The remarkable Philip Ritzenberg
Eight years ago, Wednesday Journal was preparing to launch a new weekly in the South Loop and West Loop. We were going to call it Chicago Journal and we had this vague notion of what it should look like. “Modern retro,” was the best we could articulate it.
In a gigantic splurge, we decided to go outside our four walls to find a person to design the new paper. We made cold calls to designers across the country, explaining our high-concept modern retro motif. Polite silence is what we heard back from one person after another.
And then we got to the “Rs” and placed a call to Long Island and talked to Philip Ritzenberg. “Yeah, sure, I think I know what you’re talking about. Modern retro. Got it. See you in a couple of weeks with some designs.”
Sure enough, he got it. Phil designed the fabulously handsome Chicago Journal. Two years later, he redesigned our Chicago Parent magazine. But we always knew that what Phil really wanted was to get his hands on the rest of our discordant weeklies. Looking at them made him itchy. And so three years ago, as our company celebrated 25 years in the business, we let Phil loose on Wednesday Journal, Austin Weekly News, the Forest Park Review, and Riverside-Brookfield Landmark.
Phil, who is never happier than when talking about typefaces while taking a long draw on his cigarette, has now redesigned everything we own. And we are grateful.
A couple of weeks back, the Society for News Design, an international group focusing on the impact of good, innovative newspaper design, recognized Phil with its Lifetime Achievement Award. The event took place in Las Vegas and while we were not present, we imagine that Phil’s remarks were pleasantly droll and curmudgeonly.
Congratulations, Phil, and thanks.
Tax bills are on the way
Oak Park and River Foresters should be receiving their 2007 property tax bills next week. And people who bought their homes in 2006 are likely to see the biggest increases.
Those who received a “homeowner’s exemption” in 2006, will see a significant dropoff, said Ali El Saffar, Oak Park Township assessor. The highest exemption someone could receive in the past was $1,850, but that will drop down to $460 on the bills coming soon.
El Saffar said the change is because of the 7-percent assessment cap, which states that if a property is sold in 2006, the value of the homeowner exemption must fall to the minimum.
“I don’t particularly like that policy,” he said. “A lot of people who bought in 2006 are going to be surprised by increases they’re not expecting.”
The recently announced property reassessments (listed in the Sept. 17 Wednesday Journal) won’t be reflected until next year’s tax bills, for 2008 taxes paid in 2009. Next week’s bills will be for the second installment of 2007 property taxes.
El Saffar says Oak Park’s overall property tax levy is about $142 million, which is 2.83 percent higher than last year’s $138 million. The rate of inflation is about 2.5 percent, El Saffar says. Two of the biggest increases came from the Village of Oak Park, at 6.23 percent, and the park district, at 8.1 percent.
The bills are being mailed this week. They’re due Nov. 3. Anyone with questions can call Oak Park Township at 708/383-8005.
Who’s the ‘Parking Zorro’?
Over the weekend, someone attached little red signs to parking meters in Downtown Oak Park and the Avenue Business District using rubber bands.
The culprit or culprits didn’t leave their name or affiliation, but certainly left their intentions, typing out: “Save Oak Park Businesses! Villagers Revolt! We need to remove all parking meters that are within 75 feet of any Oak Park business. Call the Village Manager, Tom Barwin, at 708/383-6400 and tell him you want the Forest Park parking solution. They allow 1 to 3 hours free on street parking for shoppers. Employees of the businesses have free permit parking in low trafficked areas between 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.”
Some of the signs were still up on Monday. Did anyone spot the Parking Zorro in action? Let us know.