I wanted to address a recent article in the Chicago Tribune about the Village’s desire to annex and potentially purchase a 114-acre parcel of property at Vollmer Road and Harlem Avenue. Unfortunately, the article contained several inaccuracies and misleading statements and does not fully explain the Village’s motivation to acquire the property. The purchase has since fallen through, as the developer has decided not to sell the property to the Village.

The northeast corner of Vollmer and Harlem is currently unincorporated but has long been in the Village’s planning area. In fact, Tinley Park and Matteson had a boundary agreement that expired in 2000 in which both communities recognized that this land should eventually become part of Tinley Park. Efforts to start a discussion with Matteson on a new agreement have not been successful.

Developer Rick Heidner bought this property in 2019 as a potential alternative site for a racino. He had initially approached the Village about this idea a couple of years earlier, before the State approved additional gaming. The Village was interested in his racino entertainment complex idea, as it would create thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenues for both the State and the Village, and would complement the Village’s tourism businesses. No other developer has been willing to commit to a project of this magnitude in Tinley Park in my tenure as village manager.

When the State passed a bill that allowed a new racino in the south suburbs in 2019, the Village and the development team that included Heidner decided to shift its focus to locating the racino at the vacant Tinley Park Mental Health Center property due to its superior location and larger size. The site at Vollmer and Harlem was considered as a potential alternative. However, the State broke off negotiations with the Village to sell the Mental Health Center property in October 2019. 

In November, Heidner approached the Village about annexing the Vollmer and Harlem property and sought Office and Restricted Industrial zoning, which would allow for distribution warehousing use. Other than the racino, this was the only other type of development interest in the site. The Village Board initially denied this request, and Heidner withdrew his petition for annexation in February.

Early this spring, the Village learned through the media that Amazon was putting an 800,000-square-foot, four-story distribution warehouse on the southeast corner of Vollmer and Harlem. This new facility changed the character of the entire area and makes the Heidner property much more valuable for distribution warehousing. Mayor Vandenberg reached out to the mayor of Matteson several months ago to discuss concerns and suggestions we have with how the Amazon site will be developed, but he has yet to receive a response.

Continue reading this story on the Village website.

Start getting your costumes ready for the Village’s Downtown Tinley Boo Bash Guided Trail from noon to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25 at the Oak Park Avenue train station!

In order to comply with all state guidelines, the free, kid-friendly Halloween event will be a guided tour through several fun activities including spooky DJ music, pumpkin putty crafts, a magic show, a juggler, a costume parade and trick-or-treating at business booths. Each activity will take about 5 to 8 minutes, and the tour will last about 45 minutes for each group. The Haunted Train Station will also be open for a spooky stroll, as well as food and beverage purchases before or after you've completed the trail.

The event will be limited to Tinley Park residents only, and all attendees must be pre-registered. Residents can register starting at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 12 on the Ticket Tailor website. While all ages are welcome, the event’s activities are geared toward kids ages 3 to 11. Children age 1 and older will need a ticket. In order to include as many kids as possible, we ask that no more than two adults register per family.

All participants, staff and volunteers age 2 and older must wear proper face coverings for the entire event, including the line to check in. Participating businesses will have masked and gloved employees dropping candy directly into children's trick or treat bags to avoid direct contact.

If you've registered for the event but can no longer attend, email mktg@tinleypark.org and let the Village know so that the tickets can be made available for waitlisted residents.

If you are a Tinley Park business wishing to sponsor this event, please see the Boo Bash Sponsorship Form.

In my role as Assistant Treasurer, I aid in the oversight of all accounting, finance, financial reporting and budgeting for the Village of Tinley Park. I also oversee other day-to-day operations and projects as assigned.

The Finance Department creates two critical documents for its residents, businesses and anyone else who is interested in the Village’s finances. The first document is the Village Budget, which sets the plan for generating revenue and expending funds based on the priorities of the Village President and Board of Trustees. The second document is the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), which is a more transparent version of an audit that tells the story of how and what was done over the previous fiscal year.

My job and the efforts of the Finance Department overall help to account for Tinley Park by ensuring we are keeping meticulous track of all expenditures and revenues and managing the Village’s finances in a responsible, transparent manner that is beneficial to all Tinley Park residents and businesses.

Who has the creepiest, scariest, spookiest house in Tinley Park? It's time to find out with the Village's first-ever Halloween House Decorating Contest, which is going on now through Oct. 16!

Houses will be judged in three categories: Scariest House, Best Overall Theme and Best Special Effects. Entries will be judged from the street (judges will not enter private property) from Oct. 19 to 22, and winners will be announced Oct. 23. Lights, animations and decorations must be activated during judging.

To participate, fill out the entry form at TinleyPark.org/HauntedContest. Not only will winners be the envy of everyone in the neighborhood, they’ll receive a $100 gift card to the Tinley Park business of their choice! Email questions to mktg@tinleypark.org.

The Village recently announced the winners of its first-ever Benches on the Avenue “Around the World” Scavenger Hunt, which took place this summer and fall along Oak Park Avenue in Downtown Tinley.

Congratulations to Kim Wicks, Gavin Hoogervorst and the Dillon Family, who each won one of this year’s Benches! The winners were chosen from among the more than 150 entries the Village received.

Players were tasked with printing out a game sheet on the Village website and then using the clues provided in it to locate all 22 benches and answer a question related to each one. Those who answered all questions correctly were eligible to win.

Many thanks to all who played, and we’ll see you next year!

You spoke, and we heard you! The Village has updated its Halloween sign that residents can print out and hang up to let trick-or-treaters know they won't be participating in Halloween this year. The new form is available on the Village website.

Halloween trick-or-treating hours in the Village of Tinley Park will be from 3:30 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31. For ways to make sure you stay safe, please see the IDPH Halloween Guidance flyer.

The Tinley Park Police Department has also issued a list of safety tips to keep in mind while you're out and about this Halloween. Happy trick-or-treating!

The 2020 Presidential Election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Early voting for Cook County residents will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends from Oct. 19 to Nov. 2 in the Kallsen Center at Tinley Park Village Hall, 16250 S. Oak Park Avenue. All voting equipment will be thoroughly sanitized between uses. Cook County will have a Mail Ballot Drop Off receptacle available for voters. There will be separate lines for ballot drop-off and those voting in person.

Frankfort Public Library, 21119 S. Pfeiffer Road, will be an early voting site for Will County residents from Monday, Oct. 19 through Friday, Oct. 30. Hours will be from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mail-in ballots will be accepted at this time. A Vote By Mail Drop Box is available inside the library from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Visit the Voter Information page for more information.

You're only a short text away from signing up for the Village's CodeRED community notification system! Text the word TINLEY to 99411 to receive a direct link to the enrollment form on your mobile device.

Sign up to receive time-sensitive emergency alerts and critical information, as well as non-emergency information such as road closures and trash collection schedule changes. Notification is customized, allowing residents to choose which alerts they’d like to sign up for and how they would prefer to receive them. Choose several different methods, including landline, cell phone, email, text message, TTY or a combination of any of the above.

For more information, please visit the Village’s Stay Informed page.