Police to stake out local Dunkin' Donuts rooftops for Special Olympics

 

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

Local police will be hanging out at Dunkin' Donut shops on Friday but these lawmen will be doing a lot more than chugging coffee and gobbling doughnuts.

For the 11th year in a row, police will be patrolling the rooftops of 150 coffee shops on the lookout for donations for the Special Olympics.

Officers will begin their quest at 5 a.m. at Dunkin' locations across the Southland.

The police want to heighten awareness of the Special Olympics and to raise money for the Law Enforcement Torch Run to benefit the Special Olympics. 

“More than $1.3 million has been raised from this event over the last 10 years and we’re hoping to set new records this year,” said Illinois Torch Run Director and Sherman Police Chief Eric Smith.  “It’s a wonderfully fun event that works.”

To meet their goal, police officers will have to top last year’s total of $240,000. They will get a helping hand from Dunkin' Donuts, which is donating $15,000 to the Torch Run fund.

Each customer who makes a donation will receive a coupon for a free doughnut. Customers who donate at least $10 will get a Law Enforcement Torch Run travel mug and a coupon for a free medium coffee. 

Other items will be for sale including T-shirts and hats. Some of the locations are also planning their own activities.

Lending a hand at the Dunkin' at 6925 S. Pulaski Road in Chicago will be Chicago Fire team captain Logan Pause and Fire mascot Sparky from 7-8 a.m. They will join Beto Carreto from El Patron 95.5 FM, who will be broadcasting live from 5-9 a.m.

Police will be on the roofs of these local Dunkin' Donuts:

• Brookfield, 9208 Ogden Ave.  
• Countryside, 5500 S. LaGrange Road
• Summit,  6144 S. Harlem Ave.
• Hickory Hills, 7847 W. 95^th St.
• Burbank, 8049 S. Harlem Ave.
• Alsip,  12150 S. Cicero   Ave.
• Chicago, 5615 S. Harlem Ave.
• Chicago, 6925 S. Pulaski Rd.
• Chicago Heights, 3225 Chicago Rd.
• Country Club Hills, 4021 W. 183^rd St.
• Crestwood,  13661 Cicero Ave.
• Dolton,  1136 E. Sibley
• Dolton, 250 Sibley
• Harvey, 16242 S. Halsted
• Lansing,  17733 Torrence Ave.
• Lemont,  1106 State St. (ground only)
• Lockport,  1069 E. Ninth St.
• Midlothian,  14631 Pulaski
• New Lenox,  970 Laraway Rd.
• Olympia Fields, 3252 Vollmer
• Orland Park, 11289 W. 143^rd
• Orland Park, 14461 S. LaGrange
• Orland Park, 8940 W. 159^th
• Orland Park, 15606 S. Harlem
• Palos Heights, 12807 S. Harlem
• Palos Park, 13029 S. LaGrange Rd.
• Palos  Park, 11901 S. 80^th Ave.
• Posen, 3101 W. 147^th St.
• Richton Park, 3937 Sauk Trail
• Sauk Village, 2703 E. Sauk Trail
• South Holland,  460 E. 162^nd Street
• Tinley Park,  7935 W. 171^st St.

For a list of all participating locations, go to www.facebook.com/DunkinChicago or www.facebook.com/SpecialOlympicsIllinois.

T.J. Maxx to open at Brookside Marketplace in Tinley Park

T.J. Maxx is going in at Brookside Marketplace in Tinley Park.

By Bob Bong
Southland Savvy

T.J. Maxx has signed a lease to open a new 23,000-square-foot store in a retail building at Brookside Marketplace in Tinley Park that was home to the Lane Bryant store, where five women were murdered in 2008.

Ohio-based DDR Corp. owns and manages the retail center at 191^st Street and Harlem Avenue.

One business in the building, Massage Envy, relocated into a 3,500-square-foot storefront at the north end as part of a reconfiguration of the space to allow T.J. Maxx to occupy the center of the building. Massage Envy opened in its new space on May 15.

Other tenants in the building include Cici Nails, Sally Beauty Supply and Performance Dental, who occupy space on the south end. There are two vacancies.

That part of Brookside Marketplace has lagged behind the rest of the development since February 2008, when a gunman killed five women inside the Lane Bryant store during a robbery gone wrong. The gunman has not been caught.

Matt Schuler, a spokesman for DDR, confirmed that T.J. Maxx signed a lease but had no details on when the new store would be opening.

TJX Companies, which owns T.J. Maxx, also operates a HomeGoods store at Brookside Marketplace.

The new T.J. Maxx is not the only new store coming to that part of Brookside Marketplace.

The new T.J. Maxx store will be the second location in Tinley Park, at least temporarily.

The discount retailer already operates a 32,000-square-foot T.J. Maxx in Tinley Park Plaza at 159^th Street and Harlem Avenue.

T.J. Maxx employees said the store would be moving out of Tinley Park Plaza into a new location within the village and the mall’s site plan indicated that location would be available in February 2015.

TJX officials declined to comment on whether the new store opening was related to the existing store’s closing.

“At this time, we have not made any announcements about Tinley Park,” Doreen Thompson, vice president of corporate communications for TJX Companies, said in an email.

Ale House Grill now open in Orland Park

Remodeling has been completed at the Ale House Grill in the former Jordan’s Pub at 13500 S. Harlem Ave. in Orland Park.

The establishment, which is surrounded by Cook County Forest Preserves, now has a main dining area on the first floor, an outdoor patio and an upstairs sports bar.

Jordan’s closed for renovations right after the Super Bowl in February and reopened earlier this month.

The new menu features American cuisine including Angus beef filets, burgers, pizza and seafood. There are daily specials and late-night and gluten-free menus.

Ale House offers dozens of televisions throughout the building so fans can follow their favorite team.

The main dining room is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, from noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday and from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Monday. The sports bar is open daily from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m.

For information, call 708-460-8330, visit Ale House Grill online or check out its Facebook page.

If you see a new business in town or wonder what happened to an old favorite, drop me a line at bobbong@hotmail.com.

You can also follow business happenings at Comings & Goings.

New Summit SD 104 board president says budget is top priority

New School District 104 board members were sworn in by state Rep. Silvana Tabares.

By Bob Bong
Desplaines Valley News

New Summit School District 104 Board of Education president Joe Kaput says his first priority will be to start easing the burden on district taxpayers.

"We have to start working on the bottom line," he said. "We'll start by tightening the purse strings."

Kaput said he is most concerned with a $34 million outstanding bond issue.

"I think it's ridiculous that a district our size has that kind of outstanding bond debt," he said. "That is way too high for the district."

Kaput said he would stop the previous board's policy of routinely asking for a 4.95 percent tax increase, the maximum allowed without asking for voter approval.

"That poses too great a burden for taxpayers," he said.

Kaput said one thing he has going for him was his experience as a school board member and president at St. Patricia Catholic School in Hickory Hills.

Kaput said he had an ally in his thrifty ways in Supt. Dr. Troy Whelan, who was hired last year.

"(He) has already saved us some money," Kaput said.

"We have been running $800,000 to $1 million under budget this year," Kaput said. "That's a really good start."

Kaput said he would try to save more money in negotiations with teachers on a new contract. 

"The contract is up at the end of June and we are in negotiations," he said.

He did say school closings were not likely to be a part of his cost consciousness.

"I don't know if that's feasible because of the number of students we have," he said. The district now operates five schools with an enrollment of more than 1,700 students.

Kaput also said he hoped curriculum changes would start improving test scores and help the students.

"It's all about the kids," he said. "We hired a curriculum coordinator to make sure all of the schools are teaching the same things so all of the kids are on the same page. That hasn't always been the case."

That will also eliminate having to teach some of the same things from year to year, he said.

Kaput downplayed the April election, which saw three independent newcomer candidates knock off three incumbents in a bitterly contested election.

"We're all going to work together," he said. "I think we have a very good board."

Joining Kaput as a school board leader was newly elected board member Sergio Garcia, who was elected vice president of the new board.

A crowd of about 100 was on hand to witness state Rep. Silvana Tabares swear in the new board members earlier this month.