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.

Buffalo Grove: New Rental Housing Licensing Program

Main Village Bulletin

Posted on: November 5, 2012

New Rental Housing Licensing Program

Effective January 1, 2013, the Village of Buffalo Grove will begin the Residential Rental Housing Program. The purpose of the program is to provide for the registration and inspections of all rental properties within the Village.

The program is established to protect the health, safety and welfare of the people in the community. It also seeks to:
- Ensure that all rental units comply with the minimum housing standards regulated by Village ordinances;
- To protect the character and stability of residential areas;
- To correct and prevent housing conditions that adversely affect or are likely to affect the life, safety, general welfare and health, including physical, mental and social well being of person occupying rental units; and
- To preserve the value of land and buildings throughout the Village.
This program includes, but is not limited to: apartment complexes, condominiums, town homes, coach homes, duplexes, row homes and single family homes. If you own or manage rental property in the village please call our office at 847-459-2530 to register for this program

Buffalo Grove is Seeking Artists for 2013 Art Festival

Seeking Artists for 2013 Art Festival

To be considered as an artist for this coming year’s Buffalo Grove Fine Art Festival (and others coordinated by the same company), go to http://amdurproductions.com/. Deadline for application is January 11, 2013.

Moving Checklist....

Moving home can be very exciting, but also very stressful at the same time. If you are methodical and organised you can make the transition much more easily and save time too.

 

Planning
Once you have exchanged contracts, you can decide on a completion and moving date. In this interim period, begin throwing away all that junk from the attic, shed and garage you haven’t seen for years. Go through your possessions and use the opportunity to discard or sell the items you never use. Clean cupboards and pack systematically as you sort.
Decide if you are going to undertake the move yourself with a van and friends or use professional removers. Obtain quotes and book the van or removal firm. Make sure a firm is a member of the British Association of Removers and ascertain what level of insurance is available and who is going to be responsible for the packing, especially if you have any precious or valuable items.
Seal boxes as you pack, and then label them on the outside with marker pen. You can use a simple number system with each number corresponding to a number on a room plan which you can give to the movers on the day. Alternatively a more sophisticated plan is to construct a spreadsheet with a list of individual items, or types of items, to correspond to different numbers or symbols.
Make arrangements with the post office to have your mail redirected for a specified period of time.
Compile a list of all the people you will have to contact when you move house. In order that you can do this soon after moving without actually having to hunt out the paperwork, the list should include provider policy numbers and telephone numbers, so you can just tick off the list as you speak or write to car insurers, banks, DVLA etc.
Make arrangements for your children and pets to be looked after on the day- you won’t have time to give them any attention at all.
Find all the hidden keys to your home and outbuildings and give these to your estate agent just before you move- you won’t have time on the day.
On the day

• Pack some items in your car so you don’t have to wait for them or wonder where they are.
• Keep aside tea, coffee, kettle, milk and biscuits so you can motivate the movers. If this is safe you can access it at the other end as soon as you get there.
• If you pack a box of cleaning materials, you can clean up each room as the movers empty it and you will be ready to use it in the new house.
• Also keep aside a few plates, knives and forks so you can eat your first takeaway later on in your new house.
• Have your bedding with you too so you can at least make up the beds.
• Pack towels, personal toiletries and a change of clothes.

When you arrive

• Take meter readings when you leave and also read the meters at the new house.
• When you first arrive, quickly check everything works, then open the windows to air the property because a great deal of dust will be generated when you start unpacking.
• Ideally you would clean the house thoroughly before moving in, but if this is not possible, do not unpack everything until you can clean the cupboards etc.

Later

• Change the locks as soon as possible because you don’t know if anyone still has access to the keys.
• Investigate if it is cost effective to remain with the current energy supplier.
• Organise new telephone and broadband services if you have not been able to do so in advance. In the meantime find out where free WiFi services are available.
• Speak to neighbours and find out where the best GP and dentists are and register the family.
• Find out where the local tip is and continue to declutter as you unpack.

School report cards: Stevenson leads suburban schools

Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire again has swept the five academic categories among high schools, according to state report card data from 92 suburban school districts examined by the Daily Herald.

For the second consecutive year, Stevenson High School District 125 led a top-10 list for Prairie State Achievement Exam composite scores, reading, math, science and ACT college entrance exam results. Libertyville, Naperville Central and Geneva Community high schools nipped on Stevenson's heels in the academic categories for 2012.

Students in third through sixth grades, eighth grade and junior year in high school were tested last spring and the results are the basis for the 2012 report card. Subjects included reading, mathematics and science on the Illinois Standardized Achievement Test for the younger students and the Prairie State Achievement Exam for the high school juniors.

District 125 Superintendent Eric Twadell said the stellar report card can be attributed to the school's formation of a culture that's breeding academic success. He said students are encouraged to seek help right away if they are having difficulty in a subject, while teachers quickly intervene if they spot problems.

"When we find out kids aren't learning, we don't accept it," Twadell said.

Stevenson's director of curriculum and development, Mark Onuscheck, said the school has created comfortable areas where students may seek extra help for subjects with teachers or certified paraprofessionals. He said assistance may be provided to a pupil before classes start for the day or during a free period.

"There is a real commitment for teachers to reach out to students," Onuscheck said, "and the teachers are happy to see them there."

In the suburban high school district data examined by the Daily Herald, Stevenson led with 86.1 percent of students meeting or exceeding standards for the Prairie State composite scores, followed by Libertyville High at 84 percent.

In reading, Stevenson came in at 82.4 percent meeting or exceeding, ahead of Geneva's 80.9. Stevenson's 88.2 percent meeting or exceeding standards in math edged Libertyville High's 87.2.

Stevenson's 87.8 percent meeting or exceeding standards for science bested Libertyville High's 85.7 on the top-10 list. In the fifth and final category, Stevenson's students had a 26.2 average ACT college entrance exam score, ahead of Naperville Central's 25.5.

Twadell said a longtime ACT trend shows how Stevenson has grown academically. School records show the ACT average was 22 or so about a decade ago and continued an upward climb to 26.2 in 2012, he said.

An ACT score of 22 wouldn't have been good enough for the top 10 this year among the suburban districts examined by the Daily Herald.

Stevenson's academic progress also is due to the students' willingness to get ahead before entering as freshmen, officials said. Twadell said an average of 700 of 1,000 incoming freshmen have been choosing to attend summer school courses to prepare them for what's coming at Stevenson.

Onuscheck said the academic results demand a team effort from teachers, supportive parents and students who buy into the culture.

"We just work hard and we care a lot," Onuscheck said, "and that's what it's all about."

• Go to http://www.dailyherald.com/section/reportcards/ to get all the school report card data. You can sort by year, school, district, community or county.