ELK GROVE VILLAGE
Rain-barrel plan is moving forward
The Elk Grove Village Board is expected to award a contract March 24 for rain barrels, which will be sold at a discount to residents.
Mayor Craig Johnson said the 55-gallon barrels would cost the village about $60 apiece and be sold to residents for $50. The village’s recycling fund would cover the difference, he said.
At a board committee of the whole meeting Tuesday, trustees gave preliminary approval to ordering at least 400 barrels.
About 385 residents have inquired about ordering barrels, which save money on watering yards and gardens and reduce the amount of storm run-off.
— Ken Manson
LIBERTYVILLE
Lambs Farm can remodel home
Libertyville trustees have agreed to allow Lambs Farm to remodel the home at 135 Appley Ave. so six people can live there. The site serves as a residence for five adults with developmental disabilities, the maximum occupancy under village code.
Lambs Farm, a non-profit organization, serves more than 250 developmentally disabled men and women.
— Kathryn Dill
PALATINE
Village won’t give speeders a break
Despite grumbling from some residents, Village Council members have voted to keep stop signs and speed-warning devices at East Cunningham and North Thackeray Drives in a residential neighborhood.
As part of a crackdown on speeding motorists, the village positioned electronic signs at the intersection, which display the speeds of passing vehicles.
“I’ve got to go down that street three, four, five times a day, and I’ve got these blinkies flashing at me all the time,” resident Jack Darvey said.
“All that happens is people try to slow down for the displays; then when they go by them, they speed up again. It’s a nuisance. I don’t even go down that street anymore.”
In 2007, the Village Council approved the anti-speeding measures after receiving petitions from neighborhood residents concerned about speeders.
After the stop signs and electronic displays were installed, the average speed dropped 10.6 percent, Village Manager Reid Ottesen told council members at a meeting Monday.
In the past two years, 77 citations and 89 warnings have been issued for speeding in the area, officials said. They said 12 citations and 40 warnings were issued to motorists who failed to stop at the signs. About 45 percent of the warnings and tickets were issued to people who live within two blocks of the stop signs, officials said.
— Jeff Borgardt
