This week's Patch Portraits also highlight the top priorities for Glenview's fire chief and New Trier's senior class president discusses life outside the bubble.

“Downtown Des Plaines needs a destination,” said Gay Meizen, who has been tirelessly working to renovate the neighborhood gem that is the Des Plaines Theatre. “This could be a destination.”

With little funding, progress on the theater mostly depends on the kindness of volunteers.  Meizen is hopeful that the city will soon take notice of the interest of the community and help to speed up the massive amount of work that it will take to bring the theatre back to the beauty of its heyday.

"My hope is that the city gets to a point where they support it as wholeheartedly as the community has," she said. "There are empty storefronts everywhere and this can make that difference. It truly can. I truly believe that this threatre can be the catalyst that will revitalize the downtown area.”