 The weather is warming, the Cubs and Sox are at the top of their respective leagues, and Downtown Tinley is gearing up for a slew of fun events. It's shaping up to be a busy year in Tinley Park!
But while we continue to move our community forward, Village leaders still work to deal with the challenges of government. One such challenge you may have heard about is Buckeye Community Hope Foundation's civil lawsuit against the Village of Tinley Park, the Village Board, the Plan Commission, myself, and Trustees Pannitto, Vandenberg and Younker, alleging discriminatory actions to prevent the development of a 47-unit affordable housing development at the northeast corner of 183rd Street and Oak Park Avenue.
We are going to work with our legal counsel on our next steps in regards to this suit. Also, concerns have been raised about the process by which this project was first presented to the Plan Commission, and as a result the Village has asked the Cook County Inspector General to review the process followed for this proposed project.
Regardless of the outcome of the Cook County review, it is clear the Village can and will do a better job communicating to residents about development projects and the code changes that impact them. I have set up a Citizen Advisory Committee that will make recommendations on how the Village' s downtown Legacy Code could be modified so the Village Board and residents have more input on larger development projects.
In addition, Village Manager David Niemeyer is working with staff to develop a report that will be posted on the Village website that gives residents easier access to information about the Village's development projects.
We will keep you updated on all of these issues, but in the meantime we are committed to moving forward in a number of other areas. I'm happy to report that we're working with a developer who is interested in purchasing the former Central Middle School property to construct about 50 townhomes there. We've also filed suit in court to demolish three vacant structures in Downtown Tinley, and we're well into the master planning process for the State Mental Health Center property, thanks, in large part, to the great input we have received so far from Village residents.
As always, feel free to call me at (708) 444-5000 or send an email to
[email protected]
if you have a question or just want to chat.
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Join the more than 600 people who have already signed up for the 
Don't miss National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of the Tinley Park Police Department, 7850 W. 183rd St.