THE WEEK >
Meetings
Flossmoor Board of Trustees will meet at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18, in village hall, 2800 Flossmoor Road.
- Find the agenda here.
- Attend virtually here or call 312-626-6799, ID 881 3214 8766, passcode 60422.
- Highlights: A presentation of the Public Art Commission’s plan for sculptures in 2024 and discussion of an update on the village’s 2022-2026 strategic plan.
Flossmoor School District 161 Board of Education will meet at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18, in Normandy Villa, 41 E. Elmwood Drive, Chicago Heights.
- Find the agenda here.
- Highlights: The board will take action on proposed new assistant principal positions at Heather Hill and Flossmoor Hills schools as discussed at a recent meeting. The board will also consider a resolution to abate $176,921 from the tax levy adjustment.
Homewood Board of Trustees will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 19, in village hall, 2020 Chestnut Road.
- Find the agenda here.
- Attend virtually here or call 312-626-6799, ID 980 4907 6232, passcode 830183.
- Highlights: The board will consider motions to approve the appointment of former village events manager Allisa Opyd to the seat on the board left open by Lisa Purcell’s recent resignation, to appoint Phillip Mason as village treasurer and to appoint Christine Banks to the Appearance Commission.
Homewood-Flossmoor School District 233 Board of Education will meet at 7 p.m. in the Viking Room of the South Building of Homewood-Flossmoor High School, 999 Kedzie Ave.
- Find the agenda here.
- Highlights: The board will consider approving the tax levy and property tax abatement. The board will also consider a memorandum of understanding with the Homewood-Flossmoor Classified Staff Organization.
Homewood-Flossmoor Park District Board of Commissioners will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 19, at the Goldberg Administration Building, 3301 Flossmoor Road.
- Find the agenda here when it is available.
Stuff to do
Monday, Dec. 18
Semester Exam Cram. Students who need a quiet place to cram for semester exams will find refuge at Homewood Public Library, 17917 Dixie Highway, from 8 to 10 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Snacks will be provided. Therapy dogs will be available for stress-relieving breaks. A tutor will be available. Students must show school ID.
Tuesday, Dec. 19
Holiday music, ukulele style. Nā Aikāne ‘Ukulele will be performing at 1 p.m. in the Flossmoor Post Office, 1020 Park Drive. The group performed during Flossmoor’s Celebrate the Season event on Nov. 25 and at the post office on Dec. 9.
Thursday, Dec. 21
Flossmoor Holiday Lights parade. Flossmoor public safety and public works vehicles will be brightly decorated for the holidays and will wind through village neighborhoods from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
Cheesy holiday movie night. Flossmoor Station Restaurant and Brewery, 1035 Sterling Ave., Flossmoor, will host a showing of holiday movies from 6 to 9 p.m. RSVP at flossmoorstation.com.
Light up trail walk. From 6:30 to 9 p.m. on Dec. 21, 22 and 23. Stroll through a winter wonderland at Irons Oaks Environmental Learning Center, where festive lights and the beauty of nature meet in a magical new way. Hot chocolate and s’mores will be available to purchase. Park in the Vollmer Road Lot at 2453 Vollmer Road. Cost is $2 for district residents, $5 for non-residents. Register at bit.ly/3SzA6VQ.
Friday, Dec. 22
Winter Break Teen Reading Challenge. Semester finals are over and winter break has begun. Time to grab a blanket, a hot cocoa and a good book. Homewood Public Library, 17917 Dixie Highway, will host a teen reading challenge all day Friday and Saturday, continuing after the Christmas break on Dec. 26. Open to anyone aged 13 to 18. Participants can read during school break and log time spent. Each hour will earn students a raffle ticket for a chance to win a raffle basket. Read at least seven hours to be eligible for the $10 Barnes & Noble gift card drawing at the end of the challenge. Register here.
News & Notices
Closures. Flossmoor Village Hall will be closed 8:30 a.m.-Noon on Dec. 19 and Dec. 20 due to a scheduled maintenance project and on Friday, Dec. 22, for the Christmas holiday. Flossmoor Public Library and Homewood Public Library will be closed Sunday, Dec. 24, and Monday, Dec. 25.
Flossmoor history organization donation. The Foundation for the Preservation of Flossmoor History recently received its first major donation, $25,000 from former resident J.R. List. According to Mayor Michelle Nelson, List grew up in the village and “has incredibly fond memories of Flossmoor.” The foundation is raising money to further its mission of preserving the village’s story and to renovate the Wagner Building, which was donated to the organization last year.
Park in Flossmoor. (Chronicle file photo)
Sculptor Richard Hunt dies. Flossmoor joined the rest of the art world in mourning the death on Saturday of Chicago artist Richard Hunt. In a Facebook post, village officials noted Hunt’s contribution to the village. “Flossmoor is so fortunate to have his ‘Uplifted’ at the entrance to Leavitt Park.” Hunt not only was an important and prolific artist, but he witnessed history — he was present at the funeral of Emmett Till — and made some history: He integrated the Woolworth lunch counter in San Antonio, “the first peaceful and voluntary lunch counter integration in the South,” according to his obituary. Several of his pieces are also in the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park at Governors State University.
Juice WRLD Day. Fans of the late Homewood rapper Jarad Higgins, aka Juice WRLD, gathered Saturday, Dec. 16, at the United Center to celebrate his life and music. In Homewood, work continues on Homewood Brewing, a craft brewery and restaurant co-owned by Higgins’ mother, Carmela Wallace. She has said the business will be dedicated to honoring her son’s memory.
Flossmoor seeks candle lighters for Kwanzaa. The village of Flossmoor is seeking volunteers to help light the community kinara during Kwanzaa, Dec. 26 through Jan. 1. Anyone who is interested in helping should email [email protected].
Homewood Giving Tree. Homewood Public Works Department is partnering with District 153 for the annual Giving Tree initiative, which aims to assist local families in need.
To participate, visit village hall, 2020 Chestnut Road. The tree is inside the west entrance. Pick up an ornament from the Giving Tree to learn the needs and wishes of a child. For those who prefer to make cash donations instead of purchasing gifts, village staff will use contributions to purchase gifts. For more information or to drop off your donations, please contact Lisa Jones at the Public Works Department at 708-206-2906. All items or cash donations are needed prior to Dec. 20.
Homewood sidewalk milling project. Homewood officials announced this week that Universal Concrete has recently begun milling sidewalk trip hazards within the village. The work will be done primarily south of 183rd Street and east of Dixie Highway. The project will continue through the winter and into the spring as weather allows.
Sign up for MLK Day of Service. Flossmoor invites local businesses, non-profits, volunteer groups, neighborhood clubs and associations, friends and neighbors to help make a difference in the community by hosting a project for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Monday, Jan. 15. Last year the village coordinated 23 service projects. This year, organizers hope to grow the number of volunteers and projects even more. Make a suggestion for a volunteer project, including your location and volunteer needs, via this online form, or contact Stephanie Wright at 708-335-5472, [email protected].
Recycle holiday lights. Anyone who finds broken holiday lights as they string up exterior holiday decorations can put the cast-offs in containers located in Homewood at the H-F Racquet & Fitness Club, 2920 183rd St., and Irwin Center, 18120 Highland Ave. or in Flossmoor at Goldberg Center, 3301 Flossmoor Road; Park Place, 2449 Flossmoor Road; and Irons Oaks, 20000 Western Ave.
< THE WEEK
- Temperature encourages golfers to hit the links (Dec. 16).
- Jenny Krystosek lights the 5th candle (Dec. 16).
- Ron Kirchler lights Flossmoor Park menorah for the 4th day of Hanukkah (Dec. 15).
- Flossmoor newcomer lights menorah on 3rd night of Hanukkah (Dec. 15).
- Homewood family members from three states gather to light the menorah on the 2nd night of Hanukkah (Dec. 15).
- Lipperts light first Hanukkah candle at Flossmoor community celebration (Dec. 15).
- Humane Society cites renovation costs, announces closure of Homewood Adoption Center (Dec. 15).
- Flossmoor looking for projects, volunteers for annual MLK Day of Service (Dec. 14).
- Trustee Lisa Purcell steps down from Homewood board (Dec. 13).
- Homewood police make arrest in shots fired incident (Dec. 13).
- Miscommunication cited by both sides as Hibbing Building rehab effort stalls (Dec. 13).
- Preparations are important as H-F debaters take on weighty subjects (Dec. 12).
- Homewood police investigate shots fired early Tuesday (Dec. 12).
- Flossmoor fire captain leads effort to light up houses of kids dealing with cancer (Dec. 11).
- Page 2: Volunteer efforts continuing in new parish (Dec. 11).
DEMOCRACY WATCH
American’s mostly are not too happy about increasing political polarization in the country, so we might wonder why polarization continues to get worse.
One source of the problem might be the structure of our democracy, and structural problems resist fixing. They don’t change unless we work hard to make change happen.
In a 1992 article, “Groups, Representation, and Race-Conscious Districting: A Case of the Emperor’s Clothes,” Lani Guinier describes the winner-take-all geographic-based districting system as key to democratic dysfunction. She says the system is susceptible to gerrymandering, a practice that allows the party in power to manipulate the system to its advantage, choosing its voters rather than allowing voters to choose their representatives.
When parties bend the system to benefit their own hold on power, they erode voters’ sense that they have a significant role in governance. Distrust in the system hurts incentive to participate, and that, in turn, plays into the hands of the major parties. If voters don’t feel represented, they have little reason to play the game.
Guinier argued in 1992 that proportional voting systems would return representation to the voters. Rather than the one-person, one vote standards that has been in place for generations, she suggests a one-vote, one value standard, which “makes the assumption that each voter should enjoy the same opportunity to influence political outcomes.”
As more political observers recognize the need for democratic reform, alternatives to the current system are getting more attention. I mentioned recently the interest in ranked-choice voting. Proportional election systems are also getting a look.
“My idea is that politics need not be a zero-sum game in which those who win, win it all. My idea is that where everyone can win something, genuine consensus is possible,” Guinier said.
NPR posted a story on Nov. 18, “Many voters say Congress is broken. Could proportional representation fix it?” In it, University of Chicago political scientist Bloch Rubin notes the impediment to change is the fact that the people authorized to make changes to the system, members of the House of Representatives, are wedded to the status quo for maintaining their positions.
That means voters have to provide pressure on representatives to seriously explore alternatives.
The NPR article also quotes former Republican representative Tom Campbell: “No one looks at the House of Representatives today and says, ‘There’s a good model of functioning governance.’ No one says that. And so the interest in trying something else has never been higher.”
Quote of the week
“We do not practice democracy alone, of course. We do it together, in community, as equals. … If you want a democracy to thrive, the idea that voting is a choice is itself an illusion. Voting is about survival, and survival isn’t a choice. It’s an imperative. It’s an instinct.”