Some Glenview firemen are calling Village President Larry Carlson "The Grinch of Glenview," after an official ruling that firemen could not decorate their stations for the holidays, even at their own expense.

Carlson told Chief Dan Bonkowski that decorations that had already gone up – icicles, wreaths and lights – would have to be taken down. "This is the same Carlson who thought the village should pay for decorating of The Glen Town Center to attract customers – the same guy who pays for decorating of Glenview Road downtown?" complained one observer.

Carlson reportedly made the decision after a citizen complained that Christmas decorations at an official government facility were not appropriate. Former Fire Chief Joe Robberson also prohibited decoration of the stations, arguing that non-Christian residents might object. Several years ago, a fireman attempted to evade that rule by bolting an artificial tree to the top of his car and parking it in front of the downtown station.  He was transferred to the station on Landwehr Road.

Northbrook, which has a large Jewish community and is home to one of the area's biggest mosques, has not banned its firemen from decorating, and firemen in the city of Chicago have an annual contest to pick the most beautifully decorated fire house.

A federal lawsuit could have derailed the opening of a new restaurant at The Glen Town Center, but Billy Goat Tavern owner Sam Sianis relented, permitting Cheeburger, Cheeburger – a Florida-based chain – to escape legal action by changing the restaurant’s name here to Cheeburger.

Under an out-of-court agreement, franchise owner Jason Malartsik says no other Cheeburger, Cheeburger will open within a 125-mile radius of Chicago. The Billy Goat claimed its trademark slogan – Cheezborger, Cheezborger – after the loop tavern inspired a Saturday Night Live sketch that made the place famous nationwide.

Since then, Sianis has opened seven restaurants in the Chicago area, while Cheeburger, Cheeburger has 32 franchise operations nationwide. Cheeburger will open at The Glen on December 17 offering a traditional fifties menu of burgers, fries, onion rings and milk shakes that come in 77 flavors. The hamburgers begin at 5.5 ounces for a charge of $4.75 and increase in size to a one-pound sandwich costing $10.50.

Health-conscious diners will find salads, grilled chicken breast and Portabello mushroom sandwiches and shakes with no sugar added.

Veteran state representative Beth Coulson will again face a challenger as she runs for re-election from the 17^th district. A moderate Republican, she’s been challenged by Skokie Trustee Michele Bromberg, a Democrat who is making her first run for public office. Bromberg is a nurse, specializing in mental health. She’s lived in Skokie for ten years and has five children. She told the Pioneer Press that bringing down the cost of prescription drugs and expanding health insurance coverage to more children and the unemployed were top priorities for her. Coulson, a physical therapist, has worked in all of those areas during four two-year terms in the General Assembly, pushing for prescription drug assistance for seniors, health insurance for kids and a patients’ bill of rights. Coulson touts her experience in Springfield as an advantage. Bromberg counters that, if elected, she would be part of the majority party in Illinois and could get more done.

The former treasurer of Glenview Youth Baseball has repaid $160,000 of the $200,000 he was accused of stealing from the organization. As part of a deal with the state’s attorney, Joe LaCasa admitted guilt and pledged to return the money in exchange for a sentence of two years probation.

Politically-connected lawyer Mike Downing was back before the plan commission last week representing a developer who’d like to build 14 luxury condos on two lots along the south side of Chestnut Avenue east of The Glen. That site is now occupied by industrial buildings, but the developer wants to offer two and three-bedroom homes at a cost of around $600,000.

Faced with a request to re-zone the property for residential use, the plan commission paused. Commissioners Peter Brinckerhoff and Joseph DiMattina thought Glenview needed a place for service businesses like car repair facilities and landscapers.

DiMattina, who served on the comprehensive plan commission, said the new village plan would not recommend a shift to residential zoning on Chestnut or Lehigh avenues. "There are very limited areas of the village that are geared toward industrial, and I’d like to protect those areas," he told the commission. A town home resident himself, DiMattina added, "there was a very strong feeling [on the comprehensive plan commission] that we’re at the maximum for multi-family housing, and any new developments in the village should be geared towards single-family residential."

But the owner of one of the two properties argued the demand for industrial property in Glenview was limited. He claimed industrial buyers walked away when they learned that taxes were $1,500 a month in the village.

Commissioner Steve Bucklin saw both sides of the issue. He had recently tried to buy industrial property in Glenview and found it impossible. On the other hand, he said many residential communities had sprung up along train tracks, and perhaps the Chestnut Avenue area should be one of them. He preferred high-density residential and retail development between Tall Trees and The Glen to an industrial presence.

Lawyer Downing agreed and speculated that Scott Foresman, a large publishing company that owns undeveloped land in the area "is right now talking to somebody about doing some kind of a development, and what an appropriate piece for residential!"

The panel generally liked the development Downing presented. They felt the two-story colonial brick town homes were attractive, but Chairman Howard Silver argued that, "even a rose bush in a corn field is a weed." He did not believe other industrial properties on the south side of Chestnut would be going out of business, so a new residential development would be out of place.

Downing repeated the owner’s claim that property wasn’t selling for industrial use. "It’s all well and good to sit here and say we’re going to maintain this industrial base, but when the industrial base is all vacant, what are we doing? Shooting ourselves in the foot?"

Suggesting the unsold properties might be over-priced, Development Director Mary Bak replied, "The expectation or possibility of re-zoning will often have an effect on the asking price of properties for sale, and that’s definitely happening on Chestnut and on Lehigh."

Bak said the commission could hold public hearings on how to deal with this area, designated by the comprehensive plan commission for special community discussion. DiMattina thought the plan commission should wait for full hearings on the 10-year plan when it’s released in February or March.

The panel considered tabling the matter, but attorney Downing asked that it be continued so he could come back in January. "There’s a contractual reason for doing that," he said cryptically.

The commissioners were puzzled, since the comprehensive plan would not be public in January.

"I’d like to have the opinions of Linda and Gary," Downing said, referring to absent Commissioners Gary Wendt and Linda Witt.

"If we continue it to the middle of January, the only thing you’ll be able to do is continue it until after the comprehensive plan hearings," said DiMattina.

"Well, we could ask you to vote, or we could withdraw," said Downing.

"You can do that tonight," said Bak.

"There’s not a need to do that tonight," said Downing.

"The petitioner has asked us to come back in the second week in January. I think we should grant that because he did say there’s a contractual situation, and I don’t see any reason why we cannot allow him to come back. I think we should honor that request," said Commissioner Bucklin.

"If you tabled the matter to an indefinite time, you could still withdraw from the project," said Bak.

"I need a continuance to the second meeting in January," Downing replied.

"Perhaps next time the contract is going to have to be written a little differently," said Bak. "From the village’s point of view, tabling is the better approach."

"I’m trying to figure out what’s the difference," said DiMattina. "Is there wording in your contract that says it stays alive as long as it’s continued?"

"I don’t think I need to discuss this in public," said an exasperated Downing. "We’re telling you we need a continuance until the second meeting in January."

DiMattina then agreed to make the motion "as a courtesy," and the rest of the commission agreed.

Editor’s note: Plan commission sources say this is the kind of courtesy they would extend to any attorney representing a developer.

Three Chicago men were arrested and charged with burglary in the 900 block of Hunter Rd. Friday.  The arrests were made after investigators in a special task force saw them break into a home.  The task force was developed and coordinated by the Skokie Police and comprised of investigators from Skokie, Northbrook, Glenview, Morton Grove, Northfield, Highland Park, Lincolnwood, Wilmette, Des Plaines, Niles, Winnetka and Park Ridge.

– A massage parlor at Edens Plaza in Wilmette was fined and a member of its staff arrested after he allegedly fondled a 17-year-old customer. Police say the 35-year-old did not have the license required by Wilmette to provide massage services. Police urge anyone who has a complaint about the Bliss Spa to call them at 847-853-7556.

– A developer hoping to build a residential and commercial complex on Skokie Boulevard just north of Dempster has been ordered to redo his six-story, 60-unit plan. Skokie planners worried about the height of that proposed building given single-family homes to the east and north.

– Morton Grove will raise taxes on gasoline, prepared food and beverages, increase sewer and water rates and require residents to pay for their own garbage pick-up in an effort to balance the community’s 2004 budget. The trustees put a three-year limit on the new taxes. If they’re not renewed in a future vote, they’ll expire.

– The Chicago Botanic Garden is considering charging an entry fee. Right now, the North Shore attraction charges $8.75 for parking, but admission is free. Also on the garden watch, state lawmakers overturned a gubernatorial veto making it possible to sell bonds for repairs and capital improvements there.

– Glenview Northbrook Youth Services presents A Christmas Carol puppet show on Saturday, December 13 at 10 am. You'll need your Glenview library card to get advance tickets for this musical extravaganza telling the timeless tale of Ebenezer Scrooge for families.

– The Glenview Public Library will feature an award-winning PBS movie, A Child’s Christmas in Wales, at 2 p.m. Friday, December 19. Seats are available on a first-come, first-seated basis.

– The library is collecting valentines this month and in January for U.S. veterans as part of a national program called Valentines for Vets. Most will got to former servicemen in VA hospitals. They can be dropped at the library until February 4. Schools and scout troops are encouraged to attend one of three decorating days at the library – December 29, 30 and January 2.

Had someone warned that we would be publishing Glenview Watch in 2004, we might never have started this newsletter back in January 2000. But we were younger and more hopeful in those early days – convinced that if Glenview residents knew how public officials were spending their tax dollars and conducting government business in their name they would surely elect better people to public office.

Today, we are sobered by the realities. We know that people who favor good government and keep up with local affairs are not a majority in town. Most residents don’t vote, and many who do are apparently making their decisions based on lawn signs, mass mailings by political spinners and the preferences of their social circle.

What’s worse, those who want good government for Glenview are not nearly as hungry as those entrenched interests that profit from it. Developers and the business community will always back the boys willing to do business, and in a community where people are not well-informed, the boys with the most money win.

That said, we do feel the Watch has made and continues to make a difference. The Pioneer Press has made important changes to the Glenview Announcements in apparent response to competition. It’s the best of the suburban weeklies we read. Reporters Lynn Stiefel and Sara Loeb write well and are knowledgeable about local government, and it’s good to see the work of Pioneer Press reporters like Irv Leavitt who covers Northbrook.

Still, a suburban weekly cannot afford to be highly critical of local government. The real estate interests, businesses and banks who support the paper with advertising prefer a rosy portrait of Glenview. So it falls to us to keep watching.

We also think we have had impact on a number of issues – chief among them the decision not to sell guns at The Glen. Our coverage prompted the kind of public outcry our elected officials could not ignore.

As the only media capable of reporting on local news as it breaks, we reassured readers when local tornado alarms went off in the early hours of a winter morning after 911. The community was not under attack and no tornados had been spotted. Instead, someone in the new emergency dispatch center had made a mistake.

We have also played a role in improving relations between our fire department and the village. Selection of a new chief was the first and most important step to follow our reports on how unhappy many local firemen were under former Chief Joe Robberson.

A number of trustees have also left on our watch, perhaps because they were unaccustomed to public criticism and preferred the good old days when public officials sat pretty in Glenview, unexamined by the voters. That said, the electorate has managed to replace the likes of Nancy Firfer, Bill Stickney, Bob McLennan, Emil Ulstrup, John Patton, Jr. and Joyce Kustra Schmitt with another batch of mediocre trustees, willing to follow the lead of long-time manager Paul McCarthy.

As McCarthy prepares to leave, we believe work remains to be done. Somebody will have to keep an eye on the new guy and our poorly-informed village board, not to mention the park district’s crew, the library board and the developers, consultants and businesses that profit from local government. So we ask, as you close out this old year, that you keep us on your list of important services and consider a voluntary contribution to Glenview Watch. Checks can be mailed to 3537 Maple Leaf Drive, Glenview, IL 60025. These donations are not deductible, but they do help us to cover the costs of our website and of mailings to those who have yet to embrace the Internet. We appreciate your long support for our efforts and welcome your comments.

CL went holiday shopping Sunday and was amazed to find holiday snow at The Glen: "What's going on at the Glen Town Center? I went shopping Sunday at around 11:30 am, and the sidewalks were a slushy mess. When I left two and a half hours later, snow was still not removed. If any of the retailers hope for shoppers over the winter season, they are going to have to do a better job making the sidewalks safe for visitors. Shame on you Glen Town Center!"

Editor’s note: Clearing sidewalks at The Glen Town Center is a village responsibility, and village crews do not venture out for less than an inch of snow.

ES, who knows a thing or two about employment packages, was shocked to hear that village employees were getting 4 percent "cost of living" raises while top managers received $10,000 increases in pay. The latter were never discussed in public hearings on the budget: "As a manager at a large HR company in the Chicago area I find it interesting that the village gave all its employees a 4% cost of living raise and a number of managers a $10,000 bonus. I haven't seen a cost of living increase in 20 years? Has the cost of living actually gone up 4% last year? I just went though a review session with my employees and the average "MERIT" increase was 3%. That means some got more and some got less depending on where their pay was for their specific role. And our company was profitable last year! Now Village managers are getting a

$10,000 bonus for running the village and not living within the budget. I call that not meeting expectations and not worthy of a bonus. These folks should try living in the real world for a while."

And TW was surprised to read about the raises: "I thought the inflation rate had been hovering around 2 percent or so. What's the story with the village's 4 percent rate hike? Gee whiz, I sure wish I was going to get a $10,000 bonus this year. Maybe there's a printing press in the basement of village hall."

Systems Management Consultant Mark E. Levy disputes our assumption that GIS technology may get cheaper with the passage of time: "Speaking as a consultant with 25 years in the industry, this is most certainly true for hardware, and absolutely untrue for non-retail software. Another local municipality I work with is a bit ahead of Glenview on implementing a GIS mapping system, and they've been facing the same issues. GIS software is hugely complex, and there are only a few vendors. It is quite reasonable to expect that the software licensing costs will increase, much more so than any computer hardware decrease that might occur."

But Mark Swenson writes: "This technology is deployed by a number of utilities and municipalities. It’s used by community utilities around the country and provides real benefits, but the implementation costs often exceed initial estimates. In California, and I suspect Illinois, there are a number of firms that specialize in offering cartographic data (i.e. maps) for a fee, allowing customers to access maps as needed. Also, it's quite possible that ComEd already has GIS systems in place which, for a fee, may be available to the village."

Editor’s note: ComEd does have GIS but does not make data available to communities.

Karen adds a footnote to last week’s letter from DG who called on Galyan’s to stop selling air guns at The Glen: "While I realize there are plenty of folks in town ready to blame The Glen for everything unpleasant that happens here, the sale of air guns isn't just a Galyan’s issue. I was very surprised and disappointed when I found my son walked to Bess Hardware and was able to purchase an air soft gun without my knowledge or consent. It looked like a real gun except for the orange tip. I am concerned about police mistaking these guns for the real thing, orange tip or not, and learning too late that it's not."

ERL was alarmed by last week’s news that Glenview will try to buy the Epco Paint site: "The news gets better by the week. I cannot believe this board is willing to pay $600,000 to provide additional parking. For what? They talk about moving the library to The Glen, and there are not that many businesses on Glenview Rd. that need additional parking. We can all see where this is going. The library will be replaced by two or three stories of condos with stores below. I hope everyone in Glenview has read this. The library will be history." E also objects to raises for village employees: "I beg to differ with Mr. Carlson's comment that the department heads are the best of the breed. There are a few in the development department that are not too sharp. You will notice when senior citizens address the board as Mr. McAndrew and Mr. Cazel did recently, the board ignores them. I live in a senior citizen building here in Glenview, and I have had more then my share of interaction with the development department. In my particular situation, they play a waiting game counting on you dying before they have to address a given situation." And, finally, this reader is annoyed that sales taxes will rise – even by the .5 percent requested by the worried owners of Abt: "Poor Abt. We should hold a tag day for them! We have to raise taxes. Somebody has to pay for Mr. McCarthy's retirement."

GJW just wonders why: "While I look forward to reading The Watch, I must admit that after each issue I am left with the same question, Why? Why are our officials so arrogant and disrespectful of the wishes of the citizens of this great village? Did it really take the bleats of the Abt family to realize this one percent tax is a bad idea? So the village needs more money? Why not forgo the salary increases they just pushed through for our underpaid professional managers? Why not have them drive around in less expensive vehicles and pay for their own car washes? Cut back on the parties? Why did they ignore public pleas and testimony not to widen Lake Avenue? Surely the road needed repair, but why was it necessary to allow the county to take land from our beloved Wagner Farm or from the homeowners' property? Once completed, Lake Avenue will now bear far more traffic going much too fast and using Sunset Ridge as a cut-through. Not what most of us wanted. Why did the imperious park board insist on painting the Wagner Barn red? We voted to preserve the barn as it was. There was even a group who agreed to preserve the barn with stain, and donate the materials and service. Even with no evidence whatsoever that the barn ever was painted red, the park board painted it red anyway. So now we have a Lincoln Park Zoo barn instead of the barn Pete and Rose Wagner gave us. Why does the duplicitous library board continue to manipulate survey data to prove that a Glen location is the only option for a future library? We don't want or need a new library of the size and scope the board plans, yet they are intent upon foisting this white elephant on us regardless of cost or consequence. Speaking of things we don't need: Why are we building such an expensive new police headquarters? And without competitive bidding on the design? Why does it have to be so large, with a state-of-the-art firearms range, when there already exists a shooting range the law officers can use at NIPSTA in The Glen? Why did the plan commission allow that bank in the Glen Oak shopping center to completely raze its building when they did not have permission or permits to do so? Have you tried to find a parking spot at Trader Joe's or Burhop's lately? Perhaps the biggest Why of all is: Why do we let this happen? Why not vote them out?"

Miss M. wonders what’s up with water service: "We wondered why it took the four or five water shut offs to install a new hydrant in the area east of Waukegan and Glenview Roads over the last two weeks. One would think they were installing the Hoover Dam. A workman also rang our bell before seven AM last week to notify us of the stoppage. Talk about personal service. We can't imagine how many man-hours were expended to leave the red notices when Jeeves was unavailable to make house calls."

Terry Wodder and John Ranz were pleased to learn the village will try to acquire the Epco Paint site next to the library: "Kudos to Larry Carlson & Co. for their decision to purchase the EPCO site for additional off-street parking. We trust this paves the way for the library to expand on its current site. Given the village board's decision to raise the sales tax, and given the growing need for extensive, capital improvements in the village, an addition like one built in Northbrook is clearly the most cost-effective option. Based on the appraised value of the EPCO site, the library's current site would be worth $ 1 to 1.5 million to potential developers. In contrast, the current facility, which the library's own consultant described as being in good condition, has a replacement cost value of $ 12 to 15 million. So, it would be absolutely ridiculous for the library board to abandon its present site . The library board is so excited about building new, they have forgotten their duty to the citizens of Glenview. With the savings realized by adding on to the library's existing building rather than building new, the village board could assist the post office to relocate at The Glen via a land swap and a long-term lease/purchase on a new facility with the convenience of drive through service and off-street parking. Cost to Glenview taxpayers: zero. We also urge the village board to reach a generous out-of-court agreement with EPCO. As a long-term member of Glenview's business community, they deserve to be treated as well as, if not better than, the new merchants at The Glen and the Abt family. For additional details e-mail us at jranzrs@Ameritech.net or terrywodder@citynet.net.

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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