Thursday, December 13, 2012
The Burr Ridge Village Board unanimously appointed the veteran trustee to serve the remainder of resigning Mayor Gary Grasso’s term
Acting Burr Ridge Mayor Bob Sodikoff said Wednesday night he is leaning toward stepping down as a trustee so that the village board will have the maximum number of voting members. The mayor only votes in the case of a tie among the six trustees or on issues that require a supermajority of votes to be enacted. In the wake of Mayor Gary Grasso’s resignation Monday, there is no way for the board to break a tie. “I could remain as a trustee and serve as acting mayor, in which event I continue to vote,” Sodikoff noted. “[But] we’re missing the seventh vote if we ever need it.” He said the alternative was for him to serve only as acting mayor. “I would resign as a trustee and then a substitute trustee would be appointed by the board,” he …
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
In narrow vote, village board approves a new ordinance that would fine drivers $75 for the offense
It’s rare for there to be much drama surrounding a vote by the Hinsdale Village Board of Trustees, but there was some Tuesday night at Memorial Hall. Realizing that her vote was going to decide whether or not the village adopted a new ordinance establishing a $75 fine for distracted driving, Trustee Laura LaPlaca took a long pause before finally casting an affirmative vote. Trustee Bob Saigh, who had made clear his support for the idea, then voted yes to give the ordinance a 4-2 victory. For most of the meeting, it looked like the ordinance would be defeated. Only Saigh expressed unreserved support for it. In the end, his impassioned defense of the measure and the arguments presented in favor of it by Police Chief Brad Bloom swayed Trustee…
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The Clarendon Hills Village Board passed an ordinance that will, in partnership with Willowbrook, create an all-way stop and crosswalk at Holmes Avenue and 58th Street near Holmes Elementary School.
The Clarendon Hills Village Board voted unanimously to approve the placement of a new stop sign and crosswalk on Holmes Avenue at 58th Street that, along with another sign that is to be installed by Willowbrook, will allow Holmes Elementary School students to cross the busy road easily and make a clear path from the school to 55th Street. The Clarendon Hills Police Department performed an “observational” study of the area and confirmed the concerns of Clarendon Hills resident Roberta Schwinn, of 5705 Holmes Ave., who said at the Village Board’s Sept. 6 meeting that kids were without a safe crosswalk on Holmes and were crossing mid-block to get to school or catch school buses. “We wanted to provide one safe intersection for the kids to …
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Chris Elder and Bill Haarlow officially replaced Cindy Williams and Bob Schultz on the Hinsdale Village Board at Tuesday night's meeting.
Trustees Bob Schultz and Cindy Williams took markedly different approaches Tuesday night to their final meeting as Hinsdale Village Board members. Throughout the meeting, Schultz had plenty of comments on matters before the board. But when Village President Tom Cauley offered him a chance to make some parting remarks, Schultz simply said, "No, thanks." Williams, meanwhile, was largely silent during the meeting, but took the opportunity to conclude her tenure on the board with a closing statement. “First, I’d like to thank the village residents who gave me the honor of serving for the last eight years,” Williams said. “It was truly an honor.” She also thanked her four children, whom she said never complained about their mother missing …
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Village Board paves way for work on the scandal-halted project to resume.
The Hinsdale Village Board this month transferred agreements related to the Hamptons of Hinsdale residential development to the project’s new owner, Inland Real Estate Group of Oak Brook. The action will make it possible for work to resume on the development, which has been stalled since 2008 by federal court action. The condominium and townhouse development is located on 12.4 acres of land near the intersection of Grant and 57th streets, formerly the site of the L’Marquis apartment complex. In 2002, according to federal court documents, Wextrust Development Group of Norfolk, Va., purchased the property for $18 million. Three years later, the company began raising about $13.5 million to finance the Hamptons of Hinsdale. Wextrust planned to…
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Hinsdale Village President Tom Cauley says village goal is to return park to its former state
While a thunderstorm was unloading torrents of rain on Hinsdale Tuesday evening, Village President Tom Cauley was telling the village board that wet conditions at Veeck Park would prevent removal of mounds of unwanted dirt until summer. Cauley said the village was making “good progress” in negotiations with John Burns Construction of Orland Park and the Chicago engineering firm of Clark Dietz, Inc. to get the dirt removed, although how much each party is going to pay for the removal remains to be determined. “I’m hopeful that by the next board meeting we’ll have the issue resolved,” Cauley said. “But even if we do resolve it by next week, my understanding is the actual removal of the dirt will not take place until summer, and the reason …
41.7637
-87.9709
Veeck Park
701 E. Chicago Ave., Hinsdale, IL
/articles/wet-weather-delays-removal-of-veeck-park-dirt-piles
1394869
/locations/4088099
Friday, April 8, 2011
The only change from the draft budget involves moving up the purchase of a new SUV for the police department
While discussions of dogs and dirt dominated Tuesday’s Hinsdale Village Board meeting, trustees also attended to the important matter of passing a village budget for the fiscal year that begins May 1. The board had reviewed the $33.5 million budget at its previous meeting, so there was little debate. Trustee Bob Schultz, who had initiated the discussion at the March 15 meeting that led to a funding diversion from the skate park to the Burns Field warming house, again raised a question about funding for park improvements. This time, he questioned the expenditure of $35,000 for a walking path at Veeck Park. Schultz wondered if the path would get much use. “People walk the park now,” Hinsdale resident Bethany Priester responded. Schultz later…
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Plan to create berm stalls before Hinsdale Village Board
The Hinsdale Village Board Tuesday night appeared set to vote on an agreement that would have turned unwanted dirt piles at Veeck Park into a berm, but delayed action on the matter when holes began to appear in the plan. The dirt piles are left over from construction of a storm water treatment facility, a project begun in 2008. There has been disagreement over who is responsible for removing the excess dirt from the park, and the village has been holding up final payments to the project’s general contractor, John Burns Construction of Orland Park. Burns also has been at odds with the Chicago engineering firm of Clark Dietz, Inc., which provided the design work for the project. Village officials finally negotiated an agreement with Burns …
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
The Village Board splits 3-3 on the issue, with the decisive fourth "no" vote coming from Village President Tom Cauley.
Dogs remain canes non grata in most Hinsdale parks after the Village Board Tuesday night failed to approve a proposal that would have allowed canines in parks on leashes up to 10 feet in length. The only village park that dogs are allowed in is Katherine Legge Memorial, and then only in a specified area at specified times. The Park and Recreation Commission had recommended allowing dogs in other village parks, provided they were on a leash and not in picnic areas, playgrounds or athletic fields in use. This was a reversal of a January decision by the commission not to pursue changing the village ordinance, but only five of the nine commission members were present at that meeting. The clarity of the restrictions in an amended ordinance was …
Thursday, March 17, 2011
The board followed the suggestion of Trustee Bob Schultz to make the switch.
The Hinsdale Village Board discussed the village budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year for the first time Tuesday night, agreeing on only one revision to the $33.5 million draft budget. The board developed a consensus to eliminate $7,500 in funding for skate park improvements and divert the money instead to upgrades to the Burns Field warming house. Trustee Bob Schultz initiated the discussion that led to the funding switch. “The skate park funding, I question,” he said. “I think that money could be better spent on other park improvements.” “I’m not a huge advocate of the skate park,” Trustee Kim Angelo said, “but my guess is that, in the condition it’s in, it’s susceptible to broken-window syndrome. If we don’t do something, it’ll be an …
Steve Woodward
8:56 pm on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Nanny Statism, writ large. more ›