Homewood

Pair of H-F seniors named National Merit Scholarship finalists

Homewood-Flossmoor High School announced that seniors Margaret Colton and Heather Culbertson, both of Homewood, have been named finalists in the 2016 National Merit Scholarship competition. Colton and Culbertson are two of nearly 15,000 students across the United States to reach the finals, and both are now eligible to receive scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation later this spring. Both are participants in Homewood-Flossmoor’s music program, and are members of the H-F International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. Upon graduation, Colton plans to major in biology or microbiology at the University of Chicago, and Culbertson will double major in biological chemistry and applied mathematics at Evangel University, located in Springfield, Missouri. 

Hillside

Annual Egg-citing Egg Hunt includes doughnuts with the Easter Bunny

The village and the Youth Commission will hold the annual Egg-citing Egg Hunt and Free Donuts with the Bunny event on March 26 at Hillside Commons, located at Hillside and Washington avenues. Donuts will be available, with the Easter Bunny on hand, at 9:30 a.m., followed by the egg hunt at 10 a.m.. Participants — divided into age groups 2 and under, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 and 9-10 — will collect as many eggs as possible, and there will special Lucky Egg Finders prizes, among other surprises (while supplies last). The egg hunt is for children only; no parents will be allowed on the field. For more information, call (708) 202-4343 or visit www.hillside-il.org.

Lemont

Library program to focus on history of Sag Bridge

The Lemont Public Library will host The Lost Town of Sag Bridge Lecture from 7-8 p.m. March 31 at the Lemont Historical Society, 306 Lemont Street. Pat Camalliere, author of the historical mystery novel, “The Mystery of Sag Bridge,” will talk about the background of Sag Bridge — a thriving, 19th Century canal town, now part of present-day Lemont — including turn-of-the-century transportation and ghost stories. Attendees also will tour the adjacent Old Stone Church. Light refreshments will be served at the lecture. Registration is required. To register, and for more information, call (630) 257-6541 or visit www.lemontlibrary.org.

Evanston announced that its downtown has been ranked the 10th best downtown in the United States for the second year in a row, according to Livability.com’s 2016 Top 10 Best Downtowns list.

Evanston

City earns 10th best downtown in U.S. ranking

The city announced that downtown Evanston has been ranked the 10th best downtown in the United States for the second year in a row, according to Livability.com’s 2016 Top 10 Best Downtowns list. Several factors were considered in the selection process, including growth rates, diversity, new development and area amenities. Livability.com also noted the growth of popular nighttime spots and cultural attractions (including theaters, museums, music venues, bars and restaurants), proximity to Northwestern University and Lake Michigan, and a walkable urban environment (including the city’s collection of parks) as key factors in ranking Evanston at No. 10 on the list. For more information, visit www.cityofevanston.org. To view the entire list, visit www.livability.com.

Niles

Students invited to take part in Arbor Day poster contest

In celebration of Arbor Day (April 29), the village is inviting fourth- and fifth-grade students to participate in a poster contest, titled, “Trees Grow with Us and for Us.” Posters should reflect the role that trees play in the community, and how they contribute to students’ lives. All entries must be poster size (11-by-17 inches; white paper); must consist of original artwork created by students currently attending fourth or fifth grade in the village; and must be created with markers, crayons, paint pens, watercolors, ink, acrylic, colored pencils, and /or tempera paint. Collages, and computer or photo-generated art and/or printing will not be accepted. The top three posters will be revealed during the village’s Arbor Day ceremony at Nelson School, 8901 Ozanam Street, on April 29. The winning poster will be featured in the Focus on Niles summer newsletter. In addition, the winner of the contest and the two runners-up will be taken to lunch (to the restaurant of their choosing) by Mayor Andrew Przybylo. Posters must be submitted by April 8 to: The Village of Niles, 1000 Civic Center Drive, Niles, Ill. 60714 (Attention: Hayley Garard). For complete contest rules, visit www.vniles.com. For additional information, call (847) 588-8008 or send an email to hg@vniles.com.

Arlington Heights

Village approves use of bonds to build new police station

During a recent meeting, the Village Board approved an ordinance for the issue of $32.9 million in bonds for the purpose of financing the construction of a new police station, anticipated to be built in 2017 at the site of the current station: 200 E. Sigwalt Street. A total of 29 bids were submitted for the bond sale, which started at 3 percent and dropped to 2.93 percent by KeyBanc, which will be paid over the 20-year life of the bonds. The layout plan for the new station includes a two-story building of 75,000 square feet, a basement and a 10,000-square-foot garage for police vehicles. The result of a Police Station Feasibility Study determined that the existing police station — a 36-year-old, 38,000-square-foot facility — was no longer adequate in serving the needs of a modern law enforcement agency. For complete details, visit www.vah.com. To ask questions or make comments regarding the project, send an email to policestationproject@vah.com or call (847) 368-5000.     

Oak Park

Oak Park elementary District 97 to go to referendum in 2017

Oak Park Elementary School District 97 will run a referendum on the April 4, 2017 ballot, the school board announced March 15. Increasing student enrollment, the state of Illinois’ “unstable financial situation” and low Consumer Price Index were factors given in a press release sent to district parents.

A board statement said the district’s fund balance was projected to dip under a recommended 25 percent reserves level by the 2018-19 school year.

Oak Park voters pay attention to school district referenda and turn out to vote. Last fall, a group of citizens collected more than 4,000 of signatures in a few weeks to force the Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200 board to put a $17 million pool bond on the March 15 ballot. The board scuttled the project.

District 97 last issued a referendum in April 2011, in the midst of the recession. The district sought to raise $6.9 million by increasing the tax-limiting rate to an amount which would equal an additional $37.40 per $100,000 value of a home. About 33 percent of Oak Park’s registered voters turned out to vote, and the initiative passed by 55 percent.

The board said the 2011 referendum “served as a bridge” to get the district through 2019.

Since that time, the District 97 board has worked with an ad hoc citizen-led Finance Oversight and Review Committee. The board, financial advisers and the committee will continue to meet over the next 13 months to hammer out how much money and for what purposes the referendum will be crafted to include.

“In the months ahead, we will be studying and assessing the referendum options that are available to us,” the board statement said.

New parking garage officially opens for business

The village reported that the new Lake & Forest Parking Garage, located at the corner of Lake Street and Forest Avenue, is officially open for business. Mayor Aan Abu-Taleb, along with other village officials, representatives of the local business community and project developers, officially opened the garage at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Feb. 29. The garage features 300 public parking spaces on the first three floors, and another 288 spaces that will serve residents and businesses in the $99 million Vantage Oak Park development project under construction in downtown Oak Park. The new garage replaces one of the village’s first stand-alone public parking structures, which stood on the site from 1974 until it was demolished in October 2014. The new garage initially will be open only to hourly customers; daily and overnight parking permits eventually will be available. For more information, call (708) 383-4600 or visit www.oak-park.us/development.

–Cook County News Briefs–