What is a 'Short Sale'?

Buffalo Grove’s Raupp Museum gets $149,250 grant

The Raupp Museum, operated by the Buffalo Grove Park District, will get a state grant to rehabilitate and add to one of its most popular exhibits.

The Buffalo Grove Park District will receive a grant for $149,250 toward the Raupp Museum's Buffalo Grove Crossroads Exhibit, formerly the Town Square Exhibit.

As part of the revamped Buffalo Grove Crossroads Exhibit, three components will be created, including the Prairie View train station, the Weidner general store, and the Geimer greenhouse.

"Everyone is so excited to get this grant to renovate the Town Square Exhibit," said Raupp Museum Curator Debbie Fandrei. "While the exhibit is a favorite with all of the guests, it has remained almost unchanged since it was built over 30 years ago.

"The new exhibit will continue to have the store environments that our visitors love; but, they will now be larger, more interactive, and contain even more historical detail. They will also be completely ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible for the first time ever, which will allow all residents of Buffalo Grove to enjoy full access to history," she said.

Park district officials don't yet know when construction will begin; however, they anticipate the project will be completed in the summer of 2014.

"Since the gallery is also used as the museum's main educational programming area, this new grant will directly benefit the more than 5,000 students and Scouts who take part in Raupp Museum programs every year," Fandrei said.

The project was one of 50 to be awarded a share of $14.9 million in funding assistance from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Only those museums operated by or located upon land owned by a unit of local government were eligible.

Annual Blues Weekend March 2nd & 3rd in Long Grove!

Posted by longgrove on Saturday, January 12, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Let’s beat the winter doldrums and start thinking spring, as we celebrate 2 days of blues music, that will stir your soul. Come out and Shop, dine, drink and enjoy the great entertainment at our annual Blues event in Historic Long Grove.

Saturday, March 2nd & Sunday, March 3rd
Billy Branch & The Sons of Blues
Rocking Johnny Blues Band
Demetria Taylor Blues Band
Donna Herula
Corey Dennison Blues Band

LHS and VHHS Poms Qualify for State Dance Comp!

LHS and VHHS Poms Qualify for State Dance Competition.

The LHS and VHHS Poms will be a part of history in the making this weekend when they compete in the first-ever IHSA State Dance Competition in Bloomington. Both teams qualified for the state competition at last Saturday's Sectional Competition held at Grayslake North High School. Congratulations and good luck at state to our Cougars and Wildcats!

Congrats to SHS Varsity Patriettes!

Poms teams across the state took their activity to a new level on Saturday, when they participated in the first round of the state series in competitive dance, sanctioned by the Illinois High School Association.

"It's a lot more serious and competitive, now that we're recognized as a sport," said senior Kelly Dunne, co-captain of the St. Viator poms team that was one of six teams to advance at the sectional at Palatine High School, with their lyrical routine.

After more than 18 months of planning and surveying IHSA member schools on their interest in a state dance final, five sectionals took place on Saturday, with the top six teams in each class advancing.

The state championships open Friday with the preliminary round at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington, followed by the finals on Saturday.

IHSA's version of competitive dance debuted with an "open routine" format, with teams choosing their style of dance to take to the floor, and going up against all of the other genres, from hip hop, jazz and kick, to traditional poms dance.

"We had our fingers crossed, since we didn't know what the judges would be looking for," said Sue Kawecki, coach of the Maine East Demon Squad, that also advanced at the Palatine sectional, with a kick routine.

Judges evaluated the teams on the same rubric, with 20 points given equally to technique, synchronization and musicality, choreography, formations and transitions, and overall effect.

"It's groundbreaking," added Kelly Clifton-Zajak, St. Viator coach. "I've been to hundreds of dance competitions, and it's never been done before, where one genre competes another."

Stevenson High School earned the highest score of area schools, with a 97.53 out of 100 possible points, of Class 3A schools at the Grayslake North sectional. Warren Township came in second, followed by Larkin, Jacobs, Libertyville and Mundelein.

Among 2A schools, Lake Forest earned the highest score with a 94, followed by Vernon Hills, Crystal Lake Central, Lakes, Grayslake North and Crystal Lake South high schools, all advancing.

Of the smaller schools competing in Class 1A, Lisle came in first, followed by Johnsburg, Woodstock and Immaculate Conception High School in Elmhurst.

Palatine High School hosted the biggest sectional of the day. Beyond Maine East and St. Viator in Class 2A, Fenton, Deerfield, Batavia and Rolling Meadows high schools all advanced.

Larger schools in Class 3A were led by Maine South, followed by Glenbrook South and Buffalo Grove, which all advanced. Even larger schools competed in Class 3A-2. St. Charles North led them by finishing first, followed by Downers Grove South, South Elgin, Fremd, Lake Park and Downers Grove North, who all qualified for state.

Among West suburban schools, Neuqua Valley, Waubonsie Valley, Naperville Central and Naperville North all qualified at the sectional at Andrew High School in Tinley Park. Hinsdale South, Nazareth Academy and Aurora Central Catholic high schools also advanced among smaller schools.

Work with an ABR!

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In addition to knowing the dynamics of the local market, REALTORS^® with the ABR^® designation understand the special needs of buyers. They have additional knowledge and experience that takes them a step beyond an agent who only concentrates on listing property for sellers. An ABR^® can provide you with valued assistance throughout the transaction and help you make informed decisions that will lead to a successful home purchase.

As an ABR^®, I can help you:

• Understand your specific needs and wants, and locate appropriate properties
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Lake Zurich to use $522,000 from CN on noise wall

Lake Zurich will construct a noise wall to protect some homeowners, using more than $500,000 received from Canadian National Railway through a legal settlement.

CN provided nearly $2 million to Lake Zurich for safety upgrades, noise reduction and other measures deemed necessary because of an expected increase in freight trains the company runs through the village. The federal Surface Transportation Board ordered CN to reduce train noise in certain areas.

Village trustees formally entered into the agreement in 2010, which stemmed from concerns over CN's controversial purchase of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway. The line runs in a semicircle from Waukegan to Gary, Ind.

As part of the process involved with spending CN's cash, Lake Zurich officials received feedback from residents in affected neighborhoods on what they preferred in the way of noise protection.

Residents on Carolyn Court, just north of where East Main Street meets Route 22, expressed a preference for the noise wall. By a 5-0 vote, village trustees at a recent meeting agreed to pay $522,263 to the lowest responsible bidder, Woodstock-based Alliance Contractors Inc., for the barrier construction.

Although Alliance doesn't have specific noise wall construction experience, it's been deemed qualified to do the job in Lake Zurich, according to Mark Johnson, project manager with village engineering consultant Ciorba Group of Chicago. Alliance's specialties include work on retaining walls, sidewalks, bridges and box culverts.

Some concern about the tab was raised by Trustee Tom Poynton, who said he didn't want too much of CN's $1.9 million spent in one place.

"Are we going to have enough money left in this (CN) fund to do all the things that we told the people that we were going to do as far as noise mitigation?" Poynton said.

Plans call for other CN money to go toward safety mitigation work near schools, downtown Lake Zurich and other areas adjacent to the company's tracks.

David Heyden, Lake Zurich's public works director and village engineer, said in a memo that the 2010 agreement with CN required the entire $1.9 million be allocated to projects within two years. The village has formally requested a deadline extension to July based on the anticipated noise wall construction schedule, Heyden said.

Last month, officials in neighboring Hawthorn Woods agreed to use most of cash remaining from what it had received from the settlement to ensure officials have electrical power to do their jobs in the event of a crisis.

An amount not to exceed $43,000 will be used to buy and install generators at the village hall and adjoining police department/emergency operations center, a central location where village decision makers meet in the event of a disaster that needs a coordinated response.

Hawthorn Woods received a $760,000 settlement in September 2009 when it dropped out of litigation involving the CN's acquisition of the EJ&E.