This may not be a bad investment, but it's not the right one right now. We could all come up with about 300 other projects and investments that would be more timely. Consumer confidence is higher people are not going to start tossing whatever disposable dollars they have around town. The Village should follow in a similar vein.

My taxes were raised $2500 this year. I would rather have that money back!

I don't see the need to improve the Village Green at this time. If the village is going to get some money for the sale of property on 95th st. why not bank it instead of turning around and spending it.right away? As an example would an ice skating rink be nice? Sure. Do we need one? No.

We can be against this spending of our taxes all day long but the village is going to spend our hard earned money any way they want to.So lady's and gents be ready for our taxes to go up again because we need to fix something that is not broke.The money is burning a hole in there pockets and it must go.So bend over my friends and take it.

2 to 3 million to fix it up.Are they out of there minds?

I don't know what meeting Lorraine was at, but I certainly did not see this proposal 'gain' any momentum. I saw a majority of the people at the meeting that were NOT in favor of any part of the plan. The Masons would make out like bandits in this deal, getting a brand new, modern building with handicapped accessible entrances and an elevator, all paid for by the Village.They clearly stated they're not putting a dime into it. Besides the cost to build them a new building (and how many of those projects come in on or under budget), there's the cost to completely redo the Green. Trustee Olejniczak estimated that would run 2 to 3 million dollars. But that was just his estimate. I do not believe the Village really knows the cost, or if they do, they are not saying at this point. That fact that this is being discussed mostly behind doors and with 'confidential' investors (for the senior center property) smacks of backroom deals and slimy politics. I want TOTAL TRANSPARENCY and I want ALL the people of Oak Lawn to have a say in this. Its time for the mayor and the Trustees to stop riding roughshod over the Village Green neighbors, drop this nonsense and focus on the problems they already have - the vacant businesses and the 111th street debacle.

I am for this upgrade to the village green. The only way to make Oak Lawn a viable inner ring suburb is to make it attractive to young people who wish to raise their families in our community. Oak Lawn needs attractive amenities which will help it to remain a community people choose to live in not just get stuck living in. Our community needs to look to the future. Or,the very best days will be only memories.

Oak Lawn has pretty low residential property taxes. The property tax increases you are seeing are from the state, not Oak Lawn. Oak Lawn gets the majority of its revenue from commercial property taxes and sales tax. At least that's how I understand it, someone can come and correct me if I'm wrong (but please provide a source).

I was talking about this with my father who lives just a block over from the Village Green. He's pretty much against it for the same reason's everyone else is, our taxes going up. That's really probably not going to be the case, as a residential property tax increase (again as I understand it) has to be voted on by the public.

My confusion on this project is that I'm not sure what we are trying to do in Oak Lawn or what Oak Lawn is trying to be. Or for that matter, what the residents want oak lawn to be.

I've seen people come on here and complain about section 8 housing and the like, and like in this article, I've seen people complain about spending money to improve Oak Lawn. In the discussion about what to do at 95th street and Cicero, numerous people have advocated for a Trader Joes.

Does anyone honestly think that the people using section 8 vouchers are shopping at Trader Joes? In order to get stores like that in here, you are going to have to make OL more desirable to the sorts of sophisticated people that would shop there.

This includes improvements LIKE, buy maybe not necessarily, the improvements to the green.

I agree with OLG and ANDY. This could be the start of a revolution

Can you tell The only one for this is The Mayor?? By the way we already have an Ice rink that is losing money every year for the Park District

The small piece of land will not make enough difference to warrant anywhere near 2-3 million investment to redo the village green. Some of the things you mentioned could be put on land already owned by the village. In this economy I don't see spending a lot of tax dollars that aren't absolutely necessary. Bringing people into Oak Lawn would be helped by enforcing some of the villages' laws and codes. Abandoned vehicles, lawns a foot tall at houses and empty lots, cars parked on lawns,blocking sidewalks, by intersections near schools, and loud partys at houses(usually rented) that go on every weekend, Gang meetings in our parks, grafitti removal, etc..etc. These should all be given immediate action. I see code enforcement cars drive by these problems all the time, seldom stopping. Why do we have to call constantly to have these problems corrected?? Can't the village correct these simple problems? These are issues keeping people from swarming to Oak Lawn! Gangs mainly flock to places they don't get bothered. Bother them and just maybe they will move on.
This whole deal with this building shouldn't be a concern. Worry about it when the economy recovers. The village currently has more than enough projects and problems to work on.. Let's fix what's wrong here Now before you take on anymore projects..Please try to turn this around so Oak Lawn can return to being a safe, family friendly community.

Speaking of the Park District....someone correct me if I'm wrong, but do they not have jurisdiction over this property? If so, why are they not at the forefront with ideas to raise the cash, and plans? And Andy, I believe the Village Manager is a proponent of this project as well as the Mayor. I haven't been in the Ice Arena in years, but if it's in the same shape as the pools and Pavilion, then there's no wonder it loses money.

OLG..you forgot the seldom used golf course and the racquetball courts...These are all Park District properties that certainly have big budgets but seldom get updated?? Where are they using this money??

Isn't it interesting too, that during the meeting on Monday evening, in trying to 'sell' this idea to residents, the mayor stated that there has been an uptick in the economy in the Chicagoland area. Yet in the article under the fold on the front page of today's Reporter newspaper regarding the OL Trustees discussing the hiring of an assistant Village Mgr to help the eternally unreachable Mgr. Deetjen, the mayor is quoted as saying "We are having a more difficult time in terms of the economy. I don't know if the timing is the best." Wow. A classic case of talking out of both sides of your mouth, Dave. So which is it, Dave - is the economy in an uptick or are we having a more difficult time with it? Seems to me, If its Dave's idea, we're in an uptick. If its someone else's idea, its a difficult time in terms of the economy.

I also wondered why we need an OUTDOOR ice rink, when we can't 'fill' the indoor one at anytime of the year.
I also wonder where the senior center and the family services building will be transferred...no mention in the article or on this board. Maybe I missed it, if so, can somebody enlighten me?
Pat. F., you are right on so many points...I'm not quite sure how you know all the problems in the town are rentals, but otherwise, you seem on target.
Sure the Masons have 'been nice' but I will be nice too if they give me a brand new building AND tear down the place I gave them. That amount of space just doesn't warrant SO much money for a larger band shell (which will be THAT much more noise right next to the residents) and an ice rink with concession stands. Is somebody on the board a Mason? (Not to start any conspiracy theories, especially with the Masons, who have enough.)
Until there are no gangs and drugs are a negligible concern, why are we cutting social services? Do we have a new high school with modern amenities? Fixed streets? Finished alleys?
HAVING SAID THAT...we DO need to balance keeping the town updated and appealing to a younger generation of home buyers. Good schools, low crime, and nice parks are all part of the mix, along with our great library, location and shopping, restaurants, etc. Affordable homes with reasonable taxes will keep us vital.
I just don't see THIS project being the answer, especially with so many questions in the rest of town.

I must be in a dream... Other bloggers think the Mayor is wrong??? Next thing you will tell me is my Cubs are going to win the World Series this season....

It appears that one of the biggest problems with the article is that people now believe it will take 2 to 3 million to renovate the village green. The problem is that those numbers came out of the mouth of Alex Olejniczak, who as usual has no facts to back up the statement.
Sell the village owned building and use that money (i think an article said $1.5 million) for this project.

I see that people are complaining about gangs and graffiti and how that should be addressed and money used to stop those things. Well, look at how well that works for chicago? Its all about the people that live in the neighborhood.

What Oak Lawn needs to ask itself is does it want to be an extension of the south side of chicago, or does it want to be an extension of the southwest suburbs like palos and orland?

Don't get me wrong, I don't think Oak Lawn is a bad town, I mean, I bought a house here just ten years ago after growing up here. I'd just like to see it improve enough so my wife stops pestering me about moving out of cook county entirely....

Like I said, I don't know that this project is the right one, but it is (for right now at least) the only thing thats been brought to the table. If for nothing else, I kind of hope this starts a discussion of some other sort of improvement that maybe everyone can get behind.

I'd love an outdoor ice skating rink. An outdoor rink is totally a different atmosphere then an indoor one (just look at how popular the NHL winter classic is), and might just get more people interested in ice skating and using the indoor facility more. If the people of Oak Lawn really don't want one though, I doubt it would see a lot of use.

Since this would take a long time to get going, what if we rented one of the portable ice skating rinks and set that up in the parking lot to see how much use it got before investing all that money. At least investigate the cost associated with doing so before going all out?

Grunty, unless you have the contract to BUILD that rink, I think it needs to be on the backburner until LOTS of other things get fixed or solved. It isn't that it is the worst idea ever, or that the park in general should not be improved, just that if times are tough, you prioritize. Most of our tax reveniue comes from business, yet we are closing down one with no specific plan for replacement (NO, building a shell they HOPE to fill is NOT a plan), just as they did before (on 95th), and all of THOSE STILL haven't been filled. 95th and Cicero is a revolving door despite being the highest profile spot in town.
The deal for the property on 95th Street to the 'undiscloseds' should happen regardless of the Mason building, if it is such a good deal. However, when it IS done, we better get to see EVERY piece of paper related to the deal. Citizens should know where (and WHO) every cent went. If they dont 'want to agree tot that, it says a lot about what kind of deal this is...the old-school, shady, backroom kind.

does anyone else realize that our mayor is OBSESSED with parks? oak lawn has all these expensive parks that i always see EMPTY; no one uses them! also parks are some of the dumbest things you can build for a village, because they are relatively expensive, and they create few jobs. How about saving the firefighters!?!?

That is great that you go to parks but how many do we really need if you swung on 1 swing you swung on them all. a slide is a slide the kids don't know the difference.I live by a park and all it brings in are young kids making trouble..Il bet it cost more to maintain the parks then it does to pay our firemen.Il bet we have more parks then firemen.

Why does Alex Oleniciak throw his cigarette buts into the grass at the Village Green? Head of the green committee -- -- -- -- hypocrite.

Keep up the good job Lorraine!

Dave W.

I'm just curious, and I'm not really sure how to ask the question without being to open ended, but when you are showing homes and talking to potential buyers (I assume you are an agent from an earlier post, sorry if I'm wrong) what are people asking other then proximity to parks (and of course the location of a school)? Are there things they are looking for that Oak Lawn doesn't have? Are the streets somethign they are saying is preventing them from making a purchase?

(Please don't take anything above as a demand or an attack, I am genuinely curious and text can't always portray emotion properly)

Grunty, it is sort of hand-in-hand thing, I suppose. Neither one is going to get too far ahead without the other. Without industrial, which Oak Lawn has very little, we are mostly bound to the balance of commercial and residential. Ultimately, it comes down to we just went through the Great Recession and it still doesn't feel like we in Oak Lawn are really out of it. Both will come back, in time. Whatever the demand is for it, THAT is what will fill those spots. People complain on every board that we 'need' this upscale store, or that one...if people move in that can afford Saks, that is what will build. If it is K-mart (which, somehow, apparently, still made money there). THAT will be there (111th). Should the town be controlling so much 'real estate'? I don't think so. Having said that, if they do something good, really inspired, anywhere, and do it legally, transparently, and sooner than later, I will be the first to praise them.
Also, real estate, residential, won't come back until there are real jobs. I mean better paying jobs, not glorified part-time jobs, with no benefits. The retail jobs that are created by most of these places are of course beneficial to the area, but they don't support households alone, or even in tandem, for a house costing $200,000. Until all the foreclosures are bought up and the jobs come back to the area, housing will lag. It is a weird dance that people want the stores, and the stores want the people, and who goes first?

The fact that OL is competing with every other town around is exactly why they should be looking to differentiate themselves and take advantage of their "footprint". The foundation is already there, and this is yet another opportunity for OL to make a statement about what kind of place it'll be in the future.

However, with the tone of many of the comments on this story and others about development, one would think that OL should open a soup kitchen, homeless shelter, and second-hand store because Oak Lawners are just a bunch of po' folks who can't possibly support anything even remotely upscale. If this type of thinking prevails, it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I'll continue to watch these developments closely. Within 2 years we'll be looking for a place to be "reverse snowbirds". Oak Lawn is the only suburban and South Side location we're considering. C'mon Oak Lawn...give me some reasons to choose you!

CJM, first of all, when you come, please remember me. I live in Oak Lawn, work in Oak Lawn, and love buyers.
Okay, pitch out of the way...my remarks are now manyu and scattered, but suffice it say it isn't that I WANT nothing upscale. I've only said it will happen gradually, and there is no 'magic beans' that will transform our town overnight, or even in a year. As people age out, the new families coming in need to be of higher income than what we have now. If the numbers were there now, we wouldn't be having this discussion at all. I never advocated for low income places, just said that Oak Lawn seesm very erager to chase out existing businesses (which are paying taxes) to MAYBE get in something 'nicer' that always seems to be in a TIF (no taxes). I don't want the gold place, the title loan place, I do business in other towns, and all there are are those places, liquor stores, gun shops...I don't want to live there. Oak Lawn isn't "po'" it just isn't 'rich' either. We are so comsumed with being Orland, or La Grange, we don't have an identity. Unless you count empty store fronts. I would rather they be filled with Sav-A-Lot than empty three time in two years (95th And Cicero). NOTHING is left, almost, at 103rd and Central...95th and Cook is STILL unfilled, and has had turnover constantly, as has 95th and 52nd Ave. Nothing moved into Topnotch Burger...sorry, a little bit more...

Dave W your insights are great. Since you are in real estate I wanted to ask you a question. Often when there's a story about crime in OL or improving OL someone throws in the Section 8 comment. In your opinion what percentage of housing in OL is section 8? I just don't see it but I'm not a realtor. Thanks.

OLG, it has been used repeatedly by many, but you are right about Mr. Streit. I have spoken to him, face to face and called him out about it, and he doesn't really deny it or defend it with much vigor. He knows it is an old school fear tactic. There is NO such mandate from the government. It is listed as a POSSIBILTY, as it is (I think it HAS to be) with govenrment funds even possible. (If they try to file for grants or whatnot, they can't have language that specifically bans things like that, or any other fair housing practices.) Again, it is racist on the face, or AT LEAST prejudiced, because it supposes that section 8 is inherently evil, criminal and dangerous. There are numerous reasons other than scaring people with race/crime to oppose such developments if one wants to use crazy things like FACTS. It is disappointing that we are represented by somebody that doesn't value them.

We need side streets paved ,curbs redone lets start with those projects.