Neighborhood opposes Downers sidewalk plan
The village of Downers Grove recently announced their 2009 sidewalk plan. The majority of the sidewalks will be in quadrant between the streets of 55th Street, Cumnor Road, Williams and Second streets. These streets are quiet, boast mature trees and seldom see through traffic or pedestrians. However, with the Downers Grove sidewalk plan, much of that is going to change.

The village plans to come in this summer, remove the mature trees, destroy the yards and property values of these homes. They plan to install the sidewalks the maximum distance from the street currently allowed by law, which is about 15 feet. Since most of the homes affected have a 50 foot or less setback, they will see their front yards reduced by 40 percent.

The decision to put in sidewalks was made in the early 1990s by the Total Community Development Two and is something that almost every homeowner impacted is resisting. In fact, a recent Public Works meeting became an emotional gathering as residents voiced their opposition and found the village plans to spend more than $400,000 on a project that hardly anyone wants, or as the homeowners attest, nobody will use. We would rather see the money used on something needed, such as storm water or roadway improvements.

I encourage the Village Council to reassess their plans and listen to the taxpayers and residents that currently live in their town, voted for them and contribute thousands in taxes. It is not fiscally responsible to spend money on projects that people do not want or use, especially in this economy. There are multiple other projects that the $400,000 could be appropriated to that will add value to the community.
Cheryl Popielarz, Downers Grove

District 201 School Board needs new leadership
The challenges facing the current Community Unit School District 201 School Board are enormous, unprecedented and complex.  As if declining enrollment and higher national standards weren’t enough, now its leaders must deal with future years of declining tax revenues and rising parent dissatisfaction.

Most of these problems, of course, have existed in some form throughout the past decade or so. What is different now is that the pace of change has accelerated while the current School Board’s ability to manage this change has not kept pace.

On April 7, more candidates are running for the four open School Board seats than ever before. These candidates have broken up into groups of four, and offer a clear choice between the past and the future.

Representing the past we find incumbents Robert Zapinski, Elizabeth Durrani and their running mates Keith Johnson and Jim Babiak. They feel the programs instituted in the past few years are of value, and want them to continue. They speak eloquently of improvement and fiscal responsibility, but somehow fail to mention District 201 has one of the state’s highest per student spending levels and yet earns only last place test scores in DuPage County.

Strongly opposing this underperforming past are Marie Charlton, Diann Thomas, Dan Charleston and Joel Price. They feel high spending and poor performance represents a failure rather than a success. They seek a future of continued positive change and upward trends, and point out that the small positive changes of the past two years seem suspiciously to have begun only after they formed a parent group in 2007 and started to put pressure on a reluctant School Board. They point out that the incumbents did little for a decade, except confound the desires of the citizens, first with cell towers and lighting structures, and later with school closings and refusals of financial disclosure.

It is time for a change.  It is time to open up the underperforming District 201 School Board to a new generation of leaders. It is time to make performance matter, to protect your tax dollars and to welcome parent and community opinions to the table. It is time for the future to begin.
Knight Charlton, Westmont

New village manager making good impression
I was so impressed by the new village manager Stan Urban that I had to write a letter.
I, along with other residents, were ready for a fight and being appeased with lip service just like the past. It didn't happen. I feel that we finally have it right; this man may do something to turn Westchester around.

Urban addressed the current flooding issues and the flood plain insurance issues head on. Unlike the current board, who likes to pass the buck, he didn’t. He actually went out into the village and knocked on residents’ doors. He wants to hear from the residents. Not like the past when the manager wouldn’t return your phone call and the trustees treated the residents like enemies.

He addressed extending hours for the village offices, flooding, economic development, and other issues that are the platform for the Westchester Comes First party for months. I feel that with him and with a new village president like Sam Pulia, the Westchester Comes First candidate, this village may have a chance.

Pam Kouimelis, Westchester