Daily Archives: June 29, 2022

$16.5-million contract sets Willow-Hibbard stormwater project in motion

Spending is underway for the most expensive project in Village of Winnetka history.

Village trustees approved on June 21 a $16.5 million contract with John DiMeo Brothers for construction work on the stormwater-improvement project at the northwest corner of Willow and Hibbard roads.

Working in conjunction with New Trier High School District 203 and the Winnetka Park District, the village plans to add 79 acre-feet — or 25.7 million gallons — of stormwater relief for west and northwest Winnetka.

Village Director of Engineering Jim Bernahl told trustees that the project is 48 percent of the Village’s multi-year stormwater campaign that has an expected budget of more than $79 million.

“Tonight the village is at a major milestone in its goal to provide a critical, long-term, permanent solution to the management of stormwater in Winnetka and I am pleased to present to you the first contract of many,” he said.

Stormwater storage facilities will be added to multiple locations on the project site. A 14.2-acre-feet underground basin will be installed on the far east end of Duke Childs Field, running parallel with Hibbard Road under the park’s open grassland.

A second underground storage unit, planned to be 6.5 acre feet, will go under “Little Duke,” a multi-sport field just south of the Winnetka Ice Arena.

A total of 48 acre feet of above-ground storage will go on the adjacent golf courses of the Winnetka Park District — 21.8 acre feet on the par 3 course and 36.5 acre feet within the 18-hole course.

DiMeo Brothers was one of three bidders for the construction phase, coming in with a $19.64 million bid. Bernahl said the Village worked with DiMeo to shave more than $4 million from the costs. Options requested by the Winnetka Park District brought the final contract amount to $16.51 million — $14.86 million owed by the Village and $1.66 million by the park district.

With engineering and other ancillary costs, including the purchase of the storm traps and a contingency buffer, the total projected Village spend for the Willow Road stormwater project is $22.28 million.

More than $18 million of the cost will be covered by grants, including a $16 million from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The rest of the funding ($3.45 million), according to village documents, will be moved over from the stormwater fund, which had a balance of $14.2 million to start the year.

The overarching project is a five-year campaign to improve stormwater maintenance across the village. The estimated cost of the project has shifted from $75 million to $79 million, and Trustee Bob Dearborn requested more detailed timelines for when the costs will hit, with the context that inflation and other factors will constantly disrupt projections.

“The village needs to know where this is going,” he said. “This is the biggest project ever in this town, cost-wise. We’ve got it under control at the moment, but the world is kind of upset down a little bit. … I think we can put some meat on the bones of this project going out several years.”

The current backstop and parking lot at New Trier’s varsity baseball field.

The Village’s work north of Willow Road is underway and precede efforts from the school district and park district next year.

The plans for the site also include $5.3 million in improvements to New Trier athletic facilities that are slated to begin in the summer of 2023. New Trier has pursued upgrades to its baseball and softball fields for nearly a decade, and under this project will add a softball field, modern backstops, improved parking and walking areas, and a new locker room and restroom structure.

The changes are not only meant to modernize the fields but also will mitigate longstanding safety concerns at Duke Childs, where the varsity baseball field abuts Willow Road and features outdated fencing that allows errant baseballs to travel into traffic and the field’s small parking lot. 

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Primary Election Results: November matchups set for governor, secretary of state, MWRD board; Wilmette’s Julie Cho now rep for New Trier GOP

Tuesday was a night without many surprises as results from the Gubernatorial Primary Election set up ballots for the November General Election.

The unofficial results are provided by the Cook County Clerk’s Office and Chicago Board of Elections with more than 95 percent of precincts reporting as of 11 a.m. on Tuesday, June 29.

Headlining incumbents Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and County Sheriff Tom Dart dominated primary challengers.

Pritzker cruised past challenger Beverly Miles while Republican Darren Bailey dominated a six-person field by claiming 57.5 percent of the vote. Jessie Sullivan (15.7%), Richard Irvin (15%), Gary Rabine (6.6%) and Paul Schimpf (4.3%) rounded out the top five. 

Preckwinkle (75.3%) and Dart (86.6%) bested Richard Boykin and Noland Rivera, respectively, and will both run unopposed in November.

In one of the night’s rare contentious races, incumbent County Assessor Fritz Kaegi (53.6%) fended off Kari Steele (46.4%) and also will run unopposed in November.

For county board seats that represent New Trier Township residents, incumbent Scott Britton (D-Glenview) will take on Benton Howser (R-Wilmette) in November for the 14th District (Northfield), while Josina Morita (D-Skokie) will run unopposed to replace Larry Sufferdin (retired) for the 13th (Wilmette, Winnetka, Kenilworth and Glencoe). 

With 51.55 percent of the vote, Skokie resident Samantha Steele (76,940 votes) upended Wilmette resident and incumbent Michael Cabonargi (72,308) to represent District 2 on the Cook County Board of Review.

In a three-way race among Wilmette residents, Julie Cho (52.98%) topped Charles Hutchinson (31.02%) and Jasmine Hauser (15.99%) and is now the Republican committeeperson for New Trier Township.

Cho, who unsuccessfully ran for the New Trier High School Board of Education in 2021, promoted a platform of removing politics — including certain books and gender lessons — from local schools. Hutchinson is the board president of the Wilmette Chamber of Commerce and is also challenging Robyn Gabel to represent the 18th district in the state house. Hauser, a former Wilmette District 39 School Board candidate in 2013, is the current vice chairperson of the New Trier GOP.

Dean Maragos will remain as the township’s Democratic committeeperson after victory in an unopposed race. The Winnetka resident pledges to fight for abortion rights and voting rights, environmental protections and public education.

For four-year seats on the Water Reclamation District board, Incumbent Mariyana T. Spyropolous, of Chicago, will be joined by fellow Democrats Yumeka Brown, of Matteson, and Patricia Theresa Flynn, of Crestwood, in November against Republican Cary Capparelli, of Park Ridge. A tight contest for the two-year seat was won by Elizabeth Joyce (36.8%, 139,156 votes) over Daniel “Pogo” Pogorzelski (36.4%, 137,647) and Chakena Perry (26.8%)

Tom DeVore — known for spearheading a lawsuit against Prizker’s school-mask mandate — won the Republican ticket for attorney general with 44.3 percent of the vote. He will square off with incumbent Kwame Raoul, who was unopposed in the primary, in November. 

Alexi Giannoulis (Dem, 52.8%) and Dan Brady (Rep., 76.5%) handily won their respective primaries and will vie to be Illinois’ next secretary of state following the retirement of Jesse White.

Kathy Salvi (R-Mundelien) will take on U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth in November after besting a seven-person primary field. 

Both running unopposed in the primary, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a 12-term incumbent, and Republican Maxwell Rice will face off to represent Illinois 9th Congressional District (includes Wilmette, Winnetka, Northfield and Kenilworth).

Four-term incumbent Brad Schneider and Republican Joseph Severino will compete to represent Illinois 10th Congressional District, which covers Glencoe. 

For seats in the state house, local primaries were unopposed, as well. It will be incumbent Jennifer Gong-Gerschowitz (D-Glenview) against Bradley Martin for the 17th District (portions of Wilmette and Northfield), and incumbent Robyn Gabel against Charles Hutchinson, of Wilmette, for the 18th (Winnetka, Kenilworth, portions of Northfield, Wilmette and Glencoe). 

State Sen. Laura Fine (D-Glenview) will run unopposed in November for her second term representing the 9th District, which covers Wilmette, Winnetka, Kenilworth, Northfield and a portion of Glencoe. Fellow Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield), who represents a portion of Glencoe, will also run unopposed in November.

From the judicial ballot, Debra Walker (41.45%) and Raymond Mitchell (45.58%) will fill vacated seats in the county appellate court, and appointed to the circuit court were: Tracie Porter, Diana Lopez, Thomas Nowinski, Beth Ryan, Rena Marie Van Tine, Michael Weaver, Ruth Isabel Gudino, Araceli De La Cruz and Thomas Donnelly.

To read more about the judges, check out the Judicial Election Guide from Injustice Watch.

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