Morton Grove made the news in a wide range of stories in 2023, including buying land for a new Village Hall, planning for a new Metra station and helping in the arrest of a Skokie man who made multiple bomb threats in Morton Grove and other area towns.
$1 million Lotto winner
In early April, a $1 million winning Lucky Day Lotto ticket was purchased at Family Pantry, a Morton Grove convenience store in the 9200 block of Waukegan Road, according to the Illinois Lottery.
The owners of the store received a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket. Family Pantry Manager Satish Patel told Pioneer Press he didn’t know the identity of the person who purchased the winning ticket.
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“We found out [on] the Illinois Lottery app after the draw was over and the results were coming,” he said.
It was not the first time the store sold a winning ticket, Patel said. Family Pantry sold another ticket that claimed the $1 million jackpot a year ago and a third a few years before that, he said.
The store saw a spike in lottery sales after the winner was announced, Patel said.
“They say your store is a lucky store in our town,” he said.
New Village Hall property
Later in April, the Village Board sold a Dempster Street parcel for $700,000 and bought another one across the street for $2.1 million in a plan to build a new Village Hall and Police Department.
Trustees agreed unanimously to sell a vacant parcel at 6210 Dempster on the north side of the street and buy a large granite bank building and property at 6201 Dempster on the south side.
Fifth Third Bank had been unable to sell the 6210 parcel and was planning to demolish it, but Morton Grove officials chose to buy it after inspecting it, according to village records.
“We think we have found a great solution for the village (and) for its future,” Village Administrator Ralph Czerwinski said at the April 11 Village Board meeting.
Mayor Dan DiMaria added, “It’s just good government, and the results are going to be really good for the village.”
Village staff met with an architect to determine how to best utilize the newly-obtained property, Czerwinski said.
“We are confident that the facility, with the possible addition to the building, will meet the needs of the village near term and in the future,” he said.
Czerwinski said construction could start in the early part of 2025.
New Metra station plans
In July, the Village Board moved forward with plans to tear down Morton Grove’s 47-year-old Metra commuter train station and build a new one for $2.5 million.
“We’re through with 80% of the design on the train station,” Village Administrator Ralph Czerwinski said. “It’s going to be very exciting for us. It’s a nice transit-related project.”
The current Metra station was built in 1976 and is an “embarrassment” to the community, said Zoe Heidorn, community development administrator.
“It’s severely outdated,” Heidorn said. “Looking at other communities, we want to put on a positive face. We want to attract residents and new business people. To do that, we have to provide the infrastructure and want to support public transit. It’s the future.”
Village President Dan DiMaria said a new train station was one of his goals in his first election for mayor.
“I’m very pleased,” DiMaria said. “This is one area I wanted to turn around. I’m sick of other communities getting nice train stations and Morton Grove getting left in the cold. I’m thrilled to change the entrance to the village and for all the passersby to get to see what Morton Grove really is.”
Officials hope to break ground on the project during the first quarter of 2024, Czerwinski said.
Bomb threats
In October, Morton Grove police helped arrest a Skokie man accused of making numerous bomb threats to public libraries, businesses, suburban government buildings and at least one police station.
Jacob N. Spiro, 23, of the 4600 block of Davis Street, Skokie, was arrested by Niles police with the assistance of Morton Grove police and the FBI Joint Terrorist Task Force, police said in statements.
Spiro was arrested in connection with bomb threats he made to the Wendy’s Restaurant at 8309 Golf Road in Niles on Oct. 9 and Notre Dame College Prep on Sept. 29, according to the Niles Police Department.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office approved felony charges for disorderly conduct for Spiro. The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office also charged Spiro with two counts of felony disorderly conduct in connection with Sept. 12 and 14 bomb threats at three Aurora Public Library buildings,
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officials said.Morton Grove police said 12 bomb threats occurred in Morton Grove, including some directed at the Morton Grove Public Library, the village of Morton Grove and businesses.
Tax and fee hikes
In December, the village passed a series of five tax and fee increases, including a 9% hike in the village’s portion of property taxes, to cover an 8.1% increase in its 2024 budget.
Officials estimated all five increases will cost the average homeowner about $146 a year. They said the property tax hike alone will cost the owner of a $400,000 home about $115 a year.
No residents objected or spoke during public hearings for the $84.5 million budget, up from $78.14 million last year, and for the property tax hike.
Village officials blamed the unusually large budget hike on economic conditions and uncontrollable costs such as employee pensions and health insurance.
“We’re considering this to be a reactionary, managed budget,” Village Administrator Ralph Czerwinski said. “We’re reacting to the fact that we have pension and insurance increases and inflationary pressures while still controlling, to the best of our ability, maintaining the services the village enjoys.”
The general fund budget, which was increased 8% from $35.1 million this year to $37.9 million for 2024, will be funded by property taxes and increases of 3% in water rates and 5% in garbage collection and by raising the gas tax from 1 to 2 cents per gallon and the food and beverage tax from 4 to 5%, he said.