POLICE LOSE BACK-UP DURING SUNDAY NIGHT OUTAGE

 

Glenview police made an unhappy discovery Sunday night.  A ComEd outage that cut service to about 350 customers along Waukegan Road from 5:45 p.m. until 8 p.m. included police headquarters, and a back-up generator failed, shutting off lights, computers and non-emergency phone service. Officials stressed that their emergency dispatch system, which relies on a different power source, was not involved, so calls to 911 were answered promptly.

 

The back-up system, routinely maintained by the village department of public works, was being checked on Monday to determine the cause of the failure.  A spokesman for the department said a voltage regulator may have overcharged a battery, causing it to burn out.  Commander Frank Stankowicz called the incident “a fluke,” and said back-up power was restored in about 45 minutes.

 

DISTRICT 34 SEARCHES FOR SOLUTIONS

 

Faced with a possible increase of 460-600 students, Glenview’s elementary school district fears it will be near capacity in the 2006-2007 school year. Officials say they can adjust school boundaries and grade clusters, ask music and drama teachers to go from class to class rather than having a room of their own, or invest in mobile classrooms that cost about $120,000 apiece, but those measures will only work for the short term. 

 

They note that another 100-150 kids could come into Glenview elementary and middle schools if new military housing is built, as planned, at the former Naval Air Station.

 

District 34’s facilities committee will hire a consultant to help the school board identify options and make decisions about what to do next.  Anyone interested in learning more can call John O’Connor at 847-998-5000 or visit the committee’s website at http://www.glenview34.org/board/facilitiesCommittee/ .

 

 

GARRETT TO DECIDE SOON ON A POSSIBLE RACE AGAINST KIRK

 

State Senator Susan Garrett says she’ll decide by July 4 whether to challenge incumbent Republican Congressman Mark Kirk. Garrett, a Democrat who represents several North Shore communities including Glenview, says she loves the job she has now and is concerned about the need to raise a large amount of money for the campaign against Kirk. One expert believes she would need at least $2 million to run a competitive race.

 

On the other hand, she believes “there has been a disconnect between what is happening in Washington and the issues that impact people’s everyday lives.”  Garrett’s term as state senator does not expire until 2006, so she could run and keep the job if she lost. 

 

Kirk was narrowly elected in 2000, defeating a former state legislator from Highland Park.  He won easy re-election against candidates with little name recognition in 2002 and 2004, spending from an impressive campaign war chest.  In 2003-2004, Kirk received over $1.7 million, much of it from individuals or PACs linked to medical, real estate and construction companies and groups.  Contributors included: Medline Industries, a private distributor and manufacturer of medical equipment and supplies based in Mundelein ($26,000), Lakewood Homes ($19,000), Judd Enterprises, an investment company owned by the Weinberg family ($14,000), William Blair & Co. ($12,500), SBC Communications ($11,000), Abbot Laboratories ($10,500), Illinois Tool Works ($10,500), Altria Group ($10,000), National Association of Realtors ($10,000), National Beer Wholesalers Association ($10,000), A&R Katz Management ($8,000), American Dental Associations ($8,000), Goldman Sachs ($8,000), Kenny Construction ($8,000), National Electrical Contractors Association ($8,000), Shetland Properties ($8,000), Transworld Exhibits ($8,000), ZS Associates ($8,000) and the American Association of Cardiologists ($7,894).

 

Running for re-election to a state office last year, Garrett won handily with much smaller contributions totaling just over a quarter of a million dollars.  Her biggest backers were the Democratic Party ($90,000) and various teachers unions and public education advocates ($46,000).  She also got $5,000 from the Illinois Hospital Association and from Brian Tambi, CEO of a company called MGP Inc. There was a $1,500 donation from the Illinois Lawyers PAC, Associated Beer Distributors and the CEO of a company called RPh On the Go.  Groups or companies that gave $1,000 included AT&T, the Associated Firefighters, BP North American, the Builders Association of Greater Chicago, the Cable TV & Communication Association, The Illinois Chamber of Commerce, the Illinois Health Care Association, the Illinois Pipe Traders PAC, The Illinois Nurserymen’s Association, John Deere, the Laborers’ Political League and Humana. The Managing Director of Deerfield Capital Management gave $2,000, as did the president of Newsweb Corp., an investment banker from Pioneer Ventures and community volunteer Kennetha Krehbiel of Lake Forest. 

 

DOWNTOWN COMMITTEE TO TACKLE DOLLARS AND SENSE

 

The downtown redevelopment committee will take a closer look at the economics of various scenarios on Thursday, July 7 at Village Hall. “Consultants will apply economic models to the proposed plan developed by the community over the past year,” said Village President Kerry Cummings. “These models will tell us whether or not proposed projects would be suited for development without public assistance … or be feasible only with public assistance.”  The meeting will be cablecast on channels 6 or 17, depending on your cable provider.

 

HELP WANTED

 

Cummings also issued a call for volunteers to serve on the appearance commission, zoning board of appeals and plan commission.  Cummings has not yet announced her choice to fill one vacancy on the village board, although she’s interviewed about a dozen applicants and hopes to make a recommendation at the next board meeting on Tuesday, June 21. Trustees receive $75 per meeting.  The other positions are unpaid. If you’re interested, call Cummings at 729-6809.

 

STAYBRIDGE SUITES CHECKS OUT

 

Glenview’s newest hotel has withdrawn a request that the village change its tax law to exempt guests who stay for more than 30 days.  The state does not tax those longer-term visitors, and Staybridge neglected to charge them during its first months of operation.  The firm still hopes the village will excuse it from paying the $60,000 it failed to collect from guests.

 

TRUSTEES SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF

 

The Kohl Children’s Museum hopes to open at The Glen this fall and is asking the village to permit banners on its grounds for extended periods without review by the trustees.  Local ordinance forbids hanging banners for more than ten days, so the museum needed an exemption. It seemed a simple question, but the board agonized for more than 20 minutes.

 

Trustee Jim Patterson, who has distinguished himself as the board member who catches the most spelling mistakes in meeting minutes, worried aloud.  “Since this is such an unusual request, and we’re making something permanent here, I’d like to at least review this in a year. . .and see if we’re comfortable with it.”

 

President Cummings immediately consulted the village attorney:  “Is it preferable to put this as a ‘review in one year,’ or ‘an annual basis?’  What would the difference be?”

 

“If you review it on an annual basis, that means each year you’re going to review it. If you review it within one year, at that time you may decide it’s no longer necessary to review it, and so you may just do it once as opposed to doing it on an annual basis.”

 

(Can you believe, both of these people went to law school?)

 

Patterson said his intent was to look back only once.  “It wasn’t to make this a hardship but simply to say, ‘Is this what we want?’”

 

“If this is a review after one year, my suggestion would be to add that to a calendar to review, rather than put it in the ordinance itself,” Cummings replied.

 

“It depends on what you want to do with the review in one year,” Randall explained.  “Certainly, the board has a right to review the ordinance at any time.  It doesn’t have to wait for a year, but if it is it reviewed after one year, and the board has determined that the ordinance as phrased is not working, then I think what you should do is, in the ordinance, allow yourself some flexibility to rescind the variation upon your review, if it’s decided that the provisions as approved are not working.”

 

“Trustee Patterson, are you referring to the review of the banners themselves?” Cummings asked.

 

Patterson said he wanted to review the ordinance, not the banners.  “I believe that the banners will be in good taste.  I don’t have any issue with that.  I think it’s the size of the banners, the way the banners are adorning the site – it’s so unusual relative to anything else we have in town, which is why I’m trying to put in some kind of a stop gap.  [Right now] we’re saying this is something you can do forever, and we don’t have any way to reverse that if we don’t like it.” 

 

“The museum isn’t here to answer questions,” said Trustee Debby Karton.  “Would it be possible to postpone final approval to see how they would feel about it?”

 

Cummings agreed.  She didn’t want the museum to spend money on a foundation and banner that might have to be changed. 

 

Patterson asked about the museum’s timetable.  Development Director Mary Bak said the museum would open in October and wanted to get its first banner up as soon as possible. 

 

“Is there something in particular that you believe may be problematic?” Cummings asked Patterson. 

 

“Only that it is unique,” Patterson replied.  “If it were to be seen as overwhelming, how would we reverse this?”

 

Trustee Paul Detlefs reminded Patterson of Village Attorney Randall’s earlier point – that any ordinance could be rescinded at any time. “I think we should adopt it so they can proceed,” he concluded.

 

Karton was still not ready to take the plunge.  “I guess my concern is I’m not sure I’m comfortable with okaying a business to spend money based on our approval, and then a year from now saying, ‘Ah, not so fast.’”

 

By now, the words of Randall and Detlefs were sinking in.  Patterson seemed ready to go along, given the fact that the board could revisit the subject at will.

 

But Cummings agreed with Karton. “Once we give approval, I think it’s very difficult to go back and say, ‘Well that’s not quite what we meant or what we wanted,’. . .I think we need to make a firm decision.”

 

“This has been a unique project from the start,” said Detlefs. “It’s a unique museum. It’s a unique building -- the shape of it, the colors of it.  I mean it’s not your traditional colonial building that we have in Glenview, and so I think this is just another element of having this unique and invaluable institution in town.”

 

By now, Patterson was feeling a bit sheepish. “Based on all of these comments, I’m sorry to hold everything up,” he said. “Let’s move on.”

 

The board chuckled.  “That’s alright,” said Cummings. “It’s been thoroughly reviewed.”

Karton seconded the motion, but the painful discussion was not quite ready to die.  Attorney Jeff Randall thought the trustees should change the wording so Kohl could not put up banners advertising particular exhibits more than a month in advance. 

 

Development Director Bak – also a lawyer -- said that was precisely what the museum wanted – the right to put a banner up more than 30 days before an event. 

 

Cummings pressed ahead, securing a unanimous vote for giving Kohl what it wanted.

 

CONSULTANT SAYS GOLF CLUB COULD DO BETTER

 

Without major changes to the building, a consultant says the café and shop at Glenview’s main golf course could be taking in a lot more money.  Billy Casper Golf was hired to analyze the operation at 800 Shermer Road and to make suggestions.  Among other things, the consultant says the park district is spending too much on daily operations.  Specifically, the 11 full-time staffers are relatively well paid for the work they do, and lunch service during the off season is a losing enterprise. 

 

Casper Golf also proposed putting a snack and beverage cart outside the café during golf season, creating a website exclusively for the course and spending more to market golf.  The consultant advised Glenview to hire a professional whose sole job is to drum up new business for the golf course and café.

 

ON THE BEAT

 

Glenview’s police continue to face some bizarre situations.  To wit:

 

-- Officers took three13-year-old boys into custody for setting a toilet seat on fire at Little Bear Park, causing $500 in damage. 

 

-- A Russet Way resident reported someone set fire to a Wendy’s French fry container in her curb-side mailbox. Damage was set at $15.

 

-- The driver of a red GMC SUV with a spare tire on the rear drove over about 200 feet of sod on the south edge of Hospital Drive at 2100 Pfingsten.  How costly is sod?  Police estimated damage of $2,200.

 

-- An employee of Target on Willow Road reported someone stole the dumpster (valued at $5000!) from the rear of the store.

 

-- And a woman was arrested for battery after she punched her ex-friend at Loves Yogurt.  In the Plaza del Prado.  (If she wasn’t an ex-friend before, she certainly is now.)

 

THE GREEN SCENE

-- A reminder from Village Hall where water conservation is a concern.  From mid-April to mid-September it’s illegal to water lawns and flower beds between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.  

-- We may be seeing fewer mosquitoes this spring thanks to relatively dry weather, but the type that carries West Nile virus actually thrives under such conditions.  One expert told the Pioneer Press that he’s seeing more Culex mosquitoes earlier in the season than in past years, and the virus has been detected in DuPage County.  In 2002, 800 people were diagnosed with the disease and 60 died.

-- Glenview’s Air Station Prairie will be the new home for an increasingly rare and harmless green snake that’s being relocated from a construction site on Chicago’s south side. 

CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME

-- Eight hundred people took part in this year’s Relay for Life at Glenbrook South High School, raising $140,000 for the fight against cancer.  About 65 survivors took part in the opening lap, walking alongside luminaries lit for survivors or people who had died from various forms of cancer.

-- Abby Baron, a recent graduate from Maple School, is selling blue plastic bracelets to raise money for research on gastric cancer – a disease that she knows all too well.  Baron has learned how to change IV fluid bags and give saline injections since her father developed advanced gastro esophageal cancer.  Her dance school, Energy Productions in Northbrook, gave $300 to purchase the benefit bracelets, and Abby has sold 350 of them for $2 apiece.  If you’d like to make a purchase, send an e-mail to glenviewwatch@ aol.com, and we’ll put you in touch.

-- Glenbrook North’s night janitor Joel Roman was thrilled with a gift last week from students who wanted to help him and his family.  Roman’s wife gave birth to quadruplets earlier this year, making it impossible to fit the entire family into their current vehicle.  The kids raised $9,000, and a parent who is president of Gurnee Dodge matched that money to buy the family a 2004 mini-van. 

MORE NEWS FROM THE NEIGHBORS

-- The Botanic Garden is preparing to open its new esplanade on June 25.  Crews planted more than 10,000 flowers during a three-day period last week.  Summer hours are now in effect at the garden.  It’s open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 1000 Lake Cook Road in Glencoe.

-- Deerfield will more than double the size of its village hall to make room for its planning department, which now does business in another building.  The tab to grow from 9,000 square feet to 22,000 square feet: $4-$4.5 million.

SUMMER EXCHANGE

Nationally-known nature photographer and Glenview resident Carol Freeman is offering a paid summer internship for a high school or college student.  If you’re creative, hard-working, dependable, have Mac computer skills, knowledge of scanning and can work full or part time, give Carol a call at 847-404-8508. 

READERS WRITE

GPN wishes Glenview would do more for the environment: “I recently attended the Greening the Heartland 2005 conference held at the Palmer House in Chicago.  This conference looks at how sustainability can be incorporated in the built environment, and included session tracks focusing on energy, green buildings, urban design and infrastructure, cleaning and maintenance.  This is the type of conference where two or three people from each interested organization should register so more than one session can be attended.  I was very impressed to learn that Portland, Oregon and Scottsdale, Arizona now require every public building to be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certified, and Chicago requires every new municipal building to be LEED certified.  Other cities on the LEED bandwagon include Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. It’s a shame that Glenview has not taken a similar position, given the small number of municipal buildings we have.  Certified buildings may cost a little more, but grant money is available, and the extra investment is usually paid back in a few years.” 

The Watch replies:  Actually, the architect for the interpretive center to be built at Glenview’s Air Station Prairie gave a presentation on plans for the center, but no one from village hall attended.  It would have been nice if members of our Natural Resources Commission were there, but they, too, were no-shows.  We’d like to see that panel playing a much more forceful role in the village.  If Chairman Kent Fuller and his colleagues don’t jump in with both feet, nature is in trouble in Glenview.  Where else would a community spend $90,000 on native plants, ostensibly to create habitat for wildlife, then pay a contractor $4,500 to trap and kill wildlife for disturbing the plants?

 

GS wishes the Watch would do more: “Having some sort of search engine on your site would be great. This way someone can do a search on previous archives and maybe find their answer without having to email you.”

 

The Watch could not agree more, but our time is limited.  We would welcome volunteer assistance in setting up an index.  Failing that, you may find that googling a topic and including “Glenview Watch” will often bring you to past issues of our newsletter.

 

CMW remains concerned about the use of lawn chemicals in Glenview: “We lost a beautiful, four-year-old golden retriever last year to cancer.  His death was attributed to herbicides, specifically 2,4-D.  I thought my lawn care company had been treating my lawn with organic materials, but for the last six years they had actually used 2,4-D without my permission! Needless to say, I fired them!  I've also learned that people who work for such chemical companies, have contracted non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and/or Hodgkin's lymphoma if not wearing protective clothing.  Until I know exactly what chemicals they are applying at The Glen, I am concerned.  Why can't they use organic treatments?  Why does it have to be chemicals? I will put up with spiders and weeds from here on, rather than taking a chance of endangering my family and pets with dangerous, potent chemicals that can clearly have toxic effects.  I suggest you try to track down the alarming report Kathy Brock  presented on channel 7 about this very dangerous, heavily-used chemical.  I wish everyone wasn't so resigned to believing and accepting what the chemical companies tell us. We need more Erin Brokoviches!”

 

The Watch replies:  We agree and suggest that you contact Village President Kerry Cummings (729-6809) and Natural Resources Commission Chair Kent Fuller (729-4642) to discuss this concern.  There's no time like the present, and no one like you. Let us know what you find out, and thanks for getting involved.

 

Marcia K asks: “What happened to all the prairie we were supposed to have?  It keeps retreating like a hair line, and very soon, there will be a traffic light on every block of Patriot.  I sometimes feel like I am living in a strange land -- not enjoying my community any longer.”

 

The Watch replies:  The prairie was never expected to be more than about 30 acres, but people have a hard time imagining how a 30-acre parcel looks.  Our best hope for a slightly larger preserve lies with prospective developers who may opt not to buy small amounts of a buffer zone around the prairie.  You can get a better idea of what’s left from 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday, July 24 when the North Branch Restoration Project hosts a work day at the Air Station Prairie.  For details, go to www.northbranchrestoration.org  and click on work days in the left column.

 

SAM offers this thought on the controversy over red winged blackbirds: “I have been pecked on the top of my head while riding my bike, and it does hurt. Would I want to get rid of wildlife? Off course not!”

 

Sandy Ellis is still pondering the location of Glenview’s library: “I'm sure this must have been discussed before, but after all these years of arguing, I can't remember all the arguments. What is the opposition to moving the library to the Dominick's site at the corner of Glenview Road and Waukegan? It seems there would be plenty of room for a large building and plenty of parking. I know there have been rumors for years that the store is going to close, so wouldn't it serve two purposes -- providing a large downtown site for the library and avoiding a huge empty eyesore should Dominick's leave?  It seems like a fabulous place for a showcase library where everyone who drives through Glenview would see it. This solution is so obvious there must be a good reason it's not being considered.”

 

The Watch replies:  You may have hit on the answer yourself:  location, location, location. Because it’s on heavily traveled Waukegan Road, that piece of land could be very attractive to developers of commercial property and costly for the village to acquire. What’s more, consultants have said the area should maintain a grocery store to serve the growing residential population downtown. Whatever their reasons, village officials have strongly committed to the library’s current site, and given tight money at Village Hall, they may be leaning toward renovation rather than building new.