Election Day

April l7th was a proud day for me! Thanks for all the support!

Sign, Sign, Everywhere (?) a Sign

Flossmoor's stringent signage requirements seem to eroding. And none too soon.

At the February 23rd Village Meeting, the board voted to allow CVS to build a 15 foot sign. If CVS can erect a 15 foot sign, why can't Flossmoor Commons erect a 7 foot sign?

Last fall, I was in the parking lot of Olympia Square when an elderly women drove up and asked me "Where is the Kingsbury Pancake House?" She was to meet friends for breakfast and couldn't find the restaurant. I pointed across Vollmer Road, and that's when it hit me.....Flossmoor Commons doesn't have a "real sign", one at the corner of the complex that would actually invite people to shop, dine, and spend their money. Together, we spied Kingsbury's lettering on the side of the building and I sent our village's visitor on her way.

Don't we owe all Flossmoor businesses equal treatment? Or at least equal consideration?

If multiple businesses bring multiple concerns, I'm convinced some enterprising designer can whip up an acceptable sign that accommodates the chance that a business not be around forever. But then...if someone could actually find their way to buy a Subway sandwich, a plate of Pad Thai, or even get a manicure, perhaps a business maybe around longer.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Far Southside Style

Candidate Lessner wants to thanks Mae Carroll, and her cousins Hannah & Nolan Brennan-Levy for hosting a donnybrook of a parade. Two years ago when my family and I marched in the First Far South-side Parade, I knew the Irish-Trio had a winner.

This past Saturday continued the tradition. The weather was perfect, the kids were decorated in green from head to toe, and the parents were enjoying a few beverages.

Great job kids! Mrs. Lessner will work hard as a Trustee so kids growing up in Flossmoor have the support of their local government to create community friendly opportunities.

Pictures:
Candidate Lessner is shown here with Sammy "The Leprechaun" Calpino.
Allison Lessner stumps for her Mom!

Where the Sidewalk Ends...

No, I'm not referring to the Shel Silverstein's children's book. I'm referring to Baythorne's access to their newest commercial neighbor...CVS. How are the residents of Baythorne expected to walk to their local drugstore and make a quick purchase?

If the infrastructure stayed the same, Baythorne residents would have to cross in the middle of Flossmoor Road, to the north side and continue west to the CVS. There isn't a sidewalk on the south side of Flossmoor Road, connecting Baythorne to the Kedzie/Flossmoor Road intersection.

As a consolation gift, perhaps the village could give the residents of Baythorne a couple of blocks of sidewalk, so they could safely walk to CVS and buy the weekly special advertised on the electronic sign.

I hope our village board in planning to create the necessary walkways required to keep our pedestrians safe while they support our local businesses. As a trustee, you can count on me to suggest small, incremental improvements to make the best of an unpopular decision.

Why aren't we "Shovel-Ready"?

With almost a trillion stimulus dollars trickling down from Washington D.C.,
those communities who are "shovel-ready", projects that are planned and ready to go, seem to be ahead of those villages who aren't "shovel-ready."

Visit www.stimuluswatch.org and check out the "shovel-ready" projects the mayors of Illinois submitted in the 2008 U.S. Conference of Mayors report.
Our neighboring communities seem to have their foot on the stimulus shovel: Homewood is ready for 22 million dollars of improvements, Chicago Heights is good to go for 11.6 million, Glenwood is positioned for 19.3 and Lynnwood is looking at 5.8 million stimulus dollars. Who's missing from this list? Flossmoor.

Don't worry, there's hope for our village. We can still make a request for federal grants and get our piece of stimulus dollars. The real question is: Are we working quickly on a federal request?
Or will this be another Missed Opportunity?

A Path to Nowhere

Since 2005, Homewood has been working with the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation to establish safe transportation and recreational opportunities for its residents. Flossmoor had the chance to join this partnership, but chose not to, citing that bike paths aren't cost-effective. Since then, Homewood has captured over $140,000 in grant money to support their efforts to bring alternative transportation to this region. Making routes safer not only takes care of our current residents and local businesses, but it is also a selling point for potential homeowners.

Establishing a bike path doesn't have to be as expensive as it sounds. Perhaps if the current board acknowledged that many residents in Flossmoor bike (or walk) to the train station, their kids'school, our library, and local businesses, we wouldn't have had another Missed Opportunity.

The widening of Kedzie Avenue would have been the perfect time to meet all these goals. Olympia Field's portion of Kedzie includes a dedicate Bike Lane, which abruptly ends when Kedzie crosses into Flossmoor. Even though the widening of Kedzie was a Cook County project, Olympia Fields worked with the county to get a better and safer route for taxpayers.

When the Flossmoor portion of Kedzie was under construction, a few blocks of sidewalk (from Lawrence Crescent to Vollmer Road) would have provided safer accessibility to Flossmoor Commons. It isn't unusual for residents in the Heather Hills area to "chance" the few sidewalkless blocks to get to Flossmoor Commons in order to enjoy a dinner out.
Once again, a Missed Opportunity.

Do you have a suggestion to keep pedestrians and cyclists safer? Where you think a few blocks of infrastructure would make your life easier? Your input is important to this candidate.

CVS and HF High School: High School Sweethearts?

I was disappointed, but not surprised that at last night's Village Board Meeting, Flossmoor's Village Board proceeded with the plans for a CVS Pharmacy on the corner of Kedzie & Flossmoor Road. At the December 15th meeting, representatives from HF High School not only voiced their concerns about the safety of students crossing the busy intersection, they mentioned the "action" that a drugstore may attract after football games. Their concerns are warranted.

At the time of this blog entry, the minutes for the December 15th Board Meeting were not on the Village's website. I am encouraging you to call the Village and request the minutes and read what the HF representatives said. After all, Homewood-Flossmoor administrators are not only leaders in education, they also happen to be experts on the purchasing, eating, & walking habits of teenagers.

Is this corner really the best place for a drugstore? Or is it the only place we have left, because Flossmoor lacks a comprehensive economic development plan? Just another set of
questions that has prompted me to run for Village Trustee.