Norridge Harwood-Heights News

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 05:38:32 -0500

Do something good for community … I would like to thank the citizens of Norridge who voted for the Norridge Improvement Party candidates led by President-Elect James Chmura. Our small town is safe for the time being because we averted the disastrous consequences of potentially electing and dealing with Chicago and Illinois state politicians who are only interested in trading favors for favors. I would like to briefly summarize my experience with the Norridge Improvement Party. In the 1980s, a salesman who worked for me, Roy Provenza, asked me if I wanted to join the Norridge Improvement Party led by …

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:24:07 -0500

Candidate for village president wrong on tax levy As the Chief Financial Officer of the Norwood Park Fire Protection District I am very concerned. In the past two weeks I have received three mailers from a candidate running for Norridge Village President. He is stating that the Fire Protection District has raised taxes by 29 percent in the last three years. This information is incorrect, a misrepresentation of the facts and grossly overstates our tax levy. I would like to set the record straight. 1) Our levy over the last three years went from $4,544,284 for the 2008 tax levy to $4,819,560 …

Letter: Right turn lane or not?

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 06:14:58 -0500

The actions of the three trustees who would disagree with the mayor if she said the sky is blue and the grass is green is very disappointing. Do they listen to what they say? Mougolias noted the village had debated the issue for more than a year. Yet he wants to know “Why do we wait until the last minute?” Dobrzycki also questioned the limited amount of time they had to discuss it. “We haven’t had a thorough discussion,” he said. Are they kidding? The Mariano’s project has been discussed at length. This time the question was simple and shouldn’t …

Letter: Comments on mosque ‘shameful’

Sun, 02 Dec 2012 07:00:34 -0500

There is an overtly shameful tone to the comments by one neighbor, whose parents, not him, own the building at 4702 Olcott. There was no mass contingency of residents who opposed a community center and place of prayer. At the Zoning Committee meeting – open to the public– two neighbors opposed it, and one still harping on the library and Mariano’s. In truth, the hearing was filled with families, and some you may know. Take, for example, the college student who attended Ridgewood. He was happy that his younger siblings would finally have a place to be open about their …

Letter: No more tax exempt entities

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 14:22:06 -0500

Harwood Heights occupies one square mile. For some 60 years, our industrial section flourished, business vacancies were minimum and residents were hardly aware of “foreclosures.” Today, our little world is a far different story. Through these years we have accepted many properties on a tax-exempt basis – municipal properties, post office, three churches, two schools, one library, one fire department and the entire area of Norridge Park. How does all this tax-exempt status affect tax paying residents? Simply stated, those “tax-exempt” pay no property taxes and also get many service fees waived. The Eisenhower Library and township fire department serve …

Letter: Just another ploy

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:36:06 -0500

Few in Chicago will pay this proposed tax as there are no gun shops in the city of Chicago. They are all in the suburbs or outside the county. Preckwinkle’s Chief of Staff Summers says “Nearly one-third of the weapons recovered on Chicago’s streets were purchased in suburban gun shops.” Where were the other two-third acquired? Were any purchased in Chicago where the major problem is? Remember, there are no gun shops in Chicago. This is just another ploy to tax the law-abiding citizens of the suburbs to finance the corrupt Chicago machine in the guise of protecting its citizens. …

Guest Essay: Oppedisano will not run again

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 06:12:56 -0500

NORRIDGE — The paths we take in our lives are sometimes chosen by us and at times are chosen for us. My life’s journey has been and continues to be one which has been full of surprises; some good and some otherwise. One of the very satisfying paths I have chosen has led me to participate and serve in my hometown of Norridge’s government. I have embarked on many other paths in and out of my 20 plus years of involvement in Norridge municipal government, which have not been chosen, but handed to me. Some of these have involved serious …

Letter: Too much in taxes

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 06:17:17 -0500

We must reduce property taxes by 10-15 percent. In the last four years, my property taxes have increased 52.6 percent; my house has declined in value and is now worth less than it was 12 years ago. On Feb. 9, 2012, I wrote here that about 85 percent of our property taxes go to seven taxing bodies in our community – high school, grammar school, fire department, library, park, village and township. I am calling on these seven taxing bodies to reduce our property taxes by 10-15 percent. This can be done; it will take courage and leadership so I …

Letter: Cat Grandma to the rescue

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 19:08:45 -0500

To the Grey Lantern: Call me Cat Grandma. I am a super hero, too. As Cat Grandma, I bring wrongs to right. You know the texting fool in front of you who doesn’t move when the light turns green? I, Cat Grandma, am the one who uses her horn to get the line moving. Surely you are aware of people who lose their doggy’s doo on a neighbor’s lawn. I, Cat Grandma, return it to the owner’s front porch. Yes, I admit it, I’m partial to kitties, so when dogs roam the forest preserve bike trail unleashed, I confront the …

Letter to the editor: Planning your 2012? Consult your 2011

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:24:34 -0500

Time is a fragile thing. Poets, painters and physicists each try to define it. You and I get to live it. But what should we do when it’s over? As in that old calendar you just took down from the kitchen wall. The pragmatists and environmentalists among us will simply say: “Dispose it.” I say: “Study it. Take a little sliver of 2012 time to reconsider what you and I didn’t do with 2011 time.” It’s something like the difference between the tea drinker who throws away the brewed leaves and the one who studies them. Here’s what I see …

Letter to the editor: Thankful for teachers, staff who care

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:01:59 -0500

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the outstanding teachers and staff in our schools, specifically School Districts 62, 63, 64, 207, Notre Dame College Prep and Our Lady of Destiny. My organization, Maine Community Youth Assistance Foundation, works with these schools regularly and I am always heartened to find so many caring teachers and other school staff (teacher assistants, custodians, cafeteria workers, etc.) that go above and beyond to support our children. These extraordinary people show up early or stay late to provide extra educational support, and they coach or lead clubs and other activities …

Letter to the editor: Scary story in question

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 08:04:52 -0500

I read the story, “What the Sharks Caused to the Town,” in your Scary Stories segment for Oct. 27. To say that my family found it disturbing is an understatement. This story was supposed to be about Halloween. There was nothing about Halloween in the story. There were knives and blood, a drowned sister and parents being called slaves. What does that have to do with Halloween? We have a new baby at home. We were sickened by the end, which was a baby being stabbed in the eye followed by a chirpy, “The End!!” Please let me know how …

Letter to the Editor

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 03:34:43 -0500

In defense of Mora While the article concerning the restraining order served to taxpayer advocate Riccardo Mora last week (Norridge activist is served with restraining order, Norridge News, May 12,) did a fair job of getting Mora’s side of the story as well as Norridge President Ronald Oppedisano’s opinion of the value of Arborist Anthony Valentino’s employment with the village, it left me wondering what Mora actually did that warranted the restraining order. I find it hard to believe that taking pictures of a Village employee on the job is deserving of a restraining order. Don’t get me wrong, if I were the one being photographed I certainly would find …

Submit your letter to the editor

Wed, 01 May 2013 08:18:08 -0500

Letters are subject to editing and may only be signed by one individual. They must contain an address and phone number for verification. Letters must be entirely written for this paper and may not include previously published material, nor do we accept form letters from campaigns or special interest groups or those also sent to other media. All letters submitted are subject to our Submission Guidelines. …

Schools should keep best teachers, not tenured ones

Mon, 09 May 2011 10:08:57 -0500

In keeping with school board code, dozens of teachers in the suburbs received pink slips last month effectively putting their careers on hold. As a taxpayer in these financially difficult times, I understand why the pink slips are necessary. But as a parent with four children in our local public schools, I object to Illinois laws that determine how these layoff decisions are made. If we are forced to make do with larger class sizes, as so many school districts are asking, shouldn't those classrooms be led by the most effective teachers? In Illinois, seniority is the sole factor in …