Top 10: A look back at Glenview's most newsworthy events of 2021
It was another eventful year in Glenview. Here are some of the top stories in 2021:
TIF retired
That stampede you feel is every eligible taxing district rushing for its cut of property taxes available from The Glen tax increment financing district, on Oct. 28 directed by the village board to sunset. The Glen TIF, established to support development of the former Glenview Naval Air Station, will expire a year ahead of schedule on Dec. 31. Since 1998 its 1,360 acres appreciated in equalized assessed value to $561 million from $26.8 million.
Voters unite
In the April 6 consolidated election the Unite Glenview slate of candidates for the village board of trustees - Gina DeBoni, Tim Doron, Adam Sidoti - swept to victory over the Glenview Next party candidates. Former trustee Mike Jenny, running unopposed for the board presidency left by Jim Patterson, appointed Jim Bland to his vacant seat on June 29.
A Democrat-leaning trend also delivered Shiva Mohsenzadeh's victory for Northfield Township supervisor, ending Jill Brickman's five-term run. Mohsenzadeh won by 165 votes, or 1.18% of the votes cast.
The people have spoken
Over five meetings from February 2020 until April 27 the Glenview Plan Commission heard testimony from 60 opponents of rezoning the 8.38-acre former Hart Estate to enable four commercial buildings including a 35,000-square-foot Amazon Fresh grocery at Willow and Pfingsten roads. That motion denied, a rezoning request and final site plan for the proposed Willows Crossing Shopping Center was put to the village board, which voted 5-0 against it on April 18. A suit that contended the property had been erroneously rezoned in 1988 without a public hearing, Sullivan, et al vs. Village of Glenview, was dropped by the plaintiffs on Oct. 27.
The people have spoken II
Village board action on Feb. 2 to consolidate four planning commissions into two - New Development and Development Adjustments - stuck. Another idea that night did not. Fast-acting citizens cited safety concerns and response times after the proposed "reallocation of resources" from Fire Station 13, 831 E. Lake Ave., to the village's four other stations. A March 6 rally mounted by Glenbrook South sophomore Drew Duffy came three days before a special meeting of the board. In two and a half hours of public comment 53 callers voiced their displeasure. Credit alike to citizens and the board - which listened - the station remained open.
Fagel resigns
Glenbrook High Schools District 225 on July 6 approved a negotiated resignation with Glenbrook South Principal Lauren Fagel. The school's principal since 2015, the resignation involved comments she made about a poster for the school's Turning Point USA club. Documents subsequently released through a Freedom of Information Act filing included derogatory cellphone text conversations, and an unidentified employee's email accusing Fagel of using profanity and sexual references. A search for a new principal is ongoing.
Glenview Connect
Bound to deliver more down the road, the yearlong Glenview Connect process wound down in July. Crafted by a pair of consulting firms, who then launched into zoning updates for the Downtown Development District, it created an Economic Development Strategic Plan and a Downtown Strategic Plan. On Nov. 15, Landmark Theatre signed a 20-year lease to move into one of the Strategic Plan's "spark cites," the vacant ArcLight Cinema space in The Glen Town Center.
(And though it has a Northbrook address, the Nov. 29 story on the planned sale of the Allstate campus included this snippet from Douglas Kiersay, president of purchasing firm Dermody Properties: "the process of annexation and entitlement into one of the neighboring communities, we're not sure which.")
Sentencing in Valdez murder
Glenbrook South incoming sophomore Elias Valdez was killed in a stabbing on Aug. 5, 2020. An investigation ruled it a homicide, Glenview's first murder case since 2004 according to police. The teen suspect was charged with second-degree murder and held on home monitoring. On Dec. 13 he was sentenced to three years probation and 100 hours of community service in exchange for his guilty plea. Valdez's mother, Marcela Fierros, who had disagreed with the initial charge and home monitoring, referenced "white privilege" in the sentencing.
Champs
Glenbrook South senior Ryan Faut had been among the state's best throwers of shot put and discus all 2021 track season. On June 19 in Charleston he finished first in Class 3A in discus with a school-record heave of 178 feet, 11 inches. Faut finished sixth in shot put to head the Titans' fifth-place team finish, their first time in the top 10.
Based on conference results, the Illinois Swimming & Diving Association calculated "remote" state finals - and declared Glenbrook South's boys team the champion. Coach Keith MacDonald joined Max Iida, Sami Moussally and the gang with a celebratory jump in the home pool.
Titans girls lacrosse reached its championship, losing to Loyola 18-7. New Trier won both boys lacrosse and boys Class 2A tennis, with senior Max Bengtsson taking the singles title.
Dylan Buckner's legacy
Yes, he lived in Northbrook, a record-setting quarterback for the Glenbrook North Spartans football team. But when he took his own life on Jan. 7 it crystallized pandemic-based mental health issues everywhere - and spurred a shaken District 225 board to seek programs and assistance for all students.