District 219 to begin search for new superintendent
Two months following the resignation of two top administrators at Niles Township High School District 219 the School Board said last week the search for a replacement for ex-superintendent Nanciann Gatta would begin early next year.
Board President Mark Sproat, one of four new board members to take office this year, declined to provide a timeline for the search process.
Sproat and other board members have declined to answer questions since the district launched an internal investigation that’s been underway since August.
Days before the 2015-16 school year started, the board placed Gatta on paid leave along with John Heintz, who served as the district’s chief legal officer and assistant superintendent of operations before he and Gatta resigned in November.
A forensic investigation firm and a team of attorneys hired by the district are expected to wrap-up their inquiries by January, according to a statement released by the School Board on Dec. 11.
Documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show board members have approved thousands of dollars in payments the district started making back several months ago when the board experts hired to review contracts, payroll and electronic correspondence.
The Board’s next step will be to hire an interim superintendent, a role that’s been filled since the investigation began by Ann Roloff, assistant superintendent for curriculum.
“Once this interim position has been filled, the board is committed to engaging in a thorough search process for a superintendent, which will include various methods of outreach to parents, community members and staff,” Sproat said in an emailed statement on Dec. 16.
Gun shop and range lawsuit continues
A status hearing regarding an amended lawsuit against the village of Niles and the owners behind a gun shop dubbed the Sportsman’s Club and Firearms Training Academy is set for Jan. 6, according attorney Tony Hind.
The hearing comes a year-and-half after the Niles Village Board approved a special-use permit allowing a gun shop and range to open within five miles of several schools.
Hind represents the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Skokie-based gun control advocacy group People for a Safer Society. A suit filed against the village in October 2014 sought to annul the permit granted by Niles officials in July 2014 that would allow for the sale of firearms, an indoor firing range and gun safety training at a yet to be built facility at 6143 Howard St. in addition to preventing any such business from opening on the property in the future.
The initial suit was dismissed without prejudice in June by Circuit Court of Cook County Judge Franklin Ulyses Valderrama. Hind said the gunshop owners were named as an additional defendant in the amended suit in response to the judge’s decision. Mike Connelly, an attorney for the village, said he made a motion to dismiss the newest version of the lawsuit and a separate motion asking for the same was filed by James Argionis, an attorney for the gun shop owners.
Connelly said he believes the judge should once again dismiss the case “because the issues are the same as they were the last time.” Argionis did not return a request for comment.
People for a Safer Society have urged the village of Skokie to sign onto the lawsuit claiming the gun shop in neighboring Niles poses a danger to students in Skokie. Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen said the village sympathizes with their cause, but is not in a position to become a plaintiff.
Hind said next steps for the group and the lawsuit won’t be known until at least the status date in January. He said it’s possible the judge may also choose to issue a ruling on the matter at a later date.
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Leaning tower repair and purchase
The YMCA of Metro Chicago announced its intention in a statement issued last month to donate the iconic half-sized Leaning Tower replica on its property to the village. The same day the YMCA press release was issued, the Niles Village Board formalized their intention to purchase the tower and approved a contract worth nearly $550,000 for repairs to the local landmark. Village staff said at the time the asking price for the 94-foot-tall steel, stone and concrete structure on Touhy Avenue was $10.
Communications coordinator Hayley Garard declined to offer any comment on next steps regarding either the sale or donation of the tower or the planned repairs.
The tower was commissoned by Roberty Ilg and constructed in 1934 as a creative way to hide water infiltration tanks for two pools on the campus of what was once a 22-acre park for employees of Ilg Hot Air Ventilation Company. Following Ilg’s death in 1964, the tower and surrounding land were left to the YMCA. The structure fell into disrepair and in 1996 the village assumed responsibility for the maintenance of the tower under a $1 per year lease agreement with the YMCA.
The cost of the recently approved contract to repair the structure will be paid for from funds generated by the newly established Gross-Point Touhy tax increment financing district, village manager Steve Vinezeano previously told Pioneer Press.
“The tower will be a focal point to the recently created Touhy Arts and Culture Corridor Tax Increment Financing District, and once we have refurbished the tower to its former glory, we will pursue designation as a historical site under the National Historic Preservation Act,” Niles Mayor Andrew Przybylo was quoted as saying in the YMCA press release.
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Freelance reporter Natalie Hayes contributed.