Sorted by date Results 936 - 960 of 1148
I'm often late to the party. I started listening to Steve and Garry on the Loop in August 1993, just about a month before the two ended their 15-year run. I became a fan of The Rolling Stones in the late 1980s, a good two decades after they had their first No. 1 hit. I currently own an iPhone 7, when the iPhone 11 has been out for almost nine months. I blame this deficiency on my parents, who did an even poorer job keeping up with the times than I do. I'm convinced they...
Oak Street in southeast Hinsdale soon will take on a drastically different look with the pending demolitions of two iconic, historic homes — all because Hinsdale’s preservation ordinance lacks substance. Members of Hinsdale’s Historic Preservation Commission anticipated that homes of this architectural significance could be at risk and began tireless efforts at public hearings to revise what is called Title 14 of the Hinsdale Village Code. This began in November 2018 with the village appointing respected planning consu...
I have a little secret. I am kind of enjoying this era of enforced isolation occasioned by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. Sure, there are days when I awaken feeling that I'm living the plot of "Groundhog Day." And I do worry for myself, my loved ones, my friends and even strangers who may become severely ill. Yet I can't help feeling a sense of peace and contentment most of the time. I have always loved my solitude. Most days, there is nothing I would rather do than da...
If you’ve ever wanted to be a masked superhero, the time has come! Most of us, of course, have been donning our facial coverings faithfully since April. It was a strange and somewhat annoying measure to adopt initially. But we collectively overcame comfort concerns or hang-ups over our freedom being muffled to bring the state’s COVID-19 positivity rate low enough for a partial reopening of many businesses and to entertain the potential of a return to in-person schooling this fall. The operative word for just about eve...
"Why do you print names in police beat?" a resident asked us recently, being of the opinion - as you might guess - that we should not. My initial reaction was to blurt out something like, "Because we've always done it that way." But that's not a very good defense. I've also been trying to follow the advice of a Facebook friend's post in June: "Can we consider the possibility that possibly we don't know what we don't know?" So I asked myself if indeed we should stop publishing...
Earlier this week Hinsdale lost a rare person. The white ribbons around town are to honor and celebrate a woman who lived life beautifully and who taught me, just by being exactly who she was, how to be a better person. Monica Rincon Dooley’s life was a shining example of how to live life to the fullest. Here are a few things that I learned from Monica: Happiness — Monica had joy inside of her and wore it on her face. Her smile brightened every room. Warmth — She genuinely loved people. Her greetings were sincere and she w...
We want to express our most sincere thank yous to all the people who have been with us on this journey. The many flowers, dinners and donations were so greatly appreciated, as were the many hugs and expressions of sympathy, and the thoughtfulness and kindness of the police and officers of the court. It all meant so much. Thank you. — The family of Andrea Urban...
Several weeks ago my daughters came up with this crazy idea of all of us going to South Carolina for a family vacation. What's even more ridiculous, they wanted to leave in 12 days! "Absolutely not"! I predictably replied. "How in the world do you think we could just pick up and leave on such short notice, especially in our current world"? But they were ready for me, complete with an impressive PowerPoint presentation, cost analysis and an arsenal of answers at the ready for...
The IBLP land north of Ogden Avenue and east of Adams Road presently being considered for development is an environmentally sensitive area that is part of the Salt Creek flood plain. The area should be preserved as open space, because any development in this area will increase the amount of impervious surfaces and will result in increased flooding in Salt Creek. The citizens of Hinsdale need to contact Jeffrey Redick, District 2 Commissioner of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, to make him aware of their support...
“Bueller? Bueller?” The Zoom public hearing about a potential moratorium on the demolition of historic homes reminded us a little of the film classic “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” as Hinsdale Plan Commission Chairman Steve Cashman often had to repeatedly call out names of residents when it was their turn to give public comment. We certainly hope Zoom public hearings will soon be a thing of the past, but the format did give an unusually large number of people a voice in this debate. And we heard the same message over and over:...
Dear neighbors — This week, I retire as executive director of HCS Family Services. It wouldn’t, however, be right to leave without sharing my deep thanks with our good-hearted community. Even in these days of social distancing, you’ve come together to make an impact right here in our own backyard. You’ve found many important ways to support local hunger relief. You’ve volunteered, made financial donations and organized food drives for our two food pantries. Please know that we couldn’t have responded to the surging dem...
I think the refugees currently living with my husband and me would have enjoyed Hinsdale's Fourth of July parade. By "refugees" I mean my daughter, Amanda, son-in-law Drew and my 5-year-old granddaughter, Avery. The trio made a hasty exit out of New York City at the end of March, just as the COVID-19 crisis made life there too uncertain for them. After an anxious 12-hour drive across Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and on into Illinois, the trio arrived on our doorstep in the midd...
On Tuesday night, the Hinsdale Plan Commission wisely voted 4-2 against imposing any type of moratorium on home demolitions. Even the two members in favor expressed doubts that the proposed six-month duration was actually necessary. Unfortunately, the plan commission is merely an advisory body and the village trustees, who have heard no public testimony, are free to disregard the commission’s vote. The top-down, hastily-conceived moratorium proposed by the board was sparked when current owners of three old homes in S...
Holidays always trigger a lot of memories, and Independence Day is no exception. One of my favorite Fourth of July holidays is quite possibly one of yours as well. In 2013 the Hinsdale parade featured none other than Coach Q and the Stanley Cup. When the fire engine he was riding on made the turn from Garfield Avenue onto First Street, you could hear the roar of the crowd from more than a block away. The first Hinsdale parade I ever attended is etched in my mind as well, for...
The parades won’t be marching past nor fireworks bursting overhead for most of us Saturday. The Fourth of July is next in the unyielding procession of “This is not our normal (fill in the blank)” occasions. Backyard barbecues and pool parties that are held will hopefully by socially distanced or face-mask friendly or both as we find ways to gather while balancing socializing with safety. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to alter life as we knew it. The freedoms we once had when it came to our comings and goings, our excha...
My tenure as a contributing columnist officially ends today with my 31st column for the Hinsdalean. Adding five written earlier for The Doings brings the total to 36 over 10 years. I've loved the challenge despite sometimes struggling to think up topics and always spending a long time doing the actual writing. Throughout, I've followed a path of writing about what I knew best. That's why my columns have been filled with personal anecdotes from all stages of my life. Today I'd...
o her teen years, I fear she will increasingly fall victim to the opinions of others. Younger kids do a pretty good job of allowing each other to express their own individuality. But many kids, as they get older, feel a need to follow the prescription of how they should look and act. Right now, it’s trendy to be a VSCO girl, clad in an oversized T-shirt with Nike shorts, Crocs and a shell necklace, carrying a Hydro Flask and wearing a scrunchie around your wrist. We all had po...
Like everything else since mid-March, the summer reading program at the Hinsdale Public Library looks a little different than it did last year. The program, which began earlier this month and continues through July 31, offers a philanthropic incentive for adults to participate. “We’re in this together!” the library website reads. “Help turn your reading, listening and viewing into assistance for the community.” Readers are invited to share any five reads, listens or views with the library by sending an email listing t...
The construction paper hearts on the barricades outside First Street restaurants flutter in the breeze. They carry messages of activism - "No justice, no peace" - and list the names of black individuals who have died at the hands of white police officers, including George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Others offer affirmations, such as "Compassion has no color," and "We are here. You are heard." "Personally I like the simple ones that said, 'Black lives matter' (and) the hearts...
I’m glad we’re starting to come out of Phase 2 into Phase 3 and soon Phase 4. But if what I saw at Fuller House on Thursday, June 11, is any indication — 10 people drinking at one table, no seating 6 feet apart (it was barely 2 feet) no masks and a total disregard for people walking by — the numbers in Illinois will spike and restaurants will be closed again. I’m all for the restaurants reopening, but who is going to police them? They want to make money and obviously at Fuller House, at any cost, including their patrons a...
Happy 110th Dads! That’s the ripe old age Father’s Day turns this year if the occasion’s birth is traced to June 19, 1910, when the state of Washington was the first to mark it. Partying for Pop lagged behind its maternal counterpart because, quoting a early 20th-century florist, “Fathers haven’t the same sentimental appeal that mothers have,” according to https://www.history.com, Fair enough. But, perhaps partly out of pity, state governments did gradually come around until Father’s Day was recognized as a nationwide ho...
My teenage son, who runs cross country, shrugs and cringes slightly when I invite him to run with me these days. Once a junior Olympian and collegiate runner myself, I'm no slouch, but there's no denying that my speed and my cool-ness have faded with time. When I look in the mirror, I sometimes see my 18-year-old self with endless energy and a mischievous grin, but sometimes, I imagine I see one of my grandmas - shrunken, crotchety and glowering back at me. It's hard to see my...
After volunteering these past few weeks at HCS Family Services with the food pantry and more recently experiencing the justified outrage about police brutality and systemic discrimination against black Americans, I've been thinking a lot about mindfulness. I've realized that mindfulness isn't just about contemplating or being aware of what's around me. Mindfulness is about taking action because of my awareness. Without this second part, my awareness is meaningless. In the...
He was a fixture in Chicago journalism. His death was the second story on the 10 o’clock NBC news Tuesday night. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot tweeted about his loss. But to many of us here in Hinsdale, Dick Johnson was first and foremost a neighbor and a friend. To those of us in the Community Revue, he was our castmate. And what a castmate he was. Dick was the guy who would miss a million rehearsals (hard to argue with his excuse — he had to be on TV) and then come in and...
We’ve heard residents say all manner of things at board meetings. So when a district resident was precluded from making public comment at a Dec. 12 meeting in Hinsdale High School District 86, we were surprised. When two more residents were prevented from speaking as well, we stopped being surprised and started getting angry. It’s true that the letter the three wanted to read (written by another district resident) was quite critical toward Carol Baker, assistant superintendent for academics. She and the board had been und...
