Bartlett Fire District Open House

Art Pierscionek, Bartlett Fire District Trustee,

Kevin Heine, Bartlett Chief

Craig Haigh, Hanover Park Chief

Rod Craig, Hanover Park Village President

O'Hare Modernization Program Contractor Open House

Mayor Craig received a letter asking him to inform the community about the upcoming O'Hare Modernization Program Contractor Open House, which will take place from 8 a.m. to noon on Thursday, November 1, 2007 at the Fountain Blue Banquets and Convention Center, 2300 S. Mannheim road in Des Plaines. Register online at OhareModernization.org.
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September/October Minute with the Mayor

[Note: This was originally published in the September/October Hanover Park Hi-Lighter.]

Hanover Park is a town blessed as we dodged a huge bullet when we received the impact of a 10 year rainfall and high winds. Many of us who reside between Irving Park road and Lake Street were without power as many tree limbs fell upon our power lines. In a few cases, complete trees fell on homes and across streets. The Public Works Dept. went into immediate motion assuring the sewers on flooded streets were open and the many tree limbs in the streets were removed. Super kudo’s to them for their dedication to Hanover Park following that storm. Tree removal is hard work, we’re discovering.

If you witnessed police assisting in the clearing and removal process your observations were accurate, even the CERT team assisted by sharing information on the recovery process going door to door with handouts following the weather event. The Fire Dept was prepared for a high level of calls, however what we discovered people saw what occurred and assisted one another like never witnessed before in our town. Kudo’s to the residents who shared engine generator power, ran extension cords across the street, and assisted in tree removal work. Walking through the neighborhoods was a sight that makes the Mayor proud of our hometown. The response to the tree that fell on a home along Peachtree was the talk of the Public Works Dept., never before have they seen neighbors pitching in to assist in the removal as quickly and responsively as at that location. Kudo’s to all residents in town who assisted their neighbors, I can speak without hesitation: “Hanover Park is a town where people care for their neighbors.” Finally, our lower level didn’t flood as I finally spent the money to install the backup sump pump and it worked.

The wind generator plan is moving ahead as a collaboration plan between School Dist #20 and the Evangel Church is coming together. Supportive letters from our State Legislators are most encouraging as the issue comes together for Village Board review. Our Village staff has been working diligently meeting with all concerned to assure our product will meet or exceed the needs of Hanover Park.

We are continuing to prepare for the Hanover Park 50th Anniversary. A festival and parade are being planned as well as numerous other opportunities to celebrate throughout the year.

I received a most favorable call from Fire Chief Heine following a large fire event along Rt. 59 where our CERT Rehab team responded to assist at the scene. The difference we made for his department was the savings of a lot of overtime having to send exhausted firefighters home when they returned to station. Our rehab process kept the firefighters from exhaustion and being stressed from overheat on that 95˚ day. That huge “thank you” is most appreciated, so I’m sharing it with all as we honor the volunteers.

DuPage Job Fair is being held Friday, October 5, 2007 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM. It will be at the College of DuPage, P.E. Arena, 425 Fawell Blvd, Glen Ellyn. This not-for-profit event is the most highly attended employment fair in the County and many technology based companies are in attendance.

The past few months I’ve met with numerous residents in different venues. I’ve received countless email inquires and concerns that I give every ounce of energy to resolve. In November the Village Board is meeting offsite to establish priorities for the Village into the future. My number one concern is the response time of the Police Dept and that is directly a staffing issue. The Code Enforcement to assure the quality of life continues for our residents, their staffing is also unacceptable. The rental residential concerns, where multiple families move into homes, duplexes, or into the multifamily areas are stressing out everyone who is observing the changes and degrading our quality of life. As your Mayor, I’m asking for increased staffing for the Police Department and Code Enforcement to resolve the problems. I’m also working with the DuPage County Housing Authority to assist us resolve the problems they help communities resolve routinely. They have suggestions including the licensing of the rental residential and that we bring the Authority to meet with us offsite. I’m preparing an environmental plan the Village Board can live with as I’m enlisting residents in the process.

Finally, we are blessed with some very outstanding representatives, Fred Crespo has been very responsive with his willingness to find resources for Hanover Park. State Senator Millner has been offering me the most outstanding suggestions as we seek to problem solve our housing concerns. State Senator Nolan is clearly a leader with the environmental issues as our relationship grows and becomes productive. All three of these legislators have written our Village Board letters of support for the Wind Generator in support of education. Their leadership in the House and Senate as Co-Sponsors for the Wind Generator Bills is an example of collaboration between the parties in our best interests in Hanover Park.

To this end, I encourage residents to contact me with concerns or questions via office staff, phone messaging, and email. It continues to be my pleasure to represent the people of Hanover Park, our hometown. Take an opportunity to get involved.

Congratulations to the new E-Team

This week, the Village Board approved Mayor Craig's recommendation for an Environmental Task Force. The Village Public Works Director will be the staff liaison to the Village Board. This team will be reviewing a range of environmental and green issues facing our hometown, including the recommendations from the Environmental Best Practices Committee of the Metropolitan Mayors' Caucus. We look forward to their input.
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Housing Issues Facing Our Village

Given the recent concerns of the residents of the former Prairie Station Apartments and, now, Westline Apartments, I have initiated a review of the problems.

As background, I was notified by a number of residents who subsequently were thrown out of their apartments as not meeting the qualifications of the screening rules for residents. One man did not qualify, however he had lived in those apartments for over 6 years paying his rent on time. Another man and wife were both dependent upon DuPage County health services for their medication and dialysis treatments. They came before the Board and were quite upset and the change of events in their lives and loss of DuPage County support. They subsequently moved to St. Charles and with the assistance of Trustee Carter reconnected for their medications through Kane County.

The story doesn’t end there. A few weeks later, I was approached by Pastor Greathouse of the Smyrna Church who is really concerned with Section 8 housing and the transition of people out of the neighborhood and their stories of abuse from Westline. He suggested that I meet with these people and hear what is happening. I agreed and I challenged the good Pastor to bring in the neighbors so we can nullify any myths and enforce any events that are not occurring. Additionally, make this evening their opportunity to be heard. What surprised me was the number of people who showed up to speak their minds on the issues.

To prepare for this meeting, I met with the Executive Director of the DuPage County Housing Authority, John Day. He outlined for me the different types of Section 8, subsidized housing that is available. One type is the better known Section 8 housing that is voucher based where individuals find their own housing in the rental market at a location of their choosing with qualified landlords. The second is multifamily Section 8 or Project Based Subsidy housing where there are no vouchers, but the subsidy stays with the unit. They have their own set of rules and regulations that meet the industry standards as approved by HUD and filed with the Illinois Housing Department Authority (IHDA). The second example is what we have in Hanover Park.

Issues that confront this Village today are:

1. Section 8 housing, over 1 million in vouchers in Cook County annually.

2. Section 8 housing in DuPage, which is balanced between all communities, however in Hanover Park we have the addition of Project Based Housing in the Westline Apartments, currently under rehab.

3. Rental Residential homes where we have numerous families sharing the same house and a general deterioration of the residence from overuse and negligent homeowners.

4. Absolutely no inspection process for the Rental Residential Units.

5. Staffing for our Code Enforcement is below what the Police Chief has declared as a level where we can be successful or maintain. Additionally, a licensing program will require additional staffing above the previous minimum authorization recommended and approved by the Village Board.

My expectation is for the Village Board to direct the staff to create a licensing program that supports the quality of life we have come to expect in Hanover Park. I expect the staff to coordinate via committee of elected officials and staff to evaluate the licensing used in Glen Dale Heights, West Chicago, and Palatine as examples of working documents. Our existing practices of staff reductions and weak Village Ordinances cannot continue as the quality of life continues to deteriorate. Officials of the DuPage Housing Authority are willing to actively support the Village in this process.

Additionally, I will be leading an initiative to meet with the homeowner associations and rental residential owners to discuss the needs of Hanover Park and the rules we are planning to implement. To that end, I will be working closely with our State and County representatives to bring this issue to closure in an effective manner as the issues cross all four Townships and into both Counties.

The elected officials of Hanover Park need to meet and discuss the plan as I’ve outlined here.

Winds of Change

Here are a few pieces to send along. This article from CNBC talks about a wind turbine at a Massachusetts ski resort, where the owner of the resort is using wind energy as a business strategy. Speaking of business, a major turbine company broke ground on a wind turbine plant in Colorado.

The Mayor of Boston is even looking to put a turbine on the plaza in downtown Boston. This may or may not happen, but turbines are becoming increasingly common all over the US. It appears that Illinois is not the only place looking at wind energy.