NT_120618

20 | December 6, 2018 | The Northbrook tower news
northbrooktower.com
CELEBRATIONS FOR
ALL
PRESENTING SPONSOR
GENERATIONS
THANK YOU
SPONSORS!
ON BEHALF OF
The Village Church’s Pancake Festival • St. Norbert’s Whale of a Sale
American Legion’s Memorial Day Parade • Block Party @ St. Norbert
Downtown Merchants Association’s Sidewalk Sale & Downtown Event
Northbrook Historical Society’s Shermerfest
Northbrook Farmers Market
and The Village Church’s Tree Lighting Celebration
commitment to our community events.Your contributions are
vital to the continued success of producing quality events
for our Northbrook neighbors.
The Northbrook NINE thanks each of you and wishes you all
a safe and joyous holiday season!
northbrooknine.com
THE LAKE FOREST LEADER
Lake Forest names new
city manager
Mayor Rob Lansing and
the members of the Lake
Forest City Council have
named Jason Wicha as the
new city manager of Lake
Forest.
Wicha has 12 years of
experience in local government
management. For
the past four years, Wicha
has served as the assistant
village manager in Skokie.
Prior to that, he served as
the village administrator
of Thornton, Ill., and as a
management intern in the
City of Ypsilanti, Mich.
Wicha earned a bachelor
of arts degree in 2003
from Skidmore College,
Saratoga Springs, N.Y. and
a master of public administration
degree in 2007
from Wayne State University
in Detroit, Mich.
“The City Council and
I are impressed with Mr.
Wicha’s professional demeanor,
extensive experience
and his leadership
and management style,
which we believe are an
excellent fit for the Lake
Forest community and
City staff organization,”
Lansing said. “He is wellversed
in municipal processes
and finance, and the
many facets that comprise
a healthy, thriving community
such as Lake Forest.”
Wicha and his wife have
two children, a 7-year-old
daughter and a 4-year-old
son.
More than 70 applications
for the city manager
position were received
and interviews began in
October. Wicha’s appointment
as City Manager is
scheduled for approval by
the City Council at its Dec.
3 meeting. He will begin
work as the city manager
on Jan. 28, 2019. Wicha
succeeds Bob Kiely, who
announced his retirement
from the City in July after
28 years of service.
Submitted by the City of Lake
Forest. Full story at Lake
ForestLeader.com.
THE WILMETTE BEACON
Wilmette fully opts into
county paid sick leave,
minimum wage ordinances
Three weeks following
the Nov. 6 election, the
Wilmette Village Board
unanimously voted to fully
opt into the Cook County
minimum wage and paid
sick leave ordinances at its
Nov. 27 meeting.
On Nov. 6, the minimum
wage referendum was approved
by Wilmette voters
76 to 24 percent and the
paid sick leave referendum
was approved 80 to
20 percent. The sick leave
ordinance mandates that
employees who work at
least 80 hours in a 120-day
period accrue one hour of
paid sick leave for every
40 hours worked, up to
a maximum of 40 hours
per year. The minimum
wage in Wilmette is currently
$11. The minimum
wage will further increase
to $12 on July 1, 2019 and
to $13 on July 1, 2020. On
July 1, 2021 and beyond,
the wage will increase by
the Consumer Price Index
(CPI), or 2.5 percent,
whichever is less.
“The Nov. 6 referenda
correctly and accurately
reflected the County’s ordinances
and were both
approved overwhelmingly
by Wilmette voters,” Village
President Bob Bielinski
said. “Therefore, I
believe the Village Board
should implement the results
of the referenda and
fully opt in to both county
ordinances.”
The current county
minimum wage of $11 is
already in effect in Wilmette,
while the paid sick
leave ordinance will take
effect in the Village on
March 1.
Reporting by Todd Marver,
Freelance Reporter. Full
story at WilmetteBeacon.
com.
THE GLENVIEW LANTERN
Crafters, shoppers say
farewell to the Holiday
Store at the Grove
The Grove’s Holiday
Store celebrates its final
run this December, offering
local shoppers one last
chance to enjoy the store’s
seminal holiday shopping
experience before it closes
its doors to the Glenview
community for good.
The Holiday Store houses
a sprawling, eclectic array
of holiday crafts made
by local artisans from
across the Chicagoland
area.
Whether looking for
homemade soap or handmade
jewelry, miniature
tree skirts or holly neckties,
shoppers won’t need
to look any further to find
the most original gift ideas
for the season.
Kris Van Voorhis, former
program supervisor at
The Grove, heads up the
production of the Holiday
Store each year. Last year,
Van Voorhis retired from
her role as program supervisor,
but she’s back to
manage the Holiday Store
in its final year.
Van Voorhis said the
store’s closing is “bittersweet.”
Among the
reasons for shutting the
annual event down is the
need to preserve the store’s
longtime venue, the historic
Kennicott House.
“Kennicott House was
built in 1856, and we are
still walking and working
on the original floors,”
Van Voorhis said. “It’s a
lot of wear and tear on the
house.”
Please see nfyn, 31