Ed Zimel,  Eira Corral, Rodney Craig, Bill Cannon, Rick Roberts,

Pasta for Progress Save the Date, May

Spaghetti Dinner, beverages and brownies for desert. $4 for adults, $2 for children 14 and under and free to children 2 and under. Contact Bill Cannon if any questions at 847-370-3471 or bill@schermerhorn-realestate.com.

Come, have a meal and learn what Progress means to Hanover Park.

End of Year Update: Working Toward Progress in Hanover Park

On April 7, 2009, the voters of Hanover Park voted for Progress in their hometown by electing new Trustees Rick Roberts, Ed Zimel Jr., and Bill Cannon, new Village Clerk Eira Corral, and re-electing Rodney Craig as Village President. In less than a year, the Progress Team took office and started to put our promises into action. 

Our Promise: Create an Open and Transparent Government
Our Actions:

Craig Named Northwest Suburban 2009 Newsmaker

This week, the Daily Herald named Mayor Rodney Craig as one of its 2009 Newsmakers

Northwest suburban 2009 newsmakers (click here to read entire article)
Daily Herald Staff Report
Published: 12/28/2009 11:59 AM

The Northwest suburbs had their share of newsmakers in 2009, like every other year. Here are several of the people we talked about during the past 12 months.

Hanover Park Mayor Rodney Craig:

He isn't the most popular figure in Hanover Park, but he became one of the most visible in 2009, when residents turned to Hanover Park Village President Rod Craig for answers when a sudden surge of violence struck the village.

Four murders occurred within two weeks in late May and early June, and the seemingly isolated slayings were preceded by several gang-related stabbings and shootings.

Craig spoke openly to reporters and to the nervous public in front of packed school gyms to start off gang awareness forums led by police. He tapped former Police Chief Ron Moser to take over as village manager, led an effort to secure stimulus money to hire more police officers, and called on area leaders to take part in a public safety committee he formed. In November, village officials approved a new $19 million police station, to replace the department's current cramped quarters.

The village of Hanover Park has been quieter for the last six months. And that's welcome news to its leader.

Hanover Park to build police station

We wanted tos hare the following article from the Herald:

Hanover Park to build police station
By Kimberly Pohl | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 12/17/2009

Hanover Park trustees scoffed earlier this year at a presentation proposing a new police station and village hall renovations to the tune of $27 million.

It took numerous meetings and revisions, but officials are now on board with plans to scrap the renovations and build a more modest 52,000-square-foot police station for $19 million. Plans to update an aging village hall have been put on hold indefinitely.

"We all want to drive Cadillacs, but that's not practical," Trustee Bill Cannon said. "The original excessive proposal was everybody's wish list and now it's been cut down to an efficient, responsible construction model to provide a police station our village so desperately needs."

A unanimous board recently approved steps toward a potential summer 2010 groundbreaking at 2015 W. Lake St, just east of the municipal complex. Specifically, they authorized the hiring of legal counsel to oversee the bond issue, contract negotiations with the architectural firm for final design of the facility, and a search to select a construction manager.

It's a welcome development for the Hanover Park Police Department, which has pushed for an expanded facility since 1998. Police Chief David Webb said that when the current police station was built, the department employed a total of 46 officers and civilian employees. Today, there are 102 officers and civilian employees.

"We are extremely cramped," Webb said. "We even had to convert a garage into an office for six people."

Village Manager Ron Moser, the former police chief, said preliminary numbers show minimal increases to property taxes. Should the village borrow $14 million, a property owner with a house worth $185,000 would annually pay $29 more in Cook County and $36 more in DuPage County.

Among the first steps is the demolition of the existing Mid-America buildings at the police station's future site after the tenants vacate in the spring. The village will also raze the existing salt storage facility and build a new one behind village hall. The police station annex at 2152 W. Lake St. will eventually be torn down.

Meanwhile, it will take at least five or six months from when architects begin work on the station's final design to the time construction can begin.

Cannon said that despite the negative financial climate, Hanover Park wasn't as dependent on sales tax revenue as its neighbors and therefore hasn't been as hard hit by the economy.

"We're in decent shape and can take advantage of the low cost of borrowing through bonds and contractors are desperate for work so we're able to get a bigger bang for the buck," Cannon said.
 

Hanover Park latest to ban video gambling

We wanted to share this article from the Daily Herald:

Hanover Park latest to ban video gambling
By Kimberly Pohl | Daily Herald Staff
Published: 11/6/2009 12:03 AM

Hanover Park has joined the ranks of more than two dozen local governments in the state to ban video gambling machines in bars and restaurants.

However, the ordinance passed at Thursday night's board meeting also leaves room to revisit the issue once the Illinois Gaming Board implements policies on how to roll out more than 40,000 of the slotlike machines - a development regulators say could be a year off.

"Once the rules get in place we'll have a better understanding of what's before us," Mayor Rod Craig said.

That future debate over whether to permanently enact the ban may be one-sided.

Trustee Toni Carter said she would never entertain the idea of allowing legalized gambling in Hanover Park because, "We have enough problems, and I believe the gangs, drugs and violence would only escalate once our citizens go home broke after sitting at these machines."

Trustee Bill Cannon said he also wouldn't get on board with allowing the machines, which the Better Government Association's executive director referred to as "the crack cocaine of gaming."

"When you have to go to gambling to balance your budget, you're not doing your job by cutting waste," Cannon said.

Even if the ban is lifted once regulations are in place, Hanover Park stands to see only minimal financial gain. Village Manager Ron Moser estimates the village would receive about $44,000 annually, as only four establishments are eligible for the machines. Under the video gambling expansion law, local governments would receive 5 percent of gambling losses and the state would get 25 percent. The rest is split between the establishment owners and terminal operators.

Since Gov. Pat Quinn signed a law legalizing the machines in an effort to help fund a $31 billion capital plan, a growing number of suburbs have banned them including Buffalo Grove, Rosemont, Naperville, Bloomingdale, West Chicago, Villa Park, Libertyville, Elburn, Elmhurst, Kildeer, Mettawa, East Dundee and Wheaton. Cook, Lake and DuPage counties have also banned the machines in unincorporated areas.