chased them on foot. One was apprehended immediately. A second eluded officers for nearly two hours before he was picked up near the intersection of Voltz and Sunset Ridge. In addition to Northbrook and Highland Park, Glencoe, Wilmette, Northfield and Kenilworth sent squads to apprehend the men who are now charged with armed robbery and parole violation. The two suspects could also be linked to a series of armed robberies this fall in Wilmette and Skokie.

– The Glenview Park District will not raise rates for users of its health and fitness center in 2003. Likewise, there will be no increase for lap swim cards and daily use of Splash Landings. An increase of 4 percent was approved for Splash Landings membership and programs. The indoor pools will no longer be open on weekend evenings. In 2003, they’ll close at 5 p.m. Track and fitness center hours will also be shortened – closing at 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

– Middle school students in Glenview may get the chance to swim as part of their physical education program. School District 34 and the park district are discussing the possibility of sharing the indoor Splash Landings complex for that addition to the program.

– Glenview’s Children’s Theater gets underway next month. For details, contact Amber Hirt at 657-3229.

– The park board has voted to give the village a small piece of land in Glen Oak Acres. The parcel is about one-third of an acre – too small for recreational use. At first, the district thought it might sell the land, but a storm sewer and water main under the site make it unsuitable for building.

– Officials are blaming the "golf gods" for a small decline in revenue this year. Ron Cassidy, manager of the new National 9 course says November’s rain, snow, wind and ice provided "all the right ingredients to make a round of golf miserable." Always the optimist he adds, "If the weather warms up for a short spurt we’ll put the flagsticks in the cups and call it a golf course for a day or two."

– The Café, which serves golfers at Glenview’s 18-hole public course off Shermer Road, will be closed until January 22.

– Four new volunteers have been named to the Independence Day Celebration Committee. Anne Feeney, Jill Lanphere, Kay Laurie and Sharon Dolezal will help raise money and plan for the July 4 festivities.

– The chickens at Wagner Farm have begun laying eggs, and the park district is perplexed. Farm Director Todd Price says, "There’s nothing like fresh, free range eggs!" but they can’t be sold unless they’re graded by the USDA. As a result, they’re sitting in a refrigerator at park district headquarters.

– The Grove has won a $312,000 grant to construct a new maintenance building and a fire-proof archive and classroom where it can store more than 26,000 pages of historic documents dating back to the 1830's when the Kennicott family was in residence. The new building will also provide office space for Grove staffers and create new space at the Interpretive Center for a general store.

– The large stone sculpture of a deer may soon have company at The Grove. The anonymous donor of that piece would now like to pay for a granite sculpture of sandhill cranes.

– The Chicago Botanic Garden has purchased a valuable collection of rare books and journals about plants – some dating back to the 1400's. The library was sold by the Massachusetts Historical Society. It is considered one of the best in the world by scholars and will be available to the public by appointment, but first it must be catalogued – a process that could take 3-5 years. The garden has not said how much it paid for the collection.

– Fundraising has begun for the Holocaust Museum in Skokie. The founders hope to collect $25 million before breaking ground in 2003 on 100,000 square feet of land off Woods Drive, just west of the Old Orchard Mall, between Golf and Old Orchard roads.

– The Maine Township Food Pantry says demand for its services rose 50 percent in the last year with more than 400 families collecting food for Thanksgiving. For details on how you can make a donation, call 297-2510.

Glenview now has three Rotary Clubs. The newest – to be known as the Rotary Club of Glenview Sunset – meets at 6 p.m. Mondays in the Gusto Italiano restaurant at Carillon Square. Its president, Cathy Wilson, wanted to provide an alternative for business people and professionals who find it difficult to attend the morning or mid-day meetings of Rotary Sunrise and The Glenview Rotary Club. All three groups undertake local service projects and assist with humanitarian efforts around the world. For more information, call Co-Chair Jack Neymark at 847-998-4688 or e-mail jneymark@compuserve.com.

The Glenview Symphony Orchestra will perform at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, January 12 at the Christian Heritage Academy, 315 Waukegan Road. The guest artist will be Ani Aznavoorian, performing Saint Saens Cello Concert No. 1. Music Director Philip Simmons will also conduct Finlandia by Sibelius and Elgar’s Enigma Variations. Tickets are $18 ($12 for seniors and students) and can be purchased at the Glenview State Bank.

JG doesn’t buy our view of how District 34 handled two dozen students caught placing bets on professional sports. The kids were made to watch a video and write a paper about the dangers of gambling. We suggested that the students ought not to be punished as they are young and may not have known that gambling is illegal. JG writes: "In a word, Bull. Every 13-year-old knows that gambling is not only illegal, but causes lots of other problems. The teachable moment should have been and is that there are consequences for misbehavior, and the failure of the administration to punish sends the wrong message. After all of the petty stuff that they give detentions for, to find something of this kind resulting in no punishment is not the message I think most parents want to send to their students. Above and beyond the issue of punishment, I am impressed that a dozen students from this system know enough math to calculate the odds, set a point spread and know that the house will always win in the end. I have always thought that the district was missing the boat in teaching life skills, but if these mathematical concepts were learned in the classroom, I stand corrected."

JS responds to the reader who wishes all of Glenview shared his enthusiasm for The Glen: "How could I guess that Sid Kavin lived on The Glen. From his very first sentence of course and his arrogance! Mr. Kavin, I resent you calling me, and many others, a pathetic malcontent. I am not malcontent, I am not pathetic and truly I am not jealous of you or anyone else on The Glen. You have nothing I want. I have a moderate income, raised three kids alone, and I have owned a small house in Glenview for 37 years (the real Glenview). We had one tv because that is the way I wanted it, and none of the other fluff you have because we didn't want it. Just being a family was much more important. I have wonderful kids, a very close knit family who always had everything they needed and spent a lot of quality time just enjoying each other. Jealous of you? No way. Proud of me? You betcha! I have no less than you, and very possibly much more. Material things are no comparison to the love we had in our house."

And Biff Thiele explains his concerns about The Glen: "Sid Kavin defended The Glen, stating it will be attracting people for work, shopping and leisure. Sid, you're right, and we should be proud, because that will be good for Glenview, but long before you moved there we were promised that redevelopment of the Glenview Naval Air Station wouldn't cost taxpayers a dime. It's already cost us hundreds of millions, and it continues to push back expiration of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) at a cost to the schools, library and park district. Those ‘pathetic malcontents' you spoke of, are not complaining about Glen residents. We're upset about the broken promises and the huge cost to the rest of the community.

"Our village government put The Glen on a pedestal above the rest of us. The trustees pay lip service to sprucing things up downtown but continue to neglect our central business district. They made businesses in the Lehigh Triangle feel unwelcome, and they delayed fulfilling a promise to open The Glen to Prairie Lawn residents. They even gave the new METRA station special status, by insisting on a name -- The Glen of North Glenview -- which further separates it from the rest of Glenview.

"Twenty percent of revenue from land sales at The Glen was supposed to be set aside for capital improvement projects in other parts of the village -- streets, sewers and the like. That isn't happening, because the money is needed elsewhere. There have been cost overruns at The Glen, and we gave $70 million to boost MURC business interests -- the same businesses that are dismantling Hanger One. We paid millions in bonuses to Mesirow-Stein and lost millions more in impact fees we could have collected from developers. There were also perks and incentives to attract businesses and the cost to dredge the lake and repair clogged storm sewers. We spend millions to re-pave streets at The Glen, but Monroe Street is ignored. We pat developers on the back, giving them the red carpet treatment, while giving long-time residents and small businesses the regulatory runaround. That's what people are complaining about."

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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