Quote of the week
“I guess I’m the only public here today, which is somewhat of disappointing. You put out every Friday afternoon what’s going on in the village (in the email newsletter). There could have been something in there, ‘Hey, we’re presenting our budget. You want to come in and see what we’re talking about.’ Outreach to engage the public to support the things you want to do.”
John Farris, addressing the Homewood Board of Trustees
Tuesday, April 11
I don’t know if anyone has ever wondered why we start our weekly newsletter with information about meetings and events for the coming week, but John Farris’s comment (above) gets to the point.
Our local boards are good at complying with the law when it comes to public meeting notices. As I noted last week, complying with notice requirements is necessary but insufficient when it comes to encouraging public engagement.
With the exception of a handful of local government fans, few people seek out meeting agendas. They generally are not thrilling reading, but they can include some thrilling stuff.
When village governments consider new business proposals, it’s on the agenda. When school boards consider policies that affect families with children in school, it’s on the agenda. When the libraries and park district consider projects and plans that impact people who use those services, they are on the agenda.
If no one reads the agendas, important public matters come as a surprise. Sometimes word gets around in advance, and people show up to learn more and ask questions, but we don’t want to leave that to chance. That’s why The Weeks starts with meeting information. We want to keep the work of local government in the foreground so people will know what’s coming and can pay attention to what they care about.
To be engaged, people first have to be informed. It’s our job to help.
THE WEEK >
Flossmoor School District 161 Board of Education will meet at 6 p.m. Monday, April 17, in Normandy Villa, 41 E. Elmwood Drive.
- Find the agenda here.
- Highlights: The board will discuss a transportation contract proposal that would increase costs but could see improvements to service. The board will also discussion plans to conduct a community survey.
Flossmoor Board of Trustees will meet at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 17, in village hall, 2800 Flossmoor Road.
- Find the agenda here.
- Attend virtually here. Meeting ID 848 3084 8940, passcode 60422. Join by phone at 312-626-6799 .
- Highlights: The board will hold a public hearing on the 2023-24 village budget. Also on the agenda is discussion about a liquor license request for Poppin Corks Bistro.
Homewood-Flossmoor School District 233 Board of Education will meet at 7:30 p.m. in the library of the South Building, 999 Kedzie Ave.
- Find the agenda here.
Homewood-Flossmoor Park District Board of Commissioners will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 18, in the Goldberg Administrative Center, 3301 Flossmoor Road.
- Find the agenda here.
Flossmoor Green Commission will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 18, in the committee room at village hall, 2800 Flossmoor Road.
Homewood Public Library Board of Trustees will meet at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 19, at the library, 17917 Dixie Highway.
- Find the agenda here.
Flossmoor Planning and Zoning Commission will meet at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 20, in village hall, 2800 Flossmoor Road.
- Find the agenda here.
- Attend virtually here. Meeting ID 878 5312 9436, passcode 60422.
- Highlights: The commission will hold a public hearing regarding a special use permit for a swimming pool at 2506 Braeburn Ave. It will also review a conceptual plan for a residential development at 19020 Kedzie Ave.
Other events coming up
- Youth baseball and softball opening day festivities will be on Saturday, April 22. Flossmoor’s parade will begin at 9:30 a.m. and will go from Parker Junior High to the Flossmoor Park ballfields. Homewood’s parade begins at 11 a.m. and will go from Irwin Park to the ballfields near Izaak Walton Nature Preserve.
- Earth Week is April 16 through 22, and the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District has activities planned for each day.
- Electronics recycling sponsored by state Rep. Will Davis, 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 22, at 1912 174th St. in East Hazel Crest.
- Household hazardous waste collection from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at South Suburban College, 15800 State St. in South Holland. Click here to register.
- Homewood Cleanup Day will be Saturday, April 29, from 8:30 a.m. to noon. Volunteers will get a free hot dog lunch. To volunteer, email Events Manager Marla Youngblood at [email protected].
- Independent Bookstore Day is Saturday, April 29. Bookie’s at 18109 Dixie Highway is open noon to 6 p.m.
< THE WEEK
Homewood and Flossmoor each were awarded Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program grants to enable traffic safety projects. Homewood will use the money to restructure lanes on a portion of 183rd Street in an effort to reduce speeding and improve cycling safety. Flossmoor will use the money to continue a downtown traffic improvement project.
(Chronicle file photo)
Starry Nights celebrates Pride Month
Homewood-Flossmoor Park District in collaboration with the villages of Homewood and Flossmoor announced it will use the first Starry Nights concert of the season to celebrate the community’s LGBTQ+ members.
community cleanup event. (Eric Crump/H-F Chronicle)
Flossmoor cleanup
Flossmoor officials and volunteers came out Saturday, April 8, to attack the trash that had accumulated on village property at 3800 Vollmer Road.
Distracted driving enforcement
Driving while on the phone or adjusting the radio or any other activity that disrupts attention causes a big share of accidents, and Homewood police are increasing enforcement efforts during Distracted Driving Awareness Month to discourage drivers from engaging in those bad habits.
Southland, tells those at the Homewood Business
Breakfast that the casino hopes to work
with local businesses. (Eric Crump/H-F Chronicle)
Business breakfast features Wind Creek Casino official
Roger Kuehn, general manager of the future Wind Creek Southland casino in Homewood and East Hazel Crest, was the featured speaker at Homewood’s Business Breakfast on April 13.
Mayor Rich Hofeld also gave a business update, including the announcement that Bergstein’s NY Deli will be relocating from Chicago Heights to the former Homewood Florist location on Martin Avenue. Stories about the breakfast and about the Bergstein’s move will appear this week.
Wind Creek announces deal with celebrity chef
Wind Creek Hospitality announced Thursday, April 13, that it will partner with Fabio Viviani Hospitality to operate the food establishments at Wind Creek Chicago Southland, the casino under construction near the junction of Interstate 80/294 and Halsted Street.
in June 2021. The Homewood board’s move
to release a mortgage on the property could
help a new business occupy the space.
(Chronicle file photo)
New hope for former Vice District location
The Homewood Board of Trustees agreed on April 11 to release a $20,000 mortgage on the property at 18027-18029 Dixie Highway, formerly occupied by Vice District Brewery. The move will help make it possible for a new use at the site. The owner of an area martial arts academy is interested in purchasing the building.
GSU strike
Quite a few H-F students attend Governors State University, so the labor situation there is a matter of local concern. GSU student reporter Chris Weber has been following the dispute between administration and faculty and staff. The union went on strike April 11. We hope to have updates this week.
- Faculty and staff authorize strike against GSU (March 27).
- GSU faculty, staff prepare to strike Tuesday (April 10).
- Picketing, rally mark start of strike by GSU faculty and staff (April 11).
- GSU president answers questions about strike (April 12).
We’re not alone: Walmart closes four more stores
In February, Walmart announced the closure of three suburban stores, including the one on Halsted Street in Homewood. This week, the company announced it would close four Chicago stores. The reason given was the same: The stores were not making enough money.
LOCAL NEWS NEWS
Leaders of the nascent Local News Alliance met Saturday, April 15, to develop a strategic plan, led by Amy Crump, who thinks strategic planning is totally cool. The group includes the Southland Investigative Journalism Center, the Lansing Journal, Harvey World Herald, eNews Park Forest and the Chronicle.
Individually, we’re working hard to serve our communities by providing sources of reliable local news. Our goal in working together is to create a structure for mutual support that will enable Southland local news organizations to be strong and sustainable into the future.
During the coming year we will be working to form a nonprofit organization, develop a system for sharing content and start developing funding sources.
We all appreciate the great support we get from our communities. LNA will help us make the most of that support.
and Carole Sharwarko. (Provided photo by Melanie Jongsma)