Newly-Elected Aldermen Inducted at City Council Meeting

Des Plaines City Council goers will now see some fresh faces.

Newly-elected Dick Sayad (4th Ward) and Mike Charewicz (8th Ward) were inducted at last night’s city council meeting amid well wishes from both residents and fellow alderman.

“I think we’ve worked well together,” said outgoing 8th Ward Alderman Rosemary Argus. Jean Higgason is the outgoing 4th Ward alderman. Both thanked their families and residents and wished the incoming alderman good luck.

Aside from the inductions of new aldermen, council members discussed many topics.

One contentious issue centered around a Des Plaines company’s land usage.

R.G. Smith, an equipment supply company that has been in the city for more than 50 years, petitioned for an ordinance revision more than two years ago that would allow them to use their property for equipment storage and to park commercial trucks. The current ordinance does not allow for that, and council members are in the process of changing the ordinance so that the company could rent the space to others for those purposes.

Patricia Smith, company owner and petitioner, said the process has been long and arduous, adding that the family has lost thousands of dollars in the time they’ve spent going through the ordinance amendment process with city officials.

Smith said that she feels R.G. Smith has been treated unfairly, even though they have gone to great lengths to make the process legal.

“If I could leave (Des Plaines), I would.  It’s gotten to the point where it is too much to take,” Smith said, noting that Des Plaines is “not business friendly.”

 She also added that the company has suffered greatly in the economic recession and that they would have made up for some of those losses had they been allowed to rent their property.

The new ordinance, if approved, will require that permits would be issued on a case-by-case basis for properties in the same category. Some council members worried that other businesses in Des Plaines would engage in business practices that would be noisy or bothersome to nearby residents under the same ordinance.

“I feel as though we will regret this (ordinance) in the future,” said 5th Ward Alderman James Brookman. “This isn’t about R.G. Smith losing money,” adding that the council shouldn’t make rules for one company.

Alderman voted to approve a grant for the Methodist Campground from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, despite some objections to the church’s past.

The Methodist Campgrounds officials did face discrimination charges about ten years ago because they did not allow a gay couple to rent a cottage on their grounds, according to an archived United Methodist Church post.

Church members were present at last night’s meeting and added that the organization now strives to protect the rights of all its members and that it is moving on from that incident.

Council members approved the grant from IEMA.  Grant funds will be used to elevate 14 buildings on the campground property to protect them from potential floods.

A construction plan for the “Safe Routes to School” plan will be underway shortly.  The plan calls for a raised crosswalk that will enable drivers to see pedestrians more easily and slow down, as the crosswalk will be like a speed hump in front of Central Elementary School on East Thacker Street.

Alderman James Brookman, 5th Ward, and Mark Walsten, 6th Ward, expressed frustration that School District 62 wouldn’t provide an additional $40,000 to complete the project as planned. City officials received a bid that put the project price about $40,000 higher than the grant funds.  For now, the city will complete the project as fully as they can but will likely forgo parts of the plan.

“This is an important enough safety issue and the district should come forward and fund it,” Brookman said.