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?