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Diabetes, pregnancy, coma—Illiana alum experiences Grace through it all

The Lansing Journal
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Diabetes, pregnancy, coma—Illiana alum experiences Grace through it all
by Maddie Holesinger, Illiana journalism student

Grace
Grace DeBoer Sullivan (right) and her mom, Patty DeBoer, enjoy lunch together two days before Grace went into a diabetic coma. (Photo provided by Jenny DeBoer)
LANSING, Ill. (January 26, 2018) – Grace DeBoer Sullivan, a class of 2004 Illiana alumna, has endured unusual and frightening medical complications in the birth of her first child, a healthy baby boy.

Grace was diagnosed with type one diabetes when she was six years old. She experienced hospitalizations more than once while growing up, but she has been managing her diabetes with insulin shots since then.

While working at Whole Foods on August 28, Grace collapsed and went into a coma. At the time, she and her husband Paul were expecting a baby whose due date was February 7, 2018. They had waited to start having kids due to her diabetes, but since she had been successfully regulating her sugar levels, they felt it was time. Grace and Paul ended up announcing the pregnancy to their family in June when she was only four weeks pregnant.

“It’s a blessing she told people so early because she got to enjoy her pregnancy before she went into the coma,” said Jenny DeBoer, Grace’s younger sister.

While Grace was in the coma, the baby was still growing healthy without any complications, although physicians were worried that she might have severe pre-eclampsia. Grace spent a month in the Neuro ICU at Community Hospital in Munster, Indiana. They detoxed her off the sedation medicine about six weeks after she went into the coma. The day before she was moved out of the ICU she began to use her voice. Doctors kept a close eye on the baby until his birth on December 22, 2017. He was only 33 weeks and one day.

Since Michael’s birth, Grace has been on the road to recovery. Recently, she was moved to the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab and has been making progress in therapy, has gotten into a wheelchair, and has been able to walk up and down stairs with some help. Grace recognizes most family members even though she gets confused on their names, and has been able to attend church at the rehabilitation center.

“Her physical improvements will most likely go quicker than her mental improvements, but we trust in God’s plan and timing,” wrote her mother, Patty DeBoer.

Throughout the five-and-a-half-month journey, Patty has been with her daughter all but two days, allowing Grace’s husband Paul to focus on their son.

“It’s so unbelievable how much support has been shown,” said Jenny. “Our church’s Thanksgiving offering went to Grace, and on January 13 at Illiana there was a fundraiser that raised a lot of money. Also, many family and friends and even people we don’t know have been praying for her and for Michael.”

To find out more about Grace’s story and follow her progress, visit the Facebook page her family set up:

 

Buddig to expand Illinois presence

Melanie Jongsma
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Company chooses Montgomery, Illinois, rather than Indiana

by Melanie Jongsma

HOMEWOOD, Ill. (January 22, 2018) – Illinois was in tight competition with Indiana to win the latest expansion project by Homewood-based Carl Buddig & Co. Indiana had previously won Buddig’s 2013 project in a similar face-off, citing the proximity to their existing South Holland, Illinois, plant but with lower property taxes and affordable cost of doing business within Indiana.

This time Buddig chose to purchase the former Butterball facility in Montgomery for their expanded operations. The facility has been vacant since prior operations ceased in July 2017. Buddig will utilize the 280,000-square-foot facility to grow its manufacturing footprint for lunch meats and specialty meats production.

Due to the similarity of the two companies’ operations, Buddig is an ideal new tenant for the facility and will benefit greatly from the availability of trained workers in the area. The project will create 250 jobs within the first two years of operations and then ramp up to 350 jobs by year five. Buddig employs over 1,200 people within Illinois. Their most recent purchase of Rupari Food Services kept 200 jobs in Illinois.

“With our customers’ demand for great-tasting Buddig products, it was vital that we increase our manufacturing facilities,” said Bob Buddig, CEO of Carl Buddig and Company. “The Montgomery facility is our fourth manufacturing facility in Illinois, and we look forward to starting production there this Spring.”

Governor Bruce Rauner, the Department of Commerce, and Intersect Illinois worked with State Senator Jim Oberweis, State Representative Keith Wheeler, local government officials, local economic development organizations, and other key stakeholders to ensure this project’s success.

“Buddig’s decision to invest and expand within Illinois is a testament to the hard work that is being done by all of us, as a team, to attract investment and create a business environment that is competitive with our neighbors,” said Intersect Illinois President & CEO Mark Peterson. “We will continue to build upon this success and bring more opportunity to every corner of the state.”

Karen Noble, Executive Vice President of Human Resources added, “We have already posted open job positions for the new Montgomery location on the Careers page of our Buddig.com website. We encourage anyone interested in working at the new Montgomery location to apply.”

 

Governor Rauner issues executive order about property tax appeals

Melanie Jongsma
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Statement acknowledges that property taxes are a top reason people are leaving Illinois

information provided by the Office of the Governor

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (January 19, 2018) — Governor Bruce Rauner today issued an executive order declaring it impermissible for state legislators to represent clients before the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board, which hears appeals of assessment decisions made in the state’s 102 counties.

Calling the practice a “clear conflict of interest that must end,” Rauner said the order, which is effective immediately, is a key step toward restoring public trust and motivating lawmakers to tackle meaningful property-tax reform.

“We have a deeply flawed and overly complicated property-tax system that recent investigations have shown results in inequitable, disproportionately high property-tax burdens on low-income residents, not to mention our property taxes overall are simply too high,” Rauner said. “For any legislator to profit from this system undercuts the public’s faith that they are in office to do what’s best for their constituents.

“Legislators who make money representing clients who are appealing their property-tax assessments have little incentive to do what’s right when it comes to property-tax reform,” Rauner continued. “Frankly, they have everything to gain from the status quo. The action I’m taking today marks the beginning of the end of a dubious era.”

The order:

  • Directs members of the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board to prohibit state legislators from participating in appeals coming before them.
  • Directs the board to prohibit legislators from receiving any fee or compensation, directly or indirectly, through any interest in a partnership, limited liability corporation, or other business entity representing clients before it.
  • Notes a State of Illinois Code of Personal Conduct requirement that government be conducted in a transparent, ethical, accountable, and motivated manner.
  • Points out that state officials and employees “may not engage in outside employment or activities, including seeking or negotiating for employment, that conflict with their official state duties and responsibilities,” according to the conduct code.
  • Directs the board to amend its rules and procedures to reflect the executive order.

The Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board hears about 30,000 appeals a year, approximately three-fourths of them from Cook County.

“Conflicts of interest clearly arise where legislators and regulators receive financial benefits by charging Illinois citizens and businesses through a morass of red tape those same officials created by passing complicated rules and establishing confusing and bureaucratic processes,” the executive order states.

Crippling taxes overall and an onerous property-tax system are eroding the state’s ability to thrive and driving homeowners and small businesses toward insolvency—and, increasingly, toward the border.

While property taxes are cited frequently as a top reason for leaving Illinois, the state is duty-bound to take concrete steps to correct the system, Rauner said. He noted the state’s population declined by an estimated 33,700 in 2017, the greatest numeric population loss of any state, and the fourth year in a row that Illinois’ population dropped.

“Illinoisans are tired of a rigged system that allows lawmakers to profit at their expense,” Rauner said. “I’m here to fight on their behalf.”

 

January Students of the Month

The Lansing Journal
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January Students of the Month

Lansing Rotary Club honors TF South students

information provided by TF South

LANSING, Ill. (January 22, 2018) – At the Friday, January 19, 2018, Rotary Club of Lansing Luncheon, Samantha Ashton and Mummy Praise Ovoh (pictured above with Principal Jake Gourley), senior students at TF South High School, were honored as January Students of the Month. Ashton and Ovoh were chosen for their accomplishments in the areas of leadership, academics, citizenship, and service. They were presented a certificate by the president of the Rotary Club of Lansing.

 

Zander Woods undergoes restoration

Melanie Jongsma
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Rare ecosystem ranks as Number 2 priority

information provided by Forest Preserves of Cook County

Zander Woods
In the forest preserves along Thornton-Lansing Road, at various times drivers have noticed machinery, clouds of dust, and/or piles of wood shavings. (Photo: Melanie Jongsma, 1/23/18)
THORNTON, Ill. (January 21, 2018) – Lansing residents who drive to South Holland or Homewood via Thornton-Lansing Road have noticed machinery and activity taking place in the Forest Preserves’ Thornton-Lansing Road Nature Preserve, commonly known as Zander Woods. Stacina Stagner, Communications Manager for Cook County Forest Preserves explains, “This site is undergoing ecological restoration as part of a multi-site project across southern Cook County in collaboration with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.” The restoration project will cost $999,725, and it is being funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to protect and restore Great Lakes habitats.

Zander Woods has been identified as the Forest Preserves’ number two priority restoration site because it is a rare sand savanna ecosystem in Cook County. The preserve is currently dominated by black and white oak trees that are shading out many of the habitat’s rare native plants. The 140-acre project will include tree removal, with an overall goal of increasing light levels on the ground.

The project is part of The Millennium Reserve Compact – Uniting to Control Invasives project, which includes 12 sites totaling nearly 300 acres of wetlands, prairie, and savannas that will be restored. Partners include Audubon Great Lakes and Greencorps Chicago, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy, Chicago Park District, Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, Southeast Environmental Task Force, and the Forest Preserves of Cook County.

About 60 acres were completed last winter, and crews are working hard to finish up this year.

Zander Woods
Heading south along the frontage road, evidence of the project is more clear, and a sign describes the ecology of the area. (Photo: Melanie Jongsma, 1/23/18)

 

Illiana students March for Life on Capitol Hill

The Lansing Journal
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Illiana students March for Life on Capitol Hill
by Alex Wondaal, Illiana journalism student

March for Life
Senior Megan Meyer and other Illiana pro-lifers march in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Cate Peerbolte)
WASHINGTON, DC (January 19, 2018) – Forty-eight Illiana students attended the March for Life in Washington, D.C. Teachers Jeff White and Rachel DeVries chaperoned the students.

Funded by the Illiana Right to Life Committee, the students took off on the Thursday night before the march, arrived at the capitol at noon to hear speeches, marched up Capitol Hill, and ended the day with a prayer vigil for the nation and for the unborn. They then spent Saturday visiting museums and exploring the city.

White said he was happy to achieve his three objectives for students on the trip: having fun, getting educated about government and the proper way to protest, and doing missionary work. “I wanted them to learn about Martin Luther King Jr.’s protest ideas and not giving people a reason to look away.”

The most moving part of the trip for Junior Annie Weemhoff was “getting to the top of Capitol Hill and looking back to see so many people.”

Junior Ben Wiersema said, “It was a life-changing experience, and anyone thinking about doing it should.”

Sophomore Sydney DeVries said, “I thought it was cool to see representatives, the Vice President, and the President address the march. It was awesome to see the [Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act] passed by the House of Representatives while we were there.”

Illiana Christian High School is currently located at 2261 Indiana Avenue in Lansing. For more information, call 708-474-0515.

Related:

 

Glenwood Academy recognized as a Common Sense Certified School

Melanie Jongsma
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Glenwood Academy recognized as a Common Sense Certified School
information provided by Glenwood Academy

GLENWOOD, Ill. (January 18, 2018) – Common Sense, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids and families thrive in a world of digital media and technology, has recognized Glenwood Academy as a Common Sense School.

“We applaud the faculty and staff of Glenwood Academy for embracing digital citizenship as an important part of their students’ education,” said Liz Kline, VP, Education Programs, Common Sense Education. “Glenwood Academy deserves high praise for giving its students the foundational skills they need to compete and succeed in the 21st-century workplace and participate ethically in society at large.”

Glenwood Academy, formerly known as Glenwood School for Boys, has been providing education and structure to kids in grades 2–8 for 130 years. Today the school is accredited by North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), an accrediting division of AdvancED. Accreditation is granted to schools that demonstrate dedication to continuous improvement. Glenwood Academy is committed to “eradicating poverty, injustice, and inequality through the power of residential education.”

Glenwood Academy recently began using Common Sense Education’s innovative and research-based digital citizenship resources, which were created in collaboration with Dr. Howard Gardner of the GoodPlay Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The resources teach students, educators, and parents tangible skills related to internet safety, protecting online reputations and personal privacy, managing online relationships, and respecting creative copyright. The free resources, available at commonsense media.org/educators, are currently used in more than 100,000 classrooms nationwide.

“We’re honored to be recognized as a Common Sense School,” said Dr. Colleen Carter, Vice President of Academic Affairs. “By preparing our students to use technology safely and responsibly, we are providing them unlimited opportunities to maximize and personalize their learning.”

For more information about Glenwood Academy, contact Thelma Sardin at 708-756-5104 or [email protected].

 

Village Board to evaluate vehicle sticker fees

Melanie Jongsma
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Increasing from $30 to $45 would provide $210,000 in additional revenue

by Melanie Jongsma

LANSING, Ill. (January 22, 2018) – “Certainly while increasing fees is not something that we desire to do,” said Village Administrator Dan Podgorski at the January 16 Committee of the Whole meeting, “sometimes it’s necessary to maintain the levels of service that residents expect from Lansing. …There’s a multitude of capital improvements that we need throughout the village.” The examples Podgorski listed include the police fleet, fire engines, ambulances, the Public Works fleet, and a server upgrade for the police department.

A comparison of vehicle sticker fees charged by surrounding villages revealed that Lansing’s are below average. The current vehicle sticker fee for Lansing residents is $30, and the last time the fee was increased was 2008. “If we go from $30 to $45, we won’t be the highest—as there’s two other communities at $50—but it would push us into the top half of the surrounding communities,” said Podgorski.

The $15 increase would generate approximately $210,000 of additional revenue.

Other factors under consideration are to extend the selling period to the entire month of May, and to enforce the vehicle sticker requirement more consistently.

The Board will vote on the increase at the February 6 Village Board meeting. Lansing residents may express opinions about vehicle sticker fees or any other municipal issues by contacting their representatives directly:

Village Board meetings and Committee of the Whole meetings take place at the Municipal Court Complex (the police station) at 2710 170th Street on the first and third Tuesdays of the month.

 

St. Ann School to host two Open Houses

The Lansing Journal
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January 28 and January 31

information provided by St. Ann School

LANSING, Ill. (January 24, 2018) – In coordination with Catholic Schools Week, which begins this Sunday, St. Ann School will host Open Houses on Sunday, January 28, from 11:30am–12:30pm, and Wednesday, January 31, from 9:00–11:00am.

Participants will have opportunities to meet St. Ann’s teachers, explore the classrooms, and learn about the curriculum, which includes 1:1 learning, STEM, and Spanish.

St. Ann School will also provide information about the new Illinois Invest in Kids Act Scholarships that could cover up to 100% of tuition for those who qualify.

St. Ann School is a Pre-K through Grade 8 elementary school located at 3014 Ridge Road in Lansing. For more information about the upcoming Open Houses, call 708-895-1661.

 

UCA invites local businesses to shape education

Melanie Jongsma
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UCA invites local businesses to shape education

Redesigned internships will be part of the curriculum

by Melanie Jongsma

SOUTH HOLLAND, Ill. (January 23, 2018) – “We want you to influence our curriculum,” said Neil Okuley to the business leaders gathered at this morning’s breakfast meeting. Okuley is the Academic Dean of Unity Christian Academy (UCA), a new high school in South Holland that is redefining what it means to be educated in today’s world.

Internships will be a big part of the education offered at UCA, and UCA had invited local businesses to help craft those internships and make them meaningful and mutually beneficial. The meeting included representatives from Abbott’s Printing, Docter’s Interior Plantscaping, Grier Abrasive Company, IKG Property Management, JMA Architects, Miniat, Inc., Robinson Engineering, The Shopper Group, and the Village of South Holland.

Making education relevant

During the 90-minute discussion, several business owners expressed frustration with how ill-prepared interns—and new graduates—are for the workplace. Poor communication skills, lack of initiative, and over-dependence on technology were cited as discouraging characteristics.

Those “soft skills” are an important part of the education offered at UCA. Okuley says, “Part of our job as a school is to ask the question, ‘Who are we graduating in four years?’ We want to make sure we are graduating people who are able to meet the needs of our community and of the new jobs that are happening right now.” Inviting businesses into the curriculum formation process is a way of making education relevant.

Businesses are encouraged to tell the school specifically what kind of work they do in the community, what problems they solve, and what skills they look for when considering new team members. UCA will then weave those skills and opportunities into the education they offer.

Not a trade school

Okuley is quick to correct the impression that this approach will pigeon-hole kids into a career track right away. His intention is to prepare kids for meaningful work whether they enter the workforce after high school or after college, and whether they go into a trade or an office job or an entrepreneurial opportunity.

As Okuley outlined UCA’s four-year internship plan, he re-emphasized that UCA’s mission goes beyond simply providing an excellent education. The excellent education they offer has a practical purpose— “the flourishing of all creation.” UCA believes that education should expose students to a variety of opportunities and help them discover their own strengths and passions. As students learn how those skills fit into the workplace and into the community, they become high-quality workers. As a result, they flourish, their employers flourish, and the community flourishes.

A network of opportunities

Perhaps just as important, this partnership between UCA and the business community will serve as the students’ first network. As students visit workplaces, meet business owners, ask questions, and see skills in action, they learn who knows what—and who’s hiring. Likewise, the employers get a glimpse of the skills and personalities that Unity students offer. Phone calls, reference letters, and introductions become a natural outgrowth of the relationships that develop during the four-year process.

“We want our kids to be part of the fabric of the community the school is based in,” said Mike Nylen, Director of Operations for UCA and organizer of the meeting. “That means they need to interact with businesses and other areas of community that make this such a rich environment.”

For more information

Parents who are curious about this new approach to education are invited to attend an Open House on Tuesday, January 30, at South Suburban College, which is where UCA’s science classes will be held. Details can be found at WeAreUCA.org/OpenHouse.

Businesses who are interested in exploring partnership with UCA are invited to contact Mike Nylen directly:

 

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