Monday, January 7, 2013
The Downers Grove Citizen Group of 63rd and Woodward was given the Citizen Initiative Award last month by the Citizen Advocacy Center.
A Downers Grove citizen group was recognized by the Citizen Advocacy Center last month for its role in blocking a new Walgreens at 63rd Street and Woodward Avenue. The Downers Grove Citizen Group of 63rd and Woodward was among four recipients of the 2012 Citizen Initiative Award, an honor presented each year by the Citizen Advocacy Center (CAC), an Elmhurst-based non-profit dedicated to building democracy for the 21st Century. According to a release from the CAC, the award recognizes local community activists who are "catalysts for participation and have used civic, legal, and community organizing tools to advocate for a self-identified issue of public concern." In late 2011, the village of Downers Grove began working with developer 63rd …
Monday, June 11, 2012
Get your week started with a look back at some of the interesting Downers Grove Patch articles from last week.
Here's a rundown of some of the DG Patch articles from last week: •Juvenile Suspects Arrested, Charged with Felony in Auto Dealership Fire Two juveniles charged in Easter Sunday fire to Ultimate Motor Cars on Ogden Avenue that caused estimated $250,000 in damage. •Tony Cesare: Dear Downers Grove: Don't go Changing... Glancing back at ten years living in the Grove. •Petitioner Withdraws Petition for Proposed Walgreens No Walgreens at 63rd and Woodward. •Council Votes to Cut Down Number of Holiday Parking Days Village council voted to decrease number of holiday parking days by six. •DG Students Inducted into Benet Academy National Honor Society Twenty-one Downers Grove students made the cut. •Congratulations, DGS Mustangs Girls Soccer! You'…
Friday, June 8, 2012
Media relations email cites traffic concerns on Woodward as being reason for the petition's withdrawal.
I received an email from Walgreens media relations member Robert Elfinger in response to this story asking residents to theorize why the petition for the proposed Walgreens at 63rd and Woodward was withdrawn earlier this week. His email stated: Walgreens has valued the opinions of Chicago area customers since 1901. It’s our goal to be consumers’ first choice for health and daily living across the nation, and a central part of people’s lives and the communities where they live and work. Because of this focus on community, we have listened to area residents who voiced concerns about a store at 63rd Street and Woodward Avenue. More specifically, we reviewed the concerns regarding Woodward Avenue traffic and felt they were valid. As a result, …
Thursday, June 7, 2012
What do you think the reason was?
While certain residents rejoice over the withdrawn Walgreens petition, one question remains: Why did the developer withdraw the petition? Unfortunately, finding an answer to that question is proving difficult. The developer, Draper and Kramer, haven't been returning phone calls. Their attorney on the matter, David Shaw, said they didn't tell him why they were withdrawing the petition. And the village? They found out on Monday like everyone else, mere days after a neighborhood meeting in which David Fieldman and village staff presented concerned citizens with various site adjustments, including plans for a median on Woodward just north of the Walgreens site. “Information is a little difficult to come by in this realm,” village …
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
The Walgreens petitioners withdrew their request hours before the council intended to vote on the issue.
The agendas were printed—the council was set to vote on the controversial proposed Walgreens at Tuesday night’s meeting—and then the petitioner withdrew their petition. In a letter sent yesterday morning, the petitioners said they “respectfully request that no further consideration be given to the proposed development.” Mayor Martin Tully at the beginning of the council meeting announced that the Walgreens issue had been withdrawn—not postponed. “It will not be on the agenda in any way, shape or form,” he said. Nevertheless, a couple residents still commented on the issue. “We are very pleased that Walgreens has withdrawn their application, though we don’t know the reason,” Dee Gordon said, adding she hoped resident efforts played a role…
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
No Walgreens at 63rd and Woodward.
In a letter from the attorney for the petitioner to the village sent out by the village minutes ago: Dear Tom (Dabareiner, Director of Community Development for the Village of Downers Grove): This letter will constitute formal notice that 63rd & W LLC/David Agosto, petitioners in the above reference matter, hereby withdraw said petition and respectfully request that no further consideration be given to the proposed development. Please extend our thanks to the Plan Commission, Village Council and Village Staff for all of their consideration and efforts with respect to this matter. Very truly yours, David L. Shaw Attorney for Petitioners Sign up for the Downers Grove Patch newsletter!
Proposed Walgreens expected to be voted on during the June 5 village council meeting.
The proposed Walgreens at 63rd and Woodward is on the agenda for tonight's village council meeting, and we wonder how our readers think the vote will shake out. So we ask: Will the village council vote in favor of the proposed Walgreens? This involves annexation, land consolidation, rezoning and granting special usage for the land. Vote in the poll below and let us know what you think. Remember, this poll is WILL they, not SHOULD they. Please share your opinions on should they/shouldn't they with us in the comments section below!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Neighborhood meeting will feature a discussion on proposed changes to the plan and allow for public comment.
To help concerned and interested residents get a heads up on Walgreens-related matters to be discussed at the June 5 village council meeting, the village is holding a neighborhood meeting tonight to discuss the proposed Walgreens at 63rd and Woodward. The meeting, according to village communications director Doug Kozlowski, is an opportunity for the residents to see the information before the next council meeting so they have an opportunity to process the information and react. When asked, Kozlowski said the meeting is not an indication of how the council may vote on the matter, but is simply an example of the village's ongoing goal to keep residents informed. Representatives of the project's developer will be in attendance and there will …
Community member Bill White shares his opinion of the proposed Walgreens at 63rd and Woodward.
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Thursday, May 31, 2012
Dear Mayor Tully and Village Commissioners: I write to ask that you vote "No" regarding the proposed Walgreens at 63rd Street and Woodward Avenue. I also ask that this letter be read into the public record at the June 5th meeting of the Village Council. I ask that you vote “No” as I do not believe this project will bring significant revenue to Downers Grove nor do I believe the very modest economic development this project may offer is worth the substantial disruption that will come to the local neighborhood nor are the modest benefits offered by Walgreens worth the abandonment of a sensible planning process. I also ask that each of the following topics be addressed as a matter of public record prior to the Village Council taking a final…
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Residents at village council meeting overwhelmingly against proposed Walgreens relocation to 63rd and Woodward.
After discussing the proposed Walgreens at 63rd and Woodward for more than two hours during Tuesday night's council meeting, the fate of the pharmacy's relocation from 63rd and Belmont is still unclear. For the residents in attendance, the proposal represented everything from a bureaucratic blunder to an affront on their livelihood. Residents took issue with everything from traffic safety to the integrity of the soil the Walgreens would be built on. Essentially, the residents supported any perceived flaw in the plan they felt would cast the proposal in a negative light. And though the petition won't be voted on until June 5 at the earliest, many of the public comments came across as if it were already a done deal, creating an accusatory …
linda cameron
7:56 pm on Thursday, January 17, 2013
It's the apathy like yours that has this country in the state that it is in. We just sat back and let big business run our government and its politicians. People stopped getting involved and look at the mess around you. Open your eyes! Our country is run by big business not the people. more ›