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.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
47TH STREET SAFETY HAZARDS NEED TO BE ADDRESSED -- AND MAY WELL BE
A fatal accident involving a 30-year-old Countryside woman struck by a passing vehicle as she attempted to hoist her child's stroller onto a raised curb at 47th Street and 8th Avenue in La Grange May 19 underscores the need for a comprehensive traffic and pedestrian study NOW in all area communities.
However, kudos are in order for Village Manager Robert Pilipiszyn for calling a special meeting June 2 to talk to the neighborhood about safety concerns aloing 47th Street and for asking the state to not only reduce speed on the roadway throughout town but to also turn over the street to the village so it can reduce the number of lanes, adding lots more parkway, turn lanes and, we can only hope, a safer commute and pedestrian atmosphere to boot.
Not only is the nearby intersection of 47th and East/Eberly Avenue another example of a potential fatality just waiting to happen, but so, too, are many intersections like the one where Cari Cook was killed -- and that is in a residential neighborhood.
The conundrum over 47th and East/Eberly is an issue often bandied about as a "what to do" scenario, but nothing is ever advanced to improve either vehicular or pedestrian traffic through the quasi- industrial/recreational crossing bounded on two corners by La Grange and the other two corners by McCook and Brookfield.
Rather than waiting for state or federal dollars to magically come streaming into local villages, the town leaders must sit down with their own department heads and residents -- as well as with their municipal neighbors -- and put safety first.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that many of the area sidewalks do not match up on either side of an intersection, that is where there are sidewalks.
And speaking as a disabled person who lately has been trying to master La Grange, Brookfield and Countryside streets, sidewalks and intersections often on crutches or via wheelchair, the task of getting around is a challenge to put it lightly.
In many areas, people who are disabled, pushing strollers or pulling wagons often find the supposed ADA-quality curb cuts to be anything but even.
And in the case of downtown La Grange, the mere task of visiting a store or restaurant located anywhere but the end of a block requires drivers to park in the middle of the block and pass behind sometimes a dozen other vehicles before being able to use a corner crosswalk to get onto the sidewalk.
As a result, curb cuts should not just be installed in the middle of downtown blocks, where convenient handicapped and "pregnant mom" spaces should also be available (like they are in the middle of the parking lot outside, say, JoAnn Fabrics in Countryside Plaza), but they should be routinely checked for settling and safety more frequently than they are.
The issue with Cari Cook may have something to do with speed or the indubitable rush motorists feel to beat the freight train congestion at 47th and East/Eberly, but then again it could be just a freak accident.
But it is clear it could have been avoided had the young mother not had to LIFT her baby's stroller onto the curb.
However, kudos are in order for Village Manager Robert Pilipiszyn for calling a special meeting June 2 to talk to the neighborhood about safety concerns aloing 47th Street and for asking the state to not only reduce speed on the roadway throughout town but to also turn over the street to the village so it can reduce the number of lanes, adding lots more parkway, turn lanes and, we can only hope, a safer commute and pedestrian atmosphere to boot.
Not only is the nearby intersection of 47th and East/Eberly Avenue another example of a potential fatality just waiting to happen, but so, too, are many intersections like the one where Cari Cook was killed -- and that is in a residential neighborhood.
The conundrum over 47th and East/Eberly is an issue often bandied about as a "what to do" scenario, but nothing is ever advanced to improve either vehicular or pedestrian traffic through the quasi- industrial/recreational crossing bounded on two corners by La Grange and the other two corners by McCook and Brookfield.
Rather than waiting for state or federal dollars to magically come streaming into local villages, the town leaders must sit down with their own department heads and residents -- as well as with their municipal neighbors -- and put safety first.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that many of the area sidewalks do not match up on either side of an intersection, that is where there are sidewalks.
And speaking as a disabled person who lately has been trying to master La Grange, Brookfield and Countryside streets, sidewalks and intersections often on crutches or via wheelchair, the task of getting around is a challenge to put it lightly.
In many areas, people who are disabled, pushing strollers or pulling wagons often find the supposed ADA-quality curb cuts to be anything but even.
And in the case of downtown La Grange, the mere task of visiting a store or restaurant located anywhere but the end of a block requires drivers to park in the middle of the block and pass behind sometimes a dozen other vehicles before being able to use a corner crosswalk to get onto the sidewalk.
As a result, curb cuts should not just be installed in the middle of downtown blocks, where convenient handicapped and "pregnant mom" spaces should also be available (like they are in the middle of the parking lot outside, say, JoAnn Fabrics in Countryside Plaza), but they should be routinely checked for settling and safety more frequently than they are.
The issue with Cari Cook may have something to do with speed or the indubitable rush motorists feel to beat the freight train congestion at 47th and East/Eberly, but then again it could be just a freak accident.
But it is clear it could have been avoided had the young mother not had to LIFT her baby's stroller onto the curb.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
MOVE TO LEGALIZE VIDEO POKER? THINK TWICE
Never mind using ex-governor Rod Blagojevich's stance against video poker legalization to justify public support of it -- even if a big Chicago daily chooses to point that out at the end of a story this week (May 11 Chicago Tribune) about a new push by leading Democrats to do so as a way to raise revenue.
Let's face it: video poker, Cherry Masters, whatever you want to call it, is already a big joke in this state AND just about every municipality outside La Grange.
Video poker, like some cigarette and billiards tables, are syndicate owned and operated.
Money made at these games is split between the business owner and the guys who furnish them -- religiously, by the way, days after the ones seized in well-publicized county police raids are trucked away then destroyed and sometimes burned by vice squads -- Guys, by the way, who just might want to break some legs if you cheat on your earnings statements. Guys that keep the local law enforcement and politicians (through regular campaign contributions, mind you) in line. How nice, huh?
Go to any bar or restaurant (or, say, the almost secret back room of Darcy Lynn's diner on Ogden Avenue in Lyons) and you will NOT see ANY video poker games at which full-grown adults are happily pumping twenty after fifty after one hundred dollar bills into, just to play poker, slots, other related games with half-naked cartoon women on the screens -- "FOR AMUSEMENT ONLY" -- according to unofficial handwritten signs slapped on them by sleazy business owners.
AND JUST FOR AMUSEMENT? HA!
If you stick around these places long enough, and are not obvious but observant, you will see illegal activity, illegal payouts to regular players just like it was a Vegas or Illinois riverboat casino or, say, a truck stop outside Baton Rouge. Money doesn't come out of the machine, but usually out of a cash box of some sort kept hidden behind the bar or in the proprietor's office. And the winnings are often sweet -- OH, AND BY THE WAY: tax-free! HOW 'bout that people??
But except for the occasional election year county sheriff's raid on a multitude of taverns
throughout the suburbs, most every municipal, county and state law enforcement agency ignores the problem. Local government could be making gobs of money busting these places for such payouts if they'd just take the time to do their jobs.
However, they can't, usually because the Liquor Commissioner (hmmm ... Who?), otherwise known as the Mayor overlooks, er, excuse me...... controls the disposition of all the licenses of liquor establishments that harbor the machines.
The "Commissioner" rarely, if ever, conducts disciplinary hearings on watering holes and pancake houses and VFW halls caught red-handed by other agencies. Occasionally they do and mete fines or minor suspensions against them. The toughest penalty I ever remember was carried out in the 1990's by then-Lyons Mayor David Visk, who shut down a tavern caught paying out winnings to video poker players and dealing drugs in the establishment. Another mayor in DuPage in the last decade ordered one bar owner closed on every major traditional drinking and partying holiday.
But local towns rarely crack down on video poker -- what I have long considered an expansion of illegal gambling that has flagrantly went on around these parts probably since the times illegal stills operated in local barns and garages during Prohibition. It's legalized in some states, but it's often very controversial.
So why should you care?
Well, folks, it seems our illustrious Democratic leaders in the House and Senate are solidly behind the legalization -- get this -- of the ILLEGAL payout portion of the otherwise boring and staid "amusement" device as a possible way to finance school construction projects and local government needs throughout the Land of Lincoln.
The measure -- backed by Senate President John Cullerton and House Speaker Michael Madigan, according to aides, in a May 11 published report -- was approved that day by a 9-2 vote of the Illinois House Executive Committee as legislators negotiated the go-ahead of a massive public works initiative before their scheduled May 31 adjournment in Springfield.
The idea is estimated to generate as much as $300 million annually through a proposed 25 percent tax on the now illegal payouts. WHICH makes me wonder: how do these trusty, clean-as-whistles lawmakers know how much is being made as a result of these games if the winnings are illegally paid out?
(I think I get it. Before we pass the law, let's all visit our friendly neighborhood watering hole or greasy spoon as the case may be, quaff a beer or coffee or two, then inquire oh so politely just how much they dole out in an average month to the regulars who amuse themselves at their video poker machines. Then times that by 12. I'm sure they won't mind filling us in.)
But wait a minute!
We really need money in this state, this town, this county and God knows we can't cut administrative fat or trips and conventions or pension contributions (forcing government workers to pay toward their own retirement like the rest of modern-day America does with 401K's and IR A's. O. M. G.!) or things like hiring relatives or building mini-golf courses nobody visits, laregly inaccessible parks or, for instance, $15 million village halls.
Might as well make recreational drugs and other narcotics legal as a way to pay for playgrounds and those worthless all-terrain assault boy-toys local SWAT teams have to protect them against the next terrorist attack in Bedford Park or Hodgkins. Guess what? People aren't just smoking, snorting and injecting drugs because they are having a good time. People make lots of money dealing this stuff! Maybe we could tax them, after all we know there are lots of illegal payoffs going on ... but we just largely ignore it.
Heck, those poor guys at just about any bar or diner can't blow smoke in nonsmoker's faces indoors anymore. We gotta give 'em a break; it's damn cold out there, or windy, or balmy, and they gotta stand the whole time. So let's finally recognize they're breaking the law and tax them for it. This is hypocrisy.
On the same note, why not legalize prostitution? We know people pay for it and those guys and gals sure do make some good money doing what they do.
Awww, we know it's illegal, taxpayers, but so is the ghost payrolling we overlook and the campaigning we do while we are supposed to be working on the government payroll and the contracts and jobs and appointments we give out to those fine people whom we twist arms and legs to fill up our campaign coffers.
And you know what? It's not just Blago who's into that kind of thing. It's a lot of other politicians, not just waiting for pensions and campaign fund payouts to kick in, who generally believe they are above the law. And, I guess, who believe the tavern owners and those good 'ol veterans and truckers are as well.
Gov. Pat Quinn, an advocate of a $26 billion construction program, has not said where he stands on the terrible idea.
But Democrat Frank Mautino of Spring Valley likes the idea and is looking for supporters. I can't wait to hear what has convinced them to rally behind it.
It's estimated there are about 65,000 of these machines in Illinois, many of which are licensed for a fee by the local municipality or county. But it's likely there are at least 65,000 more in the backrooms of warehouses and other storefronts and store 'fronts' all over the place. Heck, there's a place in Lyons, a big political contributor over the years, that houses scores of them.
The funny thing about Mautino's plan, IF it's going to be followed, is that wagering would be restricted to a max of 2 bucks a bet, with a max payout of 500 greenbacks. Heck I've often seen grown men with fistfulls of 20's and 50's childishly shoving them in the dollar slot one after another. TWO bucks?
Here's another good one: taverns would only be able to house three poker games, while truck stops, vet's halls and private or nonprofit social clubs could have up to five. (Excuse me, Mr. Speaker, just how many can we then keep running in the back room or the basement?!)
We're not yet sure how our local reps and senators feel about this stellar suggestion, but we'll update you when we know.
We are, however, happy to report that those two NO votes in committee came from a Mundelein Republican, Rep. Ed Sullivan -- who says if he was to vote for it, it'd have to pay for road repair before school upgrades -- and our friend Rep. Bob Biggins of nearby Elmhurst, who says there's enough gambling in Illinois already. Yay, Bob!
The whole thing makes me laugh and oh so suspicious of just who's giving whom how much, when and how. After all, while I am no supporter of Rod and all of his antics, it's funny that some of those criticizing him are willing to help mobsters and their minions (and probably more than a few mayors and cops ... OH, and our wonderful state, sorry) make money off of presently unenforced ILLEGAL criminal activity.
And they expect us all to sit back and accept this nonsense. We don't think so.
Speak up, Illinoisans. Don't let anyone shove this down your throats.
(please tell us what you think) Thanks.
Let's face it: video poker, Cherry Masters, whatever you want to call it, is already a big joke in this state AND just about every municipality outside La Grange.
Video poker, like some cigarette and billiards tables, are syndicate owned and operated.
Money made at these games is split between the business owner and the guys who furnish them -- religiously, by the way, days after the ones seized in well-publicized county police raids are trucked away then destroyed and sometimes burned by vice squads -- Guys, by the way, who just might want to break some legs if you cheat on your earnings statements. Guys that keep the local law enforcement and politicians (through regular campaign contributions, mind you) in line. How nice, huh?
Go to any bar or restaurant (or, say, the almost secret back room of Darcy Lynn's diner on Ogden Avenue in Lyons) and you will NOT see ANY video poker games at which full-grown adults are happily pumping twenty after fifty after one hundred dollar bills into, just to play poker, slots, other related games with half-naked cartoon women on the screens -- "FOR AMUSEMENT ONLY" -- according to unofficial handwritten signs slapped on them by sleazy business owners.
AND JUST FOR AMUSEMENT? HA!
If you stick around these places long enough, and are not obvious but observant, you will see illegal activity, illegal payouts to regular players just like it was a Vegas or Illinois riverboat casino or, say, a truck stop outside Baton Rouge. Money doesn't come out of the machine, but usually out of a cash box of some sort kept hidden behind the bar or in the proprietor's office. And the winnings are often sweet -- OH, AND BY THE WAY: tax-free! HOW 'bout that people??
But except for the occasional election year county sheriff's raid on a multitude of taverns
throughout the suburbs, most every municipal, county and state law enforcement agency ignores the problem. Local government could be making gobs of money busting these places for such payouts if they'd just take the time to do their jobs.
However, they can't, usually because the Liquor Commissioner (hmmm ... Who?), otherwise known as the Mayor overlooks, er, excuse me...... controls the disposition of all the licenses of liquor establishments that harbor the machines.
The "Commissioner" rarely, if ever, conducts disciplinary hearings on watering holes and pancake houses and VFW halls caught red-handed by other agencies. Occasionally they do and mete fines or minor suspensions against them. The toughest penalty I ever remember was carried out in the 1990's by then-Lyons Mayor David Visk, who shut down a tavern caught paying out winnings to video poker players and dealing drugs in the establishment. Another mayor in DuPage in the last decade ordered one bar owner closed on every major traditional drinking and partying holiday.
But local towns rarely crack down on video poker -- what I have long considered an expansion of illegal gambling that has flagrantly went on around these parts probably since the times illegal stills operated in local barns and garages during Prohibition. It's legalized in some states, but it's often very controversial.
So why should you care?
Well, folks, it seems our illustrious Democratic leaders in the House and Senate are solidly behind the legalization -- get this -- of the ILLEGAL payout portion of the otherwise boring and staid "amusement" device as a possible way to finance school construction projects and local government needs throughout the Land of Lincoln.
The measure -- backed by Senate President John Cullerton and House Speaker Michael Madigan, according to aides, in a May 11 published report -- was approved that day by a 9-2 vote of the Illinois House Executive Committee as legislators negotiated the go-ahead of a massive public works initiative before their scheduled May 31 adjournment in Springfield.
The idea is estimated to generate as much as $300 million annually through a proposed 25 percent tax on the now illegal payouts. WHICH makes me wonder: how do these trusty, clean-as-whistles lawmakers know how much is being made as a result of these games if the winnings are illegally paid out?
(I think I get it. Before we pass the law, let's all visit our friendly neighborhood watering hole or greasy spoon as the case may be, quaff a beer or coffee or two, then inquire oh so politely just how much they dole out in an average month to the regulars who amuse themselves at their video poker machines. Then times that by 12. I'm sure they won't mind filling us in.)
But wait a minute!
We really need money in this state, this town, this county and God knows we can't cut administrative fat or trips and conventions or pension contributions (forcing government workers to pay toward their own retirement like the rest of modern-day America does with 401K's and IR A's. O. M. G.!) or things like hiring relatives or building mini-golf courses nobody visits, laregly inaccessible parks or, for instance, $15 million village halls.
Might as well make recreational drugs and other narcotics legal as a way to pay for playgrounds and those worthless all-terrain assault boy-toys local SWAT teams have to protect them against the next terrorist attack in Bedford Park or Hodgkins. Guess what? People aren't just smoking, snorting and injecting drugs because they are having a good time. People make lots of money dealing this stuff! Maybe we could tax them, after all we know there are lots of illegal payoffs going on ... but we just largely ignore it.
Heck, those poor guys at just about any bar or diner can't blow smoke in nonsmoker's faces indoors anymore. We gotta give 'em a break; it's damn cold out there, or windy, or balmy, and they gotta stand the whole time. So let's finally recognize they're breaking the law and tax them for it. This is hypocrisy.
On the same note, why not legalize prostitution? We know people pay for it and those guys and gals sure do make some good money doing what they do.
Awww, we know it's illegal, taxpayers, but so is the ghost payrolling we overlook and the campaigning we do while we are supposed to be working on the government payroll and the contracts and jobs and appointments we give out to those fine people whom we twist arms and legs to fill up our campaign coffers.
And you know what? It's not just Blago who's into that kind of thing. It's a lot of other politicians, not just waiting for pensions and campaign fund payouts to kick in, who generally believe they are above the law. And, I guess, who believe the tavern owners and those good 'ol veterans and truckers are as well.
Gov. Pat Quinn, an advocate of a $26 billion construction program, has not said where he stands on the terrible idea.
But Democrat Frank Mautino of Spring Valley likes the idea and is looking for supporters. I can't wait to hear what has convinced them to rally behind it.
It's estimated there are about 65,000 of these machines in Illinois, many of which are licensed for a fee by the local municipality or county. But it's likely there are at least 65,000 more in the backrooms of warehouses and other storefronts and store 'fronts' all over the place. Heck, there's a place in Lyons, a big political contributor over the years, that houses scores of them.
The funny thing about Mautino's plan, IF it's going to be followed, is that wagering would be restricted to a max of 2 bucks a bet, with a max payout of 500 greenbacks. Heck I've often seen grown men with fistfulls of 20's and 50's childishly shoving them in the dollar slot one after another. TWO bucks?
Here's another good one: taverns would only be able to house three poker games, while truck stops, vet's halls and private or nonprofit social clubs could have up to five. (Excuse me, Mr. Speaker, just how many can we then keep running in the back room or the basement?!)
We're not yet sure how our local reps and senators feel about this stellar suggestion, but we'll update you when we know.
We are, however, happy to report that those two NO votes in committee came from a Mundelein Republican, Rep. Ed Sullivan -- who says if he was to vote for it, it'd have to pay for road repair before school upgrades -- and our friend Rep. Bob Biggins of nearby Elmhurst, who says there's enough gambling in Illinois already. Yay, Bob!
The whole thing makes me laugh and oh so suspicious of just who's giving whom how much, when and how. After all, while I am no supporter of Rod and all of his antics, it's funny that some of those criticizing him are willing to help mobsters and their minions (and probably more than a few mayors and cops ... OH, and our wonderful state, sorry) make money off of presently unenforced ILLEGAL criminal activity.
And they expect us all to sit back and accept this nonsense. We don't think so.
Speak up, Illinoisans. Don't let anyone shove this down your throats.
(please tell us what you think) Thanks.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
ACCESS INABILITY
Lyons Township High School District 204 is a fine institution with amazingly large -- and might I add: very clean and seemingly safe -- facilities, but the School Board and administration could go a long way toward doing a better job of welcoming visitors to nighttime events.
Face it, each campus is huge because of the need to accommodate so many students, classrooms and programs and the parking lots are just as huge, and, by the way, very well-maintained.
But we attended an event at South campus in Western Springs the other night (the Monday, March 30th candidate forum presented by the La Grange Area League of Women Voters) and found it rather confusing and frustrating just where to park and which entrance to go in. They are a least a block or two apart.
I admit that although I am temporarily wheelchair-bound (and did not call ahead to check on accommodations) and did not find any indoor or outdoor ramps or curb cuts unsafe, the parking spaces for the disabled are quite a distance from each entrance. I shudder to imagine being on crutches or a walker or being older and less able-bodied and having to walk that distance just to get inside or back to my vehicle.
But I, and the wife of a high school board candidate, arriving early (thank God), found it difficult at best where to enter. There were no signs anywhere to be found, nobody directing visitors in person and even night custodians had no clue the forum was being held let alone where it was.
Granted, I didn't do my homework. I just knew it was being held at South campus. But I also learned part of the problem was the lack of attention the local print media affords the La Grange Area League of Women Voters (who hosted the event and probably should have posted their own directional signs and maybe a few volunteer building guides inside and outside to help out).
The gymnasium doors were illuminated and open and it appeared volleyball practice was going on in there, there were night adult courses in progress in some classrooms and there was the forum. Not knowing which way to go, we chose one of the two obvious options (the wrong one, of course) and had to walk (and roll) the length of a few football fields to get to our destination and back. Glad it was a warmer than usual night (and yes, I could sure use the exercise).
That is something we at OnLaGrange.com plan to change. The League and its varied audiences can be assured we will carry detailed information about all of their forums and seminars from now on,most likely in The News or The Community blogs.
Even signs or knowledgeable staff would have helped (then again so could an electric scooter), but we learn from our mistakes, I guess.
I did, and I hope LT and the League will as well.
Face it, each campus is huge because of the need to accommodate so many students, classrooms and programs and the parking lots are just as huge, and, by the way, very well-maintained.
But we attended an event at South campus in Western Springs the other night (the Monday, March 30th candidate forum presented by the La Grange Area League of Women Voters) and found it rather confusing and frustrating just where to park and which entrance to go in. They are a least a block or two apart.
I admit that although I am temporarily wheelchair-bound (and did not call ahead to check on accommodations) and did not find any indoor or outdoor ramps or curb cuts unsafe, the parking spaces for the disabled are quite a distance from each entrance. I shudder to imagine being on crutches or a walker or being older and less able-bodied and having to walk that distance just to get inside or back to my vehicle.
But I, and the wife of a high school board candidate, arriving early (thank God), found it difficult at best where to enter. There were no signs anywhere to be found, nobody directing visitors in person and even night custodians had no clue the forum was being held let alone where it was.
Granted, I didn't do my homework. I just knew it was being held at South campus. But I also learned part of the problem was the lack of attention the local print media affords the La Grange Area League of Women Voters (who hosted the event and probably should have posted their own directional signs and maybe a few volunteer building guides inside and outside to help out).
The gymnasium doors were illuminated and open and it appeared volleyball practice was going on in there, there were night adult courses in progress in some classrooms and there was the forum. Not knowing which way to go, we chose one of the two obvious options (the wrong one, of course) and had to walk (and roll) the length of a few football fields to get to our destination and back. Glad it was a warmer than usual night (and yes, I could sure use the exercise).
That is something we at OnLaGrange.com plan to change. The League and its varied audiences can be assured we will carry detailed information about all of their forums and seminars from now on,most likely in The News or The Community blogs.
Even signs or knowledgeable staff would have helped (then again so could an electric scooter), but we learn from our mistakes, I guess.
I did, and I hope LT and the League will as well.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
TWITTER LA DI, TWITTER LA DA
I am not a Twitterer. In fact, I'm just starting to master this 'posting of meandering thoughts and other important stories on the website' thing.
But this, I guess, is my twitter -- yet I won't be boring you with entries like 'Jim is about to go to sleep now. He's had a long day going into a matinee at the La Grange Theatre and sneaking into as many other movies as possible in one day.' (although I do admit that's fun)
But I will try to amuse you with the kinds of things a newsman such as myself wonders about, things I just can't seem to pull together a whole darn column about. So here goes:
1. This is my biggest pet peeve about La Grange and I just realized in a chat with Mayor Liz Asperger over coffee last week that even she was unaware of this faux pas: take a drive over the Ogden Avenue bridge from Brookfield into La Grange and keep to the right lane heading west, preferably in the daytime. As you approach the left turn onto Burlington Avenue, keep an eye out for the yellow (road is approaching on your left) caution sign at the top of the bridge. Look closely or you might miss it. Just like I tell my favorite restaurant owners (yes, Steve, we still need to meet) about the glaring mistakes, grammar and spelling and punctuation errors on their menus, I feel obliged to repeat my rant about signs. Since this is an educated community, the local hot dog shop does not sell Hot Dog's or Taco's. and there is NOT a Jewel's in La Grange Park or a Kmart's over in Bridgeview. And, sign-makers, there is no such road as BurliGton Avenue.
2. I've been keeping a close eye on what retail is NOT coming in to the new La Grange Pointe senior housing complex at La Grange Road and Cossitt Avenue and stopped in my tracks the other day thinking something had changed. But it was the clever marketing genius of the folks over there who finally decided to fill those vacant windows with a more colorful artist rendition of the La Grange streetscape -- undoubtedly to attract more retail and residential tenants. Let's hope it works.
3. Glad to see Francesca's is finally open for business in the old Via Bella space to the immediate north of the new Pointe building. Still waiting on a permanent sign, the owners have plastered a red-on-black banner on the facade advertising they are 'Now Open' for business. Anyone wondering what happened to Via Bella? They are now selling pizza out of a small shop at Plainfield Road and 55th Street in neighboring Countryside.
4. If that new Chicago Sports t-shirt and baseball memorabilia shop tucked into a space just south of Starbucks has familiar-looking stock, that should be the case if you are a Cubs fan. They operate their business right next to the 7-Eleven on Addison Street in Wrigleyville every season. That's less than three weeks away!
5. I get angry when I do the drive-thru at any fast-food restaurant and I am asked to please 'wait over there.' Call me crazy, but I used to go on a rant about how the concept started eons ago with Jack-in-the-Box (which no kid at the window has ever even heard of) and how the whole idea was to order, drive thru and pick up your food. I always used to carry on about how their sign out front doesn't say 'Joe's Burgers Drive Thru And Wait Over There' DOES it??
'No sir,' they used to tell me, but 'you still need to park over there.' One girl even threatened to call the cops on me one day.
So I threw in the towel this year and as one of many goofy resolutions (like no more pretzels with peanut butter or read the instructions before using products I buy or receive from now on, especially cars and Blackberries) I make, promised myself, 'self, it's OK to park over there.' So I did.
Then comes last week, when the burger joint at La Grange and Ogden wants to charge me a quarter for a BBQ sauce. Because I asked for it with my fries and it only comes with Chicken Nuggets. Ask for ketchup and you'd think you just cashed in your lucrative stocks for that tomato farm you invested in a few years back. I mean a heaping handful.
So I had to ask: what's up with this? The manager informs me the nugget sauces cost the store 12 cents apiece, whereas the ketchup packets are only a penny or two. Why McDonald's doesn't carry Heinz is another story well worth Googling.
So, again, I adapted.
Then comes Free Coffee Mocha Mondays.
A couple weeks back, round about 9 p.m., I had a thirst for one. NOT available, I was told.
They ran out of lids. Harumph!
6. If there is ever another Spaghetti Dinner at First Baptist of La Grange Church, it is a must-attend event -- even though they delivered it to my car door in the parking lot when I couldn't get out my car. The best outside of any good pasta restaurant and better than some others!
7. I miss Beautiful Day.
8. The most popular places for the homeless used to be in the old library or in the vestibules of such popular hangouts as Fannie May Candies, Starbucks and benches outside 7-Eleven. But lately, it seems the downtrodden have found refuge in the new parking deck, where the lobby area is heated day and night. Police seem to be doing their best lately to keep the place free of such squatters. Next they'll be showering up in the fountain. Yikes.
9. When are the officials of La Grange, Brookfield and McCook finally going to get together and seriously discuss what to do to improve traffic and pedestrian safety at 47th and East/Eberly? The four-way stop, at any time of day or night, is a clear indication that NObody listens to the teacher in traffic school.
10. And will the guy with the Christmas lights STILL on his top-floor balcony overlooking the Police Department parking lot and Chase drive-thru facility finally realize the holiday season is over with? I know this sounds sooo suburban of me, but I think we need an ordinance setting fines or community service for decoration violators ... even for the stores that start displaying Easter stuff in February.
But this, I guess, is my twitter -- yet I won't be boring you with entries like 'Jim is about to go to sleep now. He's had a long day going into a matinee at the La Grange Theatre and sneaking into as many other movies as possible in one day.' (although I do admit that's fun)
But I will try to amuse you with the kinds of things a newsman such as myself wonders about, things I just can't seem to pull together a whole darn column about. So here goes:
1. This is my biggest pet peeve about La Grange and I just realized in a chat with Mayor Liz Asperger over coffee last week that even she was unaware of this faux pas: take a drive over the Ogden Avenue bridge from Brookfield into La Grange and keep to the right lane heading west, preferably in the daytime. As you approach the left turn onto Burlington Avenue, keep an eye out for the yellow (road is approaching on your left) caution sign at the top of the bridge. Look closely or you might miss it. Just like I tell my favorite restaurant owners (yes, Steve, we still need to meet) about the glaring mistakes, grammar and spelling and punctuation errors on their menus, I feel obliged to repeat my rant about signs. Since this is an educated community, the local hot dog shop does not sell Hot Dog's or Taco's. and there is NOT a Jewel's in La Grange Park or a Kmart's over in Bridgeview. And, sign-makers, there is no such road as BurliGton Avenue.
2. I've been keeping a close eye on what retail is NOT coming in to the new La Grange Pointe senior housing complex at La Grange Road and Cossitt Avenue and stopped in my tracks the other day thinking something had changed. But it was the clever marketing genius of the folks over there who finally decided to fill those vacant windows with a more colorful artist rendition of the La Grange streetscape -- undoubtedly to attract more retail and residential tenants. Let's hope it works.
3. Glad to see Francesca's is finally open for business in the old Via Bella space to the immediate north of the new Pointe building. Still waiting on a permanent sign, the owners have plastered a red-on-black banner on the facade advertising they are 'Now Open' for business. Anyone wondering what happened to Via Bella? They are now selling pizza out of a small shop at Plainfield Road and 55th Street in neighboring Countryside.
4. If that new Chicago Sports t-shirt and baseball memorabilia shop tucked into a space just south of Starbucks has familiar-looking stock, that should be the case if you are a Cubs fan. They operate their business right next to the 7-Eleven on Addison Street in Wrigleyville every season. That's less than three weeks away!
5. I get angry when I do the drive-thru at any fast-food restaurant and I am asked to please 'wait over there.' Call me crazy, but I used to go on a rant about how the concept started eons ago with Jack-in-the-Box (which no kid at the window has ever even heard of) and how the whole idea was to order, drive thru and pick up your food. I always used to carry on about how their sign out front doesn't say 'Joe's Burgers Drive Thru And Wait Over There' DOES it??
'No sir,' they used to tell me, but 'you still need to park over there.' One girl even threatened to call the cops on me one day.
So I threw in the towel this year and as one of many goofy resolutions (like no more pretzels with peanut butter or read the instructions before using products I buy or receive from now on, especially cars and Blackberries) I make, promised myself, 'self, it's OK to park over there.' So I did.
Then comes last week, when the burger joint at La Grange and Ogden wants to charge me a quarter for a BBQ sauce. Because I asked for it with my fries and it only comes with Chicken Nuggets. Ask for ketchup and you'd think you just cashed in your lucrative stocks for that tomato farm you invested in a few years back. I mean a heaping handful.
So I had to ask: what's up with this? The manager informs me the nugget sauces cost the store 12 cents apiece, whereas the ketchup packets are only a penny or two. Why McDonald's doesn't carry Heinz is another story well worth Googling.
So, again, I adapted.
Then comes Free Coffee Mocha Mondays.
A couple weeks back, round about 9 p.m., I had a thirst for one. NOT available, I was told.
They ran out of lids. Harumph!
6. If there is ever another Spaghetti Dinner at First Baptist of La Grange Church, it is a must-attend event -- even though they delivered it to my car door in the parking lot when I couldn't get out my car. The best outside of any good pasta restaurant and better than some others!
7. I miss Beautiful Day.
8. The most popular places for the homeless used to be in the old library or in the vestibules of such popular hangouts as Fannie May Candies, Starbucks and benches outside 7-Eleven. But lately, it seems the downtrodden have found refuge in the new parking deck, where the lobby area is heated day and night. Police seem to be doing their best lately to keep the place free of such squatters. Next they'll be showering up in the fountain. Yikes.
9. When are the officials of La Grange, Brookfield and McCook finally going to get together and seriously discuss what to do to improve traffic and pedestrian safety at 47th and East/Eberly? The four-way stop, at any time of day or night, is a clear indication that NObody listens to the teacher in traffic school.
10. And will the guy with the Christmas lights STILL on his top-floor balcony overlooking the Police Department parking lot and Chase drive-thru facility finally realize the holiday season is over with? I know this sounds sooo suburban of me, but I think we need an ordinance setting fines or community service for decoration violators ... even for the stores that start displaying Easter stuff in February.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
PAYING IT FORWARD: BACK AT 'CHA!
Welcome back! To you, that is, but mostly from me, after a brief hiatus due to a number of complications both medical (surgical that is) and mechanical (OK, my car and computer blew up, again) and letting the holiday madness take control -- proving that yes, even us dyed-in-the-wool 24/7 newshounds need to take a break sometimes.
Anyway, it's me, the big tall bearded guy, trying not to limp around, always ferreting out the latest "goooood staw-wee" (as the Sun Times' late great Harry Golden used to say every time he scooped his cigar-chomping City Hall pressroom peers). And this year is no different.
But with Barack taking office next week? Isn't He, as it were, the story of the week?
Maybe, if you're sick of hearing about Blago or are a fan of La Grange's own -- the locally famous -- Lawn Rangers, who prepped for their inaugural parade appearance Monday night at Palmer Place and deserve second-billing, top-of-the-fold coverage if I had a front page.
(Then I'd cover those endorsements we missed, the continued, disputed sale of a piece of Gordon Park and the continued undisputed existence of the still-standing empty Y, why we no longer see the lady in black or that Bible-thumpin' loud man at La Grange & Ogden, Cafe 36's national appearance on FOX-TV's "Kitchen Nightmares" tonight, even that great movie with Paul Rudd and the guy who played Stiffler still playing for $3.50 at the La Grange Theatre or why the clock that should have been given to Jerry Burjan rarely, if ever, sports the correct time.)
But THE HOTTEST La Grange political story this side of Harlem, Cicero or Austin, heck Fifth Avenue (La Grange Road for you young tykes and grandmas who don't remember), depending, of course, on where you hang your hat and where your Chicago border is (since that is where our beleaguered governor prefers to live and work and attend baseball games) involves a reform-minded politician being accused of requiring that some citizens to pay if they want to play.
I wish I was referring to that latest somebody who actually had the chutzpah to file petitions next week challenging the "recommended" caucus slate, especially after all that hoopla over purpose and bylaws and future, conflicts of interest, a whole 20-something delegates voting at times and why oh why the former Park Board prez was not endorsed. Oooh La La?
No thank you ma'am. Like a reader once wrote to me about the alarming news concerning prohibited first-floor retail swing dancing in downtown La Grange ('What next? Bendable straws?' Ha!) ... Oh my my, La Grange. Oh my my.
(SEE 'THE NEWS' BLOG TODAY AND WATCH THE TONGUES START WAGGIN' IN THAT OTHER BIG GUY'S COFFEE SHOP. THIS IS BIG NEWS!)
In my estimation, that means stick around, wander back to the main page, click on 'The Talk' blog and Read On, loyal readers. Then register on our site (if you aren't signed up already) and let us know what YOU think. Boy I love this competition thing.
Anyway, it's me, the big tall bearded guy, trying not to limp around, always ferreting out the latest "goooood staw-wee" (as the Sun Times' late great Harry Golden used to say every time he scooped his cigar-chomping City Hall pressroom peers). And this year is no different.
But with Barack taking office next week? Isn't He, as it were, the story of the week?
Maybe, if you're sick of hearing about Blago or are a fan of La Grange's own -- the locally famous -- Lawn Rangers, who prepped for their inaugural parade appearance Monday night at Palmer Place and deserve second-billing, top-of-the-fold coverage if I had a front page.
(Then I'd cover those endorsements we missed, the continued, disputed sale of a piece of Gordon Park and the continued undisputed existence of the still-standing empty Y, why we no longer see the lady in black or that Bible-thumpin' loud man at La Grange & Ogden, Cafe 36's national appearance on FOX-TV's "Kitchen Nightmares" tonight, even that great movie with Paul Rudd and the guy who played Stiffler still playing for $3.50 at the La Grange Theatre or why the clock that should have been given to Jerry Burjan rarely, if ever, sports the correct time.)
But THE HOTTEST La Grange political story this side of Harlem, Cicero or Austin, heck Fifth Avenue (La Grange Road for you young tykes and grandmas who don't remember), depending, of course, on where you hang your hat and where your Chicago border is (since that is where our beleaguered governor prefers to live and work and attend baseball games) involves a reform-minded politician being accused of requiring that some citizens to pay if they want to play.
I wish I was referring to that latest somebody who actually had the chutzpah to file petitions next week challenging the "recommended" caucus slate, especially after all that hoopla over purpose and bylaws and future, conflicts of interest, a whole 20-something delegates voting at times and why oh why the former Park Board prez was not endorsed. Oooh La La?
No thank you ma'am. Like a reader once wrote to me about the alarming news concerning prohibited first-floor retail swing dancing in downtown La Grange ('What next? Bendable straws?' Ha!) ... Oh my my, La Grange. Oh my my.
(SEE 'THE NEWS' BLOG TODAY AND WATCH THE TONGUES START WAGGIN' IN THAT OTHER BIG GUY'S COFFEE SHOP. THIS IS BIG NEWS!)
In my estimation, that means stick around, wander back to the main page, click on 'The Talk' blog and Read On, loyal readers. Then register on our site (if you aren't signed up already) and let us know what YOU think. Boy I love this competition thing.
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