Indian Head Park, IL. March 25, 2023 -- Several current trustees on the Indian Head Park Board of Trustees endorse Amy Jo Wittenberg for Mayor. “We enthusiastically support and ask for your vote for Amy Jo Wittenberg. Amy will bring strong leadership and comprehensive approaches needed to address the many important issues facing our community” read a statement issued by the three Trustees, Eileen Donnersberger, Charles Eck and Brenda O’Laughlin. Their endorsement went on to elaborate on Amy Jo Wittenberg’s accomplishments and plans for the future of the Village. See the LETTER from Trustees Donnersberger, Eck and O'Laughlin and the Uncontested Trustee Candidates Gazis, Saldana and Svestka.

Amy is a long-time 30+ year resident of IHP and has a deep understanding and love for our community. She grew up in Wilshire Green Condominiums and came back to raise her family in a single family home. She is a graduate of Highlands and LTHS, as are her husband and 2 children. Amy has served the IHP Community for the last 17 years in public office: - 8 years as an IHP Trustee - 9 years as a District 106 Highlands School Board Member This past year Amy led a group of concerned neighbors to steer the Wolf Rd. project toward incorporating a formal public participation and advocacy process. She has a voting record while on the Board of Trustees that shows she listens to resident preferences and votes on issues with that in mind. 

Zoom Meeting Cancelled Due to Technology Issues:
From the League of Women Voters of the La Grange Area · Thank you for everyone's patience with the Indian Head Park Mayoral Forum. We were unable to reschedule the forum. The candidates generously answered the forum questions in written form. LINK

OUR VOICES WERE HEARD! Wolf Road Advocacy efforts with 700+ petition signatures, proactive meeting attendance and communication of our expectations made it happen! This week, the Cook County Board reviewed the IHP Amendments to Wolf Rd. Reconstruction Intergovernmental Agreement that included a Community Advocacy Group process and invested an additional $400,000 for this project to make sure our Community has a voice! If you'd like to hear the details, see the link below for the short video! We are proud of this accomplishment and working together to get all stakeholders around the table on this important issue! Working together we already have accomplished a lot. When the plans for Wolf Rd were passively presented to us, without explanation as to why so many homeowners and so many trees would be impacted, we formed the Wolf Road Advocacy Group, to organize ourselves and effectuate change to the plans as presented. The Wolf Road project is not a done deal! We wrote amendments to the agreement and worked with the Trustees to propose said amendments to the County. Both Sean Kennedy and Tom Hinshaw fought us every step last summer on our requests, insisting that the road was a done deal and we couldn’t do anything about it! During last week’s meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, the Highway Department Superintendent presented to the Board the Amended Agreement for Phase 1 Reconstruction of Wolf Road. This amendment was possible thanks to the Wolf Road Advocacy Group's work and YOU, it now allows public input and flexibility in designing the road. The Amended Agreement will be fully in place in about a month. Listen to the moment the amended agreement is presented to the County Board and to what the Superintendent says about why this agreement is being amended. We did this and the final vote of the Commissioners will be in April!
LINK TO VIDEO:

Amy will ensure that the Wolf and Plainfield Road reconstruction projects are led with strong and collaborative leadership consistent with our residents’ preferences and needs. Our Community deserves strong leadership, communication, collaboration and innovative ideas as these important initiatives evolve from preliminary design to shovel-ready construction. For our unique community, ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL! The Wolf Road project initially proposed by the Village threatened to expand Wolf Road using a predefined roadway template, not addressing the unique needs of our Community. Amy envisions maintaining our tree-lined streets and natural residential environment, committing to work with resident advocacy committees and homeowner associations as these projects move through the planning phases into implementation. She seeks to achieve the best alternatives with partner agencies (Cook County, State of IL) that protect our residential environment, and minimize the amount of resident and commercial land acquisition, minimize truck traffic and provide safe roadways for both Plainfield and Wolf Road. This includes supporting safe routes to school for our children as well as protecting our natural green spaces and mature tree canopy that these re-construction projects can impact. Residents should never be surprised by the scope of projects near their homes nor should these projects negatively affect our green spaces, air quality or public safety — we must do all we can to ensure our neighborhoods are enhanced by these projects and look better than they did before construction. 

Many residents, including our seniors and retirees,  feel IHP fees for vehicle stickers have become too high and do not offer any senior discount. Also, many residents retirees and partial year/seasonal residents have inquired if our water rates could be re-evaluated  to see  if change could be made in  the way residents are charged for water delivery and usage. Amy is open to having these discussions to look for creative ways to lower costs for our residents but especially being sensitive to those seniors, seasonal/partial year residents looking for some flexibility.  

Amy supports economic development that emphasizes family-friendly amenities while protecting our natural and safe residential setting. She was instrumental in working with the consultant and the Planning/Zoning Commission in creating the planned unit development guidelines that provide a framework for any new development in the Triangle.  She suggests getting help from a real estate development consultant to evaluate options moving forward to improve the overall look and quality of retail at the Triangle.

Over the last decade, the State of Illinois has passed laws that allow semi-trailer trucks to exit the highway and use our roads for fuel, food, rest and delivery. Some Village officials try to minimize the volume of semi-trailer truck traffic, but the fact is that overall semi-truck volume has and will continue to increase in our area. Amy supports funding a Truck Safety Officer(s) within the IHP Police Department to monitor and enforce truck safety laws. See this video on the impact of these types of training  initiatives and programs: LINK TO VIDEO .  Amy would suggest being active in the Illinois Truck Enforcement Association, which is a group of law enforcement professionals dedicated to truck safety training and coordination - see this link for more information on their annual conference 3/10/23. - https://www.illinoistruckcops.org/annualconference and other resources for truck safety and enforcement.

Amy will direct a team to proactively acquire data and partner with specialized consulting and engineering services for practical water management solutions for the entire Village. She believes there are creative solutions to manage our stormwater and will partner with our residents, consultants, County, State, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and Chicago Area Metropolitan Planning organizations to improve these issues in a coordinated, organized, proactive and timely manner.  She supports creating a Residents Stormwater Taskforce, which other municipalities have had success with these initiatives over time with managing their Stormwater issues.

The Village is currently completing a facility study of the Heritage Center, Village Hall and Public Works facilities. At the last Public Works committee meeting in late February, IHP Administration mentioned that Heritage Center repairs and upgrades would be in excess of $300,000. We will be getting more detailed information in an upcoming Board meeting regarding the condition of the facility, and the detailed costs associated with making sure it is safe for public use and in accordance with the American Disabilities Act (ADA).  After the study is complete, and conclusions can be drawn, Amy supports bringing this information to the voters through a non-binding referendum.  Amy feels our constituents should directly guide our Board with their preferences for this facility.  A recent IHP resident survey of Heritage Center usage showed a majority of village respondents had NEVER visited or used the facility. 

Across the Village, residents are concerned about their safety. Robberies, burglaries, break-ins, car and catalytic converter thefts have increased in the Village.  Amy supports incorporating video security cameras at key intersections and entrances as a deterrent and also to capture important images if criminal activity occurs to facilitate investigations.