May Whitney Fourth Graders at Village Hall

Ms. Kendra Hurt's fourth-grade class got a lesson in local government and led the pledge of allegiance at the Oct. 1 Lake Zurich village board meeting.

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Lake Zurich Officers Recognized for Seatbelt Enforcement

IDOT gave police officers awards for writing more than 1,000 citations for not using seatbelts

Illinois has one of the highest rates of seatbelt use in the nation, at 93 percent, said Lt. John Gomoll, law enforcement liaison for the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). And Lake Zurich Police officers are doing their part in ensuring seatbelt use continues to rise.  Gomoll presented awards to two Lake Zurich officers, Scott Frost and Shaun Knight, at the village board meeting, Monday night. The officers were recognized for writing more than 1,000 seatbelt citations.  "These awards could also be life saving awards," Gomoll said.  "Seven percent are still not wearing seatbelts. From time to time, some child loses a parent, and quite sadly, some parent loses a child who was not properly buckled in," Gomoll said. "We need police…

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No Video Gaming for Lake Zurich

Village board votes against allowing gambling machines.

The Lake Zurich Village board voted unanimously against allowing video gaming machines at village businesses, Monday night. The vote came after some residents argued against allowing gambling machines during public comment, arguing that there wasn't much to gain from video gaming, but much to lose. Trustees said they didn't want the village to be an experiment for gaming, they would rather see how it works out in other villages which have voted to allow video gaming.  Trustee Rich Sustich said everyone who invests on Wall Street is gambling, so he didn't have an issue with the concept, however, he was concerned about the management of video gaming operations and what impact it might have on the community. "Should we be at the forefront and…

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Residents Speak Up on Downtown Development

Downtown development discussed at Lake Zurich village board meeting.

      Although downtown redevelopment was not on the agenda at Tuesday’s Lake Zurich village board meeting, it was heavily discussed by both residents, during public comment, and by trustees. Village board members listened intently while residents expressed frustration over the board’s decision on Aug. 20 not to choose from the four developers competing to develop Block A, on Main Street, and to move in a direction of selling downtown property. Some residents also expressed a desire to help the village move forward with downtown development. Paul Hunt described himself as the voice of younger demographics in town.  He said he’s very happy living in Lake Zurich and he believes there are lots of opportunities for his children. However, he …

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Village to Vote on Video Gaming

Lake Zurich board of trustees expected to vote on ordinance allowing video gaming at Sept. 17 meeting.

Lake Zurich village trustees discussed whether or not to allow video gaming in the village, at Tuesday's village board meeting. The board is expected to vote on a final draft of an ordinance that would repeal the prohibition on video gaming in the village, at its Sept. 17 meeting. Video gaming machines are lottery-type terminals, such as poker games. The only trustee who spoke against video gaming was Trustee Dana Rzeznik. Rzeznik pointed out that only a handful of suburbs have approved video gaming-- including nearby Wauconda.  "I don't believe it goes well with the nature of Lake Zurich," Rzeznik said.  Trustee Tom Poynton said he would like to see financial issues solved by another method, other than gambling, however he doesn't believe…

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New Direction on Downtown: All 4 Developers Rejected

Lake Zurich board agrees to sell surplus, village-owned downtown property instead.

  Monday’s Lake Zurich village board meeting started with a call from residents to move forward with downtown redevelopment. Resident Dennis Abbott recalled days past when downtown was a vital, busy gathering place; he urged the board to eschew apartments and choose  David Smith of Southshore as the developer. Chamber Director Dale Perrin urged the board to choose a development with commercial and retail. “Be bold; be daring,” Perrin told the board. However,  Lake Zurich village trustees could not come to a consensus on a single developer for the village owned parcel on Main Street, that faces the Promenade and lakefront. After nearly two hours of discussion, the board determined to take a different route and start declaring vacant …

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Village Delays Decision on Downtown Developer

Lake Zurich trustees want more information before committing to developer for parcel across from The Promenade.

  Lake Zurich village trustees agreed to delay committing to a developer of a village-owned, lakefront parcel on Old Rand Road, Monday night.  Village board members also agreed, after Village President Suzanne Branding asked them to share their wish list for downtown, that they want a mixed-use development on the Block A site, which overlooks The Promenade and the lake.  “I also feel strongly that the first floor needs to be a gathering point, a destination . . . when I look strictly at all apartments or all residential, I’m not too much in favor,” said Trustee Terry Mastandrea. He said he’d like to see coffee shops and cafes on the ground floor, a place for residents to enjoy the lakefront.   John Breugelmans of ARDE told the board that …

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Susan

12:48 pm on Thursday, October 18, 2012

Agree. I remember when they got rid of the gas station in town because it was so unattractive & we were going to 'revitalize' the town.....Dipiero's looks like an old fire trap and that still stands just as it has always looked. And don't even get me started on this 'Alpine' look. At least when the gas station was there, some people had a REASON to drive into this ghost town..........it's just …   more ›

Eagle Scout Builds Display Case for Lake Zurich Village Hall

Ryan Peterson coordinated a scout project for a case that displays aerial maps of Lake Zurich.

The Lake Zurich village board recognized Ryan Peterson, at the July 2 meeting, with a certificate of appreciation. Peterson built a cabinet which houses aerial maps of Lake Zurich.  Peterson built the cabinet to make changing the maps easier. Previously the map was picked off and the new map was glued in its place. The cabinet makes swapping the maps easy.  Peterson enlisted the help of younger Boy Scouts, particularly with staining the case. He explained that an Eagle project is the last step in scouting and he thanked he village for the opportunity. 

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Village Says Yes to Mariano's Fresh Market, Midwest Motors

Bradford Town Crossing development and luxury car dealer approved by Lake Zurich village board.

Lake Zurich paved the way for numerous new businesses at the village board meeting, Monday night. The board approved a Planned Unit Development for the 81,323-square-foot Bradford Town Crossing, at Quentin Road and Rte. 22, which has a Mariano’s Fresh Market as the anchor store. The village also approved a special use permit allowing Midwest Motors Inc. to operate a new and used luxury automobile dealership at the site currently occupied by Capaccio Brothers furniture store, 540 Cortland drive. Prior to presentations by developers and a vote by the village board, residents spoke during public comment. The public comment centered on Midwest Motors proposal to relocate to Lake Zurich from Volo, with about half of the residents voicing …

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