TP_030818

4 | March 8, 2018 | The tinley junction News
tinleyjunction.com
Campaign complaint
dismissed against
Tinley Park PAC
Staff Report
A complaint filed by a Tinley
Park attorney against the
Citizens of Tinley Park PAC
has been dismissed by the Illinois
State Board of Elections.
According to a Final Order
on Complaint dated Feb.
23 shared by the political action
committee’s Facebook
page on Feb. 28, the Board
heard the complaint filed by
Stephen E. Eberhardt during
a closed preliminary hearing
on Feb. 21.
The complaint was filed
pursuant to “An Act to Regulate
Campaign Financing”
and alleged that Citizens of
Tinley Park PAC violated
Illinois Compiled Statutes
regarding the solitication of
anonymous contributions.
“In regard to the allegation
that the Respondent committee
solicted anonymous contributions
on their Facebook
page, while filed in good
faith, the complaint was not
filed on justifiable grounds,
as there is no evidence that
any anonymous contributions
were actually made or
accepted,” the letter stated.
The recommendations
of the Hearing Officer and
the General Counsel were
adopted by the Board, dismissing
the complaint with
no further action required.
The final order is subject to
review under the Administrative
Review Law and Section
9 of the Election Code,
the document concluded.
Village of Tinley Park Plan Commission
SWCCS proposes to build
new parking lot, bus barn
Site plan approval,
variances under
review
Cody Mroczka, Editor
Southwest Chicago
Christian School is requesting
a site plan approval
and variations to construct
a transportation building,
concrete parking lot and
basketball court on its campus
in Tinley Park.
A quorum of six Village of
Tinley Park Plan Commission
received a staff report
from Community Development
Director Paula Wallrich
on March 1 regarding
the proposal for the school
located at 17171 84th Avenue.
Commissioners Ken
Shaw, Eduardo Mani, and
Lucas Engel were absent.
“Some of the nuances of
our code don’t adress the
nuances of schools like buses,”
Wallrich said.
Petitioner Henry Doom
Jr., on behalf of SWCCS,
is requesting a site plan approval
to construct a 2,400
square foot accessory structure
that would require four
variances on the R-3 zoned
property. Those would allow
for an 1,680 square feet
in size, a three foot increase
in the height of the building,
access to water, sewer
or gas services and a variance
to allow for commercial
vehicles to be stored in
the open.
SWCSS, built in 1986,
currently stores eight buses
that run five routes to and
from the campus. Buses
have been historically
stored on the property for
roughly the last decade,
Wallrich said. The proposal
would allow for 11 buses,
including the addition of
spares and athletic/event
buses, to be parked on a
thick, concrete parking lot.
The transportation building
would be big enough
to allow minor repairs and
regular maintenance on one
bus at a time, in addition to
a break room, rest rooms, a
storage room and office. It
would not include a fueling
station.
Wallrich recommended
approval on the condition
of the removal of a cargo
container which are not allowed
on a permanent basis.
Staff will also have to
consider another variance
for an eight-foot chain link
fence that protects the buses
to prevent against vandalization.
Further down the
line, some additional landscaping
measures could be
requested by the Village in
accordance with its zoning
ordinance.
The Commission is expected
to vote on the two
proposals a the next meeting
on March 15.
Village of Tinley Park Committees
Liability, worker’s comp insurance options to be reviewed
Raffle prizes could
violate code
Cody Mroczka, Editor
Expenditures, economics
and ethics filled the agendas
of three Village of Tinley
Park committee meetings
held on Feb. 27.
Board of Trustees members,
Michael Mangin,
Cynthia Berg and Michael
Pannitto, chairs of the Finance,
Economic Development
and Marketing, and
Administrative and Legal
Committees, respectively,
along with staff discussed
several items of importance
that will be brought before
the entire Board at upcoming
meetings in March.
The Village intends to
notify the Intergovernmental
Risk Management Association
(IRMA) of its intent
to explore other options
for liability and worker’s
compensation insurance
for employees. According
to IRMA’s by-laws, a municipality
must provide nine
months notice of the intent
to withdraw from the intergovernmental
risk pool
in order for the Village to
receive its’ reserve total of
$868,000.
Village Manager David
Neimeyer said staff requested
120 to 150 days to
review options, and could
still end up choosing IRMA
as the best option, revoking
the withdrawal notice.
He said the Village would
also explore the possibility
of hiring a third-party
consultant to help in the review
and bidding process.
The Village has been with
IRMA since 1998 and Neimeyer
also noted several
West and northwest suburbs
were considering the possibility
of founding a larger
alternative risk pool as opposed
to IRMA. The item is
expected to be introduced at
the March 20 Board meeting
for a vote.
The Economic Development
and Marketing
Committee approved the
designation of two Tinley
Park commercial areas in
the hope the properties can
qualify for Cook County
Class 7 tax incentives to
spur economic development.
Projects that qualify
under Class 7 incentives can
be over or under $2 million
and receive a reduced assessment
level of 10 percent
of fair market value for a period
of 10 years, as opposed
to the regular commercial
assessment rate of 25 percent.
Properties must meet
mice eligibility requirements
and in Tinley Park,
Bremen and Rich townships
as well as the Duncan Drive
Industrial Park are special
designated areas.
The two properties recommended
for designation
under the tax incentives are
located at 159th Street and
Harlem Avenue and 183rd
Street and LaGrange Avenue.
Economic Development
Manager Patrick Hoban
said the former is suffering
from multiple retail vacancies,
including the former
Kmart, Aldi, Applebees and
a large portion of Brixmor
Shopping Center, while
the latter is suffering from
its close proximity to Will
County when developers
find out the property taxes
are 60 percent higher on
Cook County land adjacent
to Will County. The Board
is expected to discuss the
approval of designated areas
at the March 6 meeting.
Additionally, the committee
approved merging
the Main Street Committee
and Economic Development
and Marketing Committee
together as the former
hasn’t met in over a
year and Berg felt the two
overlapped in several key
areas and goals. The move
will still need approval
from the full Board, but if
accepted, the new commit-
Please see Village, 10