A landlord must accept applications from all who want to apply. If he tells someone to not bother applying because they'll never be approved, then he's violating the law. Similarly, the Village can't tell LakeShore to not bother applying because we'll be violating State and Federal Law. It was explained to me that the Village Board has to act as the judge during the public hearing process. Judges can't decide the case before the trial. We don't know when the hearing will be yet, because there is NO application. Did you know the Village has regulations specific to adult entertainment? Does that mean the Village is actively pursuing strip clubs? Of course not, but you have to have the laws in place BEFORE an application is made or else you're discriminating against that type of business.

Be careful, if we push the Village Board to say this is a bad idea and they're going to stop it, then Lake Shore has grounds for an appeal if the site is denied. Like John just said, they have to be the Judges, and you don't hear judges making comments on cases before the trial dates are even set.

We suggested town hall meetings be held on the issue to keep residents more informed and if people of Morton Grove vote against Station Board must follow their will .We have thousands of HS students that will go past this dump every day. We will have residents that we don’t know what even might have happened to them in terms of their health issues.And what about increases in truck traffic on Oakton?

They came knocking on my door for a vote.........

After reading this article, I wonder if a patch reporter was actually in attendance at the Board meeting last night. It seems like the reporter relied on third party information (interviewing Mr. Maddex and Mr. Horne), but didn't actually pick up on the charged atmosphere in the room or quote some of the eloquent comments made by other residents who spoke at the podium. That's a total disservice to your readers. I was at the meeting because I, too, live close by and am concerned about the potential risks of having this business in our community. However, I agree with others on this thread that pointing fingers at the Village Board and making them out to be the enemy is counter-productive. It was clearly stated at the meeting last night (and if anyone takes the time to actually read the documents from the EPA's website) certain rules must be followed. The nine criteria is NOT something the Village Board came up with; it is the law. And steps must be followed exactly as mandated by the state and federal government or the Village will be in violation of the law and may possibly open our community up to expensive lawsuits. If you're angry about this, take it out on Lakeshore Waste. Write them letters, protest around their property. I was embarrassed, like Cynthia S., at the amount of anger and downright rudeness by my fellow residents at last night's meeting. Adults should be able to send a message without booing, jeering, or groaning. It was shameful.

I was also at the meeting last night. I was very impressed with the people who stood at the podium and spoke from the heart. There were residents who have lived their entire lives in Morton Grove and love their little town. There were residents who moved to Morton Grove from other countries and they spoke of their love for their beautiful new hometown. I did not think that anyone who spoke was "rude". They are hurt because they feel like they should have been informed of the possibility of Lakeshore Waste building a facility near their homes. There were also people in attendance who do not live near this site, but are very upset about this business proposal, it was not just a NIMBY crowd. We all want Morton Grove to be the ideal town we all remember. Lakeshore Waste is not the business that will help get Morton Grove on the track towards improvement. We are all sad that this is a possibility for a town that is held dear to all who ever called Morton Grove home.

What is overlooked here is the way the village government gave the approval for a go ahead to negotiations without making this issue more public. What was the big rush? Why did residents have to hear about it after the ground work was already put in place?
As for meeting decorum, you can't blame the residents for being upset about this entire affair. Expecting them to sit like school children in not realistic. Holding a Town Hall Meeting is like closing the barn door after all the animals have run away.
I think more positive action is needed now. If, as the village administrator pleads, this is in the hands of the EPA, people should be contacting our Congress representatives to intervene. It would be a good idea in any case, but I think the village still has the means to stop this. Morton Grove appears to be afraid of a law suit if they oppose this transfer station yet Evanston has no such fears. Mayor Tisdahl of Evanston has taken a strong stance against the current station and supports it's move to Morton Grove. She is more than willing to get rid of it. I suggest people look at the article in the Evanston Round Table newspaper of March 26, 2012 to read how Evanston is putting on pressure to move the facility to Morton Grove. Evanstonians have picketed their facility and maybe we should do the same.

IMHO this entire situation is a farce. Similar to what happened with the MEC mosque. In the end, residence of MG had NO VOTE OR OPINION because of the law stating that it is illegal to discriminate. Personally, I have no objection to the MEC or any other religious structure in MG. I just feel (felt) that that location adjacent to several busy streets was not acceptable for a house of worship. I do have objection to a "transfer Station" due to 1. Trash & Trash smell, 2. Truck traffic, 3. Rats & bugs, 4. Property values, 5. Health risk 6. Aesthetics,. etc..... But it really matters not, because we must follow the law.

I think the idea that there is "much to learn" is so ridiculous. I can only hope you folks with these silly comments aren't at all residents, but rather people either working for or having something to gain by this project. How in the world can you even begin to accept that a business like this is good for the neighborhood? People at the meeting standing up for Morton Grove and its residents should be commended and thanked!! I am proud to call them my neighbors!! People reading these posts at all moved by the "May-Be-But-Probably-Are-Not Residents FOR garbage" should remember there are millions of dollars to be made, thus why not have posts supporting the project on the internet. Or at least saying "HEY, MAYBE THIS IS A GOOD THING FOR A NEIGHBORHOOD"
There is nothing to do here but keep the fight going and do whatever we can to work together as a community to protect our home values, our health, and protect the good name of Morton Grove.

Any of the residents that are part of the committee to stop the garbage transfer site spoke very eloquently and with passion. They have no control over the actions that the rest of the audience display!!!!

By not doing even a reasonable job of notifying residents about this garbage project, the village government has shown us we cannot depend on them to look out for our
interests. I think we need to turn to the EPA officials and our Congresspersons to
help us with these issues. Even our State representatives might help. Has IDOT been informed about the huge amount of traffic to be going down Oakton should this
garbage transfer facility come in. Cynthia is dreaming if she thinks Morton Grove officials will look out for our interests. They are desparate to bring in revenue, no matter what the consequences. Mayor Staackmann should check what the mayor of
Evanston has said about this facility. No fence riding there or legal excuses. This thing has to be nipped in the bud. Not allowed to drag through the village committees wasting a lot of our time and energy on something the majority of residents don't want.

One last thought for Cynthia.

I can just imagine her living at the time of the American Revolution standing around a group of people planning the Boston Tea Party. She would be saying, take it easy
folks, no need to get worked up about your taxes. Just appeal to the British in a quiet
and controlled manner and they will respond positively. Well, it didn't work then, and it won't work now. I am not advocating revolution or violence, but if people are angry about their government, they have a right to express their anger in not so quiet fashion.

Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Morton Grove? Wait, what was that last one? I'm in total disbelief about the tenor of comments made on this site. Joe wrote "fight for your home and neighbors". Don writes about puppet governments and inexperienced staff. Sherwin is contradicting himself by talking revolution but not advocating violence but then saying it's OK to express anger? Haven't we learned enough about the dangers of anger with the recent incident at the mosque? If you're fighting for your life, family and civil rights in a lawless country that's one thing, but people - this is a suburban community in the USA! People have "fought" to make sure we have the right to vote people in or out of elected position who we feel best represent us. If you don't like those on the Board and think someone else could do a better job, then go run for office yourself. I'd look forward at comparing what you're all offering the public in comparison to those who are there now. Here's a thought, let's really "think" about a candidate's record and not let the mean and negative campaigns of national politics infiltrate us any more then they have. Maybe more reality, common sense and civility while considering our options? Bet those in some countries wish they had that chance. Cynthia S expresses what I truly hope is the majority opinion of our village. Sorry folks, if you want to fight that bad then enlist or go try some anger management classes.

Most knowledgable people know that the board has not approved the garbage transfer station. The village board made that very clear at their last meeting. What is
upsetting people is that by passing this resolution back in March, the village opened the door to negotiations with Lakeshore Waste Services. They did not have to do that! What made matters worse is that they did not give the residents any heads up
indications what the implicatioins of doing this would have. Their lack of concern for
village residents and the reputation of the village should have made it clear to them that this was an important issue that needed resident inputs BEFORE they entered into any relationship with the trash company. Can we now trust the village to be more open about any future deals with this company or others? The village has their own method of handling such matters. Relying on village web sites and publications is not realistic. Holding hearings and Town Hall Meetings after the fact is meerly a charade giving the appearance that they really care about what residents think.

To protect ourselves, I think residents have to turn to other governing bodies, such as the EPA, Congressmen, State Representatives, IDOT, etc. Start writing letters and make calls.

Again Cynthia, you are making remarks that you have no evidence to back up.

There is no evidence that the mayor of Evanston started this move to Morton Grove.
She did say she would be happy if it did move elsewhere and possibly to Morton Grove. You are making all these outlandish comments with no supporting evidence.
The mayor of Evanston is not the only one in that suburb who would like to see the garbage transfer station removed. Resident there have been suffering with it for years and were picketing that facility to move out. I don't think you can shift any blame for our missfortune on her. Lets focus again on our own administration.

I am wondering why you are so adamently defending the village administration here.
Since you are not giving us any details of who you are, where you live, and what possible connections you have with the village authorities, I can only imagine.

Cynthia, I think you should read your own postings. Here is what you said, and I quote "Remember where the suggestion came from that a transfer station was coming to Morton– EVANSTON’S mayor" . You are saying that the Evanston Mayor was responsible for choosing Morton Grove for this station. That is not what she said. She would be happy if Morton Grove would take it, but she did not get the
garbage company to consider Morton Grove. Big difference, but maybe it is beyond your comprehension to see it.
All your comments about the behavior of the attendees at the Morton Grove meeting are grossly exagerated. Were there rumblings in the crowd? Yes, but no screaming
or anything close to it. Your intention is to gag people so they cannot express their feelings. Some oif these feelings could have been vented at a Town Hall meeting preceeding the Village Board meeting, but that did not happen. Their offer comes a bit late and smacks of political maneuvering. Dan Di Maria, the trustee who proposed it, is running for mayor in the next election, so this was his way of gaining attention.
Morton Grove continues to hide behind the legal gobelygook and won't commit to an agenda where they consider the residents before some measily income.

Here is what I came away from the meeting with after listening to everyone and reading Patch comments. It might have been a good idea for people to vent their opposition and frustration but we must now move on. it was great to learn the specific legal steps in the whole application/approval process. It is not that important to know what if anything was discussed by the Village with Lakeshore Waste before. We wait for the formal application now and hopefully it will never be written. But if it is, we should at a public hearing document that the proposal represents at least a threat to public health and welfare which is a grounds for rejection. It must be so strong a documentation that it will stand up at appeals if the application is rejected by the Village Board. The Village Board must now remain neutral in word and deed as it is the "judge." A Town Hall would accomplish little as we have had heard the arguments and must now document the threat. The Village Board is aware now how unpopular this is and while they cannot say it-this might influence their thinking. Much of this is "legal fiction" but that is how the game is played. And talking about waste dumps in the "third world" as a very passionate speaker did is not what will win the game now. Emotion and blame must give way to detailed documentation at a public hearing to defeat the proposal if an application is received.

A public hearing has authority to pass or not pass on this garbage transfer station. They can make appeals to the trustees, but I have seen many times in the past where such appeals were for naught. Even the advise of village commisions has not been followed by the trustees.
In my mind, not taking a stance on this acceptance is tantamont to accepting it. The trustees will excuse themselves and try to pass the blame off to the EPA or some other excuse to justify their vote. As I have said many times already, the best hope for stopping this garbage transfer station is to bypass the Morton Grove village board and go to the State and Federal authorities to deny this company a permit.

Should have read "A public hearing has no authority to pass or not pass...".

I, like many other residents, was not able to attend this meeting. I was able to read the postings on the Village's website and I would encourage others to do the same. From what I heard, there are a lot of hot tempers. I don't blame anyone for that, but now that everyone has had their say, what do we do now? I don't think the Village can outlaw a dumping station, especially since the State regulates all this, and from what I understand, asking the Trustees to rescind the Host Agreement only eliminates Lakeshore's obligation to reimburse the Village for expenses related to the very tedious, legally required public hearings.

If anything can be garnered from the events so far, it would be the lack of concern for the well being of the residents of Morton Grove. This village board and mayor are more worried about expenses and law suits than what is best for the residents.
Giving the garbage company the signal that the village would even consider such an
abhorent facility should tell us that they are not to be trusted to protect us. Evanston, on the other hand has had lot's of support from their trustees and mayor, so that the garbage company has gotten the message that they are not welcome there. What can we do at this point. In the short term, I would contact our federal and state elected officials to intervene on our behalf with the EPA It seemed to work
when John D'Amico helped the residents to keep preserve one of our parks and keep another car dealership off of Waukegan Rd. In the long term, we should think about replacing the mayor and three of the trustees in the upcoming election.

Again with the personal and unfounded attacks...must mean you're running out any real arguments eh? Sorry Joe, you seem to be the one spewing the hate and misinformation along with Don and then there's Sherwin with a long history here of doing so. I hope you all find some peace in your life and stop looking so hard for a fight. Will you all also issue an online apology to everyone if we find out that the village board was following a proper path to do what's best for the village? If they don't, show they acted in our best interests, then I will apologize to you and the rest of the readers too. I think the REAL residents of Morton Grove know just what you, Don and Sherwin are all about. Stop the hate friends, it will kill you in the end. PEACE!

Lizzy, there is no shame in pointing the finger at those responsible for this mess. At this point, I would trust the state and federal governments before our village officials.
Your stupid remarks about washing out mouths indicates you have no clue as to what is going on in the village and you are probably a person of questionable intelligence.