The Oak Lawn Planning and Development Commission want to because there are still too many “unknowns” about traffic, flood control and economic impact on the village.
Steve Radice, chair of the plan commission, told hospital officials on Monday that commissioners still don’t have enough information to recommend the medical center’s nine zoning variances for approval by the
“We want to get it right,” Radice said. “I can’t go through with this and feel 100 percent comfortable. It’s bigger than anything [the village] has ever dealt with.”
The latest addition to the medical center campus is part of a $600 million expansion plan to increase capacity and eventually update older buildings on the campus, including The 9-story tower of up to 170 feet will located on the east side of the campus facing Kostner on the site of an existing parking garage.
A new garage will be built in the street lot across Kostner. The garage would be connected to the patient tower by a pedestrian bridge over Kostner.
Advocate Christ President Ken Lukhard said the patient tower would increase capacity, including adding 14 new operating rooms and doubling the size of the emergency department.
The hospital turned away between 5,000 and 8,000 patients last year because there were no available beds. Last year, the emergency department closed for 1,100 hours, diverting patients to other hospitals because it had reached full capacity.
Lukhard told plan commissioners that the medical center wasn’t expecting a vote Monday night.
“We’re not a laid-back community hospital,” Lukhard said. “This is a hospital that is designed to treat the sickest of the sick. If you can look me in the face and tell me that prefer to risk that extra hour and send a loved one with a brain bleed downtown than I want to talk to you about it.”
While no one in the room disagreed that Advocate Christ was one of the top hospitals in the nation, some residents who live near the medical center said they felt "blindsided" by the latest building proposal.
Lukhard told the audience that Advocate had unveiled its 10-year expansion plan in 2008, but tabled it when the economy tanked. He said the medical center has been completely “transparent” with village leaders.
“We’ve been up front for six years,” the hospital president said. “We talked about this with the mayor and the village manager for six years about a campus expansion plan that would have phases. We’ve not blindsided the village with any of this.”
Lukhard said he wasn’t given the go-ahead to publicly talk about the proposed patient tower until after the last fall because Advocate’s corporate board wasn’t sure if it could raise the money.
He said that a model and architectural renderings on what the patient tower would look like haven't been completed yet.
The hospital president also extolled the economic benefits the medical center had brought to the community, including employing 600 local residents at a payroll of $22 million. Lukhard said the new patient tower would provide an additional 150 jobs.
Radice asked the medical center to pay for an impact study to address infrastructural concerns by an independent third party "as a cost of doing business" in the village.
“We want to get it right,” Radice said. “I can’t go through with this and feel 100 percent comfortable. It’s bigger than anything [the village] has ever dealt with.”
Lukhard complained the hospital has already spent “hundreds of thousands of dollars on studies” and “millions on design.”
“We have all the plans done,” he said.
Taking Lukhard to task, Village Manager Larry Deetjen called the expense for paying for one more study “miniscule.”
“The project is not right to be approved tonight,” Deetjen said to residents’ applause. “All we’re asking for is a little more time. Residents have many constructive comments and we’re almost there … we don’t have to reinvent the wheel but there are some key pinpointed issues that if we can agree, we can get them resolved.”
Advocate Christ hopes to have state approvals in the fall so that it can begin construction.
The Planning and Development Commission voted 5-2 to continue the public hearing until its next meeting on May 21. John Eggert and Tim Reilly were the dissenting votes.
Lukhard expressed his disappointment with having to do another study, inciting a hail of fury from the village manager.
“You say you’re disappointed that a lot of work has been done that hasn’t been fully embraced,” Deetjen said. “You haven’t even mentioned the sanitary sewer and the lift station. I will submit to you there has been no public discussion of that, but it has been in your purview for several years to address.”
When does it stop!
Finally someone else gets it too!!!!! This village board needs to be GONE.
By the way, could someone please do please tell me the real spelling of the gentleman's name from Advocate? This article has it spelled a couple of ways.
Two weeks later my mother called me to tell me that she just got a letter addressed to my dad asking him how his stay was! I called and complained and never heard back from anyone in authority. This was the last time I was there and the worst of the consistently poor service I'd received there over the years. I live in Crawford Gardens and don't want them to expand in my neighborhood . I'd be happier if they shut their doors.
You are right on target when you talk about the incompetent, inept, dishonest, and down right stupid old coalition party. The sad fact is that we still have to live in the shadow of what they did to this town. However, it is not to late to accomplish some great things. The point that I was trying to make is that instead of arguing over this project like a bunch of children we need to find a way to embrace it. All of these issues should have been discussed and everything should have been agreed on before a shovel ever hit the dirt. That is how real leaders do things.
This new expansion would essentially destroy the quality of life for the Crawford Gardens neighborhood. If they want to be that big they should buy the whole neighborhood so the people who live there can move to a quiet setting.(at 2006 prices) Mike Walsh, former trustee district 4
$750,000.00 for fees to approve to and/or issue the permits or whatever, Paying a 3rd party for a study, does not really benefit Oak Lawn or the residents. They (OAK LAWN) already tried to make and end run on the Parking Tax, so Advocate said everyone parks for free. The bottom line is Oak Lawn is looking for some type of fee from Christ Hospital to off set some other Bills or cost that Oak Lawn might be on the hook for, by allowing them to expand, So if that is the case then tell them it will "X" amount of dollars period. Quit dancing around talking about this study and that study. It will cost "X" amount, pay it or don't build it period. The Officials in the Government wanted to build that DOWNTOWN 95th STREET FIASCO, even put a referemdum on the ballot, it was voted down something like 75% Against and 25% for and the Elected Officials built it anyway, and got booted out for the arrogance. What if Christ Hospital decided to move like Silver Cross did to the City of Joliet, you can only push the envelope so far. Then you either need to fish or cut bait. That is all I am saying. I'll bet dollars to donuts, tell Christ it will cost $750,000.00 for the Permits and they will write the check. Someone saying pay $750,000.00 and we will see what we can do, means spend the money and we might say NO, is not very realistic.
Christ obviously does hire Oak Lawn residents, but I don't know that they can legally prefer OL residents over other applicants.