Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Night work and potential bonus for contractor helps accelerate roadwork.
Reconstruction of Lake Cook Road is proceeding two weeks ahead of schedule in part because more of the work is being done at night, according to Deerfield’s Project Manager John Guccione. Paving of a portion of Lake Cook Road was set for late Monday night into early Tuesday morning but was postponed until today because of storms. Guccione hopes the work will be done tonight. Earlier: Business Owners Feel Construction Pinch “The project is at least two weeks ahead of schedule,” Guccione said. “The night work is planned (in part) because the (construction) trucks are getting stuck in traffic. The contractor is keeping the cement factories open at night,” he added describing the builder’s commitment. Work is being done at night to ease the …
A legislation to ban teen tanning in Illinois heads to Gov. Pat Quinn.
Legislation to ban minors from indoor tanning beds was sent to Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday after being approved by the Illinois Senate. House Bill 188, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont), would ban Illinois minors age 17 and younger from UV tanning beds. Currently, minors ages 14 to 17 are allowed to tan if they provide a parent's signature. Spray-on tanning is exempt from the legislation, as is phototherapy, which applies to situations where a physician supervises tanning when it is necessary to treat a medical condition. Radogno said in a press release that she sponsored the bill to protect Illinois minors from the serious health risks involved with indoor tanning beds. “Not only do children not realize there …
John and Kathy Di Tomasso have requested that the village annex their two-acre property, which holds their home and business.
John and Kathy Di Tomasso, owners of Wilson Lawn & Landscape, have asked the Village of Northbrook to annex their two-acre property at 2500 Pfingsten Rd., which is currently zoned as unincorporated Cook County, the Chicago Tribune reports. If the annexation application is approved, the village would begin collecting a few hundred dollars in annual property taxes and the property owners will now have access to village services, such as water and sewage systems, according to the Chicago Tribune. A garage at 2500 Pfingsten Rd. was destroyed in a fire last November, but no one was hurt. Sign up for the Northbrook Patch morning newsletter to get the latest community updates in your email.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Union Pacific is expected to select a contractor at the end of May.
A new railroad bridge to replace the viaduct that collapsed in 2012 over Shermer Road could be in place by the end of the this year, under an expedited schedule recently released by Union Pacific Railroad, according to a village news release. On July 4, 2012, a train derailment along the Union Pacific freight line caused a Union Pacific bridge to collapse, killing a Glenview couple driving underneath. Union Pacific is expected to select a contract by the end of May and start construction between July and November. At the same time, off-site work will continue on constructing the 149-foot-long steel span. The span could be installed by early December. While business have remained open along Shermer Road between West Lake Avenue and …
Friday, May 17, 2013
Passed by a 35-21 vote, the bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Pat Quinn, who has not yet said whether he intends to sign it.
By a vote of 35-21, the Illinois Senate approved legislation on Friday that would allow doctors in the state to prescribe marijuana as pain relief for severe medical conditions. The bill now goes to Gov. Pat Quinn for his signature. According to the Chicago Tribune, the bill covers 33 specific conditions—including multiple sclerosis, cancer and HIV infection—and includes several controls, with a four-year trial program, dosage limits, fingerprinting, background checks and licensed dispensing centers. “This bill is filled with walls to keep this limited,” the paper quoted sponsoring Sen. Bill Haine (D-Alton), who urged lawmakers to pass the legislation as a compassionate measure for those suffering with extreme pain. In opposition, Sen. …
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
During Tuesday's village board meeting, Northbrook's Lee Goodman accused the village president and trustees of doing "nothing to make us safer from gun violence."
On Tuesday night, Northbrook's Lee Goodman stood before the village board during the regular trustee meeting and accused president Sandy Frum and the other trustees of doing nothing to protect residents from gun violence. "Three months ago this room was filled with people who wanted to talk to you about reducing the possibility of gun violence in our village and before anyone could say a word our village president wanted everyone to know this village board intended to do nothing to make us safer from gun violence," Goodman said. "The answer we were given by our village president was that she was going to let someone else do it." The village board did not respond to Goodman during the meeting, but Frum told Patch she remains "convinced …
Deerfield Police are making an extra effort to reduce cell phone use in Lake Cook Road construction area.
A concerted effort by the Deerfield Police Department to reduce hand held cellular telephone use in the Lake Cook Road construction zone has resulted in an approximate doubling of tickets written. Before the road work began April 15, police were issuing approximately 33 tickets a week to people talking on a hand held cellular device while driving, according to Deerfield Police Chief John Sliozis. Since the work started, the average has climbed to 68. Earlier: Lake Cook Road Configuration Changes “We have told our officers to focus on the use of (hand held) cell phones in the (Lake Cook Road) construction area,” Sliozis. Officers have parked their cars with a view of Lake Cook Road watching for violations. Drivers exceeding the 35-mile-per-…
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Project moves to next phase with north side getting attention.
Construction activity on Lake Cook Road shifted to the north side of the street Monday as the project moved into its next phase, according to information contained on Deerfield’s website devoted to the project. Earlier: Lake Cook Road Construction Starts Today Stage Two of the traffic control plan went into effect when a new traffic configuration was created Monday moving all drivers to the south side of the road and limiting work to the northern half. Traffic will be shifted to the south side of the roadway with one lane going in each direction and room carved out for left turns. The street will be rebuilt on the north side of the road. Once Stage Two is done, Stage Three will start shifting the pattern from north to south. Lake closures …
About 5.3 percent of Northbrook's house and apartment market was considered affordable in 2004, although Illinois suggests communities keep it closer to 10 percent.
Northbrook saw a 31 percent bump in rentors between 2000 and 2011, while 88 percent more homeowners had to spend at least 35 percent of their income on mortgage costs, according to the 2000 U.S. Census and 2007-2011 American Community Survey data, the Chicago Tribune reports. While Illinois suggests at least 10 percent of a community's real estate and apartment market fits within the "affordable" range, only 5.3 percent of Northbrook's market was "affordable" when the Illinois Housing Development Agency evaluated the village in 2004, the Chicago Tribune reports. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines affordability as a household that pays 30 percent or less of its annual income on housing. Click here for the full …
Saturday, May 11, 2013
North Shore Congressman, who has been reaching out to students since January, calls local academic achievement a reason so many of Illinois’s top schools are in the 10th District.
Since taking office in January, Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Deerfield) has visited six schools in the 10th Congressional District and met with students in other places including his offices in Washington and Lincolnshire. When asked by students at Learn Charter School at Great Lakes May 3 about educational opportunities, Schneider was quick to point out students from the District attend nearly half of the state’s top 20 high schools. Earlier: Kirk, Durbin, Schneider Tour New School as Sequester Removes Shine “Nine of the top 20 public high schools in Illinois educate students from the 10th District,” Schneider said referring to the fact local schools were ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News and World Report. Those schools are Deerfield High …
David Greenberg
5:35 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
oh great, you just jinxed it... more ›