DES PLAINES
Pantries, shelters due stimulus funds
Nonprofit and church-run food pantries and shelters in Illinois will share in $4.1 million in federal stimulus funds, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said this week during a tour of a Catholic Charities food pantry in Des Plaines.
Officials said 500 families received groceries from the food pantry in Des Plaines — one of nine operated by Catholic Charities in Cook and Lake Counties.
“March has been the busiest month we’ve had in seven years,” said Betty Hickmann, a volunteer with the agency.
“For one out of 10 families in Illinois food is not a given, it’s an issue,” Durbin said at a news conference Monday. “We know that at least once a week, and maybe more often, these families have to make hard calls as to whether they’re going to have food on the table or pay a bill.”
— Mark Shuman
HIGHLAND PARK
More Top Picks Best Visual Timers For Kids
Environmental plan to be developed
Highland Park authorized an agreement this week to develop its first environmental sustainability plan. The council on Monday approved a $44,650 contract with Recolo, a Chicago-based management consulting firm, to measure the city’s carbon footprint and make recommendations for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The city will share the cost with the Park District, North Shore School District 112, Township High School District 113, Highland Park Public Library and Moraine Township.
Officials expect to finalize the strategic plan by October. “We’ll lead by example for other communities,” Mayor Michael Belsky said. “This is a start.”
— Robert Channick
HOFFMAN ESTATES
Sears Centre nears outdoor-events OK
The Sears Centre is expected to receive approval next week from Hoffman Estates trustees to hold outdoor events in the arena parking lot through Dec. 3, 2010, but village officials said they doubt any activities would be booked this summer because of the economic downturn.
Sears Centre officials had requested that the village’s preliminary approval for outdoor events be extended for five years, but the Planning, Building and Zoning Committee recommended a shorter extension during a meeting Monday.
“We felt five years was too much,” said Trustee Gary Pilafas, committee chairman.
The Village Board is expected to vote Monday on the committee’s recommendation.
Only indoor events were allowed under the initial agreements, but arena officials have said they need to hold outdoor events to be more competitive.
— Ken Manson
PARK RIDGE
City mulls forming O’Hare-noise panel
Despite Park Ridge’s sometimes acrimonious relationship with O’Hare International Airport, the city has never had its own commission examining airport-related noise problems.
That could change Monday, when the Park Ridge City Council is expected to vote on a proposal to create an O’Hare Airport Commission. The plan won preliminary approval at a council meeting last week.
Under the plan, the city would set up a nine-member panel to monitor sound and air quality, advocate for a decrease in the number of flights over Park Ridge and make recommendations on potential legislation affecting soundproofing and quieter airplanes.
Park Ridge residents and officials have complained about increased airplane noise since a new runway — Runway 9 Left-27 Right on O’Hare’s northern edge — was put into use Nov. 20.
— Jon Davis
SCHAUMBURG
Suburb to dip into reserves again
As declining sales tax revenues continue to hammer village finances, Schaumburg officials say they will pull an additional $4.4 million from reserves to balance the suburb’s budget for the 2009-10 fiscal year.
“The strategy we’ve used is to put away money for a rainy day,” Village Manager Ken Fritz said at a public hearing Monday on the budget for the fiscal year that will begin May 1. “And then [we] use that money when we have a downturn in the economy.”
The village projects that it will have used $6.1 million in reserves to balance the budget for the year ending April 30.
Fritz said a decade of sluggish retail sales, rising labor costs and the deep recession have eaten away at village reserves.
More Top Picks Best Cutting Boards For Seniors
Schaumburg does not use property taxes to pay for village services but relies instead on sales taxes for more than 60 percent of its general fund revenue.
Fritz said the proposed budget for next year would eliminate 20 staff positions, increasing to 90 the number of jobs cut since 2003. The proposed budget also would reduce travel and training expenses, tree-trimming and the replacement of parkway trees, Fritz said.
Village trustees are expected to vote April 28 on the proposed budget.
— Graydon Megan