Archive for March, 2007

Consulting platform entrails

March 17, 2007 at 2:05 pm · Filed under Political

Under every great candidate rests a great platform. In fact, under every bad candidate rests a great platform. For instance, Vision [visible? tunnel-? clear-sighted? "Vision" is NOT an adjective.] Community Action (Milstein Balanoff Schwab Abraham) favors:

– support for small businesses all over OP

– historic preservation and “appropriate” development

– an end to “inappropriate” tear-downs and too-big development

– “responsible” stewardship of funds torn from property-owners’ hands, oops, “public monies”

– “cooperative” labor-union negotiations and contract enforcement at Village Hall

– saving the Marion mall and making it even better

– repairing “crumbling” streets (basic govt. services, but “crumbling”?)

– adopting the National Trust Main Street Program (with “crumbling” it’s aching to be explained)

– “adaptive reuse” of historic commercial buildings (beginning to look a lot like Colt bldg.)

– new design requirements for new multi-family & commercial buildings (need for explaining again)

– Fair enforcement of building codes to prevent demolition by neglect (vs. unfair enforcement)

– a wonderful, pedestrian-friendly downtown (hear, hear)

Some cautious observations:

1. Opposing restreetment of Marion mall will be reversal of recent 5-1 vote which left this slate’s only incumbent member and its by far highest-profile, Milstein, whose earlier board majority evaporated mostly because of resignations of first-termers who joined the board as part of the anti-VMA sweep last time.

2. The Marion mall issue would be Colt Bldg Revisited if this slate takes the prize on April 17.

3. Otherwise, the platform fits with an assessment of this slate as pro-union and at best very suspicious of development.

4. Finally, this site misspells Annabel Abraham’s first name.  Tsk, tsk.

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Parking in Oak Park

March 15, 2007 at 7:59 am · Filed under Commerce

Government-imposed fees up, mainly to raise $ but also to keep places open for shoppers:

The changes are expected to bring in about $500,000 in additional revenue. The village receives about $3.3 million in revenue from parking fees, which will increase to about $3.8 million, said village spokesman David Powers.

Call that the main reason, to pay for public services.  But as the woman employed by store-owners to relate to village hall et al., says, it’s

to increase the turnover of on-street parking rather than having cars parked in those convenient spots all day.

“It’s really a balance to make sure the rates are high enough to encourage people to use the parking garages,” she said.

Such as store employees, who can be seen at times running out to feed the meters to leave their cars in spaces that paying customers could use.

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OP gun ban slightly nudged

March 10, 2007 at 10:53 am · Filed under Blogroll, Oak Park stuff, Political

Big news out of the nation’s capital district, “Gun ban bites dust,” should have OP banners worried.  It “sets up a Supreme Court showdown over the scope of the 2nd Amendment”: does it give gun rights only to militia, or to citizens?  “It was the first time a federal appeals court has voided a gun law on the basis of the 2nd Amendment,” per LA Times, quoting lawyers.

If the justices were to agree with the lower court, the ruling would not likely sweep aside the many laws that regulate guns and gun ownership. However, it could cast doubt on measures that forbid law-abiding residents from possessing a weapon.

The Supreme Court has not give comfort to gun-owners, focusing on the “militia” part of the 2nd amendment.  But Friday’s ruling by the D.C. appeals court

may cause the [S.C.] justices to reconsider that conclusion. Breaking with precedent, the 2-1 decision said the government may not forbid residents from owning “functional firearms” for self-defense at home.

This is the issue, of course.  People living in war zones may arm themselves for self-protection.

“Once we have determined — as we have done — that handguns are ‘arms’ referred to in the 2nd Amendment, it is not open to the District to ban them,”

was the 2–1 majority opinion, which allowed “reasonable regulations” on ownership and possession — registration and the like.


The dissenting judge



argued that the high court had made clear the 2nd Amendment was intended to protect a “well regulated militia,” not individuals who want guns for their own uses.


Thus David Savage in LA Times (and Chi Trib).  The AP story by Brett Zongker, has it different, however:



Judge Karen Henderson dissented, writing that the Second Amendment does not apply to the District of Columbia because it is not a state.


With Mainstream Media disagreeing, whom are we to believe?

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Good and bad (no ugly yet)

March 8, 2007 at 5:10 pm · Filed under Political

Two pretty-good-news items this week in the papers:

1. Lake & Forest development is moving apace: architectural betterment of the corner has been declared the issue, neatly stated by the developer and the village manager, who happily is in the middle of this, acting as if he has authority to do so, which he does.  Now that’s framing the discussion nicely. 

What’s more, the developer says he wants no subsidy: How long since the village has heard that?  These people and the manager know how the climate has evolved in the last few years.  The discussion and the stops and starts seem to have mattered, if only as object lessons in what to avoid.  Learning is beautiful.

2. Marion mall re-streeting is also on track:  The board made a near-unanimous decision.  When’s the last time that happened?  At least on a major step dogged or at least annoyed or at least barked at by opponents.  That’s not the board that was elected last time around, as we know, thanks to resignations. 

Now Milstein stands or sits alone.  His group has decided they have their issue, another Whiteco, as it were.  No more Whiteco’s, M. has said.  No more de-malling now?  In my opinion, he and they have boarded the wrong horse this time.

3. A puzzler: Trustee Marsey objects to village as developer (good) but wants to make it even more a landlord than it already is, with his scheme to take over the YMCA for non-profit purposes to provide SRO lodging. The Y’s removal to Forest Park seemed win-win for them and the village: they get a bundle for their property, village acquires new taxable property.  So what’s up with the SRO social-services move? 

Will this help the financial health of the village, assuaging concerns that “financial pressures may threaten the things that make Oak Park a fine place to live” in absence of “solid management of government,” which the New Leadership folks mean to provide.

 

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Good and bad (no ugly yet)

March 8, 2007 at 5:02 pm · Filed under Blogroll

Two pretty-good-news items this week in the papers:

1. Lake & Forest development is moving apace: architectural betterment of the corner has been declared the issue, neatly stated by the developer and the village manager, who happily is in the middle of this, acting as if he has authority to do so, which he does.  Now that’s framing the discussion nicely. 

What’s more, the developer says he wants no subsidy: How long since the village has heard that?  These people and the manager know how the climate has evolved in the last few years.  The discussion and the stops and starts seem to have mattered, if only as object lessons in what to avoid.  Learning is beautiful.

2. Marion mall re-streeting is also on track:  The board made a near-unanimous decision.  When’s the last time that happened?  At least on a major step dogged or at least annoyed or at least barked at by opponents.  That’s not the board that was elected last time around, as we know, thanks to resignations. 

Now Milstein stands or sits alone.  His group has decided they have their issue, another Whiteco, as it were.  No more Whiteco’s, M. has said.  No more de-malling now?  In my opinion, he and they have boarded the wrong horse this time.

3. A puzzler: Trustee Marsey objects to village as developer (good) but wants to make it even more a landlord than it already is, with his scheme to take over the YMCA for non-profit purposes to provide SRO lodging. 

The Y’s removal to Forest Park seemed win-win for them and the village: they get a bundle for their property, village acquires new taxable property.  So what’s up with the SRO social-services move? 

Will this help the financial health of the village, assuaging concerns that “financial pressures may threaten the things that make Oak Park a fine place to live” in absence of “solid management of government,” which the New Leadership folks mean to provide.

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Home in Oak Park

March 5, 2007 at 6:30 am · Filed under Churches

If you do not have a church home, or your church is not a home to you, we invite you . . . .  Our church is open to anyone looking for a spiritual home . . .

says the Ascension Church bulletin in its front page boilerplate “welcome” message.  Nicely put.  “[O]r your church is not a home to you” addresses itself neatly to the variously disaffected.  “[O]pen to anyone looking for a spiritual home” bespeaks inclusion without hitting us over the head.

While at this, note that the three Oak Park Catholic parishes that began in Oak Park — St. Catherine of Siena moved here from a half mile east down Washington Blvd. — have names that could also be Episcopal or Lutheran.  Ascension has its counterpart on N. LaSalle Street.  St. Edmund and St. Giles are both English and pre-Reformation. 

It’s as if a certain politesse called for Catholics to sound not too Catholic, as Our Lady of this or that or St. Patrick’s or, God forbid, St. Francis Borgia, S.J.  No need, again, to hit anyone over the head with your identity.

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