DEMOCRACY WATCH
The general election is over, and while most of us (except Georgians) are taking a deep breath and putting politics on the backburner for a while, candidates for local office are only getting started. Some are getting to work gathering petitions in hopes of being on the April consolidated election ballot.
Homewood Public Library is providing the candidate packet online for anyone who is interesting running.
Quote of the week:
“Maybe today would be a good day to do something we rarely do: thank the people who dare to run for public office. I stipulate this may not be a popular notion but hear me out. Think about how willing you would be to have to wear protective vests while you make speeches, to be the focus of personal attacks and accusations while reporters paw through your finances. School board and city council members, mayors, state and federal lawmakers and, yes, presidents, give up a lot to do the work we need them to do. I have known a fair number of public officials in my life, and I find most to be honorable, hard-working and even idealistic people who are not in office to make money or grab power.”
Al Tompkins, The Morning Meeting, Nov. 10
THE WEEK ->
Flossmoor School District 161 Board of Education will meet at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14, at Normandy Villa, 41 E. Elmwood Drive, Chicago Heights.
- Find the agenda here.
- The meeting will be streamed live here.
- Highlights: The board plans to take action on a proposal to replace roof-top HVAC units on several schools and on the Flossmoor Hills east playground project. The board also will discuss the property tax levy.
Homewood-Flossmoor District 233 Board of Education will meet at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 15, in the South Building library, 999 Kedzie Ave. in Flossmoor.
- Find the agenda here.
- Highlights: The board will consider a four-year contract for Superintendent Scott Wakeley and a three-year contract for Principal Clinton Alexander, both contracts starting July 1, 2023. The board will also discuss the property tax levy.
Homewood-Flossmoor Park District Board of Commissioners will meet Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. in the Goldberg Administration Center, 3301 Flossmoor Road.
- Find the agenda here.
- Highlights: The board will get an update on the work at the H-F Ice Arena.
Homewood Public Library Board of Trustees will meet at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, at the library, 17917 Dixie Highway, for a public hearing on the property tax levy, and at 7 p.m. the same night for its regular meeting.
- Find the agenda here.
- Highlights: In addition to the levy, the board will consider a request for proposals on carpeting.
Leaf pickup available but some argue it’s best to leave leaves be
Most of the leaves have left the trees, so it’s time again for raking, bagging and dragging bags to the curb. Homewood and Flossmoor both provide leaf bag pickup services in November.
Some environmentalists, however, argue that it might be best to leave leaves where they are, maybe running a mower over them to turn them to mulch, maybe raking them into gardens, but that’s about it.
An NPR story posted in late October says putting leaves in landfills contributes to methane emissions. Letting them decompose on a lawn or in a garden returns nutrients to the soils, helps keep grass healthy and provides habitat for insects, spiders, snails and possibly frogs, toads and other little critters that play important roles in the ecosystem.
But if you really want to get rid of them, Homewood’s leaf pickup service starts this week, with pickup dates on Nov. 16, 23 and 30.
Residents of single-family homes can place leaves in 33-gallon biodegradable paper bags on the street curb for free pick-up. Set them on the street curb no later than 6 a.m. on scheduled collection days. No stickers needed. Plastic bags or rigid containers will not be collected. No grass clippings, tree branches or other landscape waste will be accepted.
Anyone with questions should call Homewood Disposal at 708-798-1004.
Flossmoor leaf pickup began last week. The procedure is the same as Homewood’s.
The schedule:
Nov. 14, 21, 28: Orange neighborhood.
Nov. 15, 22, 29: Yellow neighborhood.
Nov. 16, 23, 30: Green neighborhood.
Nov. 17, 24, Dec. 1: Blue neighborhood.
Nov. 18, 25, Dec. 2: Red neighborhood.
Rail strike update
The Morning Meeting reports: “The third largest railroad workers union agreed to a brief cooling off period, which delays a possible national rail strike until Dec. 9 at the earliest. Shippers nationwide are frightened about what a national rail strike could do to the economy and are pleading with all sides and the Biden administration to prevent it.”
Flossmoor seeks projects for Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service
The village of Flossmoor is inviting individuals, businesses and organizations to sign-up to host a project or contact Community Relations Commissioner Jackie Riffice at [email protected] with questions.
This year’s Day of Service is Monday, Jan. 16, 2023. Volunteers can begin signing up to help with projects in mid-November.
<- THE WEEK
Election results
The biggest local story from the Nov. 8 general election was the District 153 tax hike referendum, which was approved by more than 70% of voters. Deep cuts in staff and programs were avoided now that district finances will have a stronger foundation.
The general election on Nov. 8 was a big day for Illinois Democrats. In our area, incumbents (all Democrats) held onto their seats. In one race without an incumbent, the Cook County Board’s 5th District, which includes Flossmoor, Monica Gordon won the seat left open by the retirement of Deborah Sims.
Mixed reviews for Flossmoor Community Forum
After months of tense board meetings with disruption and challenges from protesters after the police shooting death of Madeline Miller, Flossmoor officials convened a community forum on Oct. 29 in an effort to generate constructive conversation on police-community relations.
Trustees reported at the Nov. 7 meeting that feedback from the community was mixed, with some residents dissatisfied with the format and the result. Some participants gave more positive reviews, according to one trustee.
Homewood, Flossmoor Catholic churches get new names
The consolidation of six area Catholic churches includes renaming the two combined parishes. St. Joseph Catholic Church of Homewood will become St. John Neumann, and Infant Jesus of Prague Catholic Church of Flossmoor will become St. Veronica.
Community input sought as search begins for new Flossmoor police chief
Last week, Flossmoor Police Chief Tod Kamleiter announced his retirement in December after serving village law enforcement for 26 years. The village is now inviting residents and other stakeholders to provide input that will help with the search for his replacement.
Community solar question
At Meet the Mayor in Homewood on Saturday, Nov. 5, resident Doug Koltun stopped by to ask Mayor Rich Hofeld whether the village was looking into the possibility of connecting with a community solar project. He referred to an Oct. 28 story in the Chicago Tribune that looks at the Glenwood Solar Project, a solar farm located in Chicago Heights.
Although Homewood has little available space to host such a facility, Hofeld thanked Koltun for bringing the idea to his attention and said village staff would seek to learn more about community solar farms.