La Grange Today

Smoking rules changed to comply with new State law

Exemptions in the Village of La Grange smoking ordinance—which allow smokers to light up in properly equipped bar areas of restaurants, as well as inside tobacco stores and the American Legion Hall—will be repealed Jan. 1 to bring Village regulations into compliance with a new State law, effective on that date, that bans smoking in virtually all public gathering places.

The Village Board Monday night approved several amendments to its smoking ordinance in order to mirror the State law but left intact certain provisions that are more stringent than what will be in force statewide.

Under the Village ordinance, smoking will continue to be prohibited within 20 feet of public doorways, open-air dining venues and ventilation intakes, as well as within 20 feet of unenclosed outdoor public venues such as parks, play areas and school grounds.

The State bans smoking only within 15 feet of those places.

"This we believe is somewhat forward-thinking, " Village President Elizabeth Asperger said. "It makes us stand out a bit among some of our neighboring municipalities, but it is an increased effort to protect the safety and health of our residents."

Mosquito spraying continues south of 47th St

Spraying of insecticide aimed at controlling the adult mosquito population will continue tonight in  neighborhoods south of 47th St and east of Kensington Ave, the Des Plaines Valley Mosquito Abatement District (DVPMAD) told La Grange officials today.

The operation is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. and be completed by midnight.

Abatement crews Monday night began spraying Village neighborhoods west of the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad.

The recent round of spraying was necessary,  DPVMAD officials said, after several thunderstorms last week dumped heavy rains on the area, creating numerous pools of still water that are prime breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes locally have been known to spread West Nile Virus through bites on humans. In 2002, an epidemic of WNV in Illinois resulted in 884 human cases of the disease with 66 deaths.

 

Plan commission rejects hospital office proposal

A proposal to build a new medical office building on the campus of Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital tonight was rejected by the La Grange Plan Commission.

Commissioners denied the hospital's application, which had been submitted as an amendment to the planned unit development permit first approved in 1969 and most recently updated in 2001, on grounds that it failed to adequately provide a long-range scenario for development on the campus.

The vote was applauded by several members of the audience, many of them residents of neighborhoods adjoining the hospital campus on S Willow Springs Rd.

Several residents used the public comment portion of the commission meeting to challenge Adventist officials on issues related to rainwater runofff and flooding, traffic and night-time light pollution.

LG hospital proposes new med offices for its campus

A new medical office building proposed by Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital for its main campus will be the focus of the La Grange Plan Commission at a session scheduled for Nov. 14.

Plan commissioners will consider the hospital's request for approval of a site plan to erect a three-story, 42,000-square-foot building in the southwest corner of its property on S Gilbert Rd. The building would be connected to the hospital by an enclosed walkway. The proposed site currently is used for parking.

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The site plan was submitted to the Village's community development department this past summer, but action on the request was delayed pending receipt from the hospital of a master plan for land use on its campus. The master plan was delivered to the department last Friday.

Under the master plan, the hospital would demolish an existing professional office building once the new building is constructed, a scenario hospital offcials hope will occur by the end of 2007. Tenants of the existing building would be accommodated in the new facility.

The master plan also addresses other changes being considered by the hospital, including another addition to its main complex. Its most recent addition was a five-story, $80-million patient care center that opened in June.

The Plan Commission in 2003 approved the site plan for the patient care center without a master plan in place, but informed hospital officials at that time that a master plan would be a prerequisite to consideration of  any future proposed construction.

Hospital opposed on plan for off-site surgical center

An outpatient surgical center Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital wants to build in Lyons was opposed by officials from MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn at a public hearing held Sept. 27 by the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, according to a report in this weekend's edition of the Suburban Life newspaper.

MacNeal officials said the proposed $5.2 million dollar, multi-specialty Ambulatory Surgical Treatment Center, which would be located on First Ave south of Ogden, would draw patients away from its Berwyn facility, which has a long history of serving Lyons and surrounding communities.

Tim Cook, CEO of Adventist La Grange, told the Board that the center would allow patients to obtain same-day surgery close to home in a cost-effective manner. It also would free up operating room space at the La Grange hospital for inpatient procedures and persons admitted through the hospital's emergency room.

Representatives of several community groups, the mayor of Berwyn and three state legislators representing Lyons and nearby communities testified at the hearing that the proposed surgical center would have a negative impact on their constituents. They fear the center would skim off privately insured patients from MacNeal, leaving the hospital with a greater load of patients insured by Medicare or without any insurance at all.

The Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board likely will consider the proposal at its scheduled meeting Oct. 24 and 25, Suburban Life reported.