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16 | February 1, 2018 | The New Lenox Patriot News
newlenoxpatriot.com
FROM THE TINLEY JUNCTION
New $200 million TIF
district introduced in Tinley
Park
A new tax increment financing
district that would
replace the Main Street
South TIF with an anticipated
total cost of approximately
$200 million has been
introduced by the Village of
Tinley Park.
Village officials unveiled
the Redevelopment Project
Area plan during a public
hearing Jan. 25 for the
downtown corridor generally
bounded by 172nd Street
on the north, 179th Street on
the south, 67th Avenue and
66th Court on the east, and
69th Avenue on the west.
The New Bremen TIF
Redevelopment Plan and
Project Area includes commercial,
residential, government/institutional,
mixed-use, railroad and
right-of-way land uses, with
275 tax parcels representing
224 parcels of land that encompasses
89 total acres. Of
the 224 parcels, 62 percent
of them contain one or more
primary buildings, while the
remaining parcels are vacant.
The Main Street South
RPA TIF exists much in the
same area of the new district.
The Village adopted that
RPA in 2003, expanded it in
2007 and further amended
the map to remove some parcels
in 2015. It is scheduled
to terminate in 2026 but can
be dissolved earlier by adoption
of the New Bremen TIF.
Officials said there is insufficient
time left on the
Main Street South TIF to
finance redevelopment proposals,
including a mixeduse
apartment project with
ground floor retail space
proposed for the area south
of the train station between
South Street and 174th
Street.
Reporting by Cody Mroczka,
Editor. For more, visit TinleyJunction.com.
FROM THE FRANKFORT STATION
Murphy Real Estate Group
continues to serve clients in
20th year
Years ago, when Jim Murphy
first decided to open a
real estate firm in Frankfort,
he knew he had to do business
in his hometown.
“When I looking at where
to open an office, I felt that
the Frankfort market was
in the most need for a quality
brokerage — somebody
that is a little bit more driven
towards the custom home
market,” he said. “The market
had a void for that kind
of broker, and I felt like that
would continue for a long
time, which it has. So, we
filled a nice niche at the right
time.”
Murphy Real Estate Group
has reached a milestone this
year and is celebrating its
20th anniversary.
“For me, when I look at
business in general, I think
when you achieve even the
one-year mark and then the
five-year mark and then the
10-year mark and so on, as
a business owner, you take
a lot of pride in being able
to make it through the hard
times and prosper in the
good times,” Murphy said.
“Looking back, you say,
‘Wow, you know, 20 years,
that’s pretty darn good.’ So,
it brings me a lot of joy.”
Typically, when beginning
brokers look for employment
in the industry,
they will obtain their license
and go on to learn the chops
working for someone else’s
company.
Murphy had something
else in mind.
“I got my license, and I
opened an office, and I had a
staff immediately, and we hit
the ground as a brokerage,”
he said. “I’ve never worked
for anybody else in real estate.”
Reporting by Megann Horstead,
Freelance Reporter. For
more, visit FrankfortStation.
com.
FROM THE MOKENA MESSENGER
Residential development
talks tabled for future
discussion
A public hearing on a proposed
2.7-acre residential
development was held Jan.
22, during the Village of
Mokena Board of Trustees
meeting.
The Hickory Sage development,
brought forth by
petitioner Jim Paul, of Alps
Enterprises LLC, would be
located at 11215 W. First
St., at the west end of First
Street, near Wolf Road. Paul
wants to develop 15 townhome
units spread across
four buildings, each either
one or two stories tall. The
redevelopment would include
retention and detention
ponds.
“This will involve the annexation
of two properties,
which would subsequently
be zoned to the R-6 multifamily
zoning category,”
said Alan Zordan, Mokena’s
director of economic and
community development,
during the public hearing
presentation. “Then, the Village
would be granting a special
use permit for a planned
unit development that would
apply to these two parcels,
plus one more that is already
in the village and zoned R-6
multifamily.”
During the discussion,
Zordan noted that at an October
meeting of the Planning
Commission, residents
and members of the commission
were concerned with the
traffic impact on Wolf Road
during peak travel times. As
a remedy to the traffic situation,
the Planning Commission
suggested adding more
“Do not block intersection”
signs at the intersection of
Wolf Road and First Street,
as well as adding white striping
to the pavement of the
intersection.
After the public hearing
was closed, the Village
Board members voted 3-0
to table action until a future
meeting.
Reporting by Jon DePaolis,
Freelance Reporter. For more,
visit MokenaMessenger.com.
FROM THE LOCKPORT LEGEND
Officials vote to not renew
D92 superintendent’s
contract
The Will County School
District 92 Board of Education
decided to not renew
Superintendent Pete Sullivan’s
contract at its Jan. 23
special meeting.
In a 5-2 vote, officials opted
to sever their ties.
The special meeting drew
in a number of people seeking
answers as to why Sullivan’s
contract will not be
renewed. Members of the
board and the administration
have chosen to remain mum
on the subject to date.
Several people on hand for
the meeting expressed support
for Sullivan and shared
that the community feels
concerned by the process in
which the superintendent’s
contract is being handled.
“Shame on us the community
for not coming out here
to the board meetings [in the
past], but as it’s been pointed
out, I think if this had been
brought to the community’s
attention, you would have
had a showing even larger
than this at that point in
time,” said Mike Peetz, a
parent and volunteer for
District 92’s strategic planning
session in the summer
of 2016.
Peetz questioned the district’s
direction and said up
until this point, reciprocal
communication between the
community and the district is
an objective they have failed
to meet.
“The overall confidence
and trust is gone,” said Mary
Creek, a teacher for District
92, referring to conversations
shared with fellow colleagues
since learning the
superintendent’s contract is
to not be renewed. “The morale
is terrible, and I’ve been
around a long time. It makes
me sick to my stomach.”
Reporting by Megann Horstead,
Freelance Reporter. For
more, visit LockportLegend.
com.
FROM THE HOMER HORIZON
VIP Nails & Spa III the first
new business of 2018 in
Homer Glen
Lockport resident April
Tran and her husband, Leo
Chen, opened VIP Nails
& Spa III Jan. 3 in Homer
Glen, becoming the first new
business in the Village in
2018.
Tran has been a nail technician
for more than 10 years
and said she is happy to become
a part of the Homer
Glen community.
Members of the Village
and Homer Glen Area
Chamber of Commerce
gathered Jan. 24 for an official
ribbon cutting ceremony
at VIP Nails & Spa III.
As soon as customers walk
through the business’ doors,
large chandeliers are hung
on the ceiling in both rooms
of the building. Relaxing
music is played through the
speakers in the salon to add
to the comfortable environment
that Tran said best describes
her business.
“I feel like I’ve been working
for someone a long time,
so it’s very nice to have my
own,” Tran said. “I feel comfortable
at my own place and
run things the way I want.”
Reporting by Jacquelyn Schlabach,
Assistant Editor. For
more, visit HomerHorizon.com.
FROM THE ORLAND PARK PRAIRIE
D135: Short-term plan for
next school year addresses
growing enrollment
In the 2018-2019 school
year, Orland School District
135 plans to make a series of
small changes to its operations
to accommodate growing
enrollment.
At the School Board’s Jan.
22 regular meeting, board
members voted 6-0 to approve
a short-term plan for
2018-2019 to move thirdgraders
from Prairie School
to Liberty School, cap class
sizes at their recommended
levels, work with building
administration to determine
the location of related services
and enroll late-coming
students to schools where
possible. Board Member Michael
Maratea was absent.
Superintendent DJ Skogsberg
said the district
has some flexibility with its
transportation for late registration
students, allowing
them to be placed at a school
where more space is available,
though it may not be
the school closest to their
homes. He said he hopes
that practice will not become
the rule, but some schools
— particularly ones with
smaller square footage —
are nearing their maximum
classroom capacity.
Lynn Zeder, assistant superintendent
for teaching
and learning, added that the
district has to look at class
sizes on a case-by-case basis.
Skogsberg said the administration
would have a recommendation
for a plan for
the 2019-2020 school year
and beyond in the fall of
this year. He said the district
needs to continue working
with enrollment trends and
make predictions on future
enrollment.
The district is working
with the Village to monitor
development and is to continue
renovations at Park
School, as the school has not
been updated since 1998.
Reporting by Meredith Dobes,
Freelance Reporter. For more,
visit OPPrairie.com.