Oak Lawn IL Real Estate News

A couple of weeks ago I received an e-mail (a filled out contact form from this website) that was pretty bizarre. It was from a person supposedly from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina who was inflamed about the schools in District 122 not being able to celebrate Christmas. He received some kind of e-mail regarding this and told me he was going to forward this e-mail to everyone on his e-mail list and those people will do the same. I won’t quote his exact words, but he was “spreading the word” so everyone would know about Oak Lawn and what this town was doing.

I thought about it for a while before I responded. First off, he implored me to reverse the decision. I thanked him for his vote of confidence but told him that I, personally, did not have this kind of power. I also chided him for getting so upset over a news story that he obviously didn’t follow up on, as Oak Lawn School District 122 is going to continue observing Christmas, Halloween and Ramadan. He didn’t respond back to me.

His e-mail bothered me so I did a quick search on the subject. I found many blog entries such as this one (note that one of the commenters claims Ramadan is not an actual Muslim holiday). Here’s another blog entry and one more out of many that I could put links to.

I’m not taking sides here but I am just showing my amazement at how quickly news travels and how people have now formed opinions on Oak Lawn IL because of this. It is hard to believe how a blip of a news piece about Oak Lawn Illinois could cause such a furor across the country.

The state has approved the use of these devices and there are plans to install them at 87th & Cicero Ave. in Hometown (might already be there, I’ll have to check) and at 95th and Cicero Ave. in Oak Lawn.  Two different vendors will be installing these.  Other towns with applications for the red-light cameras are Berwyn, Oak Forest, Orland Park, Worth and I’m sure we’ll be hearing about more towns utilizing these photo detection systems.  There are around 50 applications pending.

Towns choose high accident areas to apply for installation of these cameras and it isn’t to catch speed violations but to catch those who run red lights.  Although part of the set-up is in the pavement, the actual cameras will be mounted on poles so should be visible.  They are set to automatically take a picture when an auto enters the intersection after the red light.  Tickets are mailed to the offenders with a fine of $90.00.  And with today’s technology the offender will be able to view their infraction online!  Let’s see, we could call it “Look What You Did Tube.

What is interesting to me is that these already exist in many towns that were not part of the state’s jurisdiction.  This is the wave of the future and many more will be installed with a goal of having these cameras at 10% of all intersections with traffic signals by 2010.  Red light runners, beware!

17 Year Cicada

Originally uploaded by Zerp

Oak Lawn real estate is one of the top sales areas in the southwest suburbs with more total residential properties sold in 2006 (821 total properties) than in Orland Park (791 total properties), another popular suburb. But I have only found one actual cicada in my Oak Lawn backyard.

I know anyone that lives and drives around in the suburbs have been bombarded by these insects, especially when driving through the forest preserve areas such as in Palos Park. So cicadas must prefer specific areas over others.

I saw on the news the other day that one criteria for their selection of where they’ll emerge is where they were 17 years ago and one of the determinants for this is surrounding construction that disrupts their “habitat.” So it only makes sense that since they love trees they’re going to be around forest preserves more than developed cities, although they can be found all over.

My son, grandkids & I visited a Palos Park walking trail last week and my son almost wouldn’t get out of his van (he hates bugs). The cicadas were flying all over, especially in the parking lot and at the trail entrance. However, once we got onto the actual path it wasn’t bad at all. My son calmed down after a bit.

I’m not a lover of bugs but it seems they are pretty harmless. I will say that with their flying around and their size, if they hit you it is definitely felt. In fact, I swear I felt a little pinch when one landed on my leg. I have never had to wash my windshield so much!

I keep trying to explain to my 4 year old grandkids that they won’t see these again for another 17 years but I don’t think they understand. Sounds like we have about 2 more weeks of the invasion but I actually think I’ll miss them, and I also don’t like to think how old I’ll be the next time they arrive.

One of my favorite little dining spots in Oak Lawn is Millie’s restaurant located at 5172 W. 95th St., Oak Lawn IL 60453. The phone number is 708-423-9293.

Millie’s is a cute and quaint “parlor” that tries to bring you back in time with the wrought iron and wood dining tables, tin ceiling, snack bar and old time decor. It brings back memories of the drug store with a snack area my Mom and I used to visit when we lived in Blue Island. Continue Reading »

  

Snackville JunctionOriginally uploaded by marmotfotos.

While searching for a different story about dining al fresco in Oak Lawn I stumbled upon a sad story about dining in Evergreen Park. A beloved casual dining restaurant, Snackville Junction, closed its doors last Sunday, the 21st of April. I wish I would have known. Continue Reading »

We should be used to this kind of weather, shouldn’t we? I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it! I’m taking my first trip to New York next month and I’m hoping things warm up a bit. I hate cold weather. Makes me want to visit a warmer state like Arizona, Florida or Texas.

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I have to vent. Let me start my problem with something that happened to my adult daughter a couple of years back. As she was walking down a sidewalk in Oak Lawn just south of 95th St. and West of Cicero Ave., two rottweilers ran up to her and started circling. One jumped up and bit her on her arm (my daughter is over 5′ 10″ tall). She started screaming for help and the owner came out. He got the dogs away from her and explained, “They’ve never attacked a person before.” So I guess if I walked my little dogs past the house I’d be in court with this guy for allowing his dogs to run free and attack other animals.

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If you dislike Winter as much as I do it seems like Spring will never arrive. But it’s here today - dark, cloudy and rainy. But I’ll take it! Continue Reading »

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I think it’s interesting to find out about different areas and other agent’s views of these areas. For another article about popular states to visit or retire to please click the link. Here’s another article about relocation. And if you’re really interested in relocating for job reasons, personal, vacation home or retirement please call me at 708-536-8200. I have a huge network of great real estate agents I can refer you to.

I had the opportunity of working with a transferee from another state recently. Her office was moving to Chicago but she wanted to live in the suburbs. After a lengthy Internet search and study, she chose a few southwest suburbs to complete her search. Continue Reading »