Pretty incredible River Forest Board meeting, March 9. It can be watched by all by going to https://www.youtube.com/live/3wVd8XDwE.
All residents who made public comments about the proposed Madison and Ashland development had serious concerns about the proposal and/or the developer, who apparently has been brushing off the concerns of citizens right to their faces. Disrespect is not a good PR move, I’d say. The community must have trust in those who come in with ideas to hopefully improve our village. Brushing off citizen concerns does not create trust. To refresh memories, the Madison/Ashland developer is Viktor Jakovljevic, owner of Cigar Oasis, who has raised residents’ concerns before.
By the end of the public and board comments on March 9, Village President Cathy Adduci tried hard to distance herself and the board from the fact that Cigar Oasis would not vacate their site at Lake and Lathrop and, eventually, had to be evicted. She blamed it on what must have been the “relationship” with Marty Paris (discredited developer of the defunct Lake and Lathrop project). Adduci said the board should bring Viktor in to “talk about it.”
Why do that? Did she conveniently forget everything she said at board meetings in 2019? Cigar Oasis’ refusal to vacate caused a big problem. Adduci knows this is a troublesome businessman. So I’m wondering, as should we all, how the board chose this particular developer when he caused so much trouble for the village in the recent past. Sure, “talk to him” and give him a chance to say he’ll be respectful when what he has done has not been?
The rule of thumb is, “Watch what they do, not what they say.” What we should care about is that Adduci is supporting a contract with someone to develop Madison and Ashland, totally disregarding what he has done. What the heck, Cathy, with Lake and Lathrop still our eyesore? Groundhog Day, anyone?
Source:
River Forest Village Board meeting, Nov. 12, 2019_SVBOT_Extracted 2 pages.pdf
Phyllis Rubin
River Forest