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Lulu’s Ice Cream Social coming to The Clove in Buffalo Grove

Nikki Finke
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Lulu’s Ice Cream Social coming to The Clove in Buffalo Grove

Buffalo Grove resident Beth Kampner plans to open Lulu’s Ice Cream Social in Buffalo Grove’s The Clove next year.
Courtesy of Beth Kampner

A new ice cream shop with a local flavor is headed to Buffalo Grove’s The Clove.

Lulu’s Ice Cream Social is the brainchild of village resident Beth Kampner.

Kampner had been selling her homemade ice cream creations for delivery. But she now plans to occupy two of the retail spaces with a total of 1,800 square feet on the first floor of the apartment building at The Clove.

Located near McHenry and Lake-Cook roads, The Clove is the gradually unfolding redevelopment of the Town Center shopping mall.

Lulu’s Ice Cream Social is headed to The Clove in Buffalo Grove.
Courtesy of Lulu’s Ice Cream Social

The center’s developers and Kampner are working out the details of the lease. The target date for opening is spring 2025.

“We’re just finalizing a couple things right now,” she said.

Chain restaurants Guzman y Gomez, Panda Express and Chick-fil-A have recently opened at the Clove. But Lulu’s Ice Cream Social is the first local new business.

“I really want it to be about the community, where people can come and hang out and chat with their neighbors and meet new neighbors and just enjoy life in Buffalo Grove,” said Kampner, who lives on the Lake County side of Buffalo Grove.

Kampner’s background is in the nonprofit world. She has been doing technical consulting as a project manager for websites.

She said the seed for her ice cream business was planted when she attended a class focusing on changing careers.

“It was a monthlong class, and they really forced me to think about what I wanted to do,” she said.

One of the stretch goals was opening an ice cream shop. As it turned out, she had a friend in Michigan who quit her tech job to run an ice cream shop about a decade ago.

“The first time I went in there, I knew that was what I wanted to do,” she said.

Lulu’s promises to be a hands-on operation for Kampner. She plans to be on site to greet customers and wants to emphasize the social as much as the ice cream.

Lulu’s Ice Cream Social offers such varieties as black cherry, chocolate chip cookie dough, chocolate fudge, espresso caramel chip, sea salt butter cake, strawberry and blueberry cheesecake.

“It’s my creation,” she said. “We’re going to be making the ice cream ourselves in the shop.”

There will be two picture windows where people can watch the ice cream as it’s made.

“They’ll get to see the fresh strawberries go in,” she said.

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A new Christmas classic? ‘House Without a Christmas Tree’ creators, actors hope new musical becomes a holiday staple

Nikki Finke
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A new Christmas classic? ‘House Without a Christmas Tree’ creators, actors hope new musical becomes a holiday staple

Hoffman Estates native Julia Limoncelli makes her Griffin Theatre Company debut as a young girl whose grieving father refuses to celebrate Christmas in the premiere musical adaptation of Gail Rock’s “The House Without a Christmas Tree.”
Courtesy of Michael Brosilow

For a childhood filled with theater, Julia Limoncelli can thank her family and Lifeline Theatre’s children’s theater initiative KidSeries. The niece of writer/director/actor and longtime Lifeline ensemble member Frances Limoncelli, Julia Limoncelli can also thank suburban educators who arranged theater trips for suburban schoolchildren.

It was during one such excursion to a performance of “Frindle” at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights that the Hoffman Estates native first encountered Griffin Theatre Company.

“It seemed like Broadway at the time,” said Limoncelli, who was about 9 years old when she saw the show.

Some 15 years later, she’s starring in Griffin Theatre’s premiere musical adaptation of Gail Rock’s family-friendly, coming-of-age story “The House Without a Christmas Tree.”

Limoncelli plays Addie Mills, a young girl living in 1940s Nebraska whose widower father refuses to have a Christmas tree.

“It’s about family. It’s about grief,” she said. “It’s about having the tough conversations I feel everyone can relate to. It’s about problems between family members that are unspoken and what happens when we open up, talk about things and heal.”

Eighteen years in the making, the musical grew out of Griffin artistic director and writer William Massolia’s collaboration with composer/lyricist George Howe.

Their artistic partnership commenced in 2006 with “Sleeping Ugly,” their family-friendly adaptation of “Sleeping Beauty.” Life and other projects got in the way of their intended follow-up, and it wasn’t until late 2020 that they got serious about a second collaboration.

Howe suggested the 1972 television movie “The House Without a Christmas Tree” might be ripe for adaptation. (An opera version of the tale premiered in 2017 at the Houston Grand Opera). After securing the rights from Rock, they got to work. Massolia, an Algonquin native, began writing the libretto in 2021 and finalized it last summer over a 10-day writing retreat in France. Earlier this year, staged concerts of the show sold out both Easter weekend performances. The response encouraged the duo, who wanted to create a traditional musical, not a self-aware, ironic tuner.

“It’s a lovely little story,” said Massolia. “It’s funny. It’s heartwarming. Anyone can relate to the main character and her teenage angst.”

“It’s one of those stories where you’ll feel good after you see it,” said the writer, who hopes the show becomes part of the Christmas theater canon.

Julia Limoncelli, left, Darrelyn Marx and Molly Clemente star in Griffin Theatre Company’s premiere of the musical adaptation of “The House Without a Christmas Tree.”
Courtesy of Michael Brosilow

Darrelyn Marx believes that’s likely. This production marks the first time in about six years she has been on stage and the first time she has performed with Griffin since 2009’s “Robber Bridegroom.”

“I had stopped auditioning,” said the retired educator turned actor who taught English and theater for more than 20 years at Winnetka’s New Trier High School. “There aren’t many roles for a woman past 70. I thought it was over.”

She reconsidered after Massolia invited her to audition for the role of Addie’s feisty grandmother.

She found the book delightful and refreshing and describes the musical as deeply meaningful with song lyrics “that will tug at your heart.”

The great pleasure, according to the former Park Ridge resident, has been director Dorothy Milne’s cast of “outrageously talented” young people.

Fellow cast member Darrelyn Marx, 73, praised the young actors starring in Griffin Theatre Company’s “The House Without a Christmas Tree.” The “outrageously talented” cast includes Sam Hook, left, Andrew Greiche, Julia Limoncelli and Molly Clemente.
Courtesy of Michael Brosilow

“I find myself grinning from ear to ear,” said the 73-year-old. “It’s invigorating to work with this kind of professionalism and joy. I feel honored.”

Marx predicts “The House Without a Christmas Tree” will prove popular with audiences of all ages, especially teenagers searching for their identity and life’s meaning.

“Right now the world we live in is longing for truth, longing for something that matters,” she said.

To that end, “The House Without a Christmas Tree” is a gift, a reminder of what makes life worth living.

• • •

“The House Without a Christmas Tree”

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 29. Also, 3 p.m. Dec. 21 and 28

Where: Griffin Theatre at Bramble Arts Loft, 5545 N. Clark St., Chicago, (872) 529-0657, griffintheatre.com

Tickets: $35-$43

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Different roster, but Blackhawks again sit at bottom of NHL

Nikki Finke
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Different roster, but Blackhawks again sit at bottom of NHL

Boston Bruins center Morgan Geekie, left, scores on Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek during the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
AP

The Boston Bruins played an overtime game on their home ice Tuesday, then took a late-night flight to Chicago.

So this seemed like a great opportunity for the Blackhawks to create some positive momentum against a tired team. The Hawks scored a quick early goal, but for the rest of the night looked like the team that wanted to go home and take a nap, losing 4-2 at the United Center.

“We seemed dejected and that’s not a good thing,” Boston native Connor Murphy said after the Blackhawks’ fourth straight loss. “Just because we’re losing some games here, we’ve got to keep the paddle moving forward and make sure we’re being juiceful for each other.”

The story of this season is familiar by now. The Blackhawks sent most of their young prospects to Rockford, loaded up on veterans and planned to be more competitive than they were a year ago. Well, with roughly a third of the season played, they own the NHL’s worst record.

Their record at this point last year was similar, but then injuries started to pile up. The Hawks had a 2-10-1 stretch in December, then lost 15 of 16 during a slump that spanned three different months. Maybe they won’t be that bad this time around, but there’s no reason to expect winning streaks, either.

“We’re not happy with the record for sure,” coach Luke Richardson said after the game. “The guys are trying to work within the system and the right way. We don’t seem to have one kind of Achilles’ heel, there’s not one problem with our team. One night there’s one area, maybe our defense or a forward or one player. The next night, it’s another area by a different player.”

One odd thing about the Hawks being back at the bottom is strength of opponent seems to be irrelevant. They’ve beaten the team with the NHL’s best record (Minnesota) and lost to the second worst (Nashville). They have wins over defending champ Florida, Los Angeles, Dallas and Edmonton. They’ve lost to Anaheim, San Jose and Columbus.

Lack of offense has been the most persistent problem. They rank 30th out of 32 in goals scored, but slightly higher in goal differential, which has Richardson thinking they’re close to having more success.

“It’s just an accumulation of one-offs every game that put us behind the eight-ball,” he said. “At the first quarter (of the season), we felt easily with a little bit more focus an execution, we could have flipped that record. But that only happens when you do it.”

The Blackhawks got a quick opening goal by Alex Vlasic off a couple of sharp passes from Nick Foligno and Murphy just 1:23 into Thursday’s game. But they seemed to have no interest in carrying the momentum anywhere useful.

On Boston’s first goal, a slapshot in the slot trickled past goalie Petr Mrazek. Hawks defensemen Wyatt Kaiser and Alec Martinez stood nearby and watched as Morgan Geekie smacked the loose puck into the net. The second goal came off a cut the Blackhawks defense never saw coming. Then Brad Marchand flicked in his own rebound to make it 3-1.

When the Hawks finally scored again, it was because Jason Dickinson bounced a shot off the skate of one Bruin and the jersey of another. Geekie scored again on a breakaway goal five minutes into the third period and that was essentially the end.

The Hawks were hit by two delay of game penalties, plus too many men on the ice when they pulled the goalie at the end. They finished with just 22 shots on goal and were shorthanded for six of the final 11 minutes of the third period. So it’s hard to say there was just one problem for the Hawks on this night.

“No one else is going to help us except for ourselves, so we have to have an eternal strength to get through this,” Richardson said. “Maybe win a game 3-2 and maybe that leads to something.”

Officials break up a scuffle between Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov (91) and Chicago Blackhawks left wing Patrick Maroon (77) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
AP

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Palatine, Fremd game to feature fundraiser for foundation

Nikki Finke
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Palatine, Fremd game to feature fundraiser for foundation

Kendall Eich, left, with her parents Marty and Cindy at Palatine’s girls volleyball senior night in 2003. Kendall Eich died of brain cancer in 2021 and her parents subsequently started the Kendall Nicole Eich Foundation, which is having a fundraiser Friday at Fremd High School.
Courtesy of the Eich family

Kendall Eich liked to say, “No matter how far we go, our love goes further.”

Sadly, Kendall is not here to elaborate. The Palatine High School graduate, a volleyball player in the Class of 2003, died at age 35 in February 2021 of brain cancer. Diagnosed with glioblastoma at 30, her positive attitude helped her live four years longer than doctors projected.

Devastated yet resilient, Eich’s parents, Cindy and Marty, established the Kendall Nicole Eich Foundation to benefit, support and provide resources to other families dealing with brain cancer.

“We have learned through her journey how taxing it is physically, emotionally, financially,” Cindy Eich said.

“Like so many diseases it impacts so many facets of your life, so we determined we wanted to help other brain cancer families who are going through this.”

On Friday, Fremd is hosting a Brain Cancer Awareness Night during its girls and boys basketball doubleheader against Palatine. Girls tip off at 6 p.m.

It will include a fundraiser for the Kendall Nicole Eich Foundation and feature a display of photos and stories of other “brain cancer warriors.” As of Tuesday 19 people were to be honored on the “warrior wall.”

“I think it’ll be a nice way to acknowledge those folks,” Cindy Eich said.

One of the first families the foundation served was that of Dave Yates, the hall of fame Fremd girls basketball coach who died of glioblastoma this June 11. Kathy Yates, the coach’s wife, reached the Eichs about holding Friday’s event, Cindy Eich said.

The foundation also offers “Kendall’s Challenge” in the summer, a 42-day walking, running and biking event that this year drew participants in 36 states and four foreign countries.

As well, people may donate to the foundation at lovegoesfurther.org.

Cindy Eich recalled another of Kendall’s quotes as she battled cancer: “This isn’t a fight, this is my life, so instead of fighting I’m going to keep on living and enjoying every adventure.”

Her foundation is there to assist fellow adventurers.

“Through easing the financial burden, providing memories, making experiences or achieving goals, we want to be a conduit to helping them move forward in a positive way,” Cindy Eich said.

Four-peat?

The College of DuPage seeks to join Augustana, North Dakota State and Carroll College in Montana as the only college football teams to win four consecutive national titles.

Coach Matt Rahn’s Chaparrals (10-1) get after it at noon Saturday in the NJCAA Division III championship against North Carolina’s Louisburg College (8-2), in the Red Grange Bowl at COD’s Bjarne Ullsvik Stadium in Glen Ellyn.

College of DuPage is 6-0 in Grange Bowl appearances, which since 2021 have counted as national titles.

The Chaparrals are led by freshman quarterback Justin Bland of Glenbard North, who has passed for 2,934 yards and 36 touchdowns to just 5 interceptions.

The South Elgin duo of freshmen Michael Tringali and Mason Montgomery are two of the team’s top tacklers.

In the past three Grange Bowls, College of DuPage has won by no more than 5 points. This season its average margin of victory is 39.7 points.

Admission is $10. The game also will be livestreamed on ESPN+.

A prince of Dukes

Last Friday retired Hinsdale Central football coach Ken Schreiner told us he’d lost his friend, former York and Prospect football coach Gary Grouwinkel.

Grouwinkel, 88, died Nov. 28 at home in Mesa, Arizona, three years after the death of his wife of 62 years, Diane. Both were from Iowa, near the Illinois border, born about 28 miles apart.

“He epitomized what a program leader should be,” Schreiner said. “Respectful of those with whom he competes, modest in both victory and defeat, truly concerned about the student-athletes for whom he was responsible. Aside from that, he was a family person to be admired.”

The news quickly spread.

“He was an exceptional human, teacher and coach at York,” said athletic director Rob Wagner.

Grouwinkel succeeded throughout his career, playing offensive line for Iowa Rose Bowl victories in 1957 and 1959, a teammate of NFL Hall of Fame players Bob Jeter and Alex Karras.

Out of college he became a head coach at West Branch, Iowa. He won a 1963 state title at Ottumwa High before taking college assistant positions at North Dakota, Arizona, Northwestern and Florida State. Achievements, such as North Dakota’s two bowl wins, came at each stop.

An Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee, Grouwinkel went 31-24 over six seasons as Prospect head coach. He really got going at York.

The Dukes’ victories leader with a record of 108-63, from 1982-99 he led York to 10 playoff appearances and eight West Suburban Conference and WSC Silver titles. Before he arrived, York had won 14 games in seven seasons.

His successor, Terry Grider, was a finalist for the head job along with Grouwinkel. After Grouwinkel got hired he asked Grider to be defensive coordinator, a position Grider held throughout Grouwinkel’s tenure.

“He was such a great coach and person. He came into York and turned the whole football program around,” said Grider, set to fly in from North Carolina for the services with his wife, Danette.

Visitation will be held from 2-4 p.m. Saturday at Friedrichs Funeral Home, 320 W. Central Road, Mt. Prospect, with a memorial service to follow.

“He just had a way of dealing with people and making you feel good about the work you were doing,” Grider said.

He said Grouwinkel developed the “York football family,” which on Nov. 30 made its first state title game appearance.

“I know Gary would have been rooting for them,” Grider said.

[email protected]

Former York football coach Gary Grouwinkel, seated, is pictured at York’s 2022 alumni recognition game along with retired York dean and freshman football coach Phil Urbanski, and his daughter, Maggie Urbanski. Grouwinkel, 88, died Nov. 28 at his home in Mesa, Arizona.
Courtesy of York High School

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Tool Library of Lake County reopens at new location in Mundelein

Nikki Finke
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Tool Library of Lake County reopens at new location in Mundelein

After more than four months, the Tool Library of Lake County reopened last weekend in a new location in Mundelein.
Courtesy of Larry Lustig

After more than four months in transition, a homegrown volunteer enterprise and resource for do-it-yourselfers has reopened with a new name and location in Mundelein.

It took endless hours of prep work by dedicated volunteers, but the renamed Tool Library of Lake County is back in business in a larger, renovated space at 309 N. Seymour Ave.

“We’re back and everyone is pretty upbeat,” said Mark Wilson, a retired attorney and treasurer of the not-for-profit organization. “We didn’t know where we were headed.”

What had been known as the Mundelein Tool Library opened in June 2021 at the village’s former water division facility in the downtown area, not far from its new space.

Then, as now, it is said to be the only tool lending operation of its type in Lake County and in the region outside Chicago. With about 450 active members, the library is notable for its inventory of about 2,000 tools and pieces of equipment for check out at no cost.

The name was changed to emphasize that the service is available to all in Lake County and to clarify that it operates as a separate entity and is not affiliated with the village.

With redevelopment of the area pending, the library’s former home was sold by the village for a proposed brewery/restaurant and it had to move.

 
From left, Paul Kaufman, Brett Loding and Larry Lustig unload equipment from a trailer as part of the move Aug. 1 of the Tool Library of Lake County to its new home at 309 N. Seymour Ave. in Mundelein.
Joe Lewnard/[email protected]

The process started in mid-July and included packing, moving, upgrading and building out the new space, reshelving and cataloging inventory, and numerous other details.

“Fire safety, sprinklers, lighting, painting, you name it,” said Larry Lustig, a member of the organization’s board who owned a construction company for a number of years. “Most of our volunteers are retirees with hands-on experience.”

A core group, including Lustig, were indispensable, noted Van Miller, a Mundelein resident who originated and pursued the idea of a tool library after seeing a similar facility during a visit to Portland, Oregon.

“The work they have put in there is amazing, and their personal time commitments ridiculous,” noted Miller, a founding member of the library and board member.

After more than four months, the Tool Library of Lake County reopened last weekend in a new location in Mundelein.
Courtesy of Larry Lustig

However, besides the physical labor to ready the space, the move presented other considerations, notably funding and additional costs, as the library now pays rent.

“For our little organization, it absolutely is a challenge, but we have a sound plan and we’re on target with the plan,” Wilson said.

That includes a capital campaign to raise $45,000. To get there, a GoFundMe page has been created. Tax deductible donations from individuals and businesses have been received and local, state and federal grants are being pursued.

That includes a “generous” monthly donation to help with operating costs for the entire term of the lease from Hawthorn Management Services that has kept the tool library afloat, Wilson added.

An annual membership fee will be required and a small rental charge instituted for expensive or much requested items such as snowblowers and aerators, for example, Miller said.

Hours going forward are 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturdays and 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays. Thursday operations are expected to resume soon.

As always, tool advisers will be on hand to answer questions and advise patrons.

“It’s a feel good place to be,” Miller said. “I’m excited we are back open and look forward to engaging with the patrons once again.”

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Police ticketing at Palatine high schools violated law, unjustly applied to minority students

Nikki Finke
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Police ticketing at Palatine high schools violated law, unjustly applied to minority students

The Illinois attorney general’s office has completed a two-year study of the use of police ticketing as a method of student discipline at Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211’s Palatine and Fremd high schools in Palatine.
Daily Herald file photo/2022

The Illinois attorney general’s office has completed a two-year study concluding that police ticketing students at two Palatine high schools as a method of punishment violated state law and was disproportionately applied to minority students.

However, the 29-page report signed by Attorney General Kwame Raoul also found the practice had significantly declined at the Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 schools since the study began in late spring 2022.

“OAG finds reasonable cause to believe that the district engaged in a pattern and practice of directing Palatine police officers to issue tickets to students in violation of state law, and that this practice imposed an unjustified disparate impact on Black and Hispanic students,” the report reads.

Raoul’s report notes the practice has “largely ended” though.

While the report contends administrators at Palatine and Fremd high schools directed police to issue tickets, District 211 attorney Jennifer Smith disputes that finding, arguing district officials ultimately lack the power.

“Even if administrators had ‘directed’ the school resource officers or other police officers to do so, administrators did not have the authority,” she said. “The only body with the authority to issue tickets or make arrests is the village and law enforcement.”

Smith added Raoul’s report doesn’t address Illinois laws mandating certain conduct by students be reported to law enforcement either.

“At all times during this investigation, the district has offered to work alongside the OAG in an effort to timely and effectively improve any practices,” Smith wrote.

Palatine Village Manager Reid Ottesen on Wednesday said the goal of police presence is to maintain a safe learning environment.

“Everything that we do in the schools is done within the confines of what the state statutes allow for and what is expected by a Palatine police officer, or any police officer for that matter,” he said. “As long as the (district) wants us in the schools, we will continue to provide that safe environment.”

District 211’s three other high schools in Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg were not included in the study.

According to Raoul’s office, guidance was issued to all Illinois schools in December 2021 on complying with civil rights laws relating to student discipline, including a discussion of police officers in schools. Its study of practices at Palatine and Fremd high schools looked at data going back to 2018, however.

As far as the next steps in its monitoring of District 211’s Palatine schools, Raoul’s report stated, “Our work is by no means complete, and we are focused on collaborating with school district officials as they respond to the recommendations we have provided.”

Among the recommendations in Raoul’s report were reducing ticketing through written policies, requiring school resource officers to document alternative approaches like peer jury or substance abuse programs, and ending efforts to collect on monetary fines.

Daily Herald staff writer Steve Zalusky contributed to this report.

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Roselle library, village set in motion land swap plan

Nikki Finke
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Roselle library, village set in motion land swap plan

A rendering shows a planned new Roselle Public Library.
Courtesy of Product Architecture + Design

The Roselle Public Library District and the village are moving forward with a plan to swap properties now that voters have approved funding for a new library building on what is currently municipal-owned land.

The district secured voter permission to issue $22 million in bonds to create a neighborhood library on the site of the former Trinity Community Center. The village now owns that parcel along Maple Avenue.

Under the terms of their land swap agreement, the library district will continue serving patrons out of its Park Street facility until the construction of the new one is complete. The village, in turn, will take ownership of the existing building once the library moves to the new campus.

Roselle Mayor David Pileski hailed the agreement as an example of how “two different taxing bodies who have very different missions could work together in their respective ways to really create more value for their stakeholders.”

In addition to discussing a redevelopment of the current library property, the village will “engage the community in a broader conversation about the growth and vision for the Village Center in downtown Roselle,” according to a joint statement with the library.

“Us working together to support each other and our different missions is really going to give Roselle a unique generational opportunity that we have not seen since we developed our Main Street” 20-plus years ago, Pileski said Wednesday.

Now, there’s a lot of interest from retail and other shopping experiences, the mayor said, but there’s also a lack of “great retail storefront space.”

“I think, in general, what we’d like to do is see something that has the density of what we’ve seen Main Street develop towards, with that ability to have a mixed-use there,” Pileski said.

Roselle will leverage the same planning consulting firm the village used for its 2016 comprehensive plan to refresh “just this specific area,” the mayor said. Officials also will seek feedback from residents as well as business owners and developers.

“The other thing that we think would be really valuable is to have property that’s adjacent to our already flourishing downtown to help us make sure that we can expand parking as needed … Now, would I say we need a parking garage today? No, those are expensive, long-term assets,” Pileski said.

But, he added, “having that land available to us to reconfigure and do that once we hit the right kind of density and performance, that opens up a whole lot of future success for our area as well.”

Per the agreement with the library, the village will handle the demolition and site preparation up to $450,000. If costs exceed that amount, the village and library will need to determine cost-sharing. The district is “wholly responsible” for the construction of the new library.

“Of course, the library is excited, but when we talk to people who come by and want to know about when we’re going to get going, there’s just a lot of energy,” said Samantha Johnson, the library’s executive director.

The new library will include expanded areas dedicated to youth and technology, plus adjacent parking and a drive-up service window.

“We are now going to transition to the preparation stages for the new building project, which we anticipate will last throughout 2025,” said Library Board President Katie Smith in the statement.

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Rolling Meadows Hallmark store to close up shop after three decades

Nikki Finke
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Rolling Meadows Hallmark store to close up shop after three decades

Joelle’s Hallmark — a staple in Rolling Meadows for nearly three decades — is closing at the end of the year, its owner announced.

Tony Brescia says higher costs since the pandemic, coupled with the challenges of operating a brick-and-mortar store in a world increasingly reliant on e-commerce, led to the decision to close shop.

“It’s getting too expensive to keep the store going. Between rent and taxes and payrolls and all the other expenses that are out there, and with inflation, things are going sky high through the roof,” Brescia said. “Less and less customers are choosing to spend here versus the grocery store. So we’ve just decided — and we’ve struggled for a couple years — that this is better (to close).”

Brescia, with his parents, aunt and wife, Joelle, opened the store nearly 30 years ago at 3118 Kirchoff Road, within the Rolling Meadows Shopping Center.

 
Tony and Joelle Brescia opened Joelle’s Hallmark on Kirchoff Road in Rolling Meadows nearly three decades ago. Their son Alex holds a picture of Tony’s parents, Dora and Art, who also helped open the store.
John Starks/[email protected]

Brescia, who was in the direct mail business with his father, had been buying Christmas ornaments from a business associate who introduced him to people at Hallmark. They signed a contract with the greeting card manufacturer-turned-national retailer-turned-movie maker, stocking the storefront with Hallmark-branded cards, stationery, ornaments and gift wrap.

But as owners of an independent shop — branded with Joelle’s name, to resonate with the predominantly female customer base — the Brescias could also offer new and different things consumers might not find at another Hallmark shop.

 
Sheila Luciani, an employee of Joelle’s Hallmark for the past 17 years, arranges Christmas decor on shelves Wednesday evening.
John Starks/[email protected]

“I lived through the Beanie Babies craze. I lived through the Squishmallows craze. For years I resisted the fashion phase. But, you know, people came in for purses and scarves and jewelry. That’s been something that’s been going on for the last few years,” Brescia said. “We’ve always been the neighborhood gift store. I’ve changed our focus as my customers have wanted me or needed me to bring in what they want for gifts and things.”

And though December is one of the more popular times for people to come into the store for Christmas ornaments, box cards and other gifts, business has been difficult in general since the pandemic, Brescia said.

 
Joelle’s Hallmark, at 3118 Kirchoff Road in the Rolling Meadows Shopping Center, will close at the end of the month.
John Starks/[email protected]

“Our average card was $1.35 probably about 20 years ago,” he said. “Now our average card is probably closer to $7 or $8.

“The younger kids do everything online,” he added. “Since we’re a local store, and Rolling Meadows is a great place and people stay here, some of my customer base has died off.”

The Brescias say they plan to devote more time to the nonprofit they started and named after their son, Project ALEX Communities, which has the goal of developing a semi-independent living community for disabled adults and their families in the Northwest suburbs.

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Mount Prospect candidate removed from ballot, leaving board race uncontested

Nikki Finke
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Mount Prospect candidate removed from ballot, leaving board race uncontested

Mount Prospect village trustee candidate Jeannie Lee-Macatangay has been removed from the April 1 ballot.

The village’s electoral board on Wednesday upheld rival candidate John Matuszak’s objection to her nominating petitions, agreeing that they were not properly bound as required by state election guidelines.

Meanwhile, the board — consisting of Village Clerk Karen Agoranos, village Trustee Colleen Saccotelli and administrative law judge Christopher Cohen — dismissed Lee-Macatangay’s objection to the petitions of the incumbent Matuszak.

Barring the addition of a write-in candidate, the rulings mean the April 1 election will be uncontested, with Matuszak, fellow Trustee Terri Gens and newcomer Beth DiPrima running for three available seats.

Jeannie Lee-Macatangay

Matuszak’s challenge argued Lee-Macatangay’s petitions were not bound together as the law mandates.

“They were not fastened together, not even a paper clip,” he said. “The election code is very clear that the petitions need to be bound in some form or fashion, so the pages cannot be separated.”

Lee-Macatangay argued that the enclosed folder in which she submitted her petitions should qualify.

“The folder was closed on two sides,” she said. “And there was a flap on the other side. So it was secured on three sides.”

When she filed the petitions last month, she said, Agoranos told her everything was complete then removed the petition sheets and left the folder on the table for her to take.

But Agoranos said Wednesday that it’s not her responsibility as clerk to tell candidates if they’ve done something wrong.

“That’s not my job. That’s why we have this objection period,” she said.

The electoral board rejected Lee-Macatangay’s objection to Matuszak’s petitions on the grounds that a notary’s seal was missing from one of the pages. The board ruled Matuszak was still in substantial compliance.

John Matuszak

“The seal was on the other pages that this particular notary signed,” said Cohen, who replaced Mayor Paul Hoefert on the panel, after Hoefert recused himself. “And I think this is a case of substantial compliance.”

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Bensenville could change form of government after firing village manager

Nikki Finke
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Bensenville could change form of government after firing village manager

Frank DeSimone

Bensenville voters will be asked to decide if the village should change its form of government and have the village president take on a full-time role with a higher salary.

A vote on the ballot measure came just one week after Bensenville trustees terminated the village manager without an explanation.

During a special meeting on Wednesday night, village trustees unanimously approved a resolution to put a binding question on the April 1 ballot that will ask whether Bensenville should keep its managerial form of government.

They also voted to raise the pay for whoever is the village president if voters reject the managerial form of government.

Current village President Frank DeSimone is running unopposed.

No trustees spoke or asked questions before the vote.

In 1986, voters approved having the managerial form of government.

If the ballot measure fails, Bensenville will revert to a president-trustee form of government, where the elected village president runs the town full-time as the executive and administrator.

The board also approved an amendment to an ordinance that would increase the pay for the village president if that happens.

DeSimone is set to receive a salary of $33,000 in 2025, according to the village.

If Bensenville scraps its managerial form of government, the village president will be paid $135,000 a year.

In addition, the village president would become eligible to receive medical and dental insurance through the village. However, if the village president decides not to take the insurance coverage, the village president would receive an annual stipend of $15,000.

Resident Chris McCullough, who is running for trustee in April, addressed the board before the vote.

“Does not a single one of you have a moral compass that knows these actions are wrong for our residents?” McCullough said.

He asked the trustees to explain their votes. “Don’t you think we as residents deserve to know that?” he said.

Before the vote, DeSimone said village officials had discussed the proposed change for over eight years.

“Unfortunately, there are some in the community trying to spread disinformation,” he said.

Last week, the board voted 5-0 to fire Evan Summers, who had worked as village manager for eight years. DeSimone gave no reason for the dismissal during the Nov. 26 meeting.

“We are grateful for his service to the village and its residents,” he said at the end of the meeting. “We wish him nothing but the best in his next endeavor.”

Summers has said he was fired without cause.

The board appointed Police Chief Daniel Schulze as interim village manager.

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