Once a month, a group of La Grange Park teens get together as the village's appointed Youth Advisory Commission to discuss and debate and reach consensus on all of the same issues on the Village Board's agenda the very next day.
We think this is a great idea and one that should be explored and, hopefully, adopted by others: including the Village of La Grange, the Park and Library districts, perhaps even the schools.
Ever since the former Rich Port YMCA of La Grange closed its doors three years ago, a variety of youth activities -- such as the successful indoor inline skate park, basketball courts and a variety of water sports -- have been swept under the rug.
As a result, kids continue to use area park district facilities for organized and pick-up sports games, but unless they belong to a private swim club or get rides from parents and driving-age friends to visit skate parks in other suburbs miles away from here, they have few outlets to recreate.
So, they play basketball in parks after hours, hang out on the top floor of the parking garage or in area parks and school grounds, skateboard where they cannot legally do so or play in the new downtown fountain.
A few weeks back, we suggested in this space the formation of some kind of public effort, by the Park District of La Grange, the Village of La Grange and/or a local developer, to purchase and redevelop one of several vacant properties in town into a combination skate/water park. Maybe a joint venture can be established with La Grange Park or its Park District.
Land is available along the north side of Cossitt Avenue just east of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad tracks or at the northwest corner of Ashland and Harris avenues -- which we previously mentioned would be an excellent site due to its proximity to a school, a senior home and senior center, the downtown business district and its virtual lack of many next-door neighbors.
The former funeral home property, site of a failed condominium development, is completely shielded on one side by a high-rise brick wall, courtesy of AT&T.
On this issue and many others, we need to just sit back and listen, to the kids in La Grange or La Grange Park, maybe those whom the YMCA first assembled a decade ago to determine what kind of skate park could be created there.
Maybe our youth can come up with a solution, that is if we listen to their input.
Recreational options, however, are just some of the myriad of issues we should be asking our youth for their input on.
Every community around here should establish its own youth advisory commission, not just to let them opine about where a skate or water park can be built but to hear what they have to say about all the issues of the day.
It might be nice to know what the teens of La Grange or other taxing districts think about the latest sales tax hike, whether a pawn shop should be a permitted use in a downtown, whether a liquor license is granted or what safety measures need to be implemented on area roads. After all, they are our present and future consumers, parents and taxpayers.
Let's give a shout out to the youth and give them a voice once and for all. Not just on teen official day, but every day.
Just ask La Grange Park. The idea seems to working just fine over there.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT TOWN
I couldn't help but overlook the fact that the recent visit to La Grange by the 12 Turkish government officials did not include a stop by the Turkish-owned breakfast bar on Burlington Avenue.
Besides the owner, there's nothing Turkish about Cafe Calbay, but perhaps the dignitaries would have enjoyed talkng to someone in their own language.
(I remember doing a profile on the owner years ago when a destructive earthquake hit his native Turkey)
Will someone tell Congressman Lipinski his community service field office on the north side of the tracks no longer houses the offices of State Rep. Bob Molaro? Maybe Mike Zalewski can inform the representative. After all, he was appointed to the seat nearly a year ago when Molaro resigned to become a lobbyist.
How many times do I have to mention the annoying spelling error on a yellow caution sign as drivers pass into La Grange over the Ogden Avenue bridge? The sign cautions motorists of the approaching roadway, Burlington Avenue. But the sign reads BurliGton.
In other useless minutae, it seems it's been at least a couple years since the meeting room upstairs in Village Hall has had every white sconce light illuminated at once. That one light off stage right (that's above the left side of the dais) has been out forever.
We thought nobody noticed the words "Stone Avenue" were no longer visible on the faded royal blue Metra sign along the platform on the Hillgrove Avenue side of the train station. But Assistant Village Manager Andrianna Peterson has let us know a new sign will grace the new platform when it is fully rebuilt by next spring.
Hopefully, someone at La Grange Public Library -- or the village for that matter -- will realize the utter danger disabled people have crossing the driveway to access the library entrance on Cossitt. Seems the curb cut should be placed within the parking lot except of just a few feet from where cars and minivans are often zooming in or out of the lot.
Could the lonely, single strand of white holiday-type lights hanging from a tree between Francesca's and Prasino's be a sign seasonal lighting is going up sooner than ever? Or could it mean the organic restaurant is soon to open in the La Grange Pointe senior center?
Last but not least, thanks to La Grange Officer Herrera for helping me out the other night. Shows you can always depend on the Police Department.
Besides the owner, there's nothing Turkish about Cafe Calbay, but perhaps the dignitaries would have enjoyed talkng to someone in their own language.
(I remember doing a profile on the owner years ago when a destructive earthquake hit his native Turkey)
Will someone tell Congressman Lipinski his community service field office on the north side of the tracks no longer houses the offices of State Rep. Bob Molaro? Maybe Mike Zalewski can inform the representative. After all, he was appointed to the seat nearly a year ago when Molaro resigned to become a lobbyist.
How many times do I have to mention the annoying spelling error on a yellow caution sign as drivers pass into La Grange over the Ogden Avenue bridge? The sign cautions motorists of the approaching roadway, Burlington Avenue. But the sign reads BurliGton.
In other useless minutae, it seems it's been at least a couple years since the meeting room upstairs in Village Hall has had every white sconce light illuminated at once. That one light off stage right (that's above the left side of the dais) has been out forever.
We thought nobody noticed the words "Stone Avenue" were no longer visible on the faded royal blue Metra sign along the platform on the Hillgrove Avenue side of the train station. But Assistant Village Manager Andrianna Peterson has let us know a new sign will grace the new platform when it is fully rebuilt by next spring.
Hopefully, someone at La Grange Public Library -- or the village for that matter -- will realize the utter danger disabled people have crossing the driveway to access the library entrance on Cossitt. Seems the curb cut should be placed within the parking lot except of just a few feet from where cars and minivans are often zooming in or out of the lot.
Could the lonely, single strand of white holiday-type lights hanging from a tree between Francesca's and Prasino's be a sign seasonal lighting is going up sooner than ever? Or could it mean the organic restaurant is soon to open in the La Grange Pointe senior center?
Last but not least, thanks to La Grange Officer Herrera for helping me out the other night. Shows you can always depend on the Police Department.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
A NEW 'DOWNTOWN' EVENT SITE?
Many visitors and organizers of the recent BIG Picture art easel auction in the park adjacent to Stone Avenue Station on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe line in La Grange were in agreement the site is perhaps one of the West End's best kept secrets.
Not used for much more than the occasional picnic or waiting place for train commuters and their rides, the unnamed park under the shade of numerous trees proved a great place to cool off and walk the paved path during the West End Art Festival.
But when the white lights were strung up high above everyone's heads on the night of Sept. 12, something magical seemed to take place. With beverages sold by La Bella Catering and pizza by Aurelio's, the natural atmosphere of the park setting, sans the occasional loud train, proved somewhat peaceful and tranquil a good part of the night.
Almost immediately after the auction ended, visitors and organizers were talking up the potential of turning the West End park -- some four blocks from the main business district -- into an informal event site in future summers.
The park, leased by the village from Metra, is accessible, attractive and offers lots of area parking space, especially at night when businesses such as the new Wyckoff-Tweedie photo studio,, Circle of Stones, the First National Bank of La Grange Katherine Dierkes' State Farm Insurance office and Harder's are closed. And any music or noise coming from the park will not impact neighbors, whose homes are a good distance away.
The park could be the site of summer concerts, kid's activity nights or perhaps a weekly dance or temporary beer garden sponsored each week by a different bar or restaurant.
Plus, opening up that end of the downtown to more events could finally tie the West End into the main downtown.
Shuttle buses could transport park patrons to and from the downtown parking deck or Calendar parking lot. Train commuters from neighboring communities could simply hop on and off the Metra for a short visit to La Grange.
Of course, if anything else is held there, the park's asphalt path system would have to be repaved and made accessible to the handicapped. And more park benches and seating and both drinking and ornamental fountains could be installed.
.
Some La Grange Business Association members and officers said it's something to think about and Village President Liz Asperger, in attendance at the auction, informally agreed.
It's an idea worth considering. Let us know what you think.
Not used for much more than the occasional picnic or waiting place for train commuters and their rides, the unnamed park under the shade of numerous trees proved a great place to cool off and walk the paved path during the West End Art Festival.
But when the white lights were strung up high above everyone's heads on the night of Sept. 12, something magical seemed to take place. With beverages sold by La Bella Catering and pizza by Aurelio's, the natural atmosphere of the park setting, sans the occasional loud train, proved somewhat peaceful and tranquil a good part of the night.
Almost immediately after the auction ended, visitors and organizers were talking up the potential of turning the West End park -- some four blocks from the main business district -- into an informal event site in future summers.
The park, leased by the village from Metra, is accessible, attractive and offers lots of area parking space, especially at night when businesses such as the new Wyckoff-Tweedie photo studio,, Circle of Stones, the First National Bank of La Grange Katherine Dierkes' State Farm Insurance office and Harder's are closed. And any music or noise coming from the park will not impact neighbors, whose homes are a good distance away.
The park could be the site of summer concerts, kid's activity nights or perhaps a weekly dance or temporary beer garden sponsored each week by a different bar or restaurant.
Plus, opening up that end of the downtown to more events could finally tie the West End into the main downtown.
Shuttle buses could transport park patrons to and from the downtown parking deck or Calendar parking lot. Train commuters from neighboring communities could simply hop on and off the Metra for a short visit to La Grange.
Of course, if anything else is held there, the park's asphalt path system would have to be repaved and made accessible to the handicapped. And more park benches and seating and both drinking and ornamental fountains could be installed.
.
Some La Grange Business Association members and officers said it's something to think about and Village President Liz Asperger, in attendance at the auction, informally agreed.
It's an idea worth considering. Let us know what you think.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
WAKE UP, IDOT (AND LA GRANGE ... AND MC COOK ... AND BROOKFIELD)
Now that La Grange has the attention of its local legislators and the Illinois Department of Transportation (which just reduced speed on 47th Street through La Grange), it's finally time to do something about the horrible, dangerous and potentially deadly four-way stop sign intersection of 47th Street and East/Eberly Avenue.
I, for one, travel through that cluster-you-know-what every day, sometimes 10 times a day. And everytime I do, I thank God I made it out alive. Many licensed drivers, I have come to learn, are crazy and simply don't care who they cut off or ignore as long as they get where they're going. Harumph!
SOMETHING needs to be done or sooner or later another Cari Cook- type tragedy will plague La Grange, Brookfield and McCook once again.
Congressional folks such as the father-son Lipinski tag team and some state lawmakers often express frustration passed on by constituents about negotiating one's way (safely) through the crossing, which is further complicated by a set of freight railroad tracks in both directions interrupting traffic flow on both roadways.
Suggestions have ranged from building an underpass or overpass, which would require massive amounts of funding, to putting up stoplights to control the intersection.
People traveling through 47th and East/Eberly (the name Brookfield calls it), especially during the morning and evening rush, either don't seem to remember or don't seem to care what they learned in Driver's Ed. or the last time they took a test on the Rules of the Road to renew their license. Like which lane of vehicles goes first.
Solutions have ranged from totally shutting down the intersection in all directions (by a onetime Brookfield mayor) to letting La Grange take over its stretch of 47th (which they are asking for), so it can reduce the lanes to one in each direction and a turn lane to soften the traffic flow and vastly improve safety for pedestrians and homeowners.
One of the ironies is that many people simply avoid the intersection. Parent and Village Board Trustee Bill Holder restricts his daughter from going near there until she is a more experienced driver. Moreover, most parents prohibit their kids to walk or bike to Sedgwick Park or the Park District of La Grange recreation center.
I like Trustee Mike Horvath's out-of-the-box suggestion, to shut down westbound and eastbound traffic on 47th by ending the road just west of East Avenue, allowing eastbound access to southbound East Avenue and emergency access through that same turn lane, but leaving westbound traffic to use East or Eberly and north and south bound traffic to keep going to get where they are going.
While that, too, seems like something that either would take years to accomplish or be a financial and logistical nightmare, I believe other, lower-cost, short-term solutions will give everyone the biggest bang for their buck.
First off, every community and entity involved needs to stop passing the buck, saying it's the state's decision or any one of the three municipalities' worry. They need to sit down and hammer out some ideas to improve safety NOW.
So, this is what I think (and I'd like to know your opinion, too):
1. Hold a public meeting at Sedgwick Park or in a neighboring parking lot to watch and monitor the traffic flow, to let everyone see what's wrong. Maybe driving education is best, but I doubt it.
2. Erect temporary traffic lights at the intersection, jointly funded by La Grange, McCook, Brooklfield, IDOT, some federal stimulus funds, the railroad, perhaps others like the nearby sports facility The Max in McCook or the Park District of Las Grange -- whose recreation center on East Avenue is isolated, landlocked, tough to get to except by car or bus.
3. Commission a traffic study on the effectiveness of the lights, whether people obey them like they don't do for the stop signs. Then make them permanent until an over- or under-pass is built, or take 'em down if they aren't doing any good.
Bicyclists beware, as there are no sidewalks south of 47th on East or on the north or south sides of 47th in McCook or west of 9th Avenue in La Grange. That's another problem, but I digress.
4. If traffic lights cannot be done, then put a traffic cop (again, jointly funded) right in the middle of the intersection, like old-timers say used to be posted at La Grange Road and Ogden Avenue back in the day. That small action could actually teach motorists the right way to drive, stop, proceed and let others go first.
5. Step up joint municipal enforcement there to ticket the hundreds if not thousands of drivers how to properly an legally operate a motor vehicle.
Just do something. Now instead of later.
I, for one, travel through that cluster-you-know-what every day, sometimes 10 times a day. And everytime I do, I thank God I made it out alive. Many licensed drivers, I have come to learn, are crazy and simply don't care who they cut off or ignore as long as they get where they're going. Harumph!
SOMETHING needs to be done or sooner or later another Cari Cook- type tragedy will plague La Grange, Brookfield and McCook once again.
Congressional folks such as the father-son Lipinski tag team and some state lawmakers often express frustration passed on by constituents about negotiating one's way (safely) through the crossing, which is further complicated by a set of freight railroad tracks in both directions interrupting traffic flow on both roadways.
Suggestions have ranged from building an underpass or overpass, which would require massive amounts of funding, to putting up stoplights to control the intersection.
People traveling through 47th and East/Eberly (the name Brookfield calls it), especially during the morning and evening rush, either don't seem to remember or don't seem to care what they learned in Driver's Ed. or the last time they took a test on the Rules of the Road to renew their license. Like which lane of vehicles goes first.
Solutions have ranged from totally shutting down the intersection in all directions (by a onetime Brookfield mayor) to letting La Grange take over its stretch of 47th (which they are asking for), so it can reduce the lanes to one in each direction and a turn lane to soften the traffic flow and vastly improve safety for pedestrians and homeowners.
One of the ironies is that many people simply avoid the intersection. Parent and Village Board Trustee Bill Holder restricts his daughter from going near there until she is a more experienced driver. Moreover, most parents prohibit their kids to walk or bike to Sedgwick Park or the Park District of La Grange recreation center.
I like Trustee Mike Horvath's out-of-the-box suggestion, to shut down westbound and eastbound traffic on 47th by ending the road just west of East Avenue, allowing eastbound access to southbound East Avenue and emergency access through that same turn lane, but leaving westbound traffic to use East or Eberly and north and south bound traffic to keep going to get where they are going.
While that, too, seems like something that either would take years to accomplish or be a financial and logistical nightmare, I believe other, lower-cost, short-term solutions will give everyone the biggest bang for their buck.
First off, every community and entity involved needs to stop passing the buck, saying it's the state's decision or any one of the three municipalities' worry. They need to sit down and hammer out some ideas to improve safety NOW.
So, this is what I think (and I'd like to know your opinion, too):
1. Hold a public meeting at Sedgwick Park or in a neighboring parking lot to watch and monitor the traffic flow, to let everyone see what's wrong. Maybe driving education is best, but I doubt it.
2. Erect temporary traffic lights at the intersection, jointly funded by La Grange, McCook, Brooklfield, IDOT, some federal stimulus funds, the railroad, perhaps others like the nearby sports facility The Max in McCook or the Park District of Las Grange -- whose recreation center on East Avenue is isolated, landlocked, tough to get to except by car or bus.
3. Commission a traffic study on the effectiveness of the lights, whether people obey them like they don't do for the stop signs. Then make them permanent until an over- or under-pass is built, or take 'em down if they aren't doing any good.
Bicyclists beware, as there are no sidewalks south of 47th on East or on the north or south sides of 47th in McCook or west of 9th Avenue in La Grange. That's another problem, but I digress.
4. If traffic lights cannot be done, then put a traffic cop (again, jointly funded) right in the middle of the intersection, like old-timers say used to be posted at La Grange Road and Ogden Avenue back in the day. That small action could actually teach motorists the right way to drive, stop, proceed and let others go first.
5. Step up joint municipal enforcement there to ticket the hundreds if not thousands of drivers how to properly an legally operate a motor vehicle.
Just do something. Now instead of later.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
JUST A QUICK THOUGHT OR TWO
A few items in this past week's police blotter related to summer shenanigans of our youth (see The Cops) caught my eye and made me wonder for a moment how easily things could be done to improve the health and welfare of our young people.
We all know kids often complain "there's nothing to do" in Anytown, USA. But in La Grange, where kids lately have been "caught" red-handed skateboarding on the parking deck, taking a dip in the downtown fountain and -- OMG! -- playing night basketball under the lights in Sedgwick Park, opportunity abounds.
The village displayed a quick wit this week by promising to make safety improvements (see The Cops and The News) along 47th Street, just a month and a few days since a 30-year-old Countryside mother was killed as she pushed her baby stroller across the busy roadway at 8th Avenue.
Now, I believe, it's time for the Park District and Village Board to act swiftly to help out our kids in other ways:
First, let the kids play basketball at night in the parks, so long as there is some adult supervision. After midnight might be too late, but establish some reasonable times. Where else will they spend their summer nights, other than eating out and at the theatre but in the streets and neighborhoods with the potential to cause trouble?
Second and third, work to acquire the vacant parcel of land at the northwest corner of Harris and Ashland avenues, where a funeral home once was and what was going to be a condominium development that went under. Take a tip from other towns like, say Lombard in DuPage County, where along their St. Charles Road business district west of Main Street you will find a low-maintenance, low-cost to build splash park.
Maybe the remainder of the land can become a state-of-the-art skating park, designed in part by the kids who will later use it, and feature other park amenities taking advantage of the retirement home to the south, the senior center to the east, the elementary school to the southeast and ice cream shop across the street.
It'd be a great place for kids to spend time after school under the watchful eye of the nearby Police and Fire departments, businesses and senior population. With the barrier of the old Illinois Bell switching station next door and the intergenerational potential, it's a no-brainer.
A similar "park" could be erected in the side and back parking lot of the new recreation center on East Avenue, and would be a great selling point for that pedestrian underpass at Maple Avenue so many folks keep talking about.
I'll bet the state senator and reps serving La Grange would love to assist with legislative initiative grants, or a Kids Foundation could be formed to raise money to make it happen.
The first step, however, is to form a Youth Commission, so elected officials can begin to develop a better understanding of what kids and teens really want out of their village.
Let me know what you think.
We all know kids often complain "there's nothing to do" in Anytown, USA. But in La Grange, where kids lately have been "caught" red-handed skateboarding on the parking deck, taking a dip in the downtown fountain and -- OMG! -- playing night basketball under the lights in Sedgwick Park, opportunity abounds.
The village displayed a quick wit this week by promising to make safety improvements (see The Cops and The News) along 47th Street, just a month and a few days since a 30-year-old Countryside mother was killed as she pushed her baby stroller across the busy roadway at 8th Avenue.
Now, I believe, it's time for the Park District and Village Board to act swiftly to help out our kids in other ways:
First, let the kids play basketball at night in the parks, so long as there is some adult supervision. After midnight might be too late, but establish some reasonable times. Where else will they spend their summer nights, other than eating out and at the theatre but in the streets and neighborhoods with the potential to cause trouble?
Second and third, work to acquire the vacant parcel of land at the northwest corner of Harris and Ashland avenues, where a funeral home once was and what was going to be a condominium development that went under. Take a tip from other towns like, say Lombard in DuPage County, where along their St. Charles Road business district west of Main Street you will find a low-maintenance, low-cost to build splash park.
Maybe the remainder of the land can become a state-of-the-art skating park, designed in part by the kids who will later use it, and feature other park amenities taking advantage of the retirement home to the south, the senior center to the east, the elementary school to the southeast and ice cream shop across the street.
It'd be a great place for kids to spend time after school under the watchful eye of the nearby Police and Fire departments, businesses and senior population. With the barrier of the old Illinois Bell switching station next door and the intergenerational potential, it's a no-brainer.
A similar "park" could be erected in the side and back parking lot of the new recreation center on East Avenue, and would be a great selling point for that pedestrian underpass at Maple Avenue so many folks keep talking about.
I'll bet the state senator and reps serving La Grange would love to assist with legislative initiative grants, or a Kids Foundation could be formed to raise money to make it happen.
The first step, however, is to form a Youth Commission, so elected officials can begin to develop a better understanding of what kids and teens really want out of their village.
Let me know what you think.
Friday, June 19, 2009
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE?
I'd like to think if the La Grange police and fire department oficers and investigators I've come to know and trust over the years were given sole authority over the investigation of the May 19 vehicle vs. pedestrian death which claimed the life of a 30-year-old Countryside mom, they would have concluded their work weeks ago and maybe even issued actual criminal charges against the alleged offender.
It's uncanny it took so much time for state and county investigators -- only with the help of local police -- to piece together the tragic collision that left Cari Cook for dead and rendered her two children and family dog lucky survivors.
A little more than a week ago, the traffic violations of a Summit man who nearly escaped death himself when, in an admittedly almost sleepy state, he sheared off the front end of his vehicle and got pinned inside until firefighters could free him after crossing a double yellow line, were quickly determined. The case was evaluated by La Grange officers and a ticket was issued.
The 5-car crash June 11 was on the same stretch of state-controlled roadway -- the busy speed haven known as 47th Street -- as the crash that killed Cook, and less than two blocks away no less.
Maybe the involved parties in the Cook case weren't talking immediately, maybe it was hard to analyze a crash with no apparent witnesses with clear enough memories -- but maybe, just maybe -- part of the problem (i.e., the long delay) was because lead investigators were just not all that familiar with the road in question or the kinds of careless traffic activity that goes on there on an all-too-frequent, sometimes daily basis (See The Cops).
It is La Grange cops, and not state troopers or state's attorney investigators, who routinely patrol the high-accident corridor and figure out the final disposition of every other non-fatal crash on what really should be a local roadway under full local jurisdiction.
After all, local law enforcement typically know what's best and how to handle such matters both fairly and expeditiously.
Perhaps it truly did take everyone a full month to investigate the death, but it shouldn't have been La Grange Police Mike Holub who gave residents a very unrevealing update on the probe at the June 2 village safety meeting, with regular updates on what was going on with the investigation. Why not a state trooper and county prosecutor instead, with Holub at their side?
Instead of a press release issued by the local guys, perhaps someone should have hosted a press conference, if not midway through the probe, then at its culmination, so local web, print and broadcast reporters could have asked the kinds of questions that deserve answers; so the community could feel a little more at ease the wheels of government won't end up moving as slow as they seldom do on this burning issue.
Was the alleged offending driver believed to have been doing anything to possibly distract herself while crossing 8th Street? Speeding? Doing makeup? Talking or texting? Eating lunch? We may never know, but does anyone have proof if she was doing any of those things or not?
Was there excessive sunshine or dark shade affecting the vision of drivers at that hour of that day?
Why did the investigation take so long and why were criminal charges not justified in this case?
Easy questions, seemingly easy answers.
Instead we all get a statement, without all the facts and without answering many of the probing questions curious newshounds and understandably concerned neighbors and residents might have.
I have a feeling the many questions swirling around this case are from from over. Simply put, we all need to know more. And in a few days or a week. Not a month.
Why not let us know what you think???
It's uncanny it took so much time for state and county investigators -- only with the help of local police -- to piece together the tragic collision that left Cari Cook for dead and rendered her two children and family dog lucky survivors.
A little more than a week ago, the traffic violations of a Summit man who nearly escaped death himself when, in an admittedly almost sleepy state, he sheared off the front end of his vehicle and got pinned inside until firefighters could free him after crossing a double yellow line, were quickly determined. The case was evaluated by La Grange officers and a ticket was issued.
The 5-car crash June 11 was on the same stretch of state-controlled roadway -- the busy speed haven known as 47th Street -- as the crash that killed Cook, and less than two blocks away no less.
Maybe the involved parties in the Cook case weren't talking immediately, maybe it was hard to analyze a crash with no apparent witnesses with clear enough memories -- but maybe, just maybe -- part of the problem (i.e., the long delay) was because lead investigators were just not all that familiar with the road in question or the kinds of careless traffic activity that goes on there on an all-too-frequent, sometimes daily basis (See The Cops).
It is La Grange cops, and not state troopers or state's attorney investigators, who routinely patrol the high-accident corridor and figure out the final disposition of every other non-fatal crash on what really should be a local roadway under full local jurisdiction.
After all, local law enforcement typically know what's best and how to handle such matters both fairly and expeditiously.
Perhaps it truly did take everyone a full month to investigate the death, but it shouldn't have been La Grange Police Mike Holub who gave residents a very unrevealing update on the probe at the June 2 village safety meeting, with regular updates on what was going on with the investigation. Why not a state trooper and county prosecutor instead, with Holub at their side?
Instead of a press release issued by the local guys, perhaps someone should have hosted a press conference, if not midway through the probe, then at its culmination, so local web, print and broadcast reporters could have asked the kinds of questions that deserve answers; so the community could feel a little more at ease the wheels of government won't end up moving as slow as they seldom do on this burning issue.
Was the alleged offending driver believed to have been doing anything to possibly distract herself while crossing 8th Street? Speeding? Doing makeup? Talking or texting? Eating lunch? We may never know, but does anyone have proof if she was doing any of those things or not?
Was there excessive sunshine or dark shade affecting the vision of drivers at that hour of that day?
Why did the investigation take so long and why were criminal charges not justified in this case?
Easy questions, seemingly easy answers.
Instead we all get a statement, without all the facts and without answering many of the probing questions curious newshounds and understandably concerned neighbors and residents might have.
I have a feeling the many questions swirling around this case are from from over. Simply put, we all need to know more. And in a few days or a week. Not a month.
Why not let us know what you think???
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
A SILENT MEMORIAL SO CLEARLY HEARD
It's difficult for just about everybody to talk about death, especially when it means the passing of someone so young and vibrant, with their entire life ahead of them.
When it comes to news reporters, it's something that comes with the territory. You are either emotionally affected every time an assignment to cover a murder, fatal accident, suicide or prominent death hits your desk or you grow immune to covering so much tragedy -- kind of like how police and firefighters are able to show up to work every day.
Although I have been at this craft for nearly 30 years and have covered some pretty grisly murders, accidental and intentional deaths, I have never been immune to every story I've done.
There was that guy whose girlfriend beat him to death with his own baseball bat, the two young kids who died after being stabbed and bound with duct tape by a guy their mom thought was a trusting babysitter, the child who was run over by her own school bus after being dropped off at her corner, the young teen with so much for which to live decided to run into a train's path and, most recently, the mom killed while crossing a busy 47th Street with her baby's stroller.
I've covered them all, and then some. And I always try and find out something, if not lots of things about these people to share with my readers.
Most of us in the media follow an unwritten policy that we don't talk about suicides except when they occur in public. And while I am going to share the latest such case to cross my desk, I am not going to violate that code. I don't need to know or tell who this kid was, but I am sure he had a lot of hopes and dreams and a good life story to tell.
He died at the end of the school year, so the impact on fellow students may not have been as dramatic had his death occurred in the middle of the year. But the impact felt by the extended neighborhood in which he lived is downright touching to say the least.
That neighborhood is directly across the street from La Grange's western border with Western Springs at Gilbert Avenue.
From Gilbert to Wolf Road and from 47th Street to Burlington Avenue, nearly every parkway tree is adorned this week with flowing thick white ribbons honoring the life of a young neighborhood kid whose life, for reasons we will never know, came to an abrupt halt in recent days.
There was no story about it, nor should there be, unless someone chooses to share what he meant to others.
I couldn't help but thinking what it was like for the family and friends of the boy to experience such a loss; but moreover what it felt like to be blessed with so much support and compassion largely from so many people they didn't even know.
I've seen ribbon "campaigns" to raise awareness of child abuse, to pass school building referenda and to mobilize a neighborhood opposed to overdevelopment of a vacant downtown lot where hundreds of condos now stand. I've seen resident groups stand tall for and against any number of causes. But I've never seen anything so simply overwhelming as this.
Sure, the ribbons, over time, will come down -- but the memory of this valiant silent memorial will live on, not just in me, but hopefully in others directly impacted by the loss of their son or brother, their classmate or teammate, their neighbor, their friend.
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