Northbrook Voters! Your Eyes Don't Lie

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This April 6 election is a pivotal one for Northbrook. Decisions made by the next Board will set the direction Northbrook will take for many years to come.

Kathryn Ciesla and her crew, Collison, Pepoon, and Ebhomielen, tout their experience as the reason you should vote for them. Fortunately, you can see for yourselves what the Ciesla crew’s experience has brought to Northbrook, and what it will further embed if they are reelected. So, we invite you to take a spin through Northbrook and look firsthand at the results of the Ciesla experience.

First stop – Grainger. They paid $8 million for an empty parking lot contaminated with solvents and toxic organic compounds. They conducted all discussions in private and never held a public hearing, before or after the purchase. They failed to conduct due diligence. After the purchase, Ciesla and crew approached Metra to see whether it was feasible to move the train station two blocks south, to the Grainger space. It was not. Now it sits, just as you see it. Vacant. Off the tax rolls. An empty parking lot. The Ciesla experience – $8 million of your hard-earned money for a bleak, contaminated parking lot.

For our next stop, we drive up Shermer to downtown. Remember the old joke, “Where’s downtown Northbrook?” Unfortunately, after years of the Ciesla experience, the joke still resonates with Northbrook residents, who have seen nothing but band-aid fixes. The Ciesla crew tries to hide from the stories of businesses closing, construction snafus, and its own spats with the Northbrook Park District that got Northbrook Days cancelled. But your eyes won’t lie. The Ciesla crew owns it. Elect them again and expect more of the same stagnation. And ten years from now, you’ll still be hearing the question “Where’s downtown Northbrook” and seeing the faces of half laughter/half grimace that follow.

Further up Shermer to Dundee, we come upon the padlocked, weed-infested entrance to what once was a marvelous country club – Green Acres. As the sign rots, you peer inside to see absolutely nothing happening. It’s been this way for years during the Ciesla experience. The owner of the property has tried to work with the Ciesla crew. But instead of working with the developer to get something done – anything – the Ciesla crew limited the developer’s presentation to five minutes. The Ciesla crew has no intention of allowing construction to begin. Ever. So now we wait – you wait. Green Acres rots, the potential tax revenue evaporates, and the possibility of a great welcoming community in the gateway to Northbrook remains a mirage. This is the Ciesla experience on steroids.

Buckle up for the ride to Northbrook Court, what the Ciesla crew has called the jewel of Northbrook. But look – what they call a jewel has become a disaster. Macy’s lopped off; dozens of acres fenced and padlocked. No developer. They blame Covid, but this mess occurred before Covid. No, this crater you see is the handiwork of – you guessed it – the Ciesla crew.

But wait, there’s more! Recently, violent crime has spiked in Northbrook. You saw the news reports of the armed robbery in the Northbrook Court parking lot, the robbery by ten people of Nieman Marcus during which a security officer was hurt, the armed carjacking at Skokie Boulevard and Dundee. And you see warnings from the Village to lock your cars at night. Why? Car theft and break ins have become commonplace in our town.

The Ciesla crew is silent on the uptick in violent crime, either because they don’t want you to know about it or they have no intention of taking the steps necessary to fix it. Against this frightening backdrop, Ciesla and her crew want to defund the police. Of course, just before the election they have tried to deny it. But look at one of their biggest endorsements: the Acorn Collective, a fringe Marxist group that wants to abolish the police, abolish prisons, and abolish the military. Their word is “abolish”. The Ciesla crew publicly embraces their endorsement. The only logical inference is that if the Ciesla crew is re-elected, the Northbrook Police department will be radically downsized or dismantled completely.

United4Northbrook wants to change these things for the better. Now is the time. Please vote on April 6 for Gene Marks, Robert Burns, Chris Lay, and Ana Mendez-McGuinnes to represent you in these endeavors. Together we will fix or sell Grainger, bring a fresh, vibrant downtown to the Village, allow the creation of a thoughtful, environmentally friendly community on the Green Acres site, and bring a searing focus on raising Northbrook Court from death’s door. And we pledge to work every day on ensuring the safety and well-being of every Northbrook resident.

Paid for by United4Northbrook.

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