Three dozen needy children could go without gifts on Christmas Day thanks to a thief who made off with a load of wrapped presents stored in the basement at Grace Lutheran Church in Evanston.
The packages, which contained clothing, toys and games, were being stored at the church by YOU, Youth Organizations Umbrella Inc., an Evanston-based agency serving at-risk and vulnerable children.
“Every year you hear of these true life stories (of thefts) and now it has happened to us,” said Don Baker, executive director of YOU. “It’s not a great Christmas story.”
The burglary is believed to have taken place between 3:30 and 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, police said. The theft of the gifts was discovered by a church janitor.
“We’ll try to find out who these Scrooges are, and we’ll give them a present of the gray bar hotel for the holidays,” said Evanston Police Cmdr. Michael Gresham.
Good news, bad news: Prairie preservationists in Glenview say the Village Board’s decision last week to save 14 acres of rare prairie was only a partial success. The prairie is on the former Glenview Naval Air Station, which is being converted to civilian use.
The good news was that the prairie won’t be bulldozed to make way for an industrial park. The bad news is that the village set aside far less land than had been hoped for by preservationists.
“I’m favorably impressed with the village’s willingness to listen to the residents,” said Mark Ganchiff, president of the Glenview Prairie Preservation Project. “In a community like Glenview that’s been traditionally pro-development, this is a big step forward.”
The prairie preservationists had hoped to persuade village leaders to preserve 100 acres–the 14-acre prairie, plus another 86 acres of buffer. Instead, village officials approved only a 10-foot buffer.
Village officials said they could not afford to further reduce the amount of land available for sale and still cover the project’s costs, estimated at approximately $500 million. “I can guarantee you that developers would not have cared about the prairie. At least we’re listening,” said village President Nancy Firfer.
Class notes: New Trier High School District 203, which is bracing for an enrollment boom, is looking for community input in its search for solutions. A four-page survey will be mailed in mid-January to about 24,000 households asking residents for their thoughts on one of the most critical issues in New Trier’s history.
It includes questions about four options the school board will consider: a single, larger high school; a new freshman-only facility; a new lab school for more independent studies that would serve about 650 students; and two four-year high schools. Three of the four options include reopening the former New Trier West High School.
Respondents will have three weeks to return the survey. A report on the data is expected to be presented to the school board in March.
Veto power: Evanston Mayor Lorraine Morton used her veto power for the first time the other night, but it didn’t last long. The council a few minutes later overrode the veto by a 7-2 vote.
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The power debate was over a long-term agreement between the city and the private Chiaravalle Montessori School to renew its lease on the Miller School building at 425 Dempster St.
Under the contract, Evanston will lease the city-owned building to Chiaravalle Montessori for 25 years.
“I am deeply committed to education,” Morton said prior to the unusual veto during Monday’s City Council meeting. “But I think this is a bad deal for the city.”