LP_012419

lockportlegend.com news
the Lockport Legend | January 24, 2019 | 3
Lockport teen dies after
being shot in head
Max Lapthorne, Editor
An 18-year-old Lockport
resident died Friday, Jan. 18,
after sustaining a gunshot
wound the previous day.
Carlos F. Gasca was pronounced
dead at 2:49 p.m.
on Friday, Jan. 18, at Amita
Health Adventist Medical
Center Bolingbrook after
reportedly suffering a gunshot
wound to the head a day
earlier, according to a press
release issued by the Will
County Coroner’s Office.
The incident reportedly occurred
on the 400 block of
Weber Road in Romeoville.
Two people have been arrested
in connection with
the incident, according to a
representative from the Romeoville
Police Department
who declined to identify
himself by name.
A GoFundMe page was
set up to help pay for Gasca’s
funeral expenses. As
LTHS to host Vaping
Information Night for parents
Submitted by Lockport
Township High School D205
In response to an increase
in vaping among students,
the Lockport Area Superintendent
Consortium is to
host an information night
at 7 p.m. on Feb. 6 in the
LTHS East Campus Auditorium.
The evening is to feature
a presentation by Jennifer
Hahs, coordinator of the
Rosecrance Health Network,
on the associated health risks
of vaping. Attendees are to
also learn about the products
and devices used for vaping
Monday, Jan. 21
of press time, it had raised
$4,030 of its $20,000 goal.
The description on the page
says the incident was an accident,
not a “violent act.”
“We want the world to
know that we are not losing
his precious life because of
a violent act caused by hatred
or anyone wanting to
do harm to him,” the page
reads. “This was an accident
that could have been avoided,
and we want to urge the
world to remember guns are
dangerous and can change
lives in the blink of an eye.”
The Will County Coroner’s
Office had an autopsy
scheduled for Monday, Jan.
21.
The Will-Grundy Major
Crimes Task Force is investigating
the incident.
For more on this and other
Breaking News, visit Lock
portLegend.com.
and how students are obtaining
vaping products and concealing
them.
LTHS student discipline
data follows this national
surge. Data from the 2017-
2018 and 2018-2019 school
years indicate the same
trend. Student incidents of
vaping are up substantially.
The Lockport Area Superintendent
Consortium includes
LTHS D205, Homer D33C,
Chaney Monge D88, Richland
D88A, Fairmont D89,
Taft D90, Milne-Kelvin
Grove D91, Will County
D92 and LASEC.
Lockport City Council
Big Run Golf Club owners plan to sell land to developer
Car dealership in
line to replace Target
in Lockport Square
Jessie Molloy
Freelance Reporter
The Lockport Committee
of the Whole heard plans for
two large developments and
the Lockport City Council
approved an updated timeline
for the construction of
the planned Ganesha Gayathri
temple at its Jan. 16
meeting.
The owners of Big Run
Golf Club, which occupies
220 acres of currently
unincorporated land, are
planning to sell the property
for development and
annex the property to Lockport.
The parcel in question
is located south of 135th
Street, West of Smith Road,
North of 143rd Street, and
East of New Avenue, and
is currently not claimed by
either Lockport or Romeoville.
While no developers are
attached to the project yet,
the property owners have
worked with a land planning
firm to create a potential
plan for the site which
would include conservation
areas as well as 515 homes
including senior housing,
single family homes and
townhomes.
As part of the annexation
to Lockport, the development
would be supplied with
water and sewer utilities
from the City, which are to
be installed once a developer
buys the property.
Until the property is sold
and all the construction permits
and paperwork are sorted
out with the City, Benson
said residents can expect the
golf course to continue operations
as normal.
“It’s going to be a while
before you see any changes,”
Benson said. “Big Run
will continue to function as
a golf course through at least
the rest of 2019 and likely
through most of 2020.”
Mayor Steve Streit also
noted as the committee discussed
the item that the impacted
school districts have
been consulted about taking
on the development and
have not objected.
Students living in the new
subdivision would be sent to
Will County School District
92 and Lockport Township
High School.
The second plan discussed
by the committee was a
change to the businesses
which are to occupy the
Lockport Square development.
As originally envisioned,
Marcus Theaters and Holiday
Inn express on the east
side of the development
would be joined on the west
side by a large anchor store
such as Target. However,
plans for Target to come to
the space fell through. Now
a car dealership is being considered
for the anchor spot at
the far end of the development.
A Jeep-Chrysler dealership
has been in talks with
Benson and the City for several
months about amending
the original layout plan for
the development to accommodate
its space needs.
The main dealership
would go in the space originally
envisioned for Target.
Additionally, one of the
small outer lots, originally
intended for another small
business would be occupied
as a sales office for the dealership.
The space intended
to be Target’s parking lot
would become the dealership’s
sales lot.
Benson said that while
this would be a somewhat
“unique” set up for a commercial
development, it is
not unheard of, as a development
is West Chicago has a
similar layout.
He also noted that Marcus
Theaters and Holiday Inn
were consulted before moving
forward with the plan,
and both business “actually
prefer this set up.”
“They said it would be a
good draw for traffic,” Benson
said.
Streit said he supports the
development and said the
change is “very interesting.”
“It’s like if you planned a
vacation to Italy but when
you got off the plane you
discovered you’d landed in
Amsterdam,” he said with a
laugh. “It’s not the trip you
envisioned, but it would be
really cool too.”
Both development projects
are slated for final discussion
and votes at the Feb.
6 City Council meeting.
If the car dealership is
approved, Benson said construction
will likely begin
in 2019 and the dealership
would be operational sometime
in 2020.
The Council held a new
public hearing for the temple
development located at
16059 W. 151st St., which
was approved last year. The
hearing did not change any
of the specifications of the
project, but set deadlines for
completion of the project’s
phases and extended the final
completion deadline for
the site.
Currently, the congregation
meets in a single-family
house on the subject property.
Originally, the City had
anticipated a completion
date of the project by 2024
or 2025 according to City
Administrator Ben Benson,
however the plan approved
Wednesday extends the final
completion date until June
30, 2029, with completion
of Phase I of construction set
for June 2020.
During the hearing, no
members of the public came
forward to speak, and the
board voted unanimously to
accept the amendments to
the annexation agreement.
ASK
YOUR
LAWYER
by T. Andrew Coyle
Attorney at Law
What if your parent, loved
one, friend, or other relative
passed away while owning
a life insurance policy that
you didn’t know about? It is
common for people to have
an interest in an old life
insurance policies but they’ve
lost the paperwork on it. If
you think that may be the
case, fortunately Illinois has
a Life Policy Locator Service,
available through the State’s
Department of Insurance.
Approximately 500 life
insurance companies are
a part of the service and, if
you submit an application
and death certificate, you
will receive a report within
60 days (although usually
much faster) of any records
those companies may have
regarding a policy where the
deceased person is named.
Nationwide, there is nearly
$10 Billion of unclaimed life
insurance proceeds, some of
which eventually will end up
going to state governments
if family members can’t
be located. If you need
assistance in dealing with a
loved one’s estate, please call
THE COYLE LAW OFFICE at
815-838-6199.
www.coylelaw.org
paid advertisement