Thursday, December 13, 2012
The Burr Ridge Village Board unanimously appointed the veteran trustee to serve the remainder of resigning Mayor Gary Grasso’s term
Acting Burr Ridge Mayor Bob Sodikoff said Wednesday night he is leaning toward stepping down as a trustee so that the village board will have the maximum number of voting members. The mayor only votes in the case of a tie among the six trustees or on issues that require a supermajority of votes to be enacted. In the wake of Mayor Gary Grasso’s resignation Monday, there is no way for the board to break a tie. “I could remain as a trustee and serve as acting mayor, in which event I continue to vote,” Sodikoff noted. “[But] we’re missing the seventh vote if we ever need it.” He said the alternative was for him to serve only as acting mayor. “I would resign as a trustee and then a substitute trustee would be appointed by the board,” he …
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
In narrow vote, village board approves a new ordinance that would fine drivers $75 for the offense
It’s rare for there to be much drama surrounding a vote by the Hinsdale Village Board of Trustees, but there was some Tuesday night at Memorial Hall. Realizing that her vote was going to decide whether or not the village adopted a new ordinance establishing a $75 fine for distracted driving, Trustee Laura LaPlaca took a long pause before finally casting an affirmative vote. Trustee Bob Saigh, who had made clear his support for the idea, then voted yes to give the ordinance a 4-2 victory. For most of the meeting, it looked like the ordinance would be defeated. Only Saigh expressed unreserved support for it. In the end, his impassioned defense of the measure and the arguments presented in favor of it by Police Chief Brad Bloom swayed Trustee…
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Some residents on the DuPage side of Burr Ridge are asking why they're paying a substantial amount more this year then in previous years.
The “main culprit” for an increased property tax bill some Burr Ridge residents are facing this year is a change in equalized assessed value, village officials said Monday. “The property tax values in the DuPage portion of the village decreased from 2010 to 2011 by 6.24 percent,” Village Administrator Steven Stricker said. “And when the EAV goes down, the tax rate goes up to collect the same amount of dollars. Unfortunately, that’s the reality of the situation,” he said. The amount a resident pays in property tax depends on how much his or her individual home’s EAV changed, he said. During Monday’s Village Board meeting, Stricker explained how the village’s portion of property tax bills—less than 2.5 percent of the total bill—is calculated…
Monday, January 23, 2012
A busy Monday night a Burr Ridge Village Board meeting and three school board meetings.
The following are a few notable agenda items from Monday night's public meetings: Burr Ridge Village Board Meeting at the Village Hall The Burr Ridge Village Board will continue to consider the request of the Pulte Group to amend covenants in order to move forward with the purchase of the Savoy Club subdivision. Community Consolidated School District 180 Board of Education, 7 p.m. at Burr Ridge Middle School The D180 school board will hear a special education report for Anne M. Jeans Elementary. The board also will discuss ways to improve student achievement and decide whether to hire a new part-time wrestling coach. Hinsdale Township High School District 86 Board of Education, 7:30 p.m. at Hinsdale Central High School The board will …
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
The topic of electrical aggregation is being considered by the Burr Ridge Village Board.
The Village of Burr Ridge is exploring the possibility of holding a referendum to allow residents to decide if the village should buy electricity from a different supplier than ComEd. A change to the Illinois Power Agency Act last year allows municipalities in the state to join together to purchase electricity for residential and small commercial customers. Village Manager Steve Stricker explained the process, known as electrical aggregation, to trustees at the Oct. 24 village board meeting. “In January 2010, the General Assembly authorized municipalities to adopt either ‘opt-out’ or ‘opt-in’ electric aggregation programs,” Stricker said. In an opt-out program, Stricker said, residents and small businesses agree to participate in the …
Thursday, September 15, 2011
But village administrator says a library ‘isn’t in the cards’ for Burr Ridge
At least three dozen Burr Ridge residents responding to the village’s 2011 Community Service Survey would like to see a public library in the village, but Burr Ridge Village Administrator Steve Stricker said Wednesday that a library “isn’t in the cards” for the community. “Figure it out people,” one survey respondent wrote. “We are a very affluent community but can’t figure out how to give our residents a library.” One respondent pointed out the irony that Burr Ridge does not have a library, but is the headquarters of the Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS). “It is quite absurd that Burr Ridge will be the headquarters of RAILS, but the Cook County side of Burr Ridge has no service at all,” the village resident wrote. “We need a…
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Residents of Burr Ridge Club applauded the action of trustees at Monday’s meeting.
Once again, the meeting room at Burr Ridge Village Hall was packed with residents of Burr Ridge Club. Once again, they were ready to speak out against a proposed sidewalk along the west side of County Line Road, just as they had twice at public hearings held by the village’s Pathway Commission. This time, however, no residents spoke in opposition to the plan. There was no need. “I think [the preliminary engineering] indicated this project is probably not well-suited, certainly not at this time and probably never, for the village,” Mayor Gary Grasso said. “And so, rather than give everybody their 15 minutes of fame here, I’d like to hear from the village board as to whether or not they even want to go forward with this proposition at this …
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
The annexation ordinance passed on a 5-0 vote with Trustee Sodikoff abstaining.
The Burr Ridge Village Board Monday night formally annexed property at 15W460 North Frontage Road, the site of the Saia motor freight operation. The board approved an annexation agreement for the 29-acre parcel in June, which has been signed by property owner Robert Rogulic of Burr Ridge and Saia officials. The village sought to annex the property to address the concerns of nearby village residents about noise at the site. The annexation agreement calls for Saia to take specific steps to limit noise at the facility, including training employees on appropriate times for conducting noisy procedures and construction of fences to provide a sound buffer between the operation and the neighboring residential area. “As you know, it was a …
Monday, July 11, 2011
ComEd reported three crews are working to restore power to residents in the north part of village.
A line of thunderstorms swept through Burr Ridge and the surrounding area Monday morning accompanied by damaging high winds that felled trees and left many ComEd customers without power. Burr Ridge Village Administrator Steve Stricker told trustees at Monday evening’s Village Board meeting that he had received an email from ComEd informing him that 460 residences in the community were still without power, mostly on the north side of town. “There’s no estimated time that the power will be restored,” Stricker said. “But they do indicate that crews are on-site, so hopefully it won’t be too much longer this evening before the residents on the north side of town have power.” Stricker said three ComEd crews had been dispatched to try to restore …
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Village Board paved the way Monday by amending a planned unit development agreement.
The Burr Ridge Village Board has given unanimous approval to an amendment to a planned unit development that will allow construction of a four-story office building at 100 Harvester Drive. The village had previously given consent to a three-story office building at the site, but property owner BJF Estancia I, LLC requested that a fourth story be allowed because it has a potential client that needs 120,000 square feet of space. The foundation for the structure already has been poured and three stories would produce just 90,000 square feet of space. The identity of the company that might locate there is being kept confidential. “The tenant that hopes to come here is a quality company,” Mayor Gary Grasso said at a board meeting Monday night. …
Steve Woodward
8:56 pm on Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Nanny Statism, writ large. more ›