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This is in regard to finding a new place closer to the Chicago area than the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery at Elwood, IL, which is south of Joliet. That cemetery includes places for cremains, and has room for 400,000 burials. The Fort Sheridan Post Cemetery is limited to those who made a career in the military, and those spaces are dwindling. Part of Fort Sheridan\u2019s acreage is also part of the Lake County Forest Preserve district, with regular guided tours for people who want to come and see the wildlife (mostly hawks) and the habitat. (Sorry, I don’t have a photo of the Lincoln Cemetery entrance.)<\/p>\n
What the VA wants to do, according to the article, is build a columbarium on a 15-acre site at Freeman and Mundhank roads, five miles east of the Arboretum (shopping center) of South Barringon, just off Interstate 90. It would offer room for 5,000 containers for cremains, along with a memorial marker, gravesite locator and parking.<\/p>\n
However, the potential neighbors of this proposal were adamantly against the idea, even though it will be near Paul Douglas Forest Preserve, named for the Senator from Illinois who was one of the oldest Marine seeing combat in World War II in the Pacific Theater. Mr. Douglas also helped to preserve the Indiana Dunes National Lake Shore.<\/p>\n
There are apparently all kinds of excuses: kids scared by the sound of blanks being fired from rifles, the sound of \u201cTaps\u201d depressing everyone, etc. but the NIMBY attitude is the real reason.<\/p>\n
Charles Selle\u2019s article is here:\u00a0 https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/suburbs\/lake-county-news-sun\/opinion\/ct-lns-selle-south-barrington-columbarium-st-1115-story.html<\/a><\/p>\n As Mr. Selle, the author of the article, tells us, it is less about finding a final resting place for veterans. It\u2019s about property values and that old bugbear NIMBY (not in my back yard!)<\/p>\n From Zillow: The median home value in South Barrington is $759,700. South Barrington home values have gone up 2.0% over the past year and Zillow predicts they will fall -0.9% within the next year. The median list price per square foot in South Barrington is $210, which is higher than the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin Metro average of $166. The median price of homes currently listed in South Barrington is $865,000.<\/p>\n I looked up current sales prices on homes in South\u00a0 Barrington. They\u2019ve gone up quite a bit since 1972, when I had a horse at a stable over in that area, something on the order of 1000% higher than back then. https:\/\/www.zillow.com\/south-barrington-il\/<\/a><\/p>\n While I can understand the desire to have a place closer to Chicago than the rather long distance down to Elwood, there are other places that might welcome the plan and provide acreage suitable for a columbarian.<\/p>\n One of those is land near the Illinois-Wisconsin state line, already purchased by the Lake County Forest Preserve District, and currently used as crop production until further notice. If the VA is paying for the development of this facility, then why not use land already in the FPD, with plenty of parking and access already in place?<\/p>\n The VA is taking public comment on the cemetery through Nov. 26, with a final environmental assessment due next month. However, as Mr. Selle indicates in his article, the VA can build the columbarium without village approval.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the link to the pdf of the VA\u2019s proposal: https:\/\/www.cem.va.gov\/CEM\/docs\/EA\/ALNC_Columbarium_Draft_EA.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n I could not find any VA contact info specific to this, but you could call their general number and ask about how to provide your input on it, if you like.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DSC0046-300x199.jpg\")
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