In Case You Missed It… August 2012

| August 10, 2012

Quigley Calls for Conversation on Gun Control

Recently, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) released the following statement, encouraging his colleagues in Congress to open a dialog and find the common ground on gun policy: “Six people were shot inside of fifteen minutes in Chicago last night. Seven victims were killed last weekend, with dozens more injured by gunfire.  In the hours following the horrific tragedy in Colorado, we paused to reflect and sent our prayers to families grieving an unimaginable loss.   “But now it is time to talk about commonsense gun control, despite the NRA who say that doing so would be exploiting the situation. If we can’t talk about guns following a tragedy, we wouldn’t have been able to talk after Tucson or Fort Hood or Virginia Tech or sadly, any weekend in Chicago.  “We have to talk about how to keep dangerous weapons out of dangerous hands. We have to talk about the gun show loophole. We have talk about the recent Supreme Court ruling which determined the Second Amendment is not an unlimited right. We have to acknowledge that a high-capacity magazine is not necessary to defend one’s home or used to hunt anything but people.  We can’t let the extremists silence the debate, or there will be no end to senseless shootings.   “It’s time to start this conversation and stop the violence.” Rep. Quigley, now in his second term in Congress, has a long history of pushing for commonsense gun control reforms and has specifically called for closing the gun show loophole.  In this Congress, he has introduced the Border Security Enhancement Act and the Trafficking Reduction and Criminal Enforcement (TRACE) Act, both of which would provide the ATF with the resources it needs to effectively combat illegal gun flow in America.  Quigley also spearheaded the effort to file a “friend of the court” amicus brief, urging the Supreme Court to allow Chicago’s handgun ban to stand.

 

A Call for Steady Water Rates

ELMWOOD PARK – Village President Pete Silvestri is calling on the Village Board to hold Village water rates steady for 2013, avoiding a 15% increase that had been scheduled to take effect in January.

“I have always promised to evaluate our needs on an on-going basis to see if and when we can responsibly offer relief to residents and businesses,” Silvestri said. “After discussions with the Village Manager and others, I am prepared to ask the Board to amend the Water Rate Ordinance to suspend  the scheduled water rate increase which was to take place in 2013. Water rates will not increase next year.”

Like 140 other municipalities, Elmwood Park has been forced to pay increased rates due to Chicago’s decision to increase its water rates by 70 percent over the next 4 years. Elmwood Park increased its own water rates by the same percentage as the Chicago rate increase, and no more. Even with the increase, Elmwood Park’s current water rates are in line with other local water rates.

“I believe we need to take action now to do what we can to offer some relief to homeowners and businesses, while also remaining committed to the long term capital needs of our water and sewer system,” Silvestri said.

 

Rosemont Happenings

Another new venue has opened up in Rosemont’s MB Financial Park. Zanies Comedy Club cut the ribbon the weekend of July 6th amide fanfare and special guests. It joins the already opened Five Roses Pub, King’s Bowling Alley, and Adobe Gila’s Mexican Restaurant. Soon to open will be the Park Tavern, Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill, My Big Fat Greek Restaurant and the 20,000 square foot Hofbrauhause Chicago, all of which should be opening between now and October.

A vision by the late Mayor Donald Stephens over 20 years ago will finally come to fruition. A Westerly extension of Balmoral Avenue in Rosemont to Bessie Coleman Drive near O’Hare’s International Terminal will hopefully be completed by the end of 2013. This extension will allow a second entrance/exit from O’Hare which will filter travelers into Rosemont and their numerous hotels, entertainment district, fashion outlet mall, theater, sports arena and convention center. Balmoral will extend over Mannheim Road and link with Bessie Coleman Drive. An exit for southbound traffic onto Balmoral will be built at Mannheim. Widening of Mannheim Road from Irving Park Road on the south to a point north of Higgins Road is also included in the project.

By a unanimous vote by the Rosemont Village Board, residents who own residential property and live there will be eligible to receive a check from the village that could be as much as $3,465. Residents will need to fill out an application form starting on August 1st. Over $1 million in grant money is distributed every year to residents. The money comes from the village’s budget. The grant money is intended to keep local recipients’ properties updated.

Keeps on growing! Construction of a new three-story 50,000 sq. ft. building should begin by winter and be completed by next summer. The building will house the Big Ten College athletic conference, A Fogo de Chao Brazilian steakhouse restaurant and a small Big Ten museum. The new building will be located in the MB Financial Park just south of the new Hofbrauhaus beer hall.

 

Extended Power Outage For Schiller Park Library

After the storm on July 7th, the Schiller Park Library lost power due to a ComEd utility pole uprooting and falling on a nearby garage. As a result, the library’s electric, phone and cable lines were destroyed. After inspection by ComEd, it was determined that the entire electrical wiring system of the library as well as the main electrical box had to be replaced due to corrosion. An emergency library board meeting was held and bids were immediately taken to repair the problems.   The work has encountered some snags along the way, but should be open now.  Estimated costs to repair the damage was over $30,000.

 

Park Ridge

Two possible candidates have come forth to announce their intentions to run in the April, 2013 election. Larry Ryles, currently a member of the Park Ridge Police Chief’s Advisory Task Force, has an election committee named, “Larry Ryles for Mayor of Park Ridge.”  In the 2nd Ward, Shawn O’Leary started a Facebook page entitled, “Shawn O’Leary for the 2nd Ward.”  Ryles will be running against the incumbent, Mayor Dave Schmidt and O’Leary, if he decides he can fully commit to the position, will be running against Rich DiPietro.

Whole Foods is moving forward in their plans to construct a store at the intersection of W. Touhy and S. Washington Avenues.  They are currently meeting with the Park Ridge commissions to be sure they are in compliance with local village codes and ordinances.

 

Big Lots Coming Soon to Franklin Park

The empty K-Mart building will finally be getting a tenant. Big Lots will be taking over about half of the 80,000 square foot building at 10205 Grand Avenue in Franklin Park. Renovations are underway and the store is expected to open in about three to four months.

 

Fresher at the Markets

Norridge held its first Farmer’s Market this summer in the parking lot just east of the Sieb Center, 7774 W. Irving Park Road. From baked goods to zucchini, the market offers a variety of fresh products. The next market is scheduled for August 15 from 2 to 6pm.

And don’t forget the other area markets that are taking place; Every Saturday in Park Ridge and Oak Park; every other Saturday in Franklin Park (next scheduled date is August 11th and Tuesdays in Schiller Park from 2-7pm.  Don’t miss out on summer’s bountiful, fresh produce, fruits and other great products.

 

Laptops Delivered to Leyden Schools

Every student, 3,300, in East and West Leyden High Schools will be receiving a new Chromebook computer for the upcoming school year. They were delivered on July 19th. Teachers are currently undergoing professional development in how to utilize these computers into their lesson plans.

 

Terrified Customers at Elmwood Park Staples

Store employees and customers were running from two dogs that entered a Staples store and terrorized them. The dogs were being chased by animal control officers when they ran into the store barking and snarling. At one point, people jumped up on the counters and the dogs put their front paws on the counters trying to get at them. The dogs were described as an Akita and a Napoleon mastiff.   When police and animal control officers arrived on the scene, they used pepper spray to subdue the animals. They then used food to lure the dogs toward them so a control pole could be placed around their neck. The dogs were caught, placed in cages and then taken to the Elmwood-Grove Animal Hospital. The owner was ticketed for violating village ordinances.

 

Fatal Accident in Franklin Park

Marcial Marias-Quevedo, 41, of the 3000 block of Prairie Street in Franklin Park was killed while walking across Mannheim Road on July 22nd.   He was struck by a 2011 Dodge pickup truck driven by Jamie O’Malley, 37, of Chicago.  O’Malley is a Cook County Sheriff’s deputy who was off duty at the time and driving his own personal vehicle. He failed a field sobriety test and refused a Breathalyzer test. Ninety minutes after the accident, his blood alcohol level tested at .105, above the legal limit of .08.  He was charged with aggravated DUI which requires a mandatory prison sentence of 3 to 14 years upon conviction. Arresting officers reported O’Malley stating at the time of the accident, “Oh God, I hope I didn’t kill this guy.” He is being held in lieu of a $150,000 D bond. He was due in court July 30th.

 

Leyden Teacher Retires

After 47 years, East Leyden High School teacher Ken Monahan retired at the end of June. Monahan taught Spanish and French, has a Masters in Romance languages and he also speaks Italian and Portuguese. He has a Ph.D. in Spanish. Since his wife retired last fall, Monahan decided to join her. They plan on traveling and he will continue to teach adult education. Congratulations Mr. Monahan!

 

The “Hip” Looks to Expand

Norridge residents gathered at the July 11th Village Board meeting in Norridge to express their concerns over a proposed expansion project at the Harlem Irving Plaza. Issues were raised over the proposed Sports Authority, the fear of loss of the residential character of the neighborhood, truck traffic, placement of dumpsters, and light pollution from a proposed parking lot.  There was also concern that there were just too many meetings to attend.  Unfortunately, more meetings are still scheduled.

 

Seeking More Tax Revenues

The Park District of Franklin Park is looking to annex multiple properties within the boundaries of Franklin Park, which would mean those property owners would most likely be paying property taxes for the first time to the district. Although property owners and the public were able to speak at the July 24th Board of Commissioner’s meeting, they would have no say in the decision to annex the properties. The addresses of the properties are:  North Mannheim: 2930, 2926, 2916. Crown Road: 10448, 10454, 10500, 10506, 10518, 10524, 10530, 10536, 10542, 10543, 10548, 10549, 10537, 10531, 10525, 10554, 10507, 10431. West Grand Avenue: 10468, 10474, 10478, 10500, 10622, 10628. Latoria Lane: 2917, 2924, 2912.  The attorney for the Park District, Tom Hoffman, stated he will be presenting another group of parcels to the Board in the next few months.

 

Scout Earns Eagle Rank

Congratulations to Eric Zingraf of Franklin Park member of Boy Scout Troop 4152 who earned his Eagle Scout rank on July 22nd during their Court of Honor. He’s not done yet; he plans on earning all three of his Eagle palms twice. Each palm requires earning five merit badges.

 

Letter by the Editor

With the Olympics in full swing at the time of this issue’s printing, I couldn’t help but take notice of the very first world record that was set at the London Olympics. Legally blind archer Im Donghyun broke his own record in the 72 arrow mark and helped South Korea set a team record in the ranking round. The record he set in London broke the record he set in Turkey in May by three points with a score of 699. Im has only 10 percent vision in his left eye and 20 percent in his right. He sees only blurred colors and lines when he peers toward the target about 76 yards away. Im, who is 26, does not wear glasses in competition and relies on distinguishing between the bright colors of the target.  He continually hits that big yellow circle in the middle time and time again.  I found this feat absolutely amazing and just wish to bring it to everyone’s attention “in case you missed it.” It only goes to show what pure determination can accomplish. Most of us take our sight for granted and I could not imagine what it would be like to walk around in a blur every day. This man did not let that stop him and instead of saying, “I can’t”, he went on to set world records with his amazing clarity of mind and focus. Some of the stories behind the Olympians that are taking part in the games is truly amazing, this is just one of them; but there are many more. Look up the young gymnast from Ireland who came back from injuries (some where doctors said he would never walk) time and time again to compete. These stories and many more should inspire us to use the gifts we have to their fullest potential. There are no obstacles in life only barriers which our minds create.  Success at anything requires a successful attitude. As Winston Churchill said, “Success is often nothing more than moving from one failure to the next with undiminished enthusiasm.” Let us all be Olympians in whatever we put our minds to.

 

Cheers!

Wine may be a better beverage for maintaining strong bones than milk – at least for older women. A new study of postmenopausal women between the ages of 50 and 65 shows that a glass or two of wine a night actually helps shore up their bones. Researchers tested the bone strength of 40 moderate drinkers before, during, and after a two-week abstention from alcohol. They found that when the women stopped drinking, their bones began to shed old cells, a process called resorption, more quickly than normal. As postmenopausal women lose bone-building estrogen, resorption often outpaces the production of new bone cells, weakening bones and increasing the risk of factures and osteoporosis. But as soon as the women resumed drinking, their resorption rates returned to normal – suggesting that alcohol may significantly slow typical bone-cell loss. “After less than 24 hours, to see such a measurable effect was really unexpected,” Oregon State University researcher Urszula Iwaniec tells The Globe and Mail (Canada). Previous research has found that moderate drinking leads to a host of health benefits, including lower risks for arthritis, stroke, and cardiovascular disease.

 

Freezer Pipes Need Replacing At FP Ice Arena

Jo Modrich, Executive Director of the Park District of Franklin Park stated that the ice arena is in need of a new refrigeration system that could cost from $2.5 million to $3.5 million. The current 22 miles of piping system is 38 years old and although well maintained, it’s still pushing its life expectancy. The District is looking to possibly finance a new system with grant money from the state. The system looks to be replaced within the next one-two years.

 

Rivers Casino Hits First Anniversary

Believe it or not, Rivers Casino has been open a year already. The casino held special promotions and events to commemorate the event such as giveaways, special entertainment and a $1 million One Year Anniversary Wall of Cash. Rivers is the number one grossing casino in the area.

 

Fewer Empty Nesters

The New York Times reports the average amount families spent on college declined by 5 percent in 2012 to $20,902 – the second consecutive annual decline. The chief reason is that more and more students, even those from wealthier households, are living at home to cut education costs.

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