An Oak Lawn trustee reminded residents that the police are here to serve and protect and apprehend offenders.
Trustee Ralph Soch (6th) made the point during the Oak Lawn Village Board meeting Tuesday morning, referring to a recent arrest of a suspect linked to a series of vandalized vehicles that occurred in July.
“The police made an arrest of an offender who vandalized cars this past summer,” Soch said. “And just over six weeks later, the police force did their jobs through hard work by catching the offender.”
Hector Gutierrez, 31, of Chicago, was arrested Oct. 10 and charged with 41 counts of criminal defacement of property. He was arrested in Alsip after an off-duty Oak Lawn detective saw him and notified the Alsip police.
Gutierrez is scheduled to appear at the Bridgeview Courthouse on Thursday, Oct. 24.
Soch said the efforts of the police are sometimes not appreciated enough and he wanted to make clear they work hard to investigate, track down leads, and make arrests.
“Our police force arrests these offenders,” Soch said. “Sometimes people act surprised. And I say why should you be surprised? They just do a great job.”
Police Chief Daniel Vittorio also mentioned that additional charges against Gutierrez are being sought by the FBI.
Compost service
A representative of WasteNot Compost spoke to the board on Tuesday in an effort to see if there is interest in having the Chicago-based service in the village.
The company collects food waste in provided five-gallon buckets that can be left on the porch for pickup. After the first service, WasteNot will pick up the buckets on scheduled service dates and drop a new clean and sanitized one to use for the next service.
The biweekly collection starts at $20 a month. Mayor Terry Vorderer asked why is it necessary to have a contract with the village when residents could just apply for the service? The representative said they would prefer a partnership with municipalities.
The representative also addressed concerns about an increase in rodents. He said the service would most likely reduce any rodents because it would eliminate having excessive waste protruding from containers, which draws them.
Vorderer said they would consider the proposal and asked the representative to talk to Village Manager Tom Phelan.
WasteNot Compost had agreed to a year-round collection service for Evergreen Park back in June.
MG19 Salon Suites held a grand opening in Oak Lawn last month. The salon, which is owned by Oak Lawn resident Edward “Eddie” McBrearty and managed by Sarah Tyree, marked the occasion by stating that they currently have seven suites with various stylists and said they were confident that all 12 units will soon be filled.
Board members approved a special use permit for massage therapy to be performed at MG19 Salon Suites, 11040 S. Kilpatrick Ave., at the meeting Tuesday. They also approved the addition of a tattoo artist at the facility through a consent agenda vote.
“This is a great area because there is so many businesses around here,” McBrearty said at the grand opening. “There is a lot of traffic and we believe more people will be coming here.”
Early voting
Village Clerk Claire Henning said that early voting began Monday in meeting room C at the Oak Lawn Library and will continue through Monday, Nov. 4.
Early voting will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and Saturday. Voting will also take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays, Oct. 27 and Nov. 3.
The last day of early voting will be held from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 4, at the library. Village Hall will remain a polling place for the general election in the main lobby on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Vorderer emphasized the importance of residents casting their ballots in this general election.
“We fought wars for the power to vote,” Vorderer said. “Our democracy will fail if we don’t go out and vote. It doesn’t matter who you vote for, just go out and vote.”
Trick-or-treat hours
Henning pointed out that trick-or treat hours will be held from 3 to 8 p.m. in Oak Lawn on Thursday, Oct. 31.
What no raises for the village officials?
Why wasn’t the Village Manager at this meeting to discuss the waste food disposal?