Selling out
It seems our town has indeed been sold out when one observes the huge unsightly gargantuan signs overlooking the Eisenhower, mentioned in a recent letter in these pages. The latest is on Park District property on Desplaines Avenue and is such an eyesore. I shudder to think another is going up soon.
Then one has only to attempt to drive around town on a weekday, even before noon”traffic on our few streets is so congested already. I hesitate to think about the 400 or so new dwellings to be added in the next year or so, including the Madison Street 65 currently scheduled to open in June; then there’s the 200 or so near the Blue Line depot”I wonder what will happen when all those Pace buses try to enter and leave the station, with the many dozens or more cars will also be attempting to leave, to say nothing of all the parkers in the CTA parking lot trying to leave.
Then we have the almost 150 new dwellings at the Roos property on Harrison and Circle scheduled to begin demolition soon”and clearly not wanted by at least 900 of our citizens in Forest Park.
I had thought that only at our federal level, under this president, there was no longer a Public Good. Apparently I was wrong, as there seems to be no more Public Good here in Forest Park. Money now drives everything.
Evelyn Krueger
Forest Park
Sincere thank you too…
I just wanted to say thank you first to St Bernadine’s and the St. Bernadine’s Woman’s club for giving me the opportunity to do the fashion show.
Thank you to all the people that put their hard work into the show and to those in attendance who made it such a fabulous evening.
I would also like to thank my models Patsy Dunaway, Kendra Griffin, Kathryn Knack, Amy Koseik, Mikki Kristola, Krystle Kutak, Traci McGuiggan, and Ashley Santelli for making my outfits come to life.
In addition, I would like to thank all those that helped me get everything done: First, my sweatshop workers Tara Lawrence, Marissa Hinz, Amy Klod, Mo Dohney, and Bridget Byrne; second, I would like to thank Sam Alonzo for going out of his way to help with anything he could. Thank you Tim your music rocked. My Aunt Pat, I owe her a lot, I would like to thank her from the bottom of my heart for helping me accomplish everything”I would still be sewing in college if it weren’t for you.
I am also thankful to the Review and the Review ‘s Taryn Rejholic for a beautiful article, Jackie Shultz for your continued support and Frank Pinc for your wonderful photography. I would also like to thank my jobs Ed’s Way and Etre for giving me ample time to do the show and my family and friends for all their support and for putting up with me when I was so crazy.
Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Joe and Sandy Byrnes”You have given me support, believed in me, bragged about me, helped me, and have done so much for me that I can’t even list it all. I am truly grateful to have parents like you. Thank you everybody for your support, I will never forget it.
Heather Byrnes
The lone voice is not so lonely
Patrick Wangler labeling Kathy Moran as “a lone voice that opposes every aspect of this development” displays an incredibly myopic viewpoint and an amazingly selective memory of recent events. Two relevant points are clear to me:
First, Kathy continues to exercise her legal right to comment on a major project that will affect her health, her family’s welfare and the value of their property just as it will affect all of us living in the neighborhood. There is nothing wrong with anyone speaking out like she has. Some might say she has a civic duty to do so.
Second, his remark suggests he is a persecuted businessman being hounded by a single disgruntled person. Many people protested every step of his project. Many people attended meetings- including the one Wangler himself set up at the middle school. Many people stood up and spoke out at multiple meetings”ZBA, Plan Commission, etc. Many people went door to door with a petition opposing the five-story, four-building, four-year proposal. Some people bought stamps to mail out postcard meeting reminders. Some people picketed on the night of the Village Council vote. Marcy, Steve, Gloria, Dave, Marty, Rich, Kathy and many others too numerous to mention were there every step of the way, standing ankle deep at the shore, trying to hold back the inevitable tide.
Not everyone has the time to attend meetings and some lack the courage to stand up at the microphone. Taking potshots at those visible few who, by speaking out, make themselves easier targets serves no useful purpose now or in the future.
I wish Mr. Wangler good luck finding people willing to spend close to $300, 000 for a condo in that NW building with the scenic view of the billboard and cell tower. It’s all about location, location, location, right?
Forget the traffic copters that hover in the area at 5:30 a.m., the train engines idling on the tracks to the north, the backup alarms of oil trucks leaving before 6 a.m., the diesel exhaust from tow trucks idling while parked, etc. I am very curious to know who these units are being marketed to since I have seen no advertising anywhere for them like the Residences at the Grove have done locally. Very curious.
Carol Good
Forest Park
Continued suffering
A couple weeks ago I reported how Mayor Calderone and his alarm company were suffering along with the neighbors surrounding the new Taxman Madison Commons building project at Marengo and Madison. Well it appears the suffering is contagious and has spread to another member of the village council.
Commissioner Tim Gillian, whose family are owners of the Aurora, IL based Abbey Paving & Seal Coating Co. must have caught the bug. Abbey Paving was given the contract to resurface the parking areas all around Madison Commons. It seems that the symptoms of this bug include taking large sums of money to the bank.
Steven Backman
Thank you!
The Forest Park Kiwanis Club would deeply like to thank all who made our Pasta Dinner, last week, a resounding success!
Chef Gaetano DiBennedetto, from LaPiazza Ristorante; Carriage Flower Shop; Ultra Foods; Freddy’s Pizzeria; Horan’s; Louie’s Grill; Turano’s Bakery; River Forest Jewel; The Oak Park Bakery; Healy’s WestSide; Café DeLuca; Silverland Bakers; Tom McNamara; Kays Bakery; our Mayor Anthony Calderone, and Beverly Thompson of the Community Center and ALL of the volunteers!
This event would not have been possible without you.
Forest Park Kiwanis
What’s in a name?
Last week John Rice incorrectly identified the event which began as ‘Take Our Daughters to Work Day.” It is not, as people commonly say, “Take Your Daughter to Work Day.”
One little word really does make a difference. Why should girls be limited to learning about what their own parents do? The day was created to expand the horizons for girls, to show them careers beyond, “nurse, teacher, librarian.” There’s certainly nothing wrong with those careers, but girls should be able to choose from the full array of what the world has to offer.
Those interested in Learning more may visit http://www.daughtersandsonsto work.org.
From the program’s website: “Why is the program called “OUR” Daughters and Sons? When we say “Our Daughters And Sons” we mean more than our own children. The Ms. Foundation encourages workplaces and individuals to ensure all our nation’s daughters and sons participate in the program by inviting children from housing authorities and shelters, nieces and nephews, neighbors and friends, and more, to join them for Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work® Day. Through this program, adults can show girls and boys opportunities they would have otherwise never known existed.
Ensuring girls of all races, ethnicities and economic circumstances participated in Take Our Daughters To Work® Day was always a major component of the program and is something we are committed to continuing in the Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work® program.”
With the shortages of qualified workers in America in science and technology, the more we can do for all of our sons and daughters to open up their eyes to the possibilities, the better.
Elaine Luther
Forest Park
