Latest news with #Naperville-based
Chicago Tribune
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Naperville councilman McBroom, DuPage GOP, Awake Illinois battle District 203 over transgender female athletes
Naperville City Councilman Josh McBroom and DuPage County Republicans are among those attacking Naperville School District 203 over a junior high track meet at which it's claimed one of the winning athletes was a transgender girl. In a case that has evoked hundreds of online comments and national media attention, Naperville-based Awake Illinois Monday filed a federal Title IX complaint against the district with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. 'Some of the girls were left in tears (at the May 14 track meet),' McBroom wrote in a May 16 post on his Naperville City Council Facebook page. 'And parents are speaking out — not from a political place, but as concerned moms and dads who care deeply about fairness for our daughters.' He also made it a city issue by questioning why the Naperville office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, a department he has advocated for dissolving, did not speak out about the situation because 'residents deserve to see action when it matters most.' But it's also a subject that elicited support from area residents and the LGBTQ+ population and advocates, many of whom attended Monday's night's Naperville District 203 School Board meeting to laud the district for not yielding to the criticism. The situation is the latest in a series of complaints in Chicago and the suburbs centered on transgender students. Last month, Awake Illinois lodged similar allegations against Valley View District 365-U, which inspired passionate pleas in support of LGBTQ+ youth at a school board meeting for the Bolingbrook-Romeoville district. Chicago Public Schools and Deerfield Public Schools District 109 have also been subject to federal complaints over the past few months. Allegations against District 203 are tied to a junior high track meet held at Naperville North High School last week. Videos started circulating on social media of a Naperville student athlete winning events at the event alongside claims that she should not have competed in the girls' division. Posts have garnered thousands of views and hundreds of comments. In response, DuPage County Republicans on May 15 posted a statement on its Facebook page maintaining that female athletes 'should be allowed to compete fairly and safely in their desired sports.' As part of the statement, the local GOP linked to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in February under which transgender athletes are banned from participating in girls' and women's sports. On the same day, Awake Illinois weighed in, noting on social media that it was prepared to file a federal civil rights complaint against District 203, which the group made good on four days later. At the core of Awake's complaint is that District 203 is in violation of 'current Title IX protections.' Title IX is a 1972 law forbidding discrimination based on sex in education. Last year, the Biden administration finalized new rules expanding the law to also prevent discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. Those added provisions, however, were struck down nationwide in January after a federal judge in Kentucky found they overstepped the president's authority. McBroom spoke out on the situation on May 16 via Facebook. 'So here's my question: Where is the (city of Naperville's) DEI department now? Is its role just to host workshops and 'conversations'? Will it speak out on this issue?' McBroom wrote in his post. 'Will it engage the community? Or will it stay silent?' McBroom has not been shy about his skepticism of the city's DEI department. He has questioned the city's spending on DEI amid discussions over how Naperville will account for the $6.5 million in annual revenue it stands to lose when the state's grocery tax sunsets next year. In a guest column in the Naperville Sun last fall, McBroom wrote, 'Sharpening the pencil on the city budget is certainly in order and DEI should be on the short list of where to tighten.' Reached by phone, McBroom deferred to his Facebook post and declined further comment. Requests for comment from the city were not returned. In his post, McBroom also called on school boards and district leadership to 'lead.' 'Protect the girls in our schools. Step up. Take a stand. … We are watching. And we're waiting,' he wrote. The situation was also discussed in a segment of Fox News' America Reports Monday. People flooded the District 203 School Board meeting Monday night to speak for and against transgender student athletes and to denounce those who were sharing the student's identity and photo on social media. 'The use of a student's image, likeness or name to further a political agenda is abhorrent and unacceptable,' said Amanda Zigterman, parent of two District 203 students. 'Essentially, it is bullying on a local and national stage by adults who should know better.' But other parents and community activists were vocally opposed to biological males competing in sporting events against girls, saying it creates an unfair playing field and should not be allowed. 'What is the acceptable amount of genetic boys allowed to participate in girls sports divisions?' parent Jason Copeland said. 'If the answer is anything other than zero, that person isn't qualified to be on a board overseeing the protection and education of children at any level in this district.' More than 30 residents and community activists voiced their opinions for about 90 minutes. On one side of the room, audience members held up neon yellow signs with messages that included 'Protect Girls Sports,' 'Support Common Sense' and 'Defend Title IX.' The other side was filled with people waving flags supporting transgender and LGBTQ+ rights, wearing Naper Pride shirts and 'ally' buttons, and holding signs advocating for inclusion. Roughly two-thirds of the speakers voiced their support for the right of transgender students to compete in sports and criticizing those who would turn a child into a political pawn by spreading their image on social media. 'It's not just wrong. It is harmful,' Jon O'Toole said. 'As a person of faith, we are called to love our neighbors, to speak for the vulnerable and to make space at the table for everybody. That includes trans kids. Kids should be able to show up as their bold true selves, on the field, in the classroom, in their communities.' Playing sports is about teamwork, confidence and belonging, he added, and everyone deserves that chance. 'This is not about politics,' O'Toole said. 'This is about people. This is about a child who just wants to play with their friends and be accepted for who they are. We should be working to lift that child up and protect all students, not single them out for harm. Trans kids aren't up for debate. They are not a threat. They are not a problem that needs to be solved.' Parent Tim Thompson, father of two children, said he appreciated that the school board was upholding state law and allowing transgender students to compete. District 203 should be lauded for its support of inclusivity and not cowed into bending its beliefs by civil rights complaints. 'This is just another in a long list of ways that they are attacking and devaluing public education,' he said. '… Don't be fooled. It was never about a race. It was never about an athlete. This is an attempt to further marginalize a group and tell them they don't belong, that they aren't good enough.' Other speakers, however, said it's not fair to expect girls to compete against biological boys in sporting events. A student who was born male should not be able to take away girls' achievements, hard work and effort, they said. Parent Doug MacGregor noted that some parents spend thousands of dollars on sports coaches, training and camps for their daughters only to face unfair competiton due to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. 'When their daughter steps up for her chance to win a state championship or medal, she'll lose to a biological male,' he said. 'That once in a lifetime moment gone because of DEI's political agenda.' Parent Jenny George said there are clear disparities between male and female athletes. Her son, a high school track athlete, would rank first in girls' categories but is in the 300s when competing against boys, she said. 'Your job is to represent every student in this district, but you have turned your back on half of them,' George said. 'Women's sports exist to offer a competitive space for female athletes. When males enter those spaces in competition, it is women and girls who are pushed out — out of races, out of records and out of recognition. This is not progress. This is a huge step backwards.' Naperville resident Shannon Adcock, founder of Awake Illinois, said her organization is fighting for fairness and to uphold protections provided through Title IX. 'Now in 2025, you've got boys stealing girls' victories, leaving young girls sobbing on the track,' she said 'This isn't inclusion, it's oppression.' Adcock said she would like to see the $8.9 million the district receives in federal funding frozen until it abides by Title IX. The school board did not address the public comments, and no item was on the agenda related to its policies regarding transgender athletes. District officials declined comment after the meeting. A District 203 spokesperson also declined to comment, saying in an email, 'Please know that the district is committed to protecting the privacy of all students. In accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and district policy, we cannot and will not share personal or identifiable information about any student without appropriate consent.' The district adheres to the Illinois Human Rights Act and the Illinois State Board of Education guidance, they said, 'which prohibit discrimination in schools and ensure full and equal access to programs and services regardless of gender identity or other protected characteristics.'
Chicago Tribune
16-05-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Letters to the Editor: Adcock's Pritzker comments shows she's ‘asleep,' not awake; Medicaid cuts won't save money, but will hurt a lot of people
House Republicans released a plan May 9 that would cause millions of poor Americans to lose Medicaid health coverage. These cuts are being disguised as 'fiscal responsibility.' But let's call it what it is: An attack on working families, people with disabilities, children, and anyone who dares to get sick or injured in this country. Let's stop pretending this is about 'those people over there.' Medicaid isn't some charity program for a small group of others. One in four Americans relies on it. And that includes your neighbors, your coworkers, your aging parents, and — if life throws a curveball — you. Cuts to Medicaid don't just hurt those who are covered by it. They strain the entire health care system. When hospitals lose reimbursement, services shrink. Wait times grow. Your own private insurance premiums rise to cover the gap. Fewer therapists, fewer home care workers, fewer mental health providers, more ERs closing — and then everybody (regardless of private insurance or wealth) feels the pain. Many community health clinics, mental health centers and rural hospitals stay open because of Medicaid dollars. Cut that, and people in entire counties lose access to trauma care, emergency rooms and intensive care units. This is a life-or-death issue no matter where you live if you have a medical emergency while on the road. Medicare does not cover long-term care, and private insurance rarely does as well. The average cost of nursing home care in Illinois is $8,000 a month. Medicaid is the primary payor for 63% of nursing home residents. If your aging parent, your partner or you need nursing home care then you'll want Medicaid to still be standing. Medicaid cuts are a false economy. They don't save money. They just push problems downstream until they explode — on the streets, in overcrowded emergency rooms, and in your rising premiums. Medicaid is not charity. It's infrastructure. It's emergency Adcock, founder of Naperville-based Awake Illinois, which advocates for ethical governance, has been asleep at the wheel. In her May 11 letter to the editor, she condemns Gov. JB Pritzker and states he's no national leader for making what she considers reckless remarks that could promote disruption, incite unrest, foster intimidation and attack free speech, all of which are on prominent display by the current Trump administration. Republicans in general and President Trump specifically have lowered the bar for ethical governance and legality so much so that they trip over it every day. Pritzker's claim that 'Republicans cannot know a moment of peace' is a call to push back against those actions. To characterize that as an attack on free speech is laughable. Ironically, the Republicans haven't had a moment's peace since Trump took over the GOP. Pritzker's call for peaceful mass protests, mobilization and disruption are all legitimate ways for Americans to express their feelings on national issues and are, in fact, free speech, not threats to free speech or to fellow Americans, as expressed by Ms. Adcock. She is free to continue to express her divisive questionable rhetoric without fear of retribution for that same reason. Pritzker is already a highly respected and popular national leader and I hope one of many more coming to address the real threat to our democracy, which is the contempt, hatred, prejudice and madness running unchecked through the country.
Chicago Tribune
12-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Project to feature 113 townhomes approved in Oswego
Oswego trustees recently approved a 113-unit townhome development that was delayed after the 2008 housing crash. Sierra Tango Pine Ridge, LLC was granted approval to amend a major planned unit development and preliminary planned unit development and plat for Pine Ridge Club B which reflects a reduction in housing units. The 22.53-acre site is at the northeast and northwest corners of Mill Road and Heatherwood Drive in the village. In 2005, a final planned unit development and plat was approved for Pine Ridge Club, village planners said. The plans permitted 16 condo buildings with 16 units each for a total of 256 units. There were two sites identified for future multi-family apartment buildings with a potential 144 apartments which were not built. Four condo buildings with 16 units each and four garage structures plus a clubhouse were built. The underground utilities were installed for the site, however, construction did not proceed on the rest of the development after 2008. village officials said. Representing Naperville-based Silverthorne Homes, the contract purchaser, at the Oswego Village Board meeting was Carrie Hansen, director of Planning and Government Services for Oswego-based Schoppe Design Associates, Inc. The new proposed project includes 31 single-story attached ranch villas targeting customers who want to live on one floor, a housing need identified in the village's latest housing study, she said. The proposal also includes 82 conventional two-story townhomes. 'That's a reduction of a minimum of 79 units,' Hansen said over the original plan for the development. 'That's a density reduction from 8.5 dwelling units per acre to 5.0 dwellings per acre for this section of the project. The redesign has also resulted in the reduction of about 4.37 acres of impervious surface – quite a bit less pavement from the previous plan.' The Oswego Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the new project at its April 10 meeting. As a result of the group's discussion and input from residents, 10 parking spaces were added for a total of 25 guest spots, Hansen said. 'This was done to address concerns raised by neighbors who presently have parking issues in the existing condominium development,' she said. The Village Board vote in favor of the project was unanimous. 'I for one am very happy to see a reduction in density,' Oswego Village Board member Karin McCarthy-Lange said. 'I also am excited to see the ranch-style townhomes. I think that's a nice addition.' The proposed 31 single-story attached ranch villas will be constructed in the first phase, while the 82 townhomes will be built in the second phase of the project, officials said.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Subdivision with 59 homes proposed near Marmion Academy in Aurora
A new single-family home subdivision by national homebuilder Pulte Homes could be coming to land near Marmion Academy in Aurora. Harvest Point subdivision would contain 59 single-family homes between roughly 2,300 and 3,200 square feet with three to five bedrooms and two- or three-car garages, according to a presentation by Russ Whitaker, a Naperville-based attorney who represented Pulte at an April 9 meeting of the Aurora City Council's Building, Zoning and Economic Development Committee. Plans for the site are set to go before the Aurora City Council for approval at a meeting Tuesday evening. The vacant land where the subdivision would be built is on the east side of South Raddant Road and across from The Vineyards subdivision. There would be two entrances to the Harvest Point subdivision, both on South Raddant Road and both across from existing streets, according to site plans presented by Whitaker. Some houses in the Harvest Point subdivision would back up to the Kirkland Farms neighborhood, but there would be landscape buffering and not be any roads directly connecting the two subdivisions, site plans show. The site of the proposed subdivision is currently part of the Marmion Academy Conditional Use Planned Development, so City Council is also set to vote to remove the site from that planned development to create a new one for the subdivision. This is similar to what the Aurora City Council approved last month for the Abbey Meadows townhouse development by Lennar Homes, which is next to the proposed Harvest Point subdivision. Pulte has previously gotten approval for and built a number of other housing developments in Aurora. Most recently, in December, the Aurora City Council approved a Pulte townhouse development near Eola Road called Eola Preserve. The previously-approved Eola Preserve project saw pushback from nearby residents during the approval process, but Whitaker said when Pulte met with those living near the proposed Harvest Point subdivision, it was a 'very positive meeting.' The houses to be built in the proposed Harvest Point subdivision would be similar to those Pulte has built in the Lincoln Crossing development also in Aurora, Whitaker told the Building, Zoning and Economic Development Committee earlier this month. There would be five different home plans built in the subdivision, with each type having variability in square footage, number of bedrooms and type of garage, Whitaker's presentation showed. He said the subdivision would not look monotonous because of the difference in the homes. Basements would be standard for the houses, according to his presentation. A different Pulte representative at the April 9 meeting said the homes would start in the low $500,000 range, similar to what is being sold at Lincoln Crossing. If the project is approved, Pulte would look to break ground this year and start selling houses in the subdivision around March 2026, with all homes likely sold within three years, the company's representative said. In addition to items creating a Conditional Use Planned Development zoning for the site and approving the subdivision's plan, a third item related to the project would rezone a small strip of property that nearby homeowners have been using as their land because Marmion put up a fence that was not on their property line. That land is planned to be given to the homeowners, Whitaker said. rsmith@
Chicago Tribune
17-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Subdivision with 59 homes proposed near Marmion Academy in Aurora
A new single-family home subdivision by national homebuilder Pulte Homes could be coming to land near Marmion Academy in Aurora. Harvest Point subdivision would contain 59 single-family homes between roughly 2,300 and 3,200 square feet with three to five bedrooms and two- or three-car garages, according to a presentation by Russ Whitaker, a Naperville-based attorney who represented Pulte at an April 9 meeting of the Aurora City Council's Building, Zoning and Economic Development Committee. Plans for the site are set to go before the Aurora City Council for approval at a meeting Tuesday evening. The vacant land where the subdivision would be built is on the east side of South Raddant Road and across from The Vineyards subdivision. There would be two entrances to the Harvest Point subdivision, both on South Raddant Road and both across from existing streets, according to site plans presented by Whitaker. Some houses in the Harvest Point subdivision would back up to the Kirkland Farms neighborhood, but there would be landscape buffering and not be any roads directly connecting the two subdivisions, site plans show. The site of the proposed subdivision is currently part of the Marmion Academy Conditional Use Planned Development, so City Council is also set to vote to remove the site from that planned development to create a new one for the subdivision. This is similar to what the Aurora City Council approved last month for the Abbey Meadows townhouse development by Lennar Homes, which is next to the proposed Harvest Point subdivision. Pulte has previously gotten approval for and built a number of other housing developments in Aurora. Most recently, in December, the Aurora City Council approved a Pulte townhouse development near Eola Road called Eola Preserve. The previously-approved Eola Preserve project saw pushback from nearby residents during the approval process, but Whitaker said when Pulte met with those living near the proposed Harvest Point subdivision, it was a 'very positive meeting.' The houses to be built in the proposed Harvest Point subdivision would be similar to those Pulte has built in the Lincoln Crossing development also in Aurora, Whitaker told the Building, Zoning and Economic Development Committee earlier this month. There would be five different home plans built in the subdivision, with each type having variability in square footage, number of bedrooms and type of garage, Whitaker's presentation showed. He said the subdivision would not look monotonous because of the difference in the homes. Basements would be standard for the houses, according to his presentation. A different Pulte representative at the April 9 meeting said the homes would start in the low $500,000 range, similar to what is being sold at Lincoln Crossing. If the project is approved, Pulte would look to break ground this year and start selling houses in the subdivision around March 2026, with all homes likely sold within three years, the company's representative said. In addition to items creating a Conditional Use Planned Development zoning for the site and approving the subdivision's plan, a third item related to the project would rezone a small strip of property that nearby homeowners have been using as their land because Marmion put up a fence that was not on their property line. That land is planned to be given to the homeowners, Whitaker said.
