News and General Interest
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Week In Review
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Previous articles and news items from Alsip Today:
>> Board Mtg - 11/2/2009
>> Committee Mtg - 10/26/2009
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November 24, 2009
by Jay Henry
Chase Bank Branch Opens
On November 17, 2009, the new JP Morgan Chase Bank Alsip Branch
opened its doors for the first customers. The location at 121st
and Pulaski had previously been the site of Pappy’s Restaurant
which closed about a year ago.
The opening comes as welcome news to former Washington Mutual
customers that have been relegated to conducting business at the
Chase Oak Lawn Brach since the Washington Mutual Alsip office
closed earlier this year. Washington Mutual (WaMu) operations
were taken over by JP Morgan Chase after WaMu failed in one of
the largest bank failures in American history.
Marist High School Football Wins State Semi-Final Game
In a clutch performance, Marist defeated Glenbard North 17-14 in
the Illinois State High Scholl (IHSA) 8A semi-final playoff game.
The win returns Marist to the championship game for the first
time since 1986.
Marist was able to clinch the win by kicking a field goal
with one second remaining in the game. The game was played before
a large crowd at Glenbard North (Carol Stream, IL).
Marist will face a tough Maine South (Park Ridge, IL) team in the
championship game scheduled for 7:00 PM Saturday, November 26,
2009. The championship game will be played at Memorial Stadium on
the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The
game will be broadcast live on my50, (WPWR-TV channel 50 – cable
channel 8 typically).
Tollway Construction Wraps Up
This past weekend, the Illinois Tollway opened all lanes of the
Tri-State Tollway (I-294) between 127th Street and 95th Street.
The reopening marks the completion of much of the work associated
with the widening and rebuilding of I-294 from 95th Street on the
west / north, to the Indiana state line on the east / south.
Over the past couple of weeks, crews worked to finish erecting
the sound barriers along much of the northbound lanes and putting
the finishing touches on the southbound sound barriers which were
left unfinished during last year’s work.
Some work remains over this stretch of the tollway – and lane
closures may occur during non-peak periods.
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Report: Village Board Meeting
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November 16, 2009
by Jay Henry
Mayor Patrick Kitching called the Committee Meeting to order at
7:30 PM. All elected officials were present.
The meeting opened with the presentation of an award recognizing
the local Pet Smart in support of the Alsip Police Department’s
Canine unit. A plaque was presented to the store manager.
The meeting followed along the published agenda with the following
points of interest along the way:
A presentation was made on the potential of the Alsip Police
Department using CrimeReports.com to make available information
regarding police activities for Alsip. Data would be uploaded to
the CrimeReports.com website on a daily basis – and would be
available to anyone wishing to review these published reports.
In addition to police activities, the site also makes available
data on registered sex offenders.
In a quick change of direction, Trustee Dan Godfrey recommended
accepting the bid for the directional boring of a new water main
beneath the Cal Sag Channel. This measure had been previously
tabled and appeared as though it was going to be re-bid sometime
next year. Trustee Godfrey explained, when questioned as to the
apparent new sense of urgency by Trustee Jim Quinn, that it looked
as though the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) would
be acting on the right-of-way request this week – and Alsip should
not miss the opportunity to move forward quickly with this project
once that go-ahead was granted. Ultimately a vote was taken and
passed 5-1 with Trustee Quinn being the lone dissenting vote.
The meeting moved into closed session at about 8:15 PM; Mayor Pat
Kitching indicated there was no expectation of further business
when the board returned from closed session.
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Report: Village Committee Meeting
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November 9, 2009
by Jay Henry
Mayor Patrick Kitching called the Committee Meeting to order at
7:30 PM. All elected officials were present.
Mayor Kitching mentioned that Illinois Senate Bill S-1894, which
was recently passed by the Illinois Legislature, would
significantly improve the ability of a municipality to recover
costs associated with maintaining abandoned properties. He
indicated that this has been a concern of village government for
some time, and that it looked as though this legislation would
address many of the issues confronting Alsip in dealing with the
upkeep of abandoned and foreclosed properties.
Clerk Deb Venhuizen highlighted the Worth Township “Christmas
Care Program” that the village would be participating in this
year. Collection boxes for toys and winter clothing items have
been placed at the Village Hall and would be available to accept
donations through December 12, 2009.
Trustee Kevin Michaels reported that he would be presenting a
request to initiate the testing process for firefighter /
paramedic positions. The current hiring list is due to expire
in June 2010.
Trustee Dan Godfrey updated the situation with regard to the
contract for the project to directionally bore a new water main
beneath the Cal Sag Channel. Until approval to drill beneath the
channel is received from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation
District (MWRD) the project cannot move forward. Trustee Godfrey
added that it didn’t look like the approval would be forthcoming
in the immediate future and the project would likely need to be
re-bid sometime over the winter with work proceeding next spring.
Trustee Michaels informed the board that he would be tabling
the zoning issue for the properties located at 12245 and
12299 S. Pulaski. The company that had previously expressed
interest in developing is apparently not ready to move forward
at this time. The zoning change would have permitted the sale of
packaged liquor at this location. The CVS pharmacy chain was
rumored as the interested company.
Trustee Jim Quinn inquired of the Mayor if there were any
updates on the status of Burr Oak Cemetery. Mayor Kitching
responded that there was a new receiver in place to manage the
affairs of the cemetery and it looked as though Burr Oak would
be reopening to the public sometime around November 16, 2009.
Kitching further indicated that the Cook County Sheriff’s
department is now taking a back seat in the process to reopen
the cemetery and don’t seem particularly interested in having
it reopen. Kitching added that there were about 54 lawsuits that
have been filed in regard to the problems at Burr Oak and a group
he referred to as the “Burr Oak Preservation Society” was
interested in acquiring the cemetery and converting it to more
of a memorial location rather than an active cemetery.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 PM.
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