Oak Park World (Newspaper) - February 2, 1977, Oak Park, Illinois 8 NO. 93 2, 1977 Single Copy 20t and CHRISTINE VERNON The bitterly cold day interviewed Tom and Irene DeCaro was a day much like the Jan. 3.one year ago when the DeCaro family home on Forest Avenue was destroyed by Reliving the night of the fire and its with the was a more chilling experience than the losing its home is. a but there is the added factor for the that this home is significant It is known as the Hills House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and it is a landmark who have children two married Roberta and a Tom and a a student at Triton often remark how grateful they are that no lives were in the Irene was in the hospital for two weeks with burns on her arm and neck suffered when she to the house for family not realizing it had already but she talks about the fact that she considers the real tragedy to be where there is loss of mentions the recent fires in Chicago where so many children adults recalling the sequence of events on the day of the both Irene aind Tom said that they had premonitions of Tom recalls that he had called his wife about 10 p.m. his office and that after hanging up he had his first premonition of fire one he said was repeated several hours Irene's were based on her uneasy feeling that trouble would visit the family in Jr. had fractured his ankle a week an mother had died recently and felt something else would happen awakened the family shortly before 3 a.m. ahd filled the house quickly with black Tom jr. ran to the car for a- fire the family marvels now how he maneuvered with a fractured ankle While Diane called ner estimates that he was home from his office on the Southwest Side of the Loop within six now at the uncanny path of the seemed as though someone had walked through the house will this and so Tom DeCaro he The plans to the house were on a side board on the first floor and the floor around it was yet the plans were the important things were he the there is a full-length bookcase about s 142 inches wide and in the four corners of the living room there are bookcases none of them were burned and none of the notes that though second floor was all but totally destroyed a wooden crucifix that hung on a on page 9, section everyone advertise their business service in our want ad a reader is satisfied with the workmanship or we ' want to be And If the reader does the we won t let him advertise i When you need to hire a able businessman tor home remodeling or ook to want ad section to find a nessman who is doing quality In your You find In Home in OP village and park district KAY district and village board election contests should fan the flames of local political issues in Oak Park until the April 5 there are no contests Park township and library board positions in the 1977 local filing closed Monday for the village township and library board Park District of Oak filing ended Jan. 24. for the park district's five seats on the board of commissioners are Warren D. 712 Si Harvey Donald 300 N. Rosemary 143 Linden Catherine 321 N. Past and David A. 429 Forest slate running under the banner of includes Robert 222 S. Elmwood Glen 823 Home Jack 822 Fair Oaks Robert 317 S. Grove and Thomas 301 S. Elmwood including outgoing village Trustee Is proposing a merger the park district and the village recreation department of the Village Party candidates on page 3, section 1 duplication of effort and administrative MERGE candidates claim that they will contract with the village to handle park district If the MERGE candidates will meet as park to levy taxes and approve independents hoping to improve park district programs are also James 530 N. Taylor president of the Oak Park Hockey and Stanley 822 N. Cuyler Village Manager Association la endorsing a full slate of village board and village clerk and selected by a The VMA candidates running under the banner of the Party include three incumbent village J. incumbent village 707 N. Oak Park incumbent village 206 S. Grove on page 3, section past in century gowns and seated on an elegant settee in the Mrs. Carol Taylor and Mrs. William Lozeau leaf through a family album of Mrs. Taylor's maroon daytime dress and Mrs. white hostess gown will be modeled at the fashion show for Oak Diamond Jubilee celebration ait 2 p.m. Feb. 6, at the Nineteenth Century Woman's 178 Forest Oak More highlights of the celebration on page 9, section 1. by Dan CHARLES GIAMETTA They're off and in River Forest but there's no one to run for village and township candidates backed by the rtew United Village Party were the only ones filed as of Monday's deadline signaling a a smooth ride into possible in CHARLES attempt at a negotiated settlement in the lawsuit by Federal Savings Loan Association over the mall head tax may involve an arrangement to have the Village of Oak Park rent spaces in the bank's private the WORLD chairman and president of 1001 Lake St. on the Oak Park Village said that if the village were to lease a portion of the 76-space lot for pUblic it could be one of the measures that could lead to a withdrawal of the an arrangement fell through some time fot reasons principals in the case cannot agree has sued the charging that the mall employe head tax instituted last March is unconstitutional because it against businesses within Special Service Area No. 1 the The suit says service-oriented businesses take full advantage of a retail deduction clause to lessen their tax burden and has asked the to refund the that mall businesses have paid on the Circuit Court of Cook County Jan. 7 ordered the village to freeze all funds collected by the tax pending further pays about in head one of the levies on the tax goes to subsidize the one-hour free and available tp mall development in the village last week asked the Directors of the lem Association to consider a resolution supporting the subsidized as t o the board voted to table the resolution with only Dennis owner of Murphy's Off the Mall the representative from Oak Park Trust Savings Bank voting not to president of the association and manager of Marshall Field 1144 said the resolution was tabled because the board of directors did not have enough detailed information about it to vote He also said such a resolution would have to be put before the entire 73-member association for a told the that powerful mall interests pushed for a tabling of the resolution so as to appear to oppose the businesspeople heavily opposed the intent of the suit when surveyed by the WORLD last majority of service-oriented mall businesspeople surveyed said they would rather pay the head tax if it meant a continued subsidy for mall Manager Jack Gruber said the resolution was not designed to oppose position but that it would be used to show support among merchants for subsidized decided not to force the issue and split the group so we backed Gruber I forced them into the it would confuse the whole said he recalled previous negotiations between the village and over the use of the bank's lot on Forest Avenue just south of the an saying the space was needed for employe and special tenant also recalls the negotiations but was not us but the village that expressed total in any arrangement at said the the village to rent part or all of the lot started us exploring the entire because now the bank had to pay to subsidize parking for other even though it had its own originally thought it was Domeier we concluded that it was Attorney Arthur Thorpe had no comment on details surrounding a possible negotiated hearing on the suit for March 10. Park budget cuts KAY gavel seemed to grow a hatchet blade at the Oak Park Village Board of Trustees second public hearing on proposed 1977 budget and federal Community Development grant application Monday when the board began axing programs and were not at the hearing the board in split tentative village staffing and CD Another hearing is scheduled for Thursday and the board hopes to make final decisions at the Feb. 7 village board 15 pages into the 85-page the village trustees tentatively cut about The budget is burdened million more expenditures than approved in budget cuts are for an assistant for a community relations department community from the board and commissions requests and for impounding board also reduced the staff auto allowance from a flat fee to 15 cents per of the CD grant which must be submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban was held prior to the budget The CD requests also felt the sharp blade of the faltering board voted to ax the playground if the Oak Park District 97 officials fail to design more tenant They also tentatively approved an increase to if the plan eventually meets their Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio Foundation request for and the Unity temple restoration request for were tentatively the village mall alley proposal increased from to to repair and resurface the Court alley behind the Marshall Field Co. store on the Oak Park Village decisions on the CD grant application expected next Monday to meet the federal Feb. 15 the 13 handpicked running for two library board positions will also run unopposed in the April 5 village hearing the news that no other petitions had James really find that hard to I thought the village was a more politically I thought there were groups that would want to get that I really expected said the absence of opposition will not curtail any of the plans to have the candidates go out and meet respond to the really hadn't solidified pending today's Duke we're Hot going to sit back and slide said he felt the a citizens party formally organized Nov. 17, 1976, made sweeping efforts to allow anyone interested in running for River Forest office to get group's 15-member nominating committee mailed out candidacy questionnaires to approximately 145 village party conducted about 20 personal interviews before choosing its village the has Bruce 56, of 619 Keystone a vice president in charge of inventory management and procurement at a Chicago has lived in River Forest six years and has been a member of the Oak Forest High School Board of He has also been involved in the Community Chest of Oak Park and River He has a bachelor of science degree from the University of Illinois and a masters in business administration from the University of Thomas 51, of 842 Keystone owner of Cusack Realty River has River Forest two years and has been chairman of the Fire and Police president of the River Forest Little a member of the Fenwick Fathers and involved in River Forest Boys He has attended DePaul Law Mary 57, of Continued on page 3section l
