BROWNSBURG — Big changes to Lincolnwood Park could be on the horizon A master plan was presented to the Brownsburg Town Council at Thursday’s meeting The main features of the master plan include a pool Parks Director Amber Lane says these are amenities residents have been asking for “As the Town of Brownsburg continues to grow they want to continue to come inside the town to recreate," Lane said Rob Kendall calls the proposed project a monstrosity “There’s strong opposition to this because of the cost to the community," Kendall said The Town of Brownsburg purchased this 46-acre property in June 2018 Town Council President Travis Tschaenn says this project has been a long time coming “We’ve been talking about this project for six or seven years It’s been taking a long time to get to this point Hopefully this is the last one," Tschaenn said The project is projected to cost between $85 to $92 million Tschaenn says what comes next is figuring out how to fund it “That’ll be a decision the council has to make At that point in time we’ll make a decision to do a phase project a buy-operate-transfer or do a referendum," he said They’ll be accepting public feedback for the next 30 days That link is live on the town’s website. Tori Elvidge and Jonah Elvidge love and respect each other a sophomore on the Lincolnwood softball team — are providing the two spring sports in this tiny Montgomery County school with plenty of talent we both want to be a little better than the other one,” Jonah said “That’s just how it is and how we were raised.”  Not that they don’t try and one-up the other at the same time but I think there is some competition,” Tori said before adding with a laugh “I think I’ve got him in pitching — not hitting so much.”  Lincolnwood baseball coach Josh Stone sees all the Lancers’ athletes as the athletic director Not only has Jonah been a three-sport athlete for four years — golf basketball and baseball — but Tori is making her mark in basketball and softball He didn’t graduate?’ This is his final year,” Stone said “I’m sure a lot of softball coaches are like Where did this one come from?’ They constantly work and I bet (other coaches) are so tired of seeing Elvidge “Tori will probably score 1,000 points (in basketball) and if she doesn’t Jonah had 100 hits in his career last year and she probably already has 1,000 strikeouts There’s so many big numbers in that house because they work at it all the time they compete against each other and they’re also just great kids.”  More: Here are 32 area baseball players to watch in the 2025 high school season More: Top baseball performers: Chatham Glenwood's Grady Mueller delivers walk-off hit Jonah picks up a basketball and gets to work In his final season on the boys basketball team 1.1 steals and 0.8 assists per game and surpassed the 1,000-career point mark for the 14-16 Lancers “Basketball had always been a struggle for me until late but baseball’s always been my first love,” Jonah said it’s baseball where Jonah has had the biggest impact And last season was when Stone saw it all come together it just kind of fell into place,” Stone said “He’s the most competitive kid you’ll meet “He hit the six hole 80,000 times last year between third and shortstop He just had that swing working for him last year.”  “I like to say I’m a hard-working guy who does what he can for the team.”  He led the Lancers hitters last year with a .519 average (54-for-104) with 38 RBIs he was hitting .283 (13-for-46) and was 2-1 in four starts with a 4.88 ERA but had an impressive strikeout-to-walk rate with 26 strikeouts and eight walks “I had a really good year last year,” Jonah said “I always wanted to play baseball at the next level and then I got the opportunity from coach (Dominic) Milano at Harper I’m really excited for the opportunity and to keep playing baseball at the next level but I’ll definitely miss my family and my friends.”  Tori does the work Lincolnwood softball coach Matt Myers could go on forever singing Tori’s praises “She’s really got a bright future ahead of her “She puts the team on her back and she carries us She does a good job of it; it doesn’t seem to bother her any Every team needs somebody like that; I wish I had more of her.”  Elvidge had a .250 average with three homers and 10 RBIs as a freshman and went 3-6 with a 4.97 ERA and 66 strikeouts she's upped her batting average to .273 and had one homer and eight RBIs through 17 games Taryn Clarke was hurt in the Lancers' first game of the season so Elvidge is pitching most of the innings and is 7-8 with a 2.99 ERA and has fanned 153 batters Tori’s softball days grew out of time as a young child playing baseball with her brother Not only was she playing with boys and girls in t-ball and with a pitching machine “I always watched my brother growing up playing,” Tori said I learned to know the game and love the game and wanted to do it myself “Watching him pitch a lot inspired me to want to do it Tori knew she had more work in front of her so that definitely helps against better-hitting teams,” Tori said “But I think hitting is my most improved part of softball.”  She’s also comfortable emerging from her brother’s shadow “Jonah definitely started out the recognition but now I think I’ve got a name for myself a little bit and not Their days together will be less common starting in the fall with Jonah more than four hours from home but that can’t erase their memories together we were out in the front yard playing catch until we got older and we got more sports to take care of.”  Stone smiled at the siblings’ natural instincts to always want to be the best “I’m sure they compete at home over everything as well because they’re two of the most competitive kids I know,” Stone said Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com BROWNSBURG — The Brownsburg Parks Department is slated to present a plan to the Town Council for a new aquatics center recreation center and amphitheater at Lincolnwood Park on Thursday Town Council President Travis Tschaenn said they've heard the outcry from the community Residents want more things to do in Brownsburg "We looked at the economics of it and the area could use another one even though most of the towns around us have one Brownsburg is a community of 32,000 people Tschaenn says after the council hears the proposal they will discuss options on how to proceed with the project "My guess is we might go to a referendum vote on this and so the community would have the opportunity to vote for it if they want to have this in Brownsburg or not," Tschaenn said The Town of Brownsburg purchased the 51-acre property of Lincolnwood Park from the Tague family in June 2018 Wilbur Tague was very well known in Brownsburg and Hendricks County as a professional photographer and he always wanted the property to become a park He used to have his photography studio and a toy store on the property he looked similar to Abraham Lincoln and so he would visit the schools dressed as Abe and give history lessons The park is named Lincolnwood Park after his wishes and his love for Abraham Lincoln The proposal comes at a time when Brownsburg has seen growth marked by over $906 million in business investments since 2020 "When they put the tax caps in statewide that affected a lot of communities like Brownsburg where most of your tax revenue came from from residents who were capped at 1%," Tschaenn said "So we made a conscious effort to bring in more commercial business." The key development areas include the Ronald Reagan Logistics center One example of business investments is Main Street Dental which used to be the site of an old gas station The town says $15-million was invested to redevelop the site I thought this would be a wonderful opportunity - this corridor if we developed," Dr The racing team moved into its new 80,000 square foot headquarters in March of 2024 The building is a former Marsh Supermarket We're 10 minutes from the Speedway," HMD Team President Mike Maurini said "Everything that we do in motorsports is all within maybe a 15 to 20 mile radius of where we are now The town says the purpose of all the investment is to re-invest into the community We have a ton of infrastructure projects that have been put in the back burner for a long time and they're things that affect people's lives," Tschaenn said The splash pad at Williams Park is also being renovated and basketball courts at local parks are also getting re-surfaced Town leaders say there will also be more community events and programs this year Tschaenn said The Arbuckle recently opened its second building "There are mostly young adults living in those It’s exciting to see some vibrant life something to Downtown Brownsburg," Tschaenn said Brownsburg is getting two Wawa convenience stores and a Meijer store "We do know that Meijer is planning on bringing some restaurants along with it but we know that they'll likely have a couple restaurants are from their facility as well," Tschaenn said A Town of Brownsburg spokeswoman tells WRTV the presentation for the aquatics center project and a comment form for residents will go live on the town's website on Friday 2024 at 3:43 pm CT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}A 50-year-old resident of Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood robbed a gas station clerk and a commuter in Lincolnwood early Thursday morning IL — A Chicago man robbed a gas station clerk and a woman waiting for the bus at gunpoint Thursday morning in Lincolnwood before he was arrested in Evanston of the 4800 block of North Harding Avenue in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood in the 1700 block of Howard Street and charged with two counts of armed robbery in connection with the two incidents Officers had been dispatched to the first robbery at a gas station in the 4000 block of Touhy Avenue just before 6 a.m allegedly displayed a firearm and demanded cigarettes and cash While officers were investigating the gas station incident which took place just few minutes and about a block from the gas station robbery a woman who had been waiting for the bus in the 3900 block of Touhy Avenue told police that a man had threatened her with a gun and demanded her phone The gunman fled the scene with the victim’s purse and identification but investigators were able to quickly identify a car associated with the suspected robber and use automated license plate readers to track it down a Cook County judge ordered Patel jailed ahead of his next court appearance Nov Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts. 2024 at 11:58 am CT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Village trustees rejected options for bike lanes protected by plastic bollards IL — The Lincolnwood Village Board voted to forfeit more than $2 million in grant money to repave Pratt Avenue due to opposition to protected bike lanes Construction on the Pratt Lane bicycle lanes project had been due to begin in the spring five years after the village successfully applied for grants from the Illinois Department of Transportation which would have made the project effectively free for local taxpayers this will ultimately cost the village nothing," John Walsh the village's public works director said Monday at a special village board meeting If village trustees decide to scrap the project and give up the grant money since protected bike lanes were a condition of the grant's approval Walsh said the village would be looking to resurface Pratt by 2028 anyway "We would relinquish any of the IDOT funding that we have," he said if we don't get additional funding or reapply for some future funding the improvements would be at 100 percent village cost." Mayor Jesal Patel said a cycling route along Pratt Avenue would provide a valuable east-west connection between Caldwell Woods and McCormick Boulevard which connects with Evanston and Skokie's bike lane network "A bike lane and a bike path through the village is what we have been seeking It's what village residents have been asking for for years and it's also a critical connection for the regional bike paths," Patel said "But a meeting that we had six weeks ago raised some concerns." Pratt Avenue includes two lanes of vehicular traffic with on-street parking on both sides Some of it includes "sharrows" — the painted indication that bicycles have the right to use the full lane a petition opposing protected bike lanes was signed by representatives of 93 households 12 of which were located along the route of the proposed lane about a half dozen residents spoke out in opposition to the project snow plowing and the loss of street parking a Pratt Avenue resident and the chair of the village's environmental commission said some families in her neighborhood have so many cars they cannot fit them in their driveways and need to park them on the street "I would really love it if you could keep the parking lane," Ahmed said so a lot of people are using that parking lane," she said one of the residents who circulated the petition which calls for the protected bike lanes to be replaced with painted lanes said most residents she spoke to had not heard about the project "My concern was we would start constructions on Pratt I hadn't have any idea about this,'" Orth said "There's a huge percentage of people in this village who are still not aware of this plan." the board first began investigating the feasibility of bike lanes on Pratt Avenue in December 2019 After a January 2020 presentation of options the board then allocated money to study it into the 2021 budget staff applied for an Invest in Cook grant to fund the engineering study and received it later that year village staff picked Christopher Burke Engineering to lead the project and in June 2022 held a public meeting to present the project's scope though only nine residents showed up and staff received only four formal comments during the feedback period the project received IDOT funding through the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program program to support non-motorized transportation Officials awarded a contract last September and were on track to submit pre-final plans next month Trustees reached a consensus that bicycle lanes are the third priority behind automobile traffic and maintaining on-street parking spots Trustee Atour Sargon said the village should not be bound by the conditions of the grant funding even striping it can really change that look so I'm open to see what a paved marking would look like and what that would cost us and get feedback from residents at that point not to move forward and to relinquish this IDOT/ITEP funding is our best move forward," Sargon said my preferred method would be to keep the parking on Pratt and see if we can stripe bike lane," she said "and if not I would not be in favor of doing anything because I think it would really impact Pratt Avenue negatively." Only one trustee spoke in favor of protected bike lanes Trustee Craig Klatzco said he had been a cyclist for many years and has experienced crashes involving cars He said a painted line alone — the option favored by the residents petitioning against the protected lane —was unsafe since delivery vans and trucks park in it and drivers swerve into it and we'll create a problem where they're going to hit somebody knocked me down off my bicycle," Klatzco said "You have to have safety for the bicyclists and it's our responsibility to protect them [as well] as protect the residents," he added The village trustee brought up the 2022 death of 3-year-old Lily Grace who died after the bike her mother was riding was forced into traffic by a ComEd truck illegally parked in a bike lane In Niles Township, in the past month alone, two cyclists have been killed and another has been critical injured in crashes involving cars — all took place in locations without bike lanes "If we're going to have a bike lane," Klatzco said Studies in peer-reviewed journals have indicated protected bike lanes are significantly safer — for motorists and pedestrians as well as cyclists One showed streets with protected bike lanes had 28 percent fewer injuries per mile than streets without bike infrastructure and a 250 percent increase in riding Other studies show protected lanes reduce conflicts between riders and motorist better than painted lanes Scott Harris Hospitality has announced the grand opening of Mia Francesca in Lincolnwood on Thursday The new Mia Francesca location will offer the flavors of Rome and the surrounding regions of Tuscany Diners can choose dishes such as Pollo Arrosto alla Romana a chef's daily seasonal antipasti inspiration options like Focaccia di Recco and Roasted Beets Salad will be available A new feature at the Lincolnwood location is the Bubbles Bar offering a brunch experience every Saturday and Sunday This new addition will provide guests with a variety of sparkling beverages "We’re thrilled to bring Mia Francesca to Lincolnwood," says Scott Harris "This restaurant is all about returning to our roots and offering the classic Italian dishes that our guests love but also the sense of community and tradition that Mia Francesca embodies We’re excited to introduce this experience to a new area and continue the legacy that has been such a meaningful part of our journey." Sign up for breaking news from the Chicago food scene Tag your Instagram photos with #chicagofoodmag to be featured The varsity Greenville High School softball team suffered only the second loss in its first nine games on Tuesday at Raymond Haylee Clark and Ramzi Stefanisin recorded two hits apiece The varsity squad is back at home Thursday against Mater Dei The junior varsity Lady Comets earned a 6-3 victory  in extra innings over Lincolnwood Hailey Quade and Grace Cook scored two runs apiece Jana Glisson drove in a run with a base hit Grace Waters pitched for the local team and struck out three 2024 at 11:30 am CT.css-79elbk{position:relative;}A high-speed fatal crash on Feb 11 at Devon and Crawford avenues resulted in criminal charges filed Thursday according to the Lincolnwood Police Department IL — Authorities said a Maryland man was driving recklessly when he struck and killed a pedestrian earlier this year in Lincolnwood died from injuries he suffered when a car speeding down Devon Avenue plowed into him at its intersection with Crawford Avenues shortly after 4 p.m according to the Lincolnwood Police Department and the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office Lincolnwood police called in the North Regional Major Crime Task Force Detectives eventually determined the driver of the white Honda minivan was going at least 70 miles per hour when he struck Toomey investigators presented their findings to prosecutors who approved a felony count against the driver was charged with reckless homicide and speeding 35 or per hour or more above the posted speed limit which was 35 mph at the location of the crash In Illinois law, reckless homicide is the vehicular version of involuntary manslaughter Police said Ahmed was also issued traffic citations for improper lane usage Toomey, who was pronounced dead at an hospital shortly after the crash, was survived by his mother, wife, three children and five siblings, according to an obituary