Highland Park News

Merchants: Shuttered parking garage hurt us

Fri, 25 May 2012 21:41:31 -0500

Port Clinton Square merchants didn’t realize how important parking was until they lost it. And for New Balance North Shore, the abrupt closing of the core downtown parking garage on May 5 couldn’t have come at a worse time. The long-time Port Clinton retailer launched a promotion in May — coupled with a high-priced radio commercial campaign — offering to cover all sales taxes for senior citizen customers. But the frenzied parking situation circulating the Central Avenue plaza compelled many of those customers to stay away, New Balance North Shore employees reported. “It’s been tough to find parking, and not …

Host exchange students

Fri, 25 May 2012 22:40:01 -0500

America International Exchange, a Chicago-area non-profit, is looking for families on the North Shore to host each of its high-school-aged visitors from Spain. This year’s students will be here July 27-Aug. 18. The students speak English, are insured, and have their own spending money. All they need is a warm bed, meals, and a window to the American way-of-life. It is not necessary to have teens in the family; singles, young families; and seniors also make great host families. Interested parties can contact Elise Egan, local program coordinator at (847) 431-5110 or elisebundlegan@gmail.com. …

Plan goes to Park Board

Fri, 25 May 2012 21:41:31 -0500

When the Park Board ultimately votes on the proposed Rosewood Beach development plan, the controversial Interpretive Center will be a part of the package. The district’s Rosewood Beach Advisory Task Force voted 6-1 on May 21 to recommend that the Park Board consider the 1,960-square-foot educational building with the overall development. The small guardhouse, concession and bathroom structures connected by a boardwalk on the south end of the beach have already been widely accepted by the panel and community. Before the May 21 vote, the panel toured Rosewood Beach to get an up-close feel for the lakefront impact of the …

Grads achieve a major milestone for their families

Fri, 25 May 2012 21:18:00 -0500

The Highland Park High School class of 2012 will receive its diplomas Wednesday night (May 30), but for many students their four years at HPHS called for more than homework, midterms, dances and Friday night football games. When a group of eight Latino students cross the Ravinia Festival stage this week, they will also be celebrating the fact they held down after school jobs, worked as Future Giants mentors and served as the glue in their Spanish-speaking families. They were their families’ translators, appointment-makers, phone receptionists and check-writers. On Wednesday, they will be high school graduates, carrying with them the …

Highland Park police blotter for May 21-25, 2012

Fri, 25 May 2012 20:20:57 -0500

Highland Park police made two arrests on drunk-driving charges Thursday, May 24, and Friday, May 25, according to a department report.

Teen designs winning poster

Fri, 25 May 2012 18:13:26 -0500

Highland Park High School freshman Kaylee Tucker recently earned $100 for combining her civic-minded spirit with her passion for architecture and graphic design. The Illinois Press Association called on teens to compete in a First Amendment poster contest. The goal was to inspire students to express how modern communication tools and technology have changed the country’s long-standing right to petition. Tucker won for her poster that features three pictures: an iPad illustrating an email written to the U.S. president, a Facebook post sent to the U.S. Supreme Court and a text message to a U.S. senator. “I was thinking how …

1.5 million people to use Midway, O’Hare this holiday weekend

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:24:01 -0500

About 1.5 million people are expected to pass through Chicago’s two airports this Memorial Day weekend, city aviation officials say.

Highland Park reopens lower level of Port Clinton parking garage

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:46:17 -0500

The lower portion of the shuttered Port Clinton parking structure reopened at 6 a.m. Thursday, May 24, marking the first time cars have been allowed in the core downtown parking garage since May 5, when it was closed down because of fire-safety violations.

Post commander recalls close call

Thu, 24 May 2012 04:14:08 -0500

Memorial Day has long been a very meaningful day for Greg Detlie, the commander of Highland Park’s Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 4737. In July 1969, it appeared Detlie would never make it out of Vietnam after his Jeep was flipped in an enemy attack, but he was among the lucky ones. “As a kid, we would put flags on our bikes and ride in a parade,” Detlie said of his Memorial Day memories. “Now, it’s for all your friends that didn’t make it. It’s a day to remember all the people that have fought and are still fighting …

Study says Chicago traffic congestion actually got better

Tue, 22 May 2012 17:50:34 -0500

Drivers in the Chicago area were stuck in traffic an average of 36 hours in 2011, 12 fewer than the 48 wasted in traffic in 2010, according to INRIX, a company that studies traffic patterns.

City pilots program to compost food waste

Thu, 24 May 2012 04:14:49 -0500

The city of Highland Park has agreed to launch the region’s first food waste composting program — and the first 125 households to sign up will get the city to cover half the $40 participation cost. The pilot program is open to all residents who are on the city’s Thursday collection pick-up cycle, or about 2,500 households. Veolia, the city’s residential waste hauler, will begin picking up the food waste on Aug. 2 and compost the food remains on a four-month trial basis. Veolia also will provide the first 125 participants with a free 33-gallon cart, kitchen container and liners. …

Group says 15 improvements urgently needed for Highland Park, Deerfield high schools

Fri, 25 May 2012 17:41:58 -0500

After a year of analysis by more than 120 residents, the High School District 113 volunteer leadership team outlined its recommendations Monday night to readdress the lingering facility issues at Highland Park and Deerfield high schools. The formal presentation, which required the larger venue of the Highland Park High School auditorium, featured a list of 15 urgent needs and laid out the first steps to begin planning the long-awaited school improvements. According to the study group analysis, the common Tier 1 issues at both high school schools remain all life-safety matters, Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, lighting, air quality and …

Task Force tours Rosewood Beach project site in Highland Park

Fri, 25 May 2012 17:41:58 -0500

After walking Rosewood Beach Monday night -- with stakes and pillars marking the proposed location and size of the controversial interpretive center -- Task Force chairman David Fairman expressed confidence that the building would not detract from the scenic setting. “The (Task Force) indicated that they got a good sense of the scale of the buildings,” Fairman said after the chilly lakefront tour with his panel of advisory colleagues. “The big issue here is the big reveal that you see when you drive down here and walk down here, and would that be damaged by the location of this building? …

Uncle Dan’s offers latest products in its Highland Park store

Thu, 24 May 2012 04:15:10 -0500

Three Uncle Dan’s Great Outdoors stores are in the Chicago region, but when owner Brent Weiss experiments with a new line it always starts at his downtown Highland Park store. “If we are going to bring in a brand new product — something new and different, something that is cutting edge — we are going to bring it into the Highland Park store first because the Highland Park customer is a customer who is looking for what’s new, what’s different, and what nobody else has,” Weiss said. “The term we use is the alpha customer,” he continued. “The person who …