If you’ve driven past the intersection of 47th Street and Gilbert Avenue in Western Springs this week, you may have noticed an eye-catching steely-blue Chevy Corvette parked in the lot formerly occupied by the Western Springs branch of Maas Auto. Curious, we gave the “FOR SALE” number a call and learned that the flashy vintage sports car belongs to Ted Johnson, a planner who works in Oak Brook and a friend of the lot’s owner, who offered to let him display it there in hopes of finding an interested buyer. “I had it because I like Corvettes, and I’m selling it because I need room for more toys…

That light post up above belongs to Western Springs' Forest Hills resident Larry Odelson, and he's fairly sure that's not how he left it when tucking in on Tuesday night. Someone's early-morning Fourth of July partying appears to have gotten a bit out of control as several residents on and around the 5100 block of Lawn Avenue woke up on our nation's birthday to discover damage to light fixtures in their front lawns. The vandalism was reported to the Western Springs Police Department. In Odelson's case, his light post was completely uprooted, including its concrete base. The decorative "…

The week of spring break is frequently a quiet one in Western Springs, with many families out of town on vacation. But those youth who stay can often be found in the Village's parks and outside their homes, enjoying the warming weather and a week without school or homework. We took a camera and canvassed the Village, especially the public parks, early on Wednesday afternoon looking for kids (and a few parents) having some spring-break fun, Western Springs style. It was a breezy, relatively warm day, and we found some playground activity, casual sports practice and much more. Check it all out …

Okay, we admit it—this photo was actually taken over a month ago, when Design Studio held an official grand opening at 917 Burlington Ave. Pictured in the above image are (from left to right) business owners Paula Buttel and Carol King, along with Village trustees Deborah Lyons, Shelia Hansen, and Jim Horvath. But we only got our hands on it now, and we wanted to share! Design Studio actually opened for business in Western Springs all the way back in June, but held their official ribbon-cutting on November 25th. The photo is courtesy of Marty Scott, Village Director of Municipal Services. The…

If you were in downtown Western Springs at around 2:15 p.m. Thursday, you may have noticed that one of the cars parked on the 900 block of Burlington Avenue was… well, not like the others. That’d be the jet-black Knight XV, a hand-built and self-described “ultra-luxurious” fully-armored SUV, an “extreme vehicle” (XV) produced by Conquest Vehicles Inc. Weighing in at 13,000 pounds, this 2008 model originally retailed at $489,000, about the average price of a Western Springs house. In a review, TopSpeed called this behemoth “the picture of insanity and utter viciousness,” and offered it as “an …

Sometime between 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., a sinkhole opened up on the 4800 block of Fair Elms Avenue. Children walking home from school noticed the new opening in the street, and found it was unusually deep. The children notified a parent who called the police. An officer arrived within a few minutes to investigate and subsequently blocked off the street.  The width of the sinkhole is approximately eighteen inches across, but the officer estimated the depth to be a hazardous six feet. The policeman contacted Public Works who set up barricades and covered the opening to the hole. The sinkhole …

At the corner of 45th Avenue on Tuesday afternoon, seven Western Springs boys were running a lemonade stand, offering cups of either pink or yellow lemonade for 25¢. The youngsters were Peter Mikulski, Charlie Austin, Joshua, Andrew and Jackson Fowler and George and Peter Marinis. A few weeks back, in the thick of the heat wave, the kids raised $40 with a drive-through stand. Business was a bit slower Tuesday, but their spirits remained high. They intend to either donate the money or use it for a trip to the Kohl Children's Museum in Glenview.

With the snow from the Great Blizzard of 2011 finally gone, days of 40-plus degree weather are beginning to bring residents out of hibernation and back to Western Springs' parks. The weather was 43 degrees on Thursday afternoon, prompting Caleb Baron, 12, Billy Kreikemeier, 12, and J. D. Fallon, 13, to take to Field Park to kick a soccer ball around... somewhat erratically, but hey, they're rusty. A good time was had by all!

Remember the Western Springs water tower? No, not that water tower, the other water tower—the one looming over Spring Rock Park that actually still holds water? A construction crew from Deerfield Construction (Lockport) was in town on Monday to replace some AT&T cell-phone antennas atop the looming gray tower. Look closely for the basket at the end of the crane wire, carrying one brave worker up to do his job!

It might seem a little surreal that the Western Springs Historical Society's newest and proudest acquisitions are several signs that would appear to fit better in an Edina, Minnesota historical society. But these signs, of course, graced the Western Springs Metra station during the filming of Contagion last month—and saving them for the archives was a good deal more feasible than saving Matt Damon. Here, volunteers from the Historical Society show off one of the signs. From left to right: Jeanette Fanta, Phyllis Goodridge, Louise Olson, Betty Howard and Harriett Potenza, happily displaying …

Okay, I'll be the first to admit it: Western Springs is lacking in any type of high-octane (or even mid-octane) sledding hills, a trait it shares with much of the flat Midwest. But the little hills of Spring Rock Park were enough for these Western Springs families to get out and enjoy a white Christmas Eve. Enjoy the snow over your break, everyone!

The excitement surrounding tomorrow's filming of scenes from Contagion in town is palpable, and the shoot is the talk of town throughout the village. Patch managed to get a quick look inside the former Tischler's building, where a set has been constructed for a grocery store. Matt Damon's character Thomas Emhoff is expected to forage for food for his child in the store.

Four inches of snow fell on Western Springs over the weekend, which saw the Village on Sunday afternoon dotted with snowmen and other signs of winter fun. At the corner of Clausen Avenue and 45th Street, Mack Weber, 10, and Hunter Pendleton, 12, took on Pendleton's father in a war of attrition, building two huge snow forts and then hurling giant snowballs at each other's forts--and, of course, at each other. They called it Epic Battle II--the ruins of Epic Battle I, from Saturday afternoon, lay in two demolished snow forts across the street!

Before we all commit the biblical sin of gluttony on Thanksgiving (kidding!), it's tradition to give thanks to a higher power for the opportunity. A healthy congregation showed up for First Congregational Church's Thanksgiving service Thursday morning, where choir director Ray Klemchuk led the church's Chancel Choir in a Thanksgiving hymn. We are all truly blessed!

The Western Springs Newcomers and Neighbors Club was in Brookfield Zoo this morning, with about 10-12 families dropping by over the course of the morning, along with their kids, to add ornaments to the small pine next to the zoo's large carousel. The trimming was organized by Newcomers and Neighbors Club leader Caitlin Sendaydiego (red parka, near the tree.) If you're in the zoo this November and December, look in Lot 204 (east of the carousel, near the north gate) for a little Western Springs contribution to the trimming of the zoo!

Western Springs is leafy green in the summertime, and leafy orange in the fall--a mild chore for many adults, but pure fun for any kid who loves leaping in a big pile of soft colors. From left to right: Lily Ledonne, Katelyn Lambright and Dylan Ledonne enjoy a small leaf pile at the corner of Grand Avenue and Elm Street as the sun sets on Wednesday evening, repeatedly building it up and bounding into it. Fun!

Northeast Park, in the northeast corner of the village and of the Field Park neighborhood, has some brand-new playground equipment that was installed over the past two weeks. Jessie Stanner, 6, was trying out the monkey bars for the first time on Wednesday afternoon, supervised by her uncle, Tom Sloan, with her friend Miriam Throckmorton, also 6, looking on. Stanner didn't make it across on this bid--but her next try was successful. Several other Field Park kids were outside on the warm afternoon.

There's rules about how close you can put a politician's yard sign to a polling office entrance--but since the entrance to First Congregational Church is technically on Chestnut Street, this small forest of signs on Central Avenue outside the church (a polling station) on Tuesday is legitimate. Resident Katherine Price, pictured, walked through the signage en route to the church (where she is a member) on Tuesday morning.

Tuesday's windstorm wasn't quite as terrifying as advertised, but it still left plenty of debris around the village--mostly tree branches. Never fear: the Department of Public Works is on the case this Wednesday morning, with a worker here on the 1200 block of Walnut Street feeding branches into a chipper on the back of a truck. The workers were moving at a breakneck pace, so it's a safe bet that the streets of Western Springs will soon be clear.

Al Fischer, 79, a 46-year-resident of the village, blows leaves into a pile on his heavily tree-covered front lawn on Grand Avenue in Old Town Western Springs. With leaves already falling into the places he just cleared, Fischer, a retired chemist, says he's not striving for perfection--just trying to make his home a bit nicer-looking. (Read about fall tips for your own lawn here.)