Historic Commission

Tuesday, December 21, 2021 I. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:09 p.m. Present in person: Nancy Flannery (Chair), Joe Szczepaniak (Vice Chair), Linda Moran, Bob Purdy Present virtual: Steph McGrath (Secretary), Lisa Buchanan Absent: Emelie Engling Public Comments: none II. Approval of Minutes Minutes of the November 16, 2021 meeting approved as amended on a motion by Joe, seconded by Linda, and passed unanimously. III. Old Business A. Landmark application: The updated application for 115 W. Oak was reviewed. Approval of the application for 115 W. Oak for the categories of Age and Architecture was moved by Bob and seconded by Joe, and passed unanimously. B. Landmark properties and Pride in Preservation signs: Some past property owners requested no sign be displayed during Preservation Month, but as the owners have changed, Nancy will contact them to see if they would like a sign displayed. C. 2022 lectures: Chicago Aurora & Elgin on March 16, 7pm at Wheaton Public Library by Brian Ostberg; it will be videotaped. Fires of Wheaton tentatively scheduled for May. There is also still interest in having one on the Theosophical Society. D. Historic Commission purpose statement: The updated statement was sent to the Mayor. Also asked about our proposed attendance policy. E. Resignation: Diane Burant has tendered her resignation. F. GIS project: No update. IV. New Business A. Attorney General: Discussed the recent filing against the Wheaton Historic Preservation Council. Used information from the IRS 990s and it is a civil case. Nancy met to inform the Mayor, but he said the City was already aware of the action. The City has published  a statement. There are two issues, one regarding finances and the other artifact and archival collections. Court date set for March 23, 2022, in front of Judge Bonnie Wheaton. Nancy encouraged everyone to attend as members of the public and if we are contacted by the Attorney General to cooperate. No one had any information on the alleged victims or survivors of the Eastland disaster from Wheaton referenced in the filing. V. Commissioner Comments Lisa: Attended the Cook County Hospital event. The building exterior was beautiful, but the interior was pretty institutional, being a past hospital. Steph: The Wheaton Public Library has added the research databases Fold3 and Newspapers.com, accessible from home. Fold3 is not just military records. It has an excellent collection of Chicago city directories that are easier to browse than on Ancestry.com. Also interesting things like files from the precursor to the FBI. VI. Adjournment Bob moved to adjourn, Joe seconded, the motion passed unanimously; the meeting concluded at 8:03 p.m.