Hoffman Estates plans a biography

Hoffman Estates officials plan to hire an author to pen a book on local history to commemorate next year's 50th anniversary of the village.

The village would pay the author - likely to be a Northern Illinois University graduate student - $10,000 (not tax dollars) for the part-time job and hopes to have it ready by fall 2009. Village Manager James Norris last week interviewed candidates to write the book. If the village board approves the plan, a candidate could be introduced at the village board meeting on Monday, Oct. 20.

The author would sift through old newspaper clippings, village documents and images to compile the work.

"She would interview a few people, too," Mayor William McLeod said.

The $10,000 would come from a donation from Dartmoor Homes. The developer promised the village $100,000 for historical purposes. That's the same money that was first seemingly reserved to restore the one-room, 78-year-old Lindbergh Schoolhouse. But crews demolished it last year after an epic fight on whether the school on Shoe Factory Road had any historical value.

Dartmoor has already paid the village $50,000. McLeod said he wasn't sure when the rest would be paid.

Originally, the village thought the Hoffman Estates Museum Board would be able to undertake the task, but officials found putting together the book too difficult and opted to contact NIU's history department to see if any grad students would be interested in the project.

No LED here: The village board also looks like it will hold off on the electronic messaging sign planned near Charlemagne Park. Trustees heard residents' complaints about how the sign would impact the subdivision. Pending village board approval, officials will still go ahead with the two other LED signs near the future police station site at 411 W. Higgins Road and the other off Beverly Road near Shoe Factory.

The cost of the three signs would have been $179,000. Coincidentally, that's the same amount the police department cut out of its budget this year to eliminate three unfilled patrol officer jobs. All village departments were asked earlier this year to cut their budgets as Hoffman Estates deals with the sluggish economy.

• Do you have a Hoffman Estates story idea? Contact Ashok Selvam at (847) 427-4475 or aselvam@dailyherald.com