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A little bit of a grab bag of information today …
First, for those of you wondering about the opening of the Village Fresh Market which was originally looking at a November or December open: It looks like the opening has been delayed as extra work is being done than anticipated, according to Economic Development Director Janice Murphy:
The Village Fresh Market was scheduled to open in December but because more work is being done than originally planned, that opening has been delayed. The owner/developer has not released an opening date but will a month or so before its scheduled opening. It looks beautiful on the outside and inside. It will be a much anticipated event once it opens but well worth the wait!
I agree. The owner/developer has put a lot of time and effort into making this a great looking location that should be a standard that future efforts should seek to meet or exceed. Not to mention a much needed eastside grocery location.
Next … some of the comments this weekend that were also critical of the casino idea requested alternative ideas to be shared. A few ideas I put out there for the Randall Rd corridor that I believe would complement the destination type shopping that has been created up the road in Algonquin are:
How about a comedy club? Restaurants? Dinner-theater? How about a resort-like setting (no water parks, please)?
With all the shopping down the road in Algonquin and Lake in the Hills, perhaps folks would think about coming for a weekend … Friday or Saturday night comedy club or dinner-theater, an evening in a hotel suite followed by a day of shopping or even pampering at a day spa…?
President Sarto chimed in with a few ideas that he had …
I still would like to see an “International Village of Restaurants” located at this prime location. These would be “white tablecloth” style of restaurants and I’d like to see a hotel at this location with banquet rooms and a piano bar with live music, also located at this location could be a live dinner theater and comedy club. Something along the lines of Pheasant Run in St. Charles or Drury Lane in Oak Brook.
[…]
Perhaps a new civic center with a performing arts building? Or perhaps a Cultural Center with an art museum.
Hmmm … obviously not all the ideas may fly, but they certainly seem worth considering; moreso than a casino that would bring no revenue to the Village.
And, finally, there was a comment or two that have tried to make the controversial gun veto/override issue into something it really isn’t: namely, a show of lack of trust in our Police Department. I don’t see this as the case at all.
First of all, this was a decision made by the Board, brought before it by the Police Department. There were two options the Board could have taken: 1) sell the weapons; or, 2) destroy the weapons. The Police Department seemed open to either option.
When all was said and done, 5 members of the Board — not the Police Dept — decided to put these weapons on the street. As was pointed out in editorials and letters to both the Daily Herald and the Courier-News this weekend, public safety was put at risk for the sake of politics.
There is still time for them to correct this mistake. Let’s hope they do it.
Some ideas you just know won’t work.
Such is the case for the idea of a Indian-based casino in Carpentersville, along the Randall Rd corridor.
Carpentersville Trustee Judy Sigwalt says the village needs to find unique ways to compete with surrounding municipalities for coveted tax revenue.
With the Grand Victoria riverboat casino a short distance down the road in Elgin, the thought of putting a land-based casino in Carpentersville is way short of genius. It’s obviously not “unique” and it likely would generate very little, if any, additional tax revenue.
The Daily Herald solicited opinions from numerous experts and officials from other municipalities that investigated the same thing. One particular point stands out…
William Thompson, a professor of public administration at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, said a casino actually could hurt the village’s economy if the proposal moves forward.
Indian-owned casinos and resorts do not pay local, state or federal taxes.
“A casino is going to draw money out of the pockets of the local businesses,” said Thompson, who has studied the economic impact of casinos on communities in Illinois. “It is quite likely the casino will have restaurants and buffets. People are not going to walk across a parking lot and across the street to eat at a local restaurant.”
So, the Village would see no revenue from an Indian-owned casino, including from the restaurants that the casino would likely open.
That’s clearly not the case in Elgin because Grand Victoria is a state-licensed casino; not Indian-owned.
In 2004, Ho-Chunk Nation officials shut the door on building a casino on a 125-acre site at the Northwest Tollway and Beverly Road in Hoffman Estates.
At that time, Hoffman Estates Village President Bill McLeod said the proposal hadn’t gone far before residents and some neighboring towns opposed the plan.
Pingree Grove officials in the same year invested about $17,000 to determine if an Indian casino was a viable option for that village. Plans did not progress beyond unofficial talks.
With some thinking the Village is so strapped for cash that they consider $3,000 revenue before public safety, Village of Carpentersville officials and staff should not waste any more time — or money — even investigating such an idea.
It seems that Sigwalt and Co. might also have been humming “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet” as they read last week’s “Trouble with Carpentersville” series. Maybe that would offer some explanation for the events that took place at this week’s Village Board meeting.
They seemed determined to do things that were really strange …
First, when President Sarto gaveled two citizens for comments that were not relevant to Village business, 5 Board members overturned the ruling of the President … ignoring even the advice of the Village attorney.
Then, Trustee Sigwalt appeared to once again be overstepping her position, directing staff to do her bidding. This time it was to have Village staff gather information about a possible land-based casino along the Randall Rd corridor, just north of Huntley Rd.
It’s somewhat ironic that one of those asked to end his comments was talking about censure (even though the Board previously considered the matter and it was determined it was not applicable). If anyone deserves to be censured, it is Trustee Sigwalt, for she is clearly in violation of the Municipal Code and statutes. According to the rules, only the Village President has the individual authority to direct staff. Trustees must do so with the consent of the Board, typically through an agenda item for “discussion and direction.”
But, the pièce de résistance was when they put revenue before public safety. As Tom Roeser commented yesterday, “Now their bad judgment is starting to affect safety.”
I guess these Trustees have now given us our answer to the invitation to amend their ways and begin to work for the people of Carpentersville. That answer is a resounding “no”.
This is a forum for you to speak up about these things folks. If you can’t make it to the meetings, or don’t want to get up to speak during public comments, then you could voice your opinion here. The Board is reading this — especially the comments — as are many of your fellow residents in the community. Use of a unique alias is fine, if you don’t feel comfortable putting your name out there. (As I’ve said before, I will not allow people to be attacked, especially not for using an alias.) If you’ve paid attention to what’s been going on, then you know that this blog has made an impact. Be a part of it. Join the discussion.
Is a land-based casino in Carpentersville’s future?
The idea was floated at last night’s meeting …
Carpentersville Action Network 
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