The Daily Herald from Chicago, Illinois • Page 90

Monda y. Section 3 C24679C11U i ni ii ii Reader disagrees with boycott plan A stream of cars arrive for work at Sears in Hoffman Estates. Daily Herald File Photo INDUSTRY: Comdisco says location vital to its success Continued from Page 1 from his father to get the startup company going. Today, Comdisco is a $4.2 billion company with customers all over the world. Comdisco leases high-tech equipment to electronics, communications and businesses.

It also provides technology services, such as disaster recovery and network management. Its customers are generally Fortune 2000- level businesses. Company officials say Comdisco's Rosemont location was vital to its success. "It was so advantageous to be this close to O'Hare," said Mary Moster, vice president of corporate communications. "And the effect that we could get affordable office space here meant we could offer our employees other amenities, such as a day-care center, which keep us competitive." Another company with a long history in the suburbs is Amcol International based in Arlington Heights.

Amcol is a specialty chemical and mineral company. It supplies the raw materials that are used in cat litter and diapers. It was founded in 1927 and today is a $521 million company with an international customer base. "You don't have to be in downtown Chicago to be an international company," said Kimberly Rice, Amcol communications specialist. "We've always had customers around the globe, and we've been in the suburbs for more than four decades." The businesses that operate in the Northwest suburbs offer the region more than prestige.

They also help the local economy by bringing thousands of people to the area every day. "That's why so much retail and service-oriented businesses come out here, because they have a guaranteed customer pool," Moster said. And businesses give back to their communities in other ways. Sears, for example, created a multimillion- dollar grant fund in 1998, which will help family service organizations throughout the metropolitan area. Daily Herald staff writer Anne Schmitt contributed to this report.

To Mr. Brendan Cook, quit your whining and count your blessings that you live in a community like Arlington Heights. In a recent letter you urged boycotting the Cen. tral Business District. Let me tell you my experience with this group.

This past fall, the Rolling Meadows High School Athletic Booster Club and Teacher Parent Council Post Prom Committee approached downtown merchants for raffle prize donations for our annual Dinner Dance and Golf Outing. The response was overwhelming. Their business is down because of construction, yet these small-business owners continue to give and give and give. Now it is our turn to support them. If you care about our community, you'll continue to shop downtown Arlington.

Cindy Greenwood Arlington Heights Restaurant a bad idea Are the concerns before the Wheeling plan commission about cloth awnings for a restaurant in a retail business building being constructed in the Kmart parking lot at Dundee and Elmhurst roads a snowjob for irregular decisions already made? The building and approved uses were for retail stores, not restaurants. It appears as though structural changes were made to favor restaurant use before the commission made its related decisions and made recommendations to the village. Have the front windows been made smaller and a rear access eliminated contrary to the approved plans? If so, isn't that a violation and isn't the building inspections department responsible for posting stop work orders? The real question at hand is whether restaurants should be permitted in that business area. Are there any studies justifying restaurants or will the added new Ones hurt other area eating establishments? We do not need any more vacant stores in that area. There is a quote in the Dec.

10, Daily Herald, "I hope you don't lose a great tenant because you stick to your guns." What great tenant? The plan commission should stick to its guns or we may well be on the way to the return of having an old time Wheeling which the plan commission was formed to prevent. Frank Katsiroubas Wheeling Anderson case debate It's obvious from the tone of Nick Teramani's reply to recent letters written by my wife and me that he has extreme animosity for Gerry Anderson, and that this evidently clouds his ability to be objective regarding those Anderson-related matters which have been in the news. I'm sorry I have to be the one to give Alderman Teramani this civics and geography lesson, but the issues involving Anderson's mayoral candidacy and aldermanic seat involve interpretations of Illinois law, and thus impact all Illinois residents, including those of Mount Prospect. Call me old-fashioned, but I believe that write-in ballots should reflect the intent of the voters, and should be counted absent a legitimate ambiguity or unless clear and appropriate language on the ballot itself dictates that an mark "must" be inscribed within the voting box. David Orr (also not a resident of Prospect Heights) has expressed much this same viewpoint.

I also think it unfair that Anderson should lose his aldermanic seat by taking an "oath" for a resultant "invalid" office. Anderson played no part in tabulating his initial winning vote margin, nor did he organize the inaugural event during which the "oath" was administered. Note also that our state lawmakers could have cleanly eliminated this problem by prohibiting any inauguration for a public office prior to the time that filing a voting recount petition has elapsed, and prior to the circuit court issuing a decision on such a petition filed. Given the lack of guidance from Springfield, it seems ludicrous to penalize Anderson in this matter. Clearly, Anderson is within his rights to "challenge a respectable judge's decision," given that is essentially the purpose of the appellate level courts in our legal system.

(Alderman Teramani would probably be amazed at the number of court cases which are overturned in some fashion on appeal.) It may be that Mayor Rotchford's positions on the voting recount and aldermanic seat issues are legally correct. Legally correct, however, does not necessarily equate with morally correct after all, we live in a country where the highest court in the land at one time upheld slavery. Rather than being construed as "an attack" on Alderman Frank and Mayor Rotchford, I think Anderson's recent lawsuit should be taken simply for what it is: Anderson's attempt to regain an office of which he feels he was unjustly deprived. Since my previous letter, I have had the opportunity to review the memoranda of law prepared by Donald Kregens law firm in support of the motion for summary judgment filed on behalf of the City of Prospect Heights regarding this matter of the Fourth Ward aldermanic seat: While competently written, they are by neither voluminous nor do they involve what I deem to be "substantial" legal research. It thus appears a billing to Prospect Heights for legal services in the neighborhood of $18,000 to $20,000 is clearly Unwarranted.

Joseph F. Lenius Mount Prospect Students work to make holidays brighter for elderly Scholarships available to top students High school seniors graduating in the top 10 percent of their class from high schools within the Harper College district are eligible to receive a full-tuition scholarship to Harper. The college recently sent an information mailing about the scholarship to students who ranked in the top 10 percent of their class at the end of six semesters. The Distinguished Scholar Award covers tuition and fees for up to 60 semester hours of full-time study (two academic years). Recipients must attend Harper full time during the regular academic year and maintain a 3.0 grade point average.

The scholarship also provides Distinguished Scholars with an ongoing enrichment program of cultural, social, leadership and educational planning activities. For more information contact Bruce Bohrer, director of admissions, at (847) 925-6206 or e-mail Spring registration Spring registration is under way at Harper College. Students continuing or returning for classes at Harper for the spring semester may register through the touch-tone telephone system or the operator-assisted telephone registration system. The credit touch-tone registration system, (847) 925-1515, which is available only to returning students, will be operative Jan. 3 through 20.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fridays and 9 a.m.

to noon Jan. 15. Credit operator-assisted telephone registration, (847) 397-1100, as well as regular walk-in registration, is available Jan. 3 through 12. Hours are 1 to 7 p.m.

Monday through Thursday. Final walk-in credit registration for all students will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Jan. 13 and 9 to 11:30 a.m. Jan.

15. Late registration will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:30 to 7 p.m. Jan.

18 to 20. Classes begin Jan. 18. All new students who are taking HARPER college credit courses must file an admission application with the college and contact the Center for New Students at (847) 925-6208. There is a nonrefundable application fee of $20.

Spring Continuing Education touch-tone registration, (847) 9251010, is operative through March 31. Hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Fridays. Continuing Education operator-assisted registration, (847) 925-6800, is operative now through Dec. 23, from 8:30 am to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 Fridays and 9 a.m.

to noon Saturdays. From Jan. 3 to May 20, operator-assisted registration will be available from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 ajn.

to noon Saturdays. The holiday season can be a bleak time for the elderly, the lonely, or those in financial need. Buffalo Grove High School's Service-Over-Self organization, which has a membership of more than 200, has found many ways to brighten the holidays for those less fortunate. December volunteer activities have included gift-wrapping, collecting Toys for Tots, helping at the Lamb's Farm Breakfast with Santa and the OMNI Youth Services Christmas party, organizing a canned food drive for the homeless, and packing food for the HW Coalition. At the Salvation Army's Littlest Children's Christmas Party at the Medinah Temple in Chicago on Dec.

4, SOS helped by taking pictures, serving food, putting up decorations, and organizing games. At retirement and nursing homes such as Addolorata Villa and the Lutheran Home, SOS served as elves, sang, and visited with residents. They baked cookies for a holiday party organized for abused and neglected children, and bagged purchases at Kohl's Department Store for the Volunteer Center. All proceeds are distributed to groups who use the assistance of the center. Students also donated time to gift-wrapping at Barnes and Noble Bookstore, where proceeds went to Bear Necessities, a group that grants wishes to pediatric cancer patients.

SOS will continue to wrap gifts at Woodfield to help the Salvation Army till Christmas. Junior Marina Shpreyregina of Arlington Heights, vice president of public relations for Buffalo Grove's SOS, has been involved with the group since her freshman year. "We always try to help those less fortunate than us," said Shpreyre- gina. "By doing so, we not only help them, but also fulfill what we consider our service obligation to society." SOS members file in droves into Room C-100 each Wednesday after school, to meet and learn about new opportunities to serve. The group has a strong leadership base of student officers and is overseen by faculty sponsor Joe Taylor.

Speech team competes The Individual Events Speech Team at John Hersey High School competed at Proviso East High School's invitational tournament on Dec. 11, finishing fifth overall in a field of 23 schools. Individual medal winners from Hersey included the following students: seniors Kristen Boesel of Arlington Heights and Barb Yudell of Mount Prospect, fifth place in Humorous Duet Acting; senior Bill Wilson of Arlington Heights and sophomore Andrea Broscio of Prospect Heights, fourth place in Humorous Duet Acting; sophomore Jennifer LoSavio of Prospect Heights, fourth place in Original Oratory; junior Tim Troemner of Prospect Heights, fourth place in Original Comedy; junior Nikki Kra- sicM of Prospect Heights, third place in Dramatic Interpretation; sophomore Lauren Linke of Arlington Heights, third place in Special Occasion Speaking; freshman Meredith Cantrell of Arlington Heights, third place in Verse Reading; Wilson, third place in Humorous Interpretation; Boessel, third place in Original Comedy; senior Marcello Robinson of Des Plaines, first place in Radio Speaking; senior Alex Nicolici of Mount Prospect, first place in Radio Speaking; Troemner, first place in Special Occasion Speaking; and senior Anne House of Arlington Heights, first place in Original Oratory. Head coach for Kersey's speech team is Michael Bellito, assisted by Jim Schiferl and Christine Kandilas. College Financial Aid District 214 students and their parents are invited to attend a free session on financial aid for college, hosted by Rolling Meadows High School on Jan.

6 at 7:30 p.m. in the school's theater. The school is at 2901 Central Road in Rolling Meadows. Jim Ruoti, Dean of Admissions at Illinois Wesleyan University, will offer valuable information to District 214 families about the "affordability gap," financial planning and strategies to get the college finaiv cial aid that is available. For more information, call (847) 718-5660.

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