The Meeting of the Eisenhower Public Library District Board of Trustees Island Within A City Committee June 16, 2022
CALL TO ORDER
President Braun called the meeting to order at 6:32 P.M.
ROLL CALL
Present: Ringelstein, Braun, Magnelli, Parent, Krebs, Ross (6:33 P.M.), Magnuson (6:39 P.M.).
Absent:
Also Present: Bacarella. Committee members Stacy Wittmann, Dawn Parent, Dan McPhillips, Penny Blubaugh, Julie Stam.
Absent: Rich Massaro.
COVID DECLARATION
Declaration by the Board President that a fully in-person meeting is not Practical or Prudent because of COVID.
RECOGNITION OF VISITORS
There were no visitors present.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There were no public comments.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Trustee Parent moved, seconded by Trustee Ross THAT THE MINUTES OF THE ISLAND WITHIN A CITY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD JUNE 2, 2022 BE APPROVED. A Roll Call Vote on the Motion was taken and the results were as follows: AYES Magnelli, Ringelstein, Parent, Ross, Krebs, Braun. NAYS None. ABSENT Magnuson. The motion carried.
ISLAND WITHIN A CITY BOOK COMMITTEE
Island Within A City Book—
Trustee Ringelstein discussed the chapter topics. She felt using Julie’s ideas as a guidepost would be a good jumping off point. They discussed what they would like in the introduction. They discussed adding how the second book came to fruition and why it took so long to write. What the book covers and why. They commented how the pandemic had a lot to do why they stopped. They discussed how the book was community driven and they would like to explain how they gathered the community input. They discussed having a chapter about influential women in the communities. The original chapter idea from Dawn was women who lead.
They went over the chapter topics and writing prompts that Julie submitted and they added to it.
Gone But Not Forgotten
They mentioned the following businesses: Old Warsaw, Nancy’s, Elliot’s, Benjamin’s, Dominick’s, Carson’s Ribs, Community gardens, the old library, Bookstores (Walden Books), Kmart, Beyond the Limit. They discussed how there has been a rise of restaurant chains.
Business and Restaurants
They discussed adding to the book how the rise of the internet has affected Businesses. They discussed the importance of retail and shopping local. Dawn Parent commented that there were no more mattress stores, but multiple food establishments. Eating out has blossomed. They discussed different local businesses that included the Cigar store, Jay’s Beef, Elis Cheesecake, Rolling Stones Records, Sweet Oasis, Allegretti’s, Rex’s, Family Palace, Vince’s, The Phoenix, now Blossom Café, Sally’s. Trustee Braun commented that they should use “shopping is theatre”, what makes the retail here unique.
Village Leadership
Trustee Parent commented that the villages offer multiple internet service providers and they effectively help keep cost down for the towns
Real Estate and Demographic Changes
In the early 2000’s Norridge started allowing second story houses. It was a change in philosophies. Dawn advised that Norridge had moved from multiple family dwellings to single-family dwellings. Transfer stamps were developed.
Trustee Parent proposed a revision to the thesis that was captured during the last meeting. He proposed the following: “though significant cultural, economic, and technological changes have altered many aspects of life in Norridge and Harwood Heights over the past 30 years, the indomitable spirit of this Island in the City community has only grown stronger”. He created a rubric which could be used to rate the relevance of each topic.
Next Meeting Date
The next meeting will take place tentatively Thursday, July 7 at 6:30 P.M.
ADJOURNMENT
Trustee Ross moved, seconded by Trustee Magnuson, THAT THE MEETING BE ADJOURNED. A roll call vote was taken and the results were as follows: AYES Magnuson, Ross, Magnelli, Ringelstein, Parent, Krebs, Braun. NAYS None. ABSENT None. The motion carried. The Committee Meeting was adjourned at 7:06 P.M.
