Looking forward into 2021, Northbrook and Glenview residents can expect to hear more news about vaccine distribution plans, developments and lawsuits in town and village staff departures.
Vaccine distribution
Glenview and Northbrook do not have their own health departments, so vaccine distribution will be handled by the Cook County Department of Public Health.
The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 11 and of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 18.
Some health care workers and long-term care residents have begun receiving the first doses of the vaccine in recent weeks, including staff at Glenbrook Hospital and NorthShore University HealthSystem and employees and residents at Covenant Living of Northbrook.
Vaccine supply is still limited, health officials said. Following health care workers and long-term care facility staff and residents, the county’s phased approach tentatively lists certain essential workers and people at higher risk to receive the vaccine next.
“We are eager to vaccinate the 2.5 million residents in our jurisdiction as quickly as possible, but we must prioritize, plan and execute the program in an orderly fashion,” reads a statement on the Cook County Department of Public Health website.
The health department is surveying suburban Cook County residents to gauge their interest in receiving the vaccine. The survey on their website asks for basic contact information, work information and medical conditions that may make people high-risk.
It’s not a registration form for the vaccine but instead a survey to help county health officials understand the demand so they can plan distribution. Those who sign up can also receive regular updates about when and where they’ll be able to get the vaccine.
Village staff turnover, particularly of department heads
In addition to an election that will lead to turnover in elected leadership, Northbrook and Glenview have begun to and will continue to experience several staff departures throughout 2021.
As the communities deal with the financial fallout of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, both are working to save money by offering voluntary separation programs. These programs are a type of incentivized early retirement or buyout plan for eligible staff.
Out of 42 eligible employees, nine had enrolled or had communicated an intent to participate in Glenview’s separation program as of late November, officials said. No department heads had communicated an intent to take the offer at that point.
The deadline to submit an application is July 15, 2021. The window in which staff will be leaving under the early retirement plan is Aug. 31, 2020, to Aug. 30, 2021.
Over in Northbrook, the exits of several department heads, as well as the village manager and elected village president, will create a year of significant turnover for the community.
According to Madeline Farrell, assistant to the village manager, 20 employees are leaving under the program. Their last days are staggered throughout Oct. 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021, depending on each department’s needs.
Among those leaving Northbrook are Director of Development and Planning Services Tom Poupard, Deputy Village Manager and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Rowitz, Police Chief Roger Adkins, Human Resources Manager Greg Van Dahm and Communications Specialist Cheryl Fayne-dePersio.
Officials said the departures of Village President Sandy Frum, who has held the seat since 2009 and was a trustee before that, and Village Manager Richard Nahrstadt, who served in the role since 2008 but worked for the village since 1991, are unrelated to the voluntary separation program.
Northbrook partners with service agencies, plans for climate change plan
Northbrook leaders are working on several other initiatives into 2021, including downtown improvements, climate action plans and work with social service and mental health agencies, officials said.
The Village Board offered contributions to seven area agencies for new or expanded initiatives to help Northbrook residents with hardships caused by the pandemic, according to the Northbrook Voice newsletter.
They’re working with Youth Services of Glenview/Northbrook, Northfield Township Food Pantry, North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic, Family Service Center, TotalLink2 Community, The Josselyn Center and Community Action Together for Children’s Health, also known as CATCH.
“During the COVID crisis, we’ve seen our community’s needs increase, so it is critical to respond to that call by providing resources to outstanding local agencies who provide our residents with additional assistance and those who stand at the ready to help their neighbors,” Trustee Kathryn Ciesla said in a statement about the partnerships.
In other work continuing into 2021, Northbrook officials recently adopted a long-awaited affordable housing plan in the hopes of making the village more diverse, and that plan will be in action for any developers looking to bring housing to the area.
The plan aims to create better housing access and affordability to seniors, younger generations, people with disabilities and those who live and work in the community, Frum and trustees said.
Northbrook is also working to fight projected climate change impacts by creating a Climate Action Plan with the help of Minnesota-based sustainability consultation firm paleBLUEdot.
Consultants recently presented data about Northbrook’s current habits and suggested goals for moving forward. After further work with the firm and the village’s Climate Action Planning Team, the final report is expected to be completed and brought back to the board for action in April or May, according to officials.
Glenview lawsuits continue through courts, new development properties up for sale
Development and capital improvement will remain a large part of Glenview’s story in 2021. Glenview officials have spent the last several months gathering input from the community about they want the town to look like through the Glenview Connect initiative.
The final Glenview Connect report from the advisory firms, following further community engagement, is expected sometime in the late spring.
The village also remains a party to two ongoing lawsuits filed by Glenview residents. One involves the former Hart property at the corners of Willow and Pfingsten roads and has been in action since September 2019.
That case was initially dismissed but will now head back to circuit court following a recent Illinois Appellate Court reversal. The village announced to nearby residents in December that it will be rezoning the land to residential, to reflect the appellate court ruling.
The other case, filed in June 2020, involves the former Bess Hardware site at 1850 Glenview Road, in which neighbors say the development is too big and dense for its location and ask the court to void the village’s contract with developers.
Though that case is still moving through the courts, demolition has begun on the building that has sat vacant on the property for 10 years. Village officials said the building is unsafe and will ultimately need to be taken down whenever it’s developed.
“I don’t see us ever saving the existing building that’s in that space,” Trustee Mary Cooper said before the board approved a demolition bid. “It’s too far gone.”
Village President Jim Patterson mentioned at his State of the Village address in November that further work will be done to streamline the village’s commissions in 2021 to create a more efficient and guided process, as well as work to evaluate and address options for affordable housing in Glenview.
“One of the biggest challenges with affordable housing is making sure people understand and comprehend what it is,” he said. “What does it mean and how do we fit in?”
In 2021, the village will be funding several million dollars worth of road reconstruction and resurfacing, sidewalk installation and water main replacement, Patterson said. Work from the Illinois Department of Transportation can also be expected at the intersection of Willow and Pfingsten roads as well as on Shermer Road.
Possible development projects include the former Signode Industrial Group site, a 56-acre property at 3650 West Lake Avenue, and the former Pearson Education site, a 19-acre property at 1900 East Lake Avenue, which are both up for sale.
kedquist@chicagotribune.com
Twitter: @kaitlinedquist
