Unanswered questions linger about District 201

Did the District 201 School Board handle the potential closing of South School correctly?

Will property values decrease? Will the classroom sizes be 18 to 20 children? Will South School have to have another new principal if we stay open?

A lot of unanswered questions seem to be the problem, no straight answers.
Would it be the worse thing if South school closed? Let’s come together as a community and think of the kids. Chicago Magazine October 2006 issue did not put Manning in the top 13 of best elementary schools because they wanted to. They earned it.

Westmont could be in a worse situation. We could have over crowding, have to raise our taxes to build a new school. Would that referendum get passed?

Trudy Peterson
Westmont

U.S. troop withdrawal needs to happen now

Though we may not all agree on the particulars, the majority of Americans want to end the war in Iraq.

On NPR Morning Edition, they stated that more Americans than ever now see the folly of our invasion and occupation there. Terrorism is one thing, subjugating a people to an occupation of unlimited duration is not feasible for them or for the United States.

The war has escalated to a degree that we did not conceive of and did not prepare for. Our presence simply incites the Iraqi people to more action to remove us from their country.

How many Americans must die to prove President Bush is wrong, which he is, was and always will be. God may have told him to do this, poor thing, but the American people did not.

How many Iraqis have to die before we feel we have done enough? It is enough. It has been enough since the beginning. We need to get our military out of their country.

We need to provide humanitarian services to the millions who have been displaced because of our folly and we need to stop believing that our soldiers have to sacrifice their lives in order for us to “win.”

Paula Backes
Downers Grove

District 99 incumbents not showing leadership

An advertisement that ran in your paper earlier this month about the District 99 Caucus claims the caucus endorsed candidates representing a hidden agenda and only have a single issue, the sale of the District 99 land.

While resolution of the land issue is certainly important, what is more important is the way the incumbents have handled the issue and what it says about their leadership abilities.

Continuing to spend large amounts of money litigating this issue rather than selling the land at an independently appraised price, as agreed to by previous District 99 boards, indicates questionable fiscal decision-making and misplaced priorities. Marketing the property as available for high-density, multi-family development in the heart of our town center shows a complete disregard for the citizens of Woodridge who would be
impacted by this development.

By advertising the land in the Wall Street Journal and asking for bids on the property, District 99 forced Woodridge to start condemnation proceedings to prevent the sale of the property on the date of the advertised bid openings. To now imply that no resolution to the issue can be pursued because Woodridge initiated litigation is not only disingenuous, it’s deceitful. 

The question before the citizens of District 99 is not whether or not to sell the district’s land, but whether or not they want to continue to be represented by a board of incumbents who have mismanaged this entire situation. If the incumbents had really wished to serve “the entire District 99 community” as they say in their ad, we would not be in the current situation.

Susan and Peter Van Veen
Woodridge, District 99 Caucus Members

Thoman’s candidacy ‘a breath of fresh air’

This year’s election seems to have more than its share of intensity, controversy, even acrimony. People are wondering who is aligned with whom and what strings are being pulled behind the scenes.

In contrast, Mark Thoman’s candidacy is a breath of fresh air. He is independent in every sense of the word. He has an open mind and his own ideas and priorities about what the village needs.

And for most of us, I think his priorities match our own — a village that listens to what residents want and is responsive to residents’ needs. A village that takes care of basics like streets and storm water, and strikes a balance between neighborhoods and business development.

He also has done his homework — if you have seen any of the candidate forums or read their statements in the paper, you have probably noticed his thoughtful ideas and command of the issues. We need people like him on the Village Council.

Mark Thoman is a longtime resident who has been watching the way things work in our village and is willing to put in the time and effort to make them work a little better.

Please put him to work for you by voting for him on April 17.

Ken Lerner
Downers Grove

Board member explains District 99 land stance

The village of Woodridge is suing Downers Grove High School District 99 in a legal effort to seize District 99’s 44-acre parcel of land in Woodridge.

On Sept. 14 Woodridge offered District 99 $10 million for our 44 acres. District 99 rejected this offer and refused to sell.

Here’s why:

District 99’s 44-acre parcel of land in Woodridge helps solve a crucial need. North High and South High are each short of land. Although the State Board of Education has recognized North should be on at least 53 acres and South should be on at least 63 acres, North is actually on 18 acres while South is on 44 acres.

For competitive, comprehensive high schools with our facilities and over 5,000 students, more land is essential. For comparison, the new high schools in Plainfield, Oswego and Neuqua Valley in Naperville are each on 80 to 100 acres.

To help address our land shortage, District 99 in 2000 began a small land acquisition effort just west of North High. So far we have purchased five of eight needed lots. The cost has been $1 million per acre.

That is the replacement cost of our 44-acre parcel of land in Woodridge — $1 million per acre or $44 million for the whole parcel. The Woodridge offer of $10 million for our 44 acres is $34 million short of our current replacement cost.

When we are already short of land, we would reduce District 99’s land holdings by over 40 percent. In an effort to reverse this land loss with large alternative land acquisitions near both high schools, we would needlessly impose upon the taxpayers a tax burden of millions of dollars in replacement costs and would unnecessarily force the disruption of neighborhoods which have been established for decades.

District 99 does not want to take those actions. So District 99 is defending this litigation at great cost — making budget balancing even more difficult though still achievable.

We would much rather spend our resources on books, computers and needed capital repairs rather than attorney’s fees and costs. But we are being sued. We are not suing the village of Woodridge.

District 99 is defending our schools, our students, our taxpayers, our residents and our larger community. That is our obligation. We must maintain the educational opportunities we can provide, both now and in the future.

Some candidates for the District 99 School Board side with Woodridge in its desire to seize the 44 acres. The incumbent candidates do not and are helping stop Woodridge from seizing District 99’s 44-acre parcel of land. On April 17, District 99’s voters will have their say and decide.

Craig Greenwood
District 99 School Board member

Mayor needs to explain campaign contributions

It would be good to have an explanation of the contributions to Brian Krajewski's election campaign before we go to the polls.

If one loads the official state campaign disclosure Web site and searches for “Krajewski,” one gets a listing of the contributions. The total is significant for the years 2002-06. And 2007 dollars are not included.

At the candidates’ forum on March 24 Krajewski said that the annual golf outing is his main fundraising for the campaign. Yet the contribution list shows many contributions that do not appear to be related to the golf outing.

Legal firms, management firms, insurance agencies, builders, etc., mostly from outside the village regularly contribute several hundred to several thousand dollars per year. He said that his annual golf outing is like the Naperville golf outing for Naperville’s Mayor George Pradel.

However, the state campaign disclosure web site shows no contributions to Pradel over the same period.

It shows about $25,000 in contributions to Pradel in 2007. It does not have Krajweski’s data for 2007 but consider that he received more than $100,000 in 2006, a year he was not even running for office.

Krajewski also said that the contributions are not just for his campaign but support village business such as his travel and entertainment expenses when he’s lobbying for village interests.

It seem odd to be comingling village business expenses and election campaign expenses. He also said that much of the money is donated to various nonprofit organizations.

But a search of the campaign disclosure web site for “donations” from “Citizens for Brian J Krajewski” turn up less than that. Krajewski supporters say that the campaign contributions are a non-issue.  I disagree.

Peter Turula
Downers Grove

Mayor backed residents with Walgreens project

It seems such a long time ago that we faced having a disproportionately-sized Walgreens Drug Store shoehorned into a corner of the semi-historic Green Knolls Center at 63rd and Main streets.

You may recall consistent proponents included Green Knolls’ attorney Jim Russ Jr. and Village Commissioners Ronald Sandack, Stan Urban and Sue McConnell. 

When the project was discussed by the council, these three favored virtually whatever Walgreens wanted, including building code variances.

Fortunately a concerned resident circulated a scale drawing of the proposal.  His illustrations showed the 15,000-square-foot Walgreens footprint and ill-conceived retaining-wall-facing entrance with its backside to other businesses. 

These graphic depictions created significant local opposition to the Walgreens Proposal; a petition quickly gathered 1,500 signatures opposing that design with only a handful of supporters.

Despite that overwhelming neighborhood opposition, when the proposal came to a final council vote, Commissioners Schnell, Waldack and Tully voted to support the residents producing a tied vote.

Finally, the deciding vote against that Walgreens proposal was cast by Mayor Brian Krajewski. A happy ending, residents win.

Several years and many headlines later it is easy to forget the significance of Krajewski’s vote. However, Walgreens has returned with yet another proposal for the Green Knolls Center.

This time they have integrated resident concerns into a design requiring only one variance for their planned building to be located east of the present Ace Hardware.

Sandack clearly put the interest of business and his friend over that of local residents. When considering mayoral choices, remember Krajewski listened to and supported resident concerns. Krajewski’s decisive influence will make a better future for Green Knolls Center and Downers Grove.

Dale McCormack
Downers Grove

Commissioner throws support to Sandack

The upcoming mayoral election is critical to the direction Downers Grove will take for the next four years. I am publicly endorsing the best candidate, Ronald Sandack.

I have worked with Ron on the council for the last two years and I have found him to be hard-working, thoughtful, and someone you and I can trust. We may disagree on some issues, but after debate and discussion, we both know that we are putting the people of Downers Grove first, not some political career or rewards for friends. When all is said and done, he is someone who has my respect.

Ethics is more than just campaign funding. We know Brian Krajewski has raised a great deal of money, most of it from outside Downers Grove and businesses doing business with the village. Is it really charity when you contribute other people’s money, or is it spending political goodwill hoping for a pay back? What about other ethical behavior?

You may recall Krajewski firing volunteers of boards and commissions in a political temper tantrum. He now has repeatedly said in public that he has instituted a new process. His political maneuvering with these volunteers has not changed, it has just gone underground.

He has publicly stated that he has approved all appointments as submitted by the liaisons to the boards. None one of my appointment recommendations has been put through, and none of them have worked on my campaign or are related. 

With a rash of disasters in the Chicago area due to drunken driving, liquor control is a major issue. Two establishments that sold to minors were recommended to be fined by the Liquor Commission with the Legal Department recommending heavier fines and suspension.

The Mayor, as Liquor Commissioner, overruled both entities and issued lower fines.

Please check the Mayor’s contribution list. A $56,000 contract for DUI Prosecutions was put forth without a bid. The Mayor got a $5,600 contribution. DUIs and having potential killers on our roads is not an area for political pay-for-play. 

Ron Sandack will make a good mayor. He will work hard to help resolve the problems we face as a village and do so while working with the rest of the Council. Downers Grove is a great community and we do not want to give four more years to a mayor who is turning our community into another Cicero. It is time for a change.

William Waldack
Downers Grove Village Commissioner