Cook County briefs
Fire station work to start
A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 3 p.m Saturday, March 21, for Mount Prospect's Fire Station 14 adjacent to the existing station at 2000 E. Kensington Road, which is in poor physical condition and not big enough for modern fire/emergency medical services operations. The new station will be approximately 23,000 square feet and will be built on a portion of Tamarack Trails Park, directly east of the current facility. Construction is expected to begin the week of April 6, with completion likely sometime next spring. Parking for the ceremony will be at the River Trails School District No. 26 Educational Service Center, with shuttle bus service provided.
Township to pick up branches
Schaumburg Township's highway department will continue to pick up brush and branches from the approximately 700 unincorporated homes in the township on the first and third Monday of each month. Highway Commissioner Robert Fecarotta said he didn't want unincorporated residents to be confused by the village of Schaumburg's recent cancellation of such services which he said was reported in the village newsletter. The township will make wood chips for landscaping from the branches it collects.
Disability fair coming
Mount Prospect is holding a Disability Information Fair from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 21, at the Mount Prospect Village Hall, 50 S. Emerson St. The resource and networking fair for adults, children and families living with disabilities like alzheimer's, blindness, down syndrome and autism will feature experts on special needs equipment, tracking devices for seniors and children, and numerous special needs organizations and advocates. Parking and admission are free. For more information, contact Mount Prospect police officer Greg Sill, or officer Bill Roscop at (847) 870-5650.
Environment meeting coming
On World Water Day, Sunday, March 22, public officials will hold a forum to talk about water issues from 2-4 p.m. at Friendship Park Conservatory, 395 Algonquin Road, Des Plaines. Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Debra Shore will be joined by U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, State Representatives Elaine Nekritz and Julie Hamos, Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin and State Sen. Jeff Schoenberg. Topics will include water quality, stormwater management, pharmaceuticals in water, Deep Tunnel and the gates at Wilmette Harbor. For information, contact Jan Rowland at (312) 751-5691 or janet.rowland@mwrd.org.
Des Plaines approves hotel
The Des Plaines city council this week approved preliminary plans for a 312-room, 9-story combination Hyatt Place and Summerfield Suites hotel on the northeast corner of Mannheim and Higgins roads just south of the I-90 tollway. The two hotels would be stacked on top of each other. The planned development includes 7,500 square feet of retail and two 6,400-square-foot restaurants, one with potential for an outdoor seating area where the restaurant abuts Willow Creek. The plan calls for 352 parking spaces to be shared between the hotel and retail/restaurant uses. The city owns the roughly 2.5 acres, which it purchased for $2.7 million and intends to sell to developer, Harlem-Irving Group, this summer. Project construction is expected to start in April 2010 and completion is targeted for May 2011.