Cops detail attempted burglary

Anthony Garcia, 25, of Rolling Meadows, was charged with residential burglary following an attempted burglary in the 900 block of Beechwood Road. Saturday, March 20. According to police, they received a call from homeowners regarding an unknown subject in their residence just before 8 p.m. The residents, who were not at home at the time, told police they received an alert from their video doorbell that showed a male subject on their property.

Responding officers responded located a damaged open window on the lower level of the residence and observed Garcia inside. Police say that despite repeated efforts to make contact with Garcia, he reportedly ignored attempts and fled to the basement of the residence where he barricaded himself.  Police say they provided Garcia numerous opportunities to respond to their requests, but he remained non-compliant.

Buffalo Grove police requested assistance from the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System (NIPAS) and other agencies.

Garcia was taken into custody after negotiations with him.

Buffalo Grove’s membership in NIPAS allows for officers specially trained in hostage or barricaded subject negotiations.

Phone swiped – A resident in the 0-100 block of Fabish Drive told police an iPhone she ordered from her cellular carrier was never delivered. Reports say the provider told the resident that the phone, valued at nearly $1,400, was reportedly delivered several weeks ago. The resident told police no phone was delivered.

Stupid is as stupid does – Folks driving the roadways in the village continue to raise eyebrows.  In the past week, Buffalo Grove Police report two arrests for driving in a revoked or suspended license, one for DUI and one for driving without a license.

 

Community news and notes

Thompson, Brandywyn work resumes

Work on Thompson Boulevard and Brandywyn has resumed. This project includes storm sewer work and is expected to run through November, similar to the project in the same area during 2020.

A detour will be established for Thompson only on March 29, with work starting and focusing on that area at the same time.  A detour will follow on Brandywyn as well, however information on that will come to residents interested through the project specific E-newsletter.  The project and detours will run through November 2021.

This is the second of the three-year project, which is covered, in part, by $9.8 million in federal funding. Residents who live in the area of this project will receive a letter in the mail with additional details.

ITPLD offers virtual tours of Chicago attractions

Indian Trails Library is one of several public libraries participating in the Your City @Home program, which offers a series of virtual tours where you can explore places in Illinois.

On Saturday, April 3, participants can tour the Shedd Aquarium from 3-4 pm:

Meet the penguins that call Shedd home and discover why these birds are so amazing.

Your City @Home will present nine different programs, Saturdays through May 29.

Registration is available at this link.

Village mulls aid use

Buffalo Grove officials are considering how to spend $5 million in federal aid. According to then Journal & Topics, Village Manager said funds can generally be spent toward certain capital projects, infrastructure costs, broadband upgrades, as well as expenses related to public safety.

Rotary offers grants

The Buffalo Grove Rotary is offering one-time community grants of up to $2,500 for organizations planning to make a positive difference in Buffalo Grove. Recipients must demonstrate that efforts and initiatives can provide long-term and sustainable benefits for the Village, as well as for residents. The deadline to apply is Sunday, May 30. More information is at this link.

BG Delivers up and running

BG Delivers, the online business directory, has launched. It can be found at BGDelivers.org.

This allows businesses to create an account and enter pertinent business information, including the location, hours, amenities, and any specials/sales/promotions. Businesses are responsible for adding and maintaining/updating their information. The village has started to encourage local businesses to participate through its business bulletin, targeted emails, and the “Here to Help” campaign. While the webpage is complete, it stills needs to be populated by the businesses.

 

Student Voices

Here are links to the student newspapers at Stevenson and Buffalo Grove high schools.

Buffalo Grove High School Charger

Stevenson High School Statesman

Got News?

If you have news about your club, school, church, synagogue or other community organization, please submit news, information and story ideas to BuffaloGroveNews@Gmail.com.

Articles should include a contact name, email and phone number. Commentary articles are also welcome.  They should be limited to 350 words and should include contact information as noted above. All submissions may be edited for style, spelling, and libelous content.

Questions about B.G. News & Info. should be sent to BuffaloGroveNews@Gmail.com.

Subscribe by email

If you want to receive Buffalo Grove News & Information by email, send your email address to BuffaloGroveNews@Gmail.com.

 

Meet the Candidate: Mike Terson

This is the fifth and final installment in a series of profiles of the five candidates for the three trustee positions on the Buffalo Grove Village Board. All candidates were sent the same questions. The answers are exactly as they were submitted. Profiles are being presented in alphabetical order.

Candidate's name

Mike Terson

How long have you lived in Buffalo Grove?

This time around, 16 years.

Please provide brief biographical information.

I am a graduate of Buffalo Grove High School, Harper College (inducted into Harper College’s Distinguished Alumni in 2013) and Northern Illinois University, with a degree in communications. I have worked as the head of Buffalo Grove Park District’s marketing department since 2004. I also worked for Walter Payton for 7 years; and, I am the former public address announcer for the Chicago Cubs and Chicago Wolves.

Are you affiliated with any political party? If so, to what extent are you being supported by that party?

I am not affiliated with any political party. If people would like to get an idea of how I lean politically, I am a fiscal conservative, and a social liberal. Some of the people I have voted for in my life include Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, John Kasich and Joe Biden. I find it problematic that party politics are starting to infiltrate our local elections that are supposed to be nonpartisan.

What civic activities, if any, have you been involved with?

I currently serve on the board for the Lake County Youth Empowerment for Success Coalition and the College of Lake County Southlake Campus Advisory Board. I have also served on the Board for the Link Together Coalition. I currently volunteer in Harper College’s mentoring program, and as a coach/mentor with the One Million Degrees program, also at Harper College; and, I volunteer with the Buffalo Grove High School Parents Association, currently setting up their restaurant fundraisers.

Why are you running for the Village Board?

In 2019, I recommitted myself to being the kind of leader I think our community wants and needs, and ran for Village President. And, while it was ultimately an unsuccessful bid (falling 150 votes short), there were a lot of successes that came out of that campaign. Within a year, my opponent and critics implemented some of the very economic development strategies on which they campaigned against me. I plan on running for Village President again in 2023, and making up those 150 votes. But, my first step of that plan is to first return to the Village Board as a trustee this year, so I can go into that role with the benefit of being involved in our community’s issues for the two years leading up to 2023, rather than just sitting on the sidelines and waiting to get started on that work.

Have you served on a village committee or commission before? If yes, which one and how long did you serve and in what capacity?

I have been involved with the Village in various capacities since 2005. I served on the Village’s 50th Anniversary Committee from 2005 through 2008, the Bike Committee (I think around 2007-08), and I was a Village Trustee from 2011 - 2015.

How well do you think the Village has responded to the pandemic? Please explain your answer.

I think our town did an excellent job; and, not just the Village, but all of our local units of government. But, specifically to the Village, I thought they did an excellent job of pivoting in how they made services available to the community. One example was when they installed a walk up window at Village Hall, so that people could conduct business without having to walk into the building. I also think all of our public entities handled things appropriately when employees were diagnosed with COVID-19.

What ideas to you have to support businesses in Buffalo Grove that are suffering because of the pandemic?

In the short term, I think we can defer certain fees until things get back to normal and business picks up again. But, there were measures being suggested by some of the people on our Village Board that are completely inappropriate; and, frankly, it makes me question whether or not those individuals can be trusted with being the stewards of our community’s finances. To be clear, any kind of economic stimulus or relief (for businesses or individuals) is the role of the state and federal government, not local municipalities. And, as much as I value and appreciate our business owners (I too am friends with many of them), I don’t understand how anyone on our Village Board can prioritize the financial struggles of businesses during a pandemic over those of our residents, many of whom have lost their job. If we are not going to discuss holding off on collecting residential taxes and fees in the context of people struggling financially, I don’t see how we can do it with businesses, let alone restaurants only. Every level of government has a lane; and, when it comes to local government, financially supporting certain private businesses that might be struggling is not their lane. It simply is not appropriate to use the community’s money to subsidize private businesses.

Which business development plan do you think should be a priority? Lake-Cook Road corridor, Dundee Road, Milwaukee Avenue or the Prairie View concept? Please explain your priorities.

The Lake Cook Corridor should be the priority, because it has the potential to have the biggest impact. It also has the potential to have impact on the other corridors – especially the Dundee Road corridor. Currently, we have some on our Board who campaigned on never developing the golf course, or never implementing tax increment financing (TIF districts), which has left us with the kind of planning that is more of a political compromise than an actual effort to redevelop aging and dilapidated properties. The Lake Cook Corridor plan was adopted in 2018, yet there still haven’t been any changes. And, I know there’s talk of Town Center getting redeveloped; however, there’s been talk of that for years. At this point, I fear that we are so desperate for something, that we will end up with a project that will be just another shopping center, rather than something that can tie into an actual downtown, which would maximize the long term potential for that property, and not just something that is better than the eyesore it has been for decades. In short, I think the moves we are making with the Lake Cook Corridor are checkers moves, when what we really need to be playing is chess.

Do you think the village should continue using Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts to entice economic development?

Short answer, yes; however, TIF isn’t a one size fits all solution. So, we should continue to consider TIFs; however, we need to go through that process carefully and strategically. But, with communities around us competing with us for economic development, we absolutely need to be able to utilize the same mechanisms they have, and be competing on an even playing field.

How do you think the village should encourage redevelopment of existing retail areas that are struggling?

By creating a central business district that will spark redevelopment of other nearby properties that want to take advantage of that opportunity. I think that a downtown dining and entertainment district, that is situated within over 60 acres of walkable open space can completely change the commercial landscape of Buffalo Grove.

Some of our volunteer groups (commissions, committees) have seen shrinking membership. What would you do to engage the community on a broader scale? Do you think the “Engage BG” initiative is an effective program to get residents involved? What would you do to encourage broader demographic participation?

I think the Engage BG initiative is an excellent start. But, what I think we as elected officials could and should do is stop expecting our constituents to just come to us to have conversations at Village Hall, or at public hearings and meetings, and instead start going out into the different areas of the community and bringing that dialogue to people in their neighborhoods. It is through those conversations that we will not only recruit people to get involved with the Village, but we will also do it in a way that will foster the kind of diversity we say we are looking to accomplish. If elected, I plan on doing exactly that.

Do you think the Village communicates well with residents? If not, how can it be improved?

I think that one of the areas that Village excels in is communication. I also think that the Village does a great job of adapting and evolving as communication platforms change over time. Just this past month, I was able to inform the Village of an issue on my street through their website (using my phone), and someone was out there the next morning. As a communications professional myself, I would look forward to working with the Village’s team, and constantly looking to provide the community with new and innovative ways to inform residents, as well as make it easy for them to communicate with the Village.

Meet the Candidate: Andrew Stein

This is the fourth in a series of profiles of the five candidates for the three trustee positions on the Buffalo Grove Village Board. All candidates were sent the same questions. The answers are exactly as they were submitted. Profiles are being presented in alphabetical order.  Candidate Mike Terson’s profile will be posted tomorrow.

Candidate's name

Andrew Stein

How long have you lived in Buffalo Grove?

We have lived in our home for 33 years, 17 of which have been in Buffalo Grove. Our home was annexed into Buffalo Grove in 2004.

Please provide brief biographical information.

My wife and I moved into our home in 1987 Our home was annexed into Buffalo Grove in 2004. My wife is a substitute teacher in School District 102 and I am a Compliance Principal in the Securities Industry. I earned a BA in Speech and Communications from Northeastern Illinois University and a JD from the Illinois Institute of Technology – Chicago Kent College of Law. We have two children in college. I was elected Village Trustee in 2011 and have been re-elected twice. Before becoming a Village Trustee, I served on the Zoning Board of Appeals for six years. More detailed information is included in question number 5.

Are you affiliated with any political party? If so, to what extent are you being supported by that party?

I am running as an Independent Candidate.

What civic activities, if any, have you been involved with?

I am currently a Buffalo Grove Village Trustee and serve as Trustee Liaison to the Police and Fire Commission and Buffalo Grove Days Committee. I have previously served as Trustee Liaison to the Commission for Residents with Disabilities, Farmers Market, Planning and Zoning Commission and Board of Health.

I have served as a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals, Appearance Review Team, Committee Member to re-write the Sign Code, Chairman of the Citizens Ad Hoc Committee for Off Track Betting, Volunteer for Buddy Baseball, have played in the Buffalo Grove Days Charity Softball Game, graduated from the Citizens Police Academy and participated in Fire Opps 101.

I am a member of and former Executive Board member of the Link Together Drug Coalition, keeping dangerous drugs and alcohol away from children.

I am a Merit Badge Counsellor for Scouts BSA and have served as a Unit Commissioner. I was the award winning Cubmaster of Cub Scout Pack 36, Special Events Volunteer for the Wheeling Park District (The Wheeling Park District covers about 700 households in Buffalo Grove, mine included) and a friend of the Vernon Township Food Pantry, collecting food, money and overall raising awareness for those in need.

Why are you running for the Village Board?

I am running for Village Trustee because I want to keep making Buffalo Grove better. I was first elected Village Trustee in 2011. I supported business development as a way of saving our residents money on taxes. I proposed Bringing Woodman’s to Buffalo Grove during that election. I contended that this would spur business development of the Milwaukee Avenue Corridor, bringing more sales tax to Buffalo Grove, and it has. In 2011, there were no sales tax generating businesses in Buffalo Grove at the Milwaukee and Deerfield corners. Now that area has retail, restaurant and services generating millions of dollars in sales tax revenue. It took great efforts by both village staff and elected officials. I supported the development of plans for the Lake Cook Road Corridor, Prairie View and Dundee Road. We are having success, as Lake Cook Road is already seeing a transformation. The Town Center is in the process of re-development and several vacant properties on Dundee Road have plans in the works. There is even more potential for Milwaukee Avenue in the not-too-distant future. I want to be re-elected as Village Trustee to see these plans to fruition. I want to keep Buffalo Grove one of the highest rated suburbs in Illinois and in the United States.

Have you served on a village committee or commission before? If yes, which one and how long did you serve and in what capacity?

Before I was elected Trustee, I served as a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals for six years, a member of the Appearance Review Team for four years, Committee Member to re-write the Sign Code and Chairman of the Citizens Ad Hoc Committee for Off Track Betting for four years.

How well do you think the Village has responded to the pandemic? Please explain your answer.

I am very pleased with Buffalo Grove’s response to controlling the pandemic. I proposed a face covering requirement ahead of the requirement by the Governor, and our Village Board adopted my suggestion. We built a special service window to provide residents with a way to transact business with the Village without the need to enter the building. We encouraged staff to work from home, whenever possible. We sourced alternate supplies of PPE for our employees and for our residents. We partnered with Vernon Township Officials to distribute face masks to our residents. We enacted ordinances designed to slow the spread of Covid-19 and were a community that had one of the lowest infection rates. We followed the science and limited and restricted operations of businesses to protect our residents. The fact is that this disease is transmitted days before symptoms appear. There are too many people that are vulnerable. We need to protect them until this disease can be controlled or eradicated.

What ideas to you have to support businesses in Buffalo Grove that are suffering because of the pandemic?

With the aid of Village Staff, we examined the cost of providing a meaningful level of support to businesses in Buffalo Grove. It would be great if we could provide the money necessary to guarantee that every business in the Village could weather the storm and emerge healthy. The truth is that the Village does not have enough money to do so and we cannot raise taxes on our residents to fund this. However, we did reduce the fees for video gaming and liquor licenses. Financial assistance can best come from the Federal Government and the State. We need to be creative with what we have. I support using Village resources to market businesses in Buffalo Grove. To create a database that is available for all to access on the VBG.org website. The Village has created a site, BG Delivers, which is set to launch on March 17. This will link all businesses in Buffalo Grove so that residents and non-residents can access and learn more about businesses in Buffalo Grove. Businesses can use this site to create messages about themselves as well. We will be promoting this in Enews, the Village website and social media. We will be sending staff out to businesses to see what assistance we can give. We will help all businesses as best as we can.

Which business development plan do you think should be a priority? Lake-Cook Road corridor, Dundee Road, Milwaukee Avenue or the Prairie View concept? Please explain your priorities.

The Lake Cook Road corridor and Dundee Road plans present Buffalo Grove with the opportunity for greatest impact now and need to be top priorities. Each of these is centrally located in Buffalo Grove. There is already movement at the east end of Lake Cook Road, where the BMO Property was. There is development of the NCH property and not just the hospital building. A developer is working on re-developing Town Center and talks are continuing on Chase Plaza. The Purdue University Foundation properties, formerly the Rohrman properties, located on Dundee and Cambridge Commons are also ripe for development. These sites will provide substantial sales tax revenue opportunities. I am willing to explore tax incentives, based upon sharing, with each, in order to support their development. The Milwaukee Avenue corridor began redevelopment with the recruitment of Woodman’s. Businesses wish to be close to successful businesses. This has proven the case here. There are nearly two dozen businesses where there were none just a few years ago. This has generated millions of dollars in tax revenue. There is still plenty of space available as you go north of Deerfield Road. I am willing to explore incentives and other creative ways of financing to further develop this area, including the old landfill in Buffalo Grove. Prairie View will take the greatest challenge, as not all the area is in Buffalo Grove. There needs to be annexation agreements to make this plan happen. I would rather focus on areas that are ready now. I would not give up on Prairie View, I would just make that a lower priority.

Do you think the village should continue using Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts to entice economic development?

The question of TIF districts is complicated. While they provide a quick method of financing projects, where appropriate, they also pose a dilemma for other taxing bodies that rely on the increments to operate. Buffalo Grove has stood without utilizing TIF districts while neighboring communities have used them to finance projects that have left Buffalo Grove in their shadow. Used responsibly, TIF districts can help in the long term. Buffalo Grove has been transparent in the process to establish a TIF district, including all taxing bodies in the discussions. The TIF district has become integral in the development process and I will support using them in the future to entice economic development.

How do you think the village should encourage redevelopment of existing retail areas that are struggling?

There are several retail areas that are struggling. Without naming them, I believe that they are struggling due to short-sighted ownership. I would like to see the Village offer incentives, using tax sharing to re-develop those areas. The Village needs to market the areas to groups that are willing to come in with fresh ideas. I am not precluding current ownership from participating, but I do want to see active participation. I am not in favor of giving things away. I want programs that reward for doing well.

Some of our volunteer groups (commissions, committees) have seen shrinking membership. What would you do to engage the community on a broader scale? Do you think the “Engage BG” initiative is an effective program to get residents involved? What would you do to encourage broader demographic participation?

Engage BG is a nice start to encourage participation in committees and commissions. It is too soon to determine its effectiveness. I was thinking that we could offer a gift card to a local Buffalo Grove business as an incentive to current volunteers for recruiting new volunteers who remain active for the period of a year. I would like to see the Village continue its current process but reach out more to individual portions of the community as well. The Village could set up tables at different functions, like school open houses, fairs and the farmers market to tell people about opportunities for volunteering in the Village.

Do you think the Village communicates well with residents? If not, how can it be improved?

The Village communicates better now than it used to but can still do better. Reverse 911 provides emergency communications. We have Enews, Facebook, the Village website and Village meetings are live on Facebook. This gives residents the opportunity to interact while the meeting is going on. In spite of this, there are still people who are not reached. Sometimes, the communication has links that are either incorrect or don’t work. We need to address those issues and find better ways to make certain that our residents are getting the information that they need. This is an example of something that we can address by inviting our best qualified residents to help out.