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The Glenview Watch
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UNITE GLENVIEW ANNOUNCES CANDIDATES FOR TRUSTEES
Glenview’s long-standing political party, which this year is calling itself “Citizens United for Glenview,” will support two incumbent candidates and a member of the District 34 school board in April’s village board vote. Trustees Jim Patterson and Phil White will stand for re-election along with District 34 Vice President Scott Britton, who was appointed to fill a vacancy on the school board in 2002 and was elected to the post one year later. Britton is a partner in the Chicago law firm Brenner Ford & Monroe. He lives on Executive Lane.
“All of our village bodies work real good together, and I want to keep it that way,” Britton told the Glenview Journal.
Trustee Kimball Woodrow, who chaired the downtown redevelopment commission, will not run again. As a real estate investment banker, Woodrow must often travel for business, making it impossible to attend all board meetings. He also works with developers who could have an interest in downtown Glenview projects.
Several independent candidates are also considering a run for the village board. For more information, contact the manager's office at Village Hall: 847-724-1700. Nominating petitions are due by February 2.
DISTRICT 34 WEIGHS SHORTER SCHOOL YEAR
Glenview’s largest elementary and middle school district is considering cutting the school year by five days and dismissing students earlier on two days each month between January and June. Officials say the new schedule would create 36 more hours for teachers to plan, set goals and meet the special needs of individual students.
“We have consistently received feedback from parents who feel the school year is too long,” says an e-mail sent by the administration to families with kids in District 34.
Recognizing that the schedule change could create a nightmare for working parents, the e-mail adds, “The District is working with Wesley Child Care to provide supervision option for children on early release days and has had discussions with the Park District about possible collaborative efforts.”
The district has scheduled four community meetings to explain its concept and get feedback from parents before deciding whether to proceed. Those meetings will be held at the following locations and times:
9:15 a.m. Jan. 23 at Henking School
7 p.m. Jan. 25 in the Wildcat Commons at Springman Middle School
7 p.m. Jan. 31 in the cafeteria of Attea Middle School
GROUP REJECTS DISTRICT 225 CHARGE
In announcing the sale of bonds for new construction at Glenview and Northbrook high schools, the administration of District 225 suggested the community could have saved about $2 million had those bonds gone to market sooner. (Municipal bond interest rates had risen .13 percent from their low in December.)
Officials blamed a recount promoted by the community group COST (Citizens Organized to Save the Tax-cap). Now, a spokesman for the group is shooting back.
“If instead the rate had fallen, to the $2 million benefit of borrowers, would the District have thanked COST for the recount?" wrote Lawrence Miller. “No, that would have been foolish, because the recount had no causal relation to the bond interest rate either falling or rising.
“Let’s be serious about who is the cause of ballooning school costs, debt and taxes. COST did not spend $14.2 to $14.6 million more per year on a per pupil basis for operations than comparable high school districts with similar academic results. COST did not vote last week to pile another $69 million in debt on the taxpayers of the district. The District 225 administrators and the board of education did these things,” Miller concluded.
The bonds were sold by William Blair & Company which gave $4,000 to a citizens’ group that supported the referendum. The firm could receive a fee equal to as much as 2 percent of the $69 million in bonds sold.
PARKS COMMISSIONERS CLASH OVER STRATEGIC PLAN
Park board members who have, historically, agreed on almost everything, broke ranks Thursday night over plans to construct a $6 million building for maintenance equipment, vehicles and personnel. Instead, Commissioners Mike Scholl and Ted Przybylo argued forcefully for construction of a third sheet of ice at Glenview’s rink – a project that would also cost $6 million.
Administrators say the district can’t afford to do both, and President Bill Casey thought the maintenance building must be a top priority. He claimed the current building on Roosevelt Road was in “deplorable condition. I’d love to have another sheet of ice, but it comes down to what is most important to the most people,” he explained. “Cutting the grass and keeping the fields up to date is going to serve more people.”
Scholl recalled a large number of residents who came to a public hearing to complain that there was too little space for the large number of children who want to play hockey. He attacked the strategic plan, saying board members were not listening to the public.
That offended Commissioner John Winand. “I don’t believe we ignored the public,” he told Scholl. “It’s disheartening for members of the board to suggest that. One cannot have everything one wants.”
Przybylo said he thought the third sheet of ice was “extremely do-able from a financial standpoint.” Earlier, he suggested Glenview – like the city of Chicago – might want to outsource maintenance, eliminating the need for a new building.
At a special meeting last week, the commissioners also disagreed over calls for a dog park. Przybylo, Scholl, Winand and Commissioner Judy Beck expressed support after citizens submitted about 170 petition signatures from residents who want a place to let pets run off their leashes. “Even if we put a temporary fence around a frozen field, I think we somehow need to be responsive,” Winand said.
Commissioner Doug Kaiser disagreed, noting that the county’s dog park just west of I-294 is available to canine owners. Members of the Beck Lake Dog Park complain that it’s virtually unusable during much of the year, since the land is low-lying and muddy, but Kaiser said a dog park in central Glenview would also be muddy when it rains.
Commissioner M.J. Coulson, who took a cell phone call during the discussion, said she wasn’t so sure dog owners deserved a park, since they were not picking up after their pooches in her neighborhood park.
Executive Director Chuck Balling suggested a group of dog owners be appointed to help plan a dog park, and President Bill Casey directed Balling to “put a little more vigor” into the search for a dog park location.
Balling also said he would be meeting with members of a private hockey club – the Glenview Stars – to explore a partnership that might ultimately lead to construction of more ice skating space.
In the end, four park board members voted in support of the strategic plan that would fund a new mechanical system for the current ice rink at a cost of about $2 million, renovation of the administration building on Prairie Street ($2 million) and construction of the $6 million maintenance facility. Przybylo and Scholl voted against the plan.
MORE PARK DISTRICT PATTER
-- A small fire in the kitchen of Park Center did $5,000 damage Saturday, January 13. The blaze broke out when someone left a box of decorations on a stove. It was extinguished before firefighters arrived, the building was evacuated, and no one was injured. What's more, three catered events at Park Center went off as scheduled that evening.
-- The park district says it will make a final decision on whether to accept responsibility for the Air Station Prairie and Tyner Interpretive Center by March. The $2 million facility was constructed by the village of Glenview, which has padlocked the building rather than spend money to allow its use.
-- A water line extension is in at Flick Park, allowing creation of an outdoor ice rink and improved drainage during wet weather.
-- Park Center is offering resident rates to people from Northbrook who want to join the fitness center. The health club added 108 new members last month, after offering a 10-day free trial.
-- The Glenview Senior Center holds its annual antique sale at Park Center from 1-2:30 Sunday, February 4.
-- The Grove is working on an exhibit about cicadas to open in mid-April. In the mean time, residents are invited to help remove unwanted brush from the woodlands on Saturday, January 27 from 9-noon. For more information, call 847-299-6096.
-- Holiday sales from the annual Grove Craft Faire were up $10,000 over last year. The park district says special banners on Glenview Road helped boost attendance.
-- Wagner Farm sold all but 21 of its 330 Christmas trees. The farm continues to offer historic dinners and reports pot roast is the most popular menu choice.
-- The golf course pro shop re-opens on January 29, and the National 9 course hosts a Winter Long Drive contest at 11 a.m. February 3.
-- The district will host a public hearing on plans for a new field house, playground renovations and other improvements at Crowley Park. That’s at 7 p.m. Wednesday, January 24 at Henking School. On January 30, they'll be at the Willow Park field house at 6 p.m. to hear public requests for renovations at Jennings Park, and at 7:30 they'll take comments at the Indian Trail field house for improvements there.
TRUSTEES AWARD COMPUTER CONTRACT
Glenview’s village board has voted to award a $1.8 million contract to Prescient Development of Schaumburg for information technology services. The company will provide four full-time staffers to help Glenview make a series of changes involving computer software and hardware in its police, public works and other departments. Assistant Village Manager Chris Clark said the contract should cover all of Glenview’s IT needs. “We have spent a lot of time laying out our game plan. We have many programs in various stages of deployment, but I don’t anticipate any [extra charges].” Clark also said the people assigned to work with Glenview had extensive experience in the field of information technology.
Meanwhile, Glenview’s most senior computer geek has left the building – taking with him a wealth of information about how the village currently does business. Boyle Wong was lured away by former Assistant Village Manager Joe Wade, who is now the top man in Morton Grove. Wong had been with the village for more than six years and was so valuable that Village Manager Todd Hileman gave him a 30 percent raise.
VILLAGE HALL WANTS PUBLIC OPINION ON SMOKING BAN
Glenview trustees and staff will hold a public hearing on Cook County’s smoking ban at 7 p.m. Thursday, February 8 at Village Hall. The Clean Air Ordinance, which takes effect March 15, would ban smoking in all public places unless a community enacts its own law. Glenview could, for example, exempt bars and restaurants.
Supporters of the county ban will urge the trustees to take no action. They argue that smoking in bars, restaurants and other public places endangers all employees and patrons.
MORE VILLAGE NEWS AND NOTES
-- Glenview has awarded a $63,000 contract to the Lakota Group for help in crafting a new zoning code for the downtown area. Lakota was one of Glenview’s consultants during the downtown planning process. The firm is expected to host a public workshop on form based zoning in May.
-- The Kohl Children’s Museum will open its doors to Glenview residents, allowing access at no charge on the evening of Tuesday, February 13. Visitors must show a driver’s license or some other proof of residency.
-- Glenview’s police station will provide working space for a postal inspector to pursue new cases of mail fraud and identity theft.
LAKE AND WAUKEGAN PROJECT CHALLENGED
Glenview sold village-owned land at the corner of Lake Avenue and Waukegan Road, hoping to see speedy construction of a shopping center anchored by a Bank of America branch, but Glenview’s plan commission is in no hurry to sign off.
Last month, the commission told the developer to move a proposed shopping center away from the street and get rid of one drive-through lane to create a more appealing, landscaped street front. This month, Baker Development returned with plans for a building that had moved even closer to the street and contained the same four drive-through lanes.
The developers said they had added more vegetation, but traffic planners said it would be unsafe to eliminate a pass through lane, and a spokesman said Bank of America wouldn’t stand for it.
He warned that the project would be dead without the bank and suggested Glenview would be sorry. Right now, he explained, the community has “an unsightly, long-neglected shopping center which is being replaced on one of the most visible corners of the village by an attractive, functional set of buildings. Secondly, the village is receiving $750,000 for the vacant lot which it has held for more than a decade, waiting for a first-class development such as this to be constructed.”
He added that the developer was saving space for a sculpture or statue to be erected at this “gateway” to the village and would contribute $50,000 for that monument. Drainage would also be improved on this site and at Maryhaven to the west.
The planners were not impressed, insisting the proposed development was too close to the road. The developer countered that pedestrian-friendly projects are routinely designed in this way, but Chairman Howard Silver said the area in question was more often used by motorists than pedestrians. He also challenged a traffic plan based on aerial photos showing a traffic island on Lake Avenue. Silver said he had consulted Google Earth, then driven by to check, and the island had been eliminated more than three years ago when the county rebuilt Lake Avenue.
Discussions will continue.
PLAN COMMISSION TRASHES PROPOSED MILWAUKEE MINI-MALL
Owners of the former Prime Minister site have unveiled plans for a new mini-mall on Milwaukee Avenue, but the plan commission is not impressed. Developer Zach Joseph said the Nea Maya Center would have 18,000 square feet of retail space and 11,000 square feet of office space on the second floor. A dentist and doctor would occupy the upper level, while the ground floor tenants would include a realtor and a photographer.
Members of the plan commission thought the building was too large for the site, provided too little space for trash disposal and too little landscaping.
Commissioner Allan Ruter wished the developer would wait until citizens and planners complete an intensive discussion of how Milwaukee Avenue should evolve. (That process, known as a charrette, begins at 7 p.m. Friday at the new police station on Lake Avenue. For more information, go to http://www.milwaukeecorridor.com/.)
Chairman Silver pointed out that the trustees had rejected a possible moratorium on development during that planning process, and the developer’s lawyer, Gene Bullmash, protested any possible delay.
“Our plans were submitted in September! My client is carrying the property – paying taxes, paying insurance, paying architects, paying engineers, paying lawyers. The village already has zoning requirements, and we’re meeting those requirements.”
Silver then lectured Joseph, who has dumped a joint agreement between the proprietor of the old Prime Minister and his neighbor to the south – a shopping strip anchored by Famo’s Sub Shop. Under that agreement, the two shared a driveway off Milwaukee Avenue, but Joseph had installed barricades to prevent customers from entering the site.
Silver acknowledged that Joseph was within his legal rights, since he owns the driveway, but he urged the developer to cooperate with Famo’s. “You and your wife were here several months ago, and you begged, almost cried about how you had second or third mortgages to buy this property. You asked for favors. My guess is your neighbor probably took out mortgages too, and what’s happening now has hurt their business. Legally you have a right to do what you’re doing, but in the interest of Glenview, we try to be good neighbors.”
He pointed out that one shopping center can help another by allowing access to both, and by minimizing the number of driveways accessing Milwaukee Avenue, such shared arrangements improve the flow of traffic.
“For the sake of Milwaukee Avenue and for the sake of neighbors, I would ask that the cross connection be re-established,” Silver said. Then, making what sounded like a veiled threat, he added, “I’m not crazy about allowing a left turn out of your site onto Milwaukee.”
The plan commission could recommend that visitors to the new mini-mall be prohibited from turning left from the site.
Joseph complained that customers from his neighbor’s business were, “taking half of our parking lot.”
Silver told Joseph to “work it out.”
COUNTY SET TO SLASH MONEY FOR HEALTH AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
Faced with a half-billion dollar shortfall, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger has announced plans to cut spending across the board, treating doctors who serve the poor and lawyers who prosecute killers in the same way he treats patronage workers who shuffle papers or drive trucks between coffee breaks. Glenview’s Commissioner Gregg Goslin has made no objection.
“I support President Stroger’s budget goal to reduce county spending by 17 percent, with no increase in taxes of any kind,” he says. “This is consistent with the budget amendments I have introduced over the past eight years to reduce payroll and manage government in an efficient, effective and economical manner.”
Editor’s note: Come on, Gregg! You’re not even a Democrat. You should have been screaming bloody murder as Todd’s daddy bumped up the taxes to pay for his bloated bureaucracy. Now, you should be searching for the real sources of waste – cutting county fat while protecting essential services.
VILLAGE BOARD SAYS MCMANSIONS CAN REPLACE POND
The owner of a lot south of Flick Park will be allowed to build three homes on the property, replacing a single house facing Glenview Road. The site includes a manmade pond that has been in place for more than 50 years. Neighbors wanted the pond preserved, arguing that its destruction would harm the environment, make the area less appealing and put them at risk for increased flooding.
The developer promised an underground network of pipes that would drain the site and pointed out that no laws protect ponds that are not connected to interstate waterways.
AVON CALLING – SOMEWHERE ELSE
Avon plans to change the way it distributes products and will phase-out its Glenview facility, eliminating 270 jobs here by mid-2010. A company spokesman said Avon’s building and land at the corner of Waukegan and Golf roads would probably be sold.
The firm plans to build a new distribution center somewhere in the Midwest.
READERS WRITE
ACK is worried about the trustees’ decision to outsource IT: “I'm not happy to read about Glenview's continuing blundering in matters of technology. Former IT Director Dale Chellis is absolutely correct when he suggests that Glenview may end up outsourcing its IT needs, only to find they've only paid for regular support, and not for the additional project management and support they need to complete major and important initiatives such as GIS. The village could easily be going down the path, yet again, of spending a lot of money only to find out they need to spend even more money to get anything done.
“Having said that, there's nothing wrong with IT outsourcing, if it's managed properly. I say this with many years managing technology for Fortune 500 companies. In any organization, there are definitely economies to be had by employing IT staff on a temporary or ‘as-needed’ basis for such roles as initial setups, temporary or sporadic support, as well as development staffing for projects. All of which are, I'm sure, needs for Glenview.
“However, the common element to any successful IT organization is the presence of a person who understands a client’s needs along with the potential value and limitations of various technologies -- someone like Dale Chellis.
“Instead Todd Hileman has gotten rid of this ‘strongest link,’ and will instead now grope blindly in the dark, paying more consultants through the nose with our money to who knows what end.
“When it comes to IT for Glenview, someone like Chellis is the tried-and-trusted mechanic to whom you take your car for service. One day, when you take your car in, he tells you that unfortunately the clutch is about to go, and it'll cost $2,000 to replace. ‘Nonsense!’ you say, and take the car to a fancy dealership, who tell you they can happily diagnose your problem for only $750. ‘Great!’ you say, and leave the car with them, only to return later to have them tell you that unfortunately your clutch is about to go, and it'll cost $2,000 to replace.
“The village is clearly enamored of consultants for each and every one of its aches and pains, but sometimes it would be nice if they'd stop spending our money and listen to the professionals they already have, for a change. I can't tell you how disappointed I was that I could not make the trustee meeting. Alas, my current job (managing a $4 million IT project) keeps me on the road.”
KB comments on the District 225 referendum: “First, I don't think the school board did an adequate job putting their story into perspective as to why there should have been a ‘yes’ vote. The kitchen and cafeteria at the high school are sorely in need of remodeling to meet health criteria. The equipment in the kitchen is antiquated and far too small to do an adequate job of preparing meals for the students. The cafeteria lines are so narrow that handicapped students in wheel chairs cannot go through the lunch line. They need to have a friend pick up their lunch. Not only can't they go through the lines, they can't even get to see what is available. They tell their friends, ‘Get me what you think I'll like.’ This must be demoralizing to them. Also, I don't think it would meet the ADA guidelines.
“Secondly, as far as the pool is concerned, it is not only used for the swim teams, but also the PE service classes. There is no way the service classes could go to the park district pools without an exorbitant cost for transportation and time constraints could not be met. The pool is too shallow and the divers are in serious jeopardy of injury. We don't want to have a student become paralyzed for life or even die. Let's fix it now!
“I moved to Glenview 14 years ago. The price I paid for my home has gone up more than 100 percent since that time. My taxes have not increased that much. So everything is relative. We get what we pay for and no more.
“I agree with you that some of the awarding of contracts is suspect but don't know enough about the politics or other ramifications to speak knowledgably on the subject.
“As the quality of our educational system goes, so goes our property value. I, for one, don't begrudge our students anything, as they are our future. I am proud to live in Glenview and also proud of the students at GBS for their accomplishments and deeds.”
Howard Silver recently wrote about snow removal during Glenview’s biggest storm of the year: “Once we got out of our streets, where could we go anyways when the county and state roads were so bad?” To which BP replies: “For almost 20 years that has been my thought exactly. The state and county routes thru Glenview consistently have horrific snow maintenance. Why is not more done to pursue local governments taking over these roads?”
The Watch replies: We sent your question to Village Hall and received a concise response: “Simply put: money,” wrote spokesperson Janet Spector Bishop. “Once the village takes over these streets, it must bear the maintenance and reconstruction costs, and at this time it doesn't have the resources to take on these additional costs.”
Jamie Brown hopes new land at the The Glen will not be extensively developed: “Am I the only one who has noticed that the village just acquired prime sport fields and dog park land in the 41 acres they bought from the Navy? As someone who lives in the area, I can tell you there is no way that the newly purchased land can support retail space, and goodness knows we have enough houses. The intersection at West Lake and Shermer is a nightmare in the late afternoon and evening with people trying to turn. I think that instead of the village trying to find a way to get more money, they should redevelop the land for recreational use. But wait, that would mean being green instead of getting green. Not every square inch of land has to be developed and there is no such thing as bad open space.”
IGM thinks COST owes District 225 for delaying the sale of bonds: “How ironic that Larry Miller, who always talks a good game regarding education financing, actually has cost Glenview taxpayers a substantial amount of money. It seems that his groups' recount efforts have cost Glenview taxpayers $1.6 million in financing costs. Is there any way that these folks can be held accountable for their actions with the referendum?”
GV5 has been keeping an eye on votes by Congressman Mark Kirk: “Right winger Mark Kirk just voted this week against oversight for intelligence, joining former House Speaker Denny Hastert. If it were up to Kirk, we would never know where our hard earned tax dollars are going. Kirk once worked for Navy Intelligence, and now he does not want any oversight on it. Should someone in intelligence be voting on this bill? It seems like insider trading to me.”
YOUR TURN: Write to glenviewwatch@aol.com or 3537 Maple Leaf Drive, Glenview, IL 60026. 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.