Buyer calls Plaza Hotel suite "attic-like" and sues - Yahoo! News

Buyer calls Plaza Hotel suite "attic-like" and sues - Yahoo! News: "NEW YORK (Reuters) – The buyer of a $53.5 million (30 million pound) penthouse apartment in New York's famed Plaza Hotel says the apartment turned out to be an 'attic-like space' with low ceilings and obstructed views, and he is suing for a refund plus damages."
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I certainly feel his pain. How about you?

Knife-wielding man released?

<b id=red>Updated 9/3: </b>Arrest made after woman followed from Lake Villa library :: News :: PIONEER PRESS :: Lake Villa Review: "A man was arrested Aug. 21 after he allegedly followed a female motorist to the Lake Villa District Library then displayed a knife in the parking lot.

Theodore Rowe, 58, of Johnson City, Tenn., was charged with disorderly conduct and possession of firearm ammunition without a valid F.O.I.D. card. He was released on a notice to appear in court Sept. 17."
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Gee, that's comforting. He tailed this woman and brandished a knife at her, and he's from Tennessee, and he had a loaded pistol magazine, and the judge let him go. Great.

Biggest local government bankruptcy in history?

Alabama county is on the brink of bankruptcy | www.tennessean.com | The Tennessean: "BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama's largest county appears headed for the biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history, a $3.2 billion mess created by the nation's credit crunch and a colossal, corruption-riddled sewer project.

Politicians in Jefferson County — which has 658,000 residents and includes the state's biggest city, Birmingham — are struggling to find a way out of the jam, but they have mostly abandoned talk of raising taxes and fees after running into fierce opposition at raucous public meetings."
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They are going to put the bankruptcy question to the voters in a referendum. Orange County, CA, has the record at $1.7 billion back in 1994, caused by county treasurer Robert Citron gambling on derivatives with public funds. In the Jefferson County situation there is a massive public works project that has (surprise!) led to massive corruption. Read the article for the details, but this is disgraceful.

Here is some advice. If you are going to use public works projects as the basis for large-scale corruption, at least come to Chicago and see how the experts do it, before you screw it up.

Congratulations, Kylie!

Lindenhurst crowns new royalty at pageant :: News :: PIONEER PRESS :: Lake Villa Review: "After competing the past three years for the title of Miss Lindenhurst, 19-year-old Kylie Hartness took home the crown at the Aug. 7 pageant, which kicked-off the annual Lindenfest.

The fourth year was the charm for Hartness, whose experience in the pageant circuit helped boost her confidence, leading her to 'sashay' to victory."

Lindenhurst adopts trail system :: News Sun :: News

Lindenhurst adopts trail system: "A resolution adopting the Lindenhurst Community Pedestrian and Bicycle Comprehensive plan was approved this week by the village and park district boards.

The next step is to implement the plan that outlines eight trail segments at a proposed cost of about $4 million."
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I think this is great and I hope it gets built.

Lindenhurst bans lawn fertilizers with phosphorus :: News Sun :: News

Lindenhurst bans lawn fertilizers with phosphorus :: News Sun :: News: "LINDENHURST -- The Village Board on Monday banned the use of fertilizers containing phosphorus, effective Jan. 1, 2009.

Penalties will range from $25 to $750 and will apply to any business or resident that applies fertilizer containing phosphorus to lawns. Flower and vegetable gardens will be exempt from the ordinance."

Village prepares backup to Lake Michigan water plan :: News :: PIONEER PRESS :: Lake Villa Review

Village prepares backup to Lake Michigan water plan Lake Villa Review: "Lindenhurst wants to tap into Lake Michigan water, but until the state approves the request, or in case it doesn't, the village is taking steps to ensure there is enough well water to meet the community's demand. This may include drilling another shallow well."
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I don't like the sound of this. The state said no to a hospital near us, and now maybe we won't even get permission to drink from Lake Michigan. This is a notoriously corrupt state government that distributes goodies based on politics and various kinds of payoffs. Actual need and the public interest don't figure into the equation much in Illinois.

Lindenhurst's special census targets newer areas of village :: News Sun :: Lake Villa/Lindenhurst

Lindenhurst's special census targets newer areas of village :: News Sun :: Lake Villa/Lindenhurst: "The census will help determine the village's population growth by concentrating on newer areas of the village, including the Woodland Trails, Grant's Grove, Heritage Park, Providence Woods and Providence Ridge subdivisions. Construction of about 180 new homes since the last special census in 2003 has officials convinced the village's population has increased by more than 560 residents, which could produce an additional $161,000 in state tax revenue prior to the next regular census in 2010. The village receives about $132 annually per resident. The current population is estimated at over 15,000 residents."
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So--Lindenhurst has 180 new homes in the last 5 years. I guess we can call that "slow growth."

Can we PLEASE have a hospital that isn't half an hour away?

Vista plans to continue fight to build hospital :: News :: PIONEER PRESS :: Lake Villa Review
"A vote on a proposal from Vista Health System to build a new full-service hospital in Lindenhurst was deferred Tuesday by the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board in Springfield."
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Condell is in Libertyville, half an hour from Lindenhurst if the traffic is good and a lot longer if it is bad. It is obvious that we need a hospital nearby.

Daily Herald | Lindenhurst man charged with child porn

Daily Herald | Lindenhurst man charged with child porn: "A Lindenhurst man has been charged with possession of child pornography found on his computer by a Kansas technology firm.

Peter Macdonald, 57, was arrested Monday by Lake County sheriff's police."
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The article says he sent his computer off for repair and the technicians found the photos on it.

Conor's bass at Potomac Lake

Conor caught this today on a plastic worm. His sister Izzy caught a huge one two, but he threw the hook. Hunter (the older brother) caught three whoppers. Of course all of them went back into the water to grow even bigger.

Three priority trails...

Park district on the trail to community bike path :: News :: PIONEER PRESS :: Lake Villa Review: "Priority Trail No. 1 would connect the park district community center on Grass Lake Road to the Lake Villa District Library on Grand Avenue via the Hastings Lake Forest Preserve.

The second priority trail, the costliest of the three at an estimated $752,000, links Ethel's Woods to Rollins Savannah, with the connection at Grass Lake Road. A proposed underpass would connect McDonald Woods north through Oak Ridge Park and Wetzel Fields to Millburn West School.

The third priority trail would provide an east/west connection extending from the underpass of Grass Lake Road to Polley Field."
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What do these three trails have in common? Three words: "Grass Lake Road." That's fine with me because I live a block from Grass Lake Road, but I had no idea I was so strategically located.

Water, water, everywhere...nor any drop to drink

Lindenhurst running dry :: News Sun :: News: "Lindenhurst village engineer Wes Welsh is recommending the village drill another shallow well and possibly look at building another water storage facility to ensure adequate water supply until the village taps into Lake Michigan water. The village joined the Northern Lake County Lake Michigan Water Planning Group last year and although bringing lake water west is feasible, the group doesn't have the final OK from the state on the project...The biggest hurdle to the Lake Michigan water project is receiving approval and lake water allocation from the IDNR. Welsh is hoping to see that final report and subsequent approval by fall, and it won't be until then that the village will make the decision to either shut down its wells and tap into Lake Michigan water, or keep operating its own municipal well water system."
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I would have thought the wells were full after all the rain we have had this year, but apparently that is not the case. State approval of the Lake Michigan water is a question mark, and that is troublesome. I'm sure Lindenhurst is playing by the rules all the way, and in some cases that has not been the way to succeed under the Blagojevich administration, which is a "pay to play" regime. In other words, I wonder if this is one of those situations where you have to grease the appropriate Blagojevich appointee(s) in order get the state to approve the project, as with hospital siting and investment of public employee pension funds. With Rezko out of commission, it must be hard for the crooks to know who to bribe. I hope our honest city government is dealt with fairly by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Cool. So can you guys start keeping the existing sidewalks clear of cars and snow now?

Lindenhurst trustees get final trail plans :: News Sun :: News: "Lindenhurst -- The village's pedestrian and bike bath plan includes eight segments at a cost of $4 million. The final draft, prepared by Bonestroo and Associates, Libertyville, was presented to the Village Board this week. 'The beauty of this vision is that it doesn't have to be one massive project. We can do it one linear foot at a time, filling in gaps and starting with the shorter areas and some day, five or 10 years, we will have a complete trail system,' Trustee Timothy Wayne said."
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Hey, I'm all for this...as soon as the village starts kicking the parked cars off the existing sidewalks, and makes people shovel the snow and ice off them in the winter. If they don't do that, this whole project is a waste of money.

Things to think about

1. The Village wants to build sidewalks, but the ones we have are blocked by unshoveled snow all winter and parked cars all year long. Why build more if you won't protect the ones we have? I would love to see sidewalks everywhere, but the village needs to start by enforcing existing laws that are intended to make the sidewalks usable.

2. There are hundreds of toll-jumping trucks driving on Route 45 every day. Why not videotape them at Millburn Road, and then have other police cars at the onramps to I-94 to the north and south to cite them for evading the toll booth? Would the village be able to collect a share of the fines?

3. Is the Village building inspector hostile to property owners doing things themselves to improve their own property? I have heard many stories from frustrated people about this and there seems to be a policy in place that discourages sweat equity. I assume there is some concern--perhaps legitimate--about Lindenhurst not becoming like some nearby communities and unincorporated areas where you see cars on lawns and homemade sheds with pirate flags in the yards.

4. Why did the village spend a fortune on the veteran's monument and then spend every day claiming they have no money to hire police officers or do anything else? I like the monument just fine, but if we need police, that should come first.

Just asking...

Lindenhurst, IL

Lindenhurst, IL
Here is what the Encyclopedia of Chicago has to say about Lindenhurst. Did you know that this was "one of the first post-World War Two suburban-style developments in northwestern Lake County"?

Satellite dish thefts

WBBM 780 - Lindenhurst Police Search For Satellite Dish Thieves: "LINDENHURST--Police are searching for those responsible for stealing satellite dishes from a number of homes earlier this month.
Between the evening of June 4 and the morning of June 5, the Lindenhurst police department received several reports of stolen satellite dishes on Jasmine Circle in the Country Place North subdivision.

The satellite dishes are from a variety of satellite companies such as Dish Network and Direct TV.

Police are also investigating numerous other satellite dish thefts that occurred in two separate Lindenhurst subdivisions in 2007."
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When they catch these guys the judge should make them watch daytime television for 200 hours straight.

Welcome

This blog is about events in Lindenhurst, Illinois. By way of a quick introduction, here is the little bit that Wikipedia has to say about Lindenhurst

Lindenhurst is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,539 at the 2000 census, and estimated to be 14,403 as of 2005. Lindenhurst lies within Lake Villa Township.

Geography

Lindenhurst is located at 42°25′9″N, 88°1′34″W (42.419270, -88.026189).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 4.1 square miles (10.6 km²), of which, 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (0.9 km²) of it (8.82%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,539 people, 4,235 households, and 3,472 families residing in the village. The population density was 3,369.5 people per square mile (1,301.4/km²). There were 4,355 housing units at an average density of 1,170.3/sq mi (452.0/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 92.83% White, 1.47% African American, 0.15% Native American, 3.01% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.32% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.05% of the population.

There were 4,235 households out of which 45.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.3% were married couples living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.0% were non-families. 14.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the village the population was spread out with 30.3% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 37.3% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $74,841, and the median income for a family was $78,271. Males had a median income of $54,167 versus $33,935 for females. The per capita income for the village was $27,534. About 1.1% of families and 1.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.2% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.