Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 35

Chicago Tribune, Tuesday, September 13, 1988 Section 2 3 Citysuburbs Loop lawyer, 35, Repair cost for bridge to double 'L' train i i i .1 iL inn in mm inmmi) iil .1 i.jui im I wii 1 r.i-n- i. --r -M rv i if i 1 mill Lrimi'iur'n. mm I I vr fi i -'it -'it I. iTiirtinrm i 1 'y 't HiJJi X- rV -i; L- -) 'I slain on By Henry Wood A Loop attorney was shot and killed Monday evening on a Lake Street elevated train when he refused to believe that a gun displayed by a robber was real, police said. Police identified the victim as Bruce W.

Plattenberger, 35, whose law office is at 205 W. Randolph St. Plattenberger, a 1977 graduate of Loyola University law school, lived with his wife and two children, 5 and 8 years old, in Oak Park, police said. Lt. Robert Angone, of the police mass transit unit, said the shooting took place about 7:50 p.m.

as the train was passing Western Avenue. Plattenberger was one of about 25 to 28 passengers in one car of the westbound train, Angone said. The incident began when a gunman held up one passenger in that car. The first victim gave the gunman $120 and a wristwatch, Angone said. After robbing the first man, the gunman fired a shot upward, Angone said.

Witnesses told police that after this shot, Plattenberger stood up and said: "That's not a real gun. I think it's a cap pistol." "Those were the last words he spoke," Angone said. The gunman fired two shots into Plattenberger's chest. A Chicago Transit Authority spokesman said both shots hit Plattenberger in the heart. The train stopped at California Avenue, and the gunman fled ac I i i iiihi.iii...ii Tribune photo by John Irvine The 5-year-old half-brother of Jaclyn Dowaliby stands outside the family's Midlothian home.

Girl missing and clues scarce 7-year-old vanished from Midlothian home 3 days ago MWf 1 11 UM.UUlM.I.IMIUWWiU.W( I niiii'i Hinsdale Hospital group seeks office park buyer By Joseph Sjostrom Police were struggling to find clues Monday in the disappearance of Jaclyn Dowaliby, a 7-year-old who apparently vanished in the middle of the night from her Midlothian home while her parents slept across the hall. The only other thing missing from the home on 148th Place in the south suburb appears to be Jaclyn's blanket. Police Capt. John Bitten described the blanket as having a floral pattern and a picture of a little blond girl sitting. Jaclyn is 4 feet tall and weighs 60 pounds.

She has brown, shoulder-length hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a nightgown with a floral pattern that matched her blanket. Because of the scarcity of clues, police could not say for certain Monday whether the girl was kidnaped by a stranger, was taken by a relative or possibly wandered away herself three days ago, Bitten said. She has no history of running away, Bitten said. Jaclyn is the daughter of Cindy Dowaliby and the adopted daughter of Cindy's husband, David Dowaliby.

Jaclyn's natural father, James Guess, is in prison in Florida, Bitten said. Jaclyn had been the subject of a court custody battle five years ago between her natural parents that was resolved in favor of the mother, Bitten said. The Dowalibys told police that Jaclyn disappeared between 11 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday when David Dowaliby saw the front door of their home open and discovered that Jaclyn was not in the home.

"We can't really call it a kidnaping," Bitten said. "We can't rule out a family member being in- companied by two other men, possibly accomplices, Angone said. Plattenberger was pronounced dead on arrival at Cook County Hospital. Sgt. Barbara Matula of the Harrison Area violent crimes unit described the shooting in a slightly different way.

Matula said the first robbery victim, a 58-year-old man who is also an Oak Park resident, was sitting at the opposite end of the car from Plattenberger. Their car was the fourth and last car of the train. After the gunman robbed the 58-year-old man, the gunman then walked the length of the car to confront Plattenberger, Matula said. Witnesses recalled seeing Plattenberger stand up and hearing a shot and then a second shot Plattenberger sat down, and the offender fled at the California Avenue stop. Matula said witnesses tried in vain to revive Plattenberger with cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Plattenberger was taken off the train at Kedzie Avenue and rushed to Cook County Hospital. Police took the names of the passengers at the Kedzie stop and later encouraged them to come to Harrison Area detective headquarters for questioning. Police also impounded the train at the end of the line. A neighbor of Plattenberger's said Plattenberger regularly took the Lake Street elevated to work. The neighbor said Plattenberger was "extremely well liked" in the neighborhood because he was social and "a friendly sort of person." Northern railroad tracks.

Hartsock said the decision to sell the office park was based partially on the village's refusal to allow Adventist Health to expand Hinsdale Hospital. "Ten years ago Hinsdale Hospital had a magnificent plan for redevelopment on the current site east of Oak Street, but the village and citizenry really objected, so we were advised by consultants to do it someplace else that is not residential," Hartsock said. "We purchased the office park to have a place to expand and eventually move the hospital but we ran into the same opposition as before," he said. "It does make a big difference in the future what you're able to do." Hartsock said the decision to make both sales was not based on financial difficulties but on a need to renovate the hospital and add new surgery facilities. "Adventist Health and Hinsdale Hospital are in very sound condition," he said.

"The current situation is that there are outstanding lines of credit that will be reduced, making additional credit available for major renovations at the hospital." homeowners have reached an agreement with the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority to sell their homes to the agency so it can build a new ballpark for the Chicago White Sox in the neighborhood, officials said Monday. Rowena West, president of Cleveland West and Associates, a firm helping to relocate the 80 neighborhood residents, said 98 percent of all homeowners have already accepted various authority options in order to meet a Thursday deadline. Under the White Sox agreement with the state, the agency must obtain title to all residential property on the site by Oct 15. Area transit projects in line for funding The Chicago area is in line to obtain $194 million in federal grants for a variety of highway and transit projects, including the Southwest Side rapid-transit line, according to provisions of the final U.S. House-Senate conference report on a transportation funding bill for fiscal 1989.

Of the $194 million earmarked for local projects, about $115 million would go for highway projects throughout Chicago suburbs. The remainder would go toward purchase of rail cars and construction of the Chicago Transit Authority's Southwest rail line running between Midway Airport and the downtown area; repairs on the CTA's Jackson Park rail line, the Loop elevated structure, and Jolict's Union Station; as well as the construction of a new station between Aurora and Naperville on the Burlington Northern railroad commuter line. By Neil H. Mehler The state wants Lombard to proceed with reconstruction of its old Main Street viaduct despite the doubling of the cost to $10.6 million, Village President Richard C. Arnold said Monday.

Arnold said that recently when village employees informed him that the $5 million project had blossomed into one costing more that twice that amount, he met with State Rep. Gene L. Hoffman Elmhurst) and an official of Metra, the RTA's commuter rail service, on the matter. Hoffman said the project was too far along to halt, Arnold noted, adding that because the village has $1.5 million in Build Illinois money for the work, Gov. James "Thompson and the Build Illinois people want it done, and they've got to see it through, also.

Hoffman said Monday he had only a vague recollection of having talked about the matter with Arnold, but because Lombard has relocated its commuter station temporarily fand the state and people expect it to be done, they need to go ahead and do it." "The underpass is of another period and time" and the is concerned only about trains moving atop it but he, Lombard and others are interested in traffic flow below it, Hoffman added. The old viaduct is to be replaced with one that will add a driving lane and a pedestrian walkway plus facilitate traffic flow by eliminating the center pier, which slows movement. Christopher Knapton, a Metra spokesman, said his agency's only involvement is to pay "in the area of $600,000 for platforms on the new bridge and some small related projects. Knapton said he didn't think Metra would pay for more than that even with a doubled cost. officials have called Lombard inept and guilty of mismanagement on the viaduct work, saying the bridge doesn't need replacing.

The village has insisted that the bridge is inadequate and that demands by the to enlarge the scope of the work are at least partly responsible for the doubled cost. Arnold refused to comment on the railway officials' accusations of improper handling of the project, saying he would only do so if he had one of his staff and a railway staff member "in front of me" so he could grasp the arguments on both sides. Lombard has petitioned the Illinois Commerce Commission to assign the added cost of almost $5.4 million to the participants, which are the village, state, Metra and railway. But Lombard also hopes that it won't have to pay much of that, because its original share was to be only $57,278 when a $5 million cost was envisioned. This later rose to $300,000.

Hoffman said when asked whether he would try to get more money for Lombard for the added viaduct bill, "Certainly they're in a position to ask, and we'll respond to the degree that we can." Metropolitan report Du Page County Appeal sought over ruling on zoning A Du Page County board committee agreed Monday to ask the full board to reconsider its decision not to appeal a court ruling clearing the way for construction of five large tanks to hold Lake Michigan water. The Finance Committee voted to take the issue to the board on Tuesday at the request of board members from District 5. They plan to argue again that the board should appeal Du Page Circuit Court Judge Bruce Scidmore's ruling that the Du Page Water Commission is not bound by county zoning rules. For months, the county has fought to make the state-created commission follow county rules in the commission's attempts to bring Lake Michigan water to Du Page. The judge ruled that state-created agencies do not have to follow local zoning regulations.

Glen Ellyn Park district seeks $1.2 million grant The Glen Ellyn Park District is applying for a $1.2 million state grant to pay for dredging work and improvements at Lake Efiyn Park. The park board on Saturday approved seeking an Open Space Land Acquisition Development grant. Park Director Lois Gordon said that besides the dredging, the grant would pay for the renovation of the lake's boat house and renova 2 feet wide and 1 8 inches high, big enough for someone to crawl through. Bitten said broken glass was found at the bottom of the window. David Dowaliby's mother, Ann, lives in the basement but was not home on the night the girl disappeared, Bitten said.

The grandmother believes the hole in the window is fresh, he said. David Dowaliby told police he went to bed at 10 p.m. Friday and last saw his daughter in her bedroom awake. The mother said she went to bed at 11 p.m. just after checking on Jaclyn and finding her asleep.

When David Dowaliby discovered her missing at 8 a.m. the next day, the parents phoned neighbors and searched the neighborhood, then called police at 10 a.m. Scores of searchers, including police with dogs, firefighters and volunteers assisted by a Coast Guard helicopter, scoured the neighborhood several times, including the nearby Midlothian Meadows forest preserve, but they found no sign of the girl, Bitten said. The FBI questioned the father in prison. Bitten said the father has been "almost totally eliminated" as a suspect or as having any knowledge of the disappearance.

Police and FBI agents also interviewed the natural father's relatives searching for clues. The Dowalibys declined to talk to the news media Monday. On the front door of their home Monday afternoon was a sign apparently made by Jaclyn's second grade classmates at Central Park School. The sign said, "We're praying for Jaclyn," and contained a number of children's signatures. of death has not yet been established, the spokesman said.

Gray was a sorter for United Parcel Service. He is survived by his wife, Dolores; a daughter, his father, Bruno Grezeskowiak; and a brother. Mass will be said at 1 1 a.m. Tuesday in St. Matthew Catholic Church, 1555 Glen Ellyn Glendale Heights.

Woodridge New recycling facility dedicated Recycling in Woodridge moved forward Saturday with the dedication of a new recycling facility, giving the village's 200 recycling volunteers a permanent location for their activities. The light-tan brick center includes a receiving dock, enclosed collection area for glass, papers, plastic bottles and cans, a holding area and a volunteer room. In the planning stages for three years, the building on Plaza Drive is part of a municipal complex. The volunteers will lease the facility from the village with the help of a $14,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources, according to Village Trustee Mike Mimnaugh. Bolingbrook Grade school wins excellence award Wood View Elementary School will be honored as one of the top schools in the nation on Sept.

26 when Linus Wright, U.S. undersecretary of education, presents an excellence award to the school. By Tasia Kavvadias Hoping to complete its second major sale in recent weeks, Adven-tist Health Resources the real estate arm of Hinsdale Hospital and a major property owner in the western suburb, is seeking a buyer for its 32-acre office complex in Hinsdale, officials said Monday. Adventist Health President Harry P. Hartsock said he has been approached by two interested parties, one representing a group of Hinsdale residents and another representing a resident of the suburb, but he declined to name the individuals.

The office park, which includes nine buildings on the northeast corner of York Road and Ogden-Avenue and another building at 222 E. Ogden has a value of "just under $60 million," Hartsock said. Adventist Health recently sold 57 homes it rented to hospital employees to an investment trio that includes former Chicago Bears defensive back Gary Fencik and developers David Pequet and John O'Shea. The parcels are located in a 9-square-block area located west of the Tri-State Tollway, east of County Line Road, south of the Lane and north of the Burlington The Bolingbrook school is one of 17 Illinois schools and 287 in the country to be named by the U.S. Department of Education as a winner in its elementary schools recognition program.

Wright will join school officials for the award ceremonies to be held at Bolingbrook High School. Chicago Relief on way for electricity users Consumers paying record high electric bills during this summer's heat wave will get some relief later this week as Commonwealth Edison Co. phases in its lower nonsummer rates. The 1988 summer rate for residential customers is 12.375 cents per kilowatt hour, no matter how much electricity is used. Edison's summer residential rate is the highest in the country.

Beginning Thursday, the utility will charge the same rate of 12.375 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 400 kilowatt hours used each month, but only 5.23 cents per kilowatt hour for consumption above 400 kilowatt hours. Edison figures the average monthly residential bill, excluding the service charge, will drop from $59.18 to $52.03 under the lower rates. The average monthly energy bill will drop to $43.44 as of Jan. 1 under a new rate approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission in June. Most Sox neighbors OK stadium options Almost all South Armour Square Jaclyn Dowaliby, 7, who disappeared from her home in south suburban Midlothian.

volved yet. The fact that nothing else was disturbed or taken, and that her mother and father were sleeping in a room right across the hall, and yet nobody heard or saw anything places the kidnap theory in question. "If there was some physical evidence that the girl was grabbed, then we might call it a kidnaping," he said. The only evidence of a possible forcible entry into the one-story, brick, raised ranch home is the condition of a basement window on the side of the house near the front, facing a driveway, police said. Bitten said the window has a hole in it big enough for someone to put his hand through and unlatch the window, which pushes inward.

The screen is also pushed in, and the window was unlatched, Bitten said. He said the window is Next Monday the rest of the city will be covered. Trees, bushes and trimmings may be put on parkways, and the material needs no special packaging for removal crews to handle, officials said. Clarendon Hills Board to consider water rate increase The Clarendon Hills Village Board next Monday will consider a proposed water rate increase of about 30 percent, raising the rate to $3 per 1,000 gallons from $2.30 per 1,000 gallons of water. The rate increase, which would be effective Oct.

1 and would appear on January water bills, could be approved at the board's meeting next Monday, Village Manager Ed Glat-felter said. Most of the proposed increase is needed to pay the village's share of the Lake Michigan water pipeline now under construction. Lombard Man stung by bee in back yard dies A Lombard area man died after being stung by a bee while working in his back yard, the Du Page County coroner said Monday. Thomas Gray, 45, of 2N239 Swift Lombard, was stung by a bee Saturday in his back yard, then went into his house and collapsed, a coroner's spokesman said. He was taken to Glendale Heights Community Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 5:40 p.m.

An autopsy was performed, but the cause tion of two playground areas. A new pathway system, upgrading of turf and new tree plantings could also be paid for with the grant money, Gordon said. The district submitted the same grant request last year but did not receive the funds. Elmhurst Hydrant flushing is now underway Hydrant flushing began Monday night and will continue into October, Elmhurst officials said. The flushing will produce rusty water in homes in the areas being flushed, they said.

The water will discolor clothes if used for washing, but it is safe for all other uses, including drinking, said William R. Gray, public works director. He advised residents td run water until it is clear before using it for clothes washing. The schedule for the flushing, which will occur between 9 p.m. and 6 am, is: Sept.

12 through 23 from the Illinois Prairie Path to the southern border of town; Sept. 26 through 30 Prairie Path to the Chicago North Western Railway tracks; Oct. 3 through 7 from the tracks to. Lake Street-Armitage Avenue; Oct. 10 through 21 Lake-Armi-tage to the northern border, or roughly Grand Avenue.

Schedule for brush pickup announced Unlimited brush pickup service began Monday for residents north of St, Charles Road, Elmhurst officials said.