Community Corner
Concordia Withdraws Request for Temporary Lights
Project would have been used for football practice next month and the conclusion of a major track meet in May.
It's lights out for plan to install temporary lights on the school's track and football field.
School officials have withdrawn their request to River Forest officials for permission to install the generator-powered lighting for a two-week spell in November and for another short stretch in May.
Concordia initially contacted River Forest about the proposal in August, village administrator Eric Palm said. A meeting between the school and neighbors in the 1100 block of Monroe took place at the CU football field in late September.
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"There was a mixed reaction from the community," said Evelyn Burdick, said Evelyn Burdick, the university’s vice president for enrollment and marketing.
A letter has since gone out to inform neighbors that the school's request was withdrawn.
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According to the university, the school wanted the lights for football practice from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the weeks of Nov. 7 and Nov. 14 because of the end of Daylight Saving Time on Nov. 6.
The school said lights also were needed from 7:30 to 9 p.m. on May 11 to conclude the day’s events at a major West Suburban Conference track meet. Oak Park-River Forest High School was slated to sponsor this year’s contest, which draws participants from all of the conference’s 15 schools.
