Plan Commission to Advocate Christ: ‘You Didn’t Answer Our Questions’

Oak Lawn Planning and Development Commission stands firm in refusing to give its recommendation to medical center expansion plans until Advocate Christ sufficiently addresses neighborhood concerns.

The Oak Lawn Planning and Development Commission respectfully refused to reopen a public hearing for Advocate Christ because the hospital’s management team did not sufficiently answer the village’s questions on a proposed 9-story patient tower. Subscribe to the Oak Lawn Patch newsletter and breaking news alerts. Advocate Christ Medical Center and Oak Lawn planning commissions had agreed last month that the village would submit questions on specific aspects of the medical center’s planned expansion. The hospital management team skipped the last PDC meeting saying it needed more time to respond to the village’s questions. PDC chair Steve Radice said that the only reason the commission agreed to submiting questions in the first place was …

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Advocate Christ Goes for 'Round 2' With Oak Lawn Planning Commission

Public hearings on the latest addition of Advocate Christ's $600 million expansion will continue when the Oak Lawn Planning and Development Commission meets Monday evening at village hall.

Representatives from Advocate Christ Medical Center will meet again at tonight’s (Monday) Planning and Development Commission to make their pitch for a new 9-story inpatient tower. The medical center has submitted nine petitions for zoning variances for the latest addition to be built on the east side of the hospital campus facing Keeler Avenue. Plans call for a building of up to 170 feet tall and a parking garage on the side of Keeler that will connect to the proposed tower via a pedestrian bridge. An outpatient tower approved last year by the Oak Lawn Village Board is currently under construction on the medical center campus at 4400 W. 95th St. Advocate Christ is investing $600 million to modernize and expand the hospital. Advocate …

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OakLawnGuy

7:25 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012

I'm certain they are not ashamed. It's a business meeting. Speaking for myself, if I'm involved in any dealing involving my profession, I see no need to give out my home address. I think we all surmise that many if not all of the execs do not live in Oak Lawn, nor should they be required to live in Oak Lawn. It appears that between the Board and Advocate, those who may not live here are going to …   more ›

Advocate Christ Wants More Time To Address Village's Infrastructure Questions

Advocate Christ Medical Center is skipping Monday's Planning and Development Commission meeting while it addresses village's impact study "punch list."

Advocate Christ Medical Center has asked to be taken off the agenda for tonight’s (Monday, May 21) Planning and Development Commission. Following the marathon PD&C meeting that went for four hours on May 7, medical center officials have asked for more time to address the village’s impact study “punch list.” Be the first on your block to know stuff. Sign up for the O-L Patch newsletter and breaking news alerts. Planning commissioners voted 5-2 to continue a public hearing into Advocate Christ Medical Center’s nine zoning variance petitions for “Phase II” of the $600 million hospital campus expansion. The latest addition, if approved, is expected to be viable until 2021. The Oak Lawn Planning and Development Commission want Advocate Christ …

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Duhig to Village Board: 'Be Wary of Advocate Christ's Expansion Plans'

Trustee Tom Duhig warns of "hidden costs" of Advocate Christ expansion to Oak Lawn taxpayers in terms of local economy and infrastructure.

Saying he wished he could have painted a “rosier” picture of Advocate Christ Medical Center’s most recent plans to expand its campus, Trustee Tom Duhig poked holes in some of the hospital’s impact studies before the rest of the Oak Lawn Village Board on May 8. Keep up with local government news. Subscribe to the O-L Patch newsletter and breaking news alerts. Duhig, whose fourth district encompasses the medical center campus, hinted that some of the methodologies Advocate Christ used to conduct its traffic, economic and water impact studies for its proposed 9-story inpatient tower omitted huge parts of the big picture. Last year, the village gave its blessing for a similarly sized outpatient pavilion that is currently under construction. “…

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SOCIETY: Advocate Christ Gala Raises $1.5M for Hospital 'Modernization’

Salute 2012 hospital gala honors Oak Lawn Mayor Dave Heilmann as "Outstanding Community Leader." Benefit raises record-breaking $1.5 million for hospital modernization.

In one of the largest galas of its kind in the Chicago area, more than 1,000 of the area’s leading physicians, key leaders of Christ Medical Center and Advocate Health Care, donors, supporters and friends raised a record-breaking $1.5 million at the hospital’s annual Salute 2012 on May 5. Themed “Mission Possible” guests clad in tuxes and formal dresses gathered on the gridiron at Chicago’s Solider Field to support the start of the “unprecedented modernization of the medical center’s campus in Oak Lawn,” Advocate said in a press release. Ticket sales and sponsorships included a $250,000 gife from Chicago-based Midwest Anesthesiologists, Ltd. Guests forked over an additional $30,000 during a live auction that included tickets to the 2013 …

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Dave W.

8:03 pm on Friday, July 20, 2012

Be glad English is still '1'...for now.   more ›

Are Oak Lawn Taxpayers Getting the Shaft from Advocate Christ?

Lots of readers are weighing in on Advocate Christ Medical Center's $600 million expansion. Read the comments and add your own.

The Blade

THE BLADE: Dogs in Politics, Deetjen Tells Off Advocate

Daring to ask the question: "Would you let your dog run for the Oak Lawn Village Board?"

The results of Oak Lawn Patch’s unscientific mayoral poll have been counted. Last week, we asked our readers, which candidate would they vote for if Oak Lawn mayoral election were being held tomorrow. A total of 362 votes were cast. We suspect some readers voted multiple times but there is no limit to how many times you can vote in a Patch poll. In fact, it’s encouraged. Be the first on your block to know stuff. Sign up for the O-L Patch newsletter and breaking news alerts. According to our poll, Mayor Dave Heilmann, who says he’s going to run for a third term next year, received 117 votes. The rest of our hypothetical mayoral candidates, including village board members, some-other-yet-to-be-named person, a cat and a dog received 245 votes…

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Christ Hospital President 'Disappointed' By Request for Additional Impact Study

Village wants medical center to pay for independent review of plans for new 9-story patient tower before approving Advocate Christ's zoning variances.

The Oak Lawn Planning and Development Commission want Advocate Christ Medical Center to vet some of its plans for a 9-story patient tower 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 Oak Lawn Village Board. “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 …

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Zoning Cleared for Medical Center's Second Parking Garage

The Oak Lawn Planning Commission endorses zoning requests for Advocate Christ's second parking garage. Zoning still needs village board's final approval.

The Oak Lawn Planning and Development Commission approved zoning requests for a new parking structure to be built on the Advocate Christ Medical Center campus after a public hearing Monday night. Commissioners recommended that a special-use permit be granted, allowing the parking structure to be built in a residential zoned area, along with height and parking variations. All three zoning requests still need the village board’s final approval. The new parking garage is set to break ground across the street from Hope Children’s Hospital at 93rd Street and Kostner Avenue this fall. Planners say the height of the structure will not exceed 80 feet and will mostly likely “mirror” the medical center’s adjacent East Tower parking garage. The new …

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