8 | news
Looking ahead ■ by bill mclean
North Shore residents express hopes, worries and more for 2014
| photography by joel lerner
The North Shore Weekend asked a number of residents to share their thoughts about 2014. They offered a variety of responses.
JUDITH JOSEPH, FINE ARTIST, INSTRUCTOR AND OWNER OF A NORTHBROOK-BASED STUDIO (judithjosephstudio.com) Hopes: My hopes, personally and professionally, are tied together. I hope to continue to focus on my work [painting/calligraphy] and sell more of it … raise my profile
ELAINE NEKRITZ, MEMBER OF THE ILLINOIS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (57TH DISTRICT) Hopes: To continue to work on smart, sensible and meaningful legislation in Springfield. [The year] 2013 was landmark year in that regard. We passed significant
STEVE ROCKROHR, GLENBROOK SOUTH HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC DIRECTOR Hopes: To continue the path we’re on here at Glenbrook South. This is
JEN STAMPER, CO-OWNER OF JUNIPER BOUTIQUE IN NORTHBROOK Hopes: I hope to unplug more often, from work and electronic devices. I want to become more of a presence with my family. That’s a big thing for me this year. Professionally, I hope
Susan Garrett, former State Senator. Hopes: As a former politician, I’m very interested in the legislative process. My personal hope is that the partisan gridlock comes to an end sooner rather than later, and hopefully in 2014. We have to make sure that senators and representatives are looking out
— a hope I have every year. I would like to continue to find ways to express myself creatively while also finding more opportunities to make a living as an artist. It’s a challenge, working in this field and balancing everything. But it’s also quite fulfilling. Worries: I am a freelancer, and freelancers tend to worry about the economy. But I’m not much of a worrier. My mom [Elsie Kanin, of Milwaukee] always told me,
‘Don’t borrow trouble,’ meaning, ‘Deal with what is in front of you, not what might happen.’ I find worrying useless. I try to anticipate change. I try to keep up on current technology and remain relevant. Resolutions/Plans: I specialize in ketubah [Jewish marriage contract] decorative art. More and more people, outside of the Jewish community, are interested in it. One of my plans is to continue to increase the awareness of the
art form. I like to play outside. I especially like to walk outside, even in the winter [three to four days per week], as long as it’s not too frigid and not too windy. [She survived a brisk stroll when it was 9 degrees]. I love walking near the east side of Northbrook. The forest preserve there is a treasure. Walking saves me; I resolve creative problems while walking, and it’s good for [relieving work-related stress in] my neck, shoulders and back.
pension reform, marriage equality and dealt with other difficult issues like concealed carry. Our work on pensions is far from over. The City of Chicago and other cities and villages face significant budget pressures from rapidly increasing pension costs. And as Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, I will be working with my colleagues to deal with the difficult decisions around assuring dangerous criminals are behind bars
while also relieving the pressure in our dramatically overcrowded prisons. Worries: One worry continues to be the state’s fiscal condition. Pension reform was a key ingredient. Several other difficult decisions will be made in the months ahead. The legislation will be deciding about the renewal of the state income tax, looking at a progressive income tax structure and dealing with a
mountain of unpaid bills. None of these choices will be easy and will cause pain, but they must be made if the state is ever going to climb out of its hole. Resolutions/Plans: On a personal level, in addition to making more time for my family [a perennial resolution], I would like to get back to riding my bicycle more. I used to ride thousands of miles every cycling season. I would be thrilled to get to 1,000 this summer.
the best group of coaches we’ve assembled in my 12 years at the school. We recently got together and put the coaches in small groups. The older ones got fresh ideas from the younger ones, and the younger ones received knowledge from the older ones. Personally, I hope to be the best
dad and husband I can be. I have a wonderful wife [Mary] and three young kids [ages 7, 10, 11]. Worries: I’m a glass-half-full guy. I’m pretty lucky, personally and professionally. Every educator in Illinois, though, worries about the pension crisis. It’s a new
ballgame, what’s going on. My wife is a big part of our family’s planning for the future, and we met recently with our financial advisor. We’ll make it work and go from there. Resolutions/Plans: My term [as president of the Illinois High School Athletic
to continue to grow our business and serve the community, to help women feel good about themselves, to bring attention to Northbrook. I love what I do, and I hope that love opens doors and gives me more opportunities to redefine myself. Worries: Right now [shortly after the impact of the polar vortex], the weather is a worry. Cold weather keeps customers away. Since we
opened [in October 2013], we really want our business to do well for the community, because so many people have supported and backed us. Resolutions/Plans: We want to involve our customers and clients in what we’re doing … get feedback from them before the next season. We intend to branch out and take the store into homes. We’ll hold private parties at those
homes, where we’ll help people organize and clean out their closets, streamline their wardrobe. Clothing swaps — they’ve been popular, very successful. We’ll continue to hold those. Leftover items at swaps get donated [to Goodwill and Dress for Success]. We’ve given bags and bags of clothes, worth thousands and thousands of dollars, to charities.
for our best interests, not their party’s. More than anything, I want my children and family to continue to support their professional careers and personal interests and causes, and I want them to really enjoy doing both of those things.
Worries: I see how difficult it is for people to come together and be on the same page. We tend to isolate ourselves based on issues
and not instead reach out and help others or help to understand why others have a totally different point of view. I see that continuing to be more pronounced, and that worries me. In a perfect world, I’d like to see others embrace opinions that are different.
Resolutions/Plans: My resolution is to be more patient with myself. I’m working on a personal
memoir, “Lose the Pearl!” that I intend to at the minimum share with my family. It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be, but I’m learning a lot and enjoying it and discovering things about my career, things that happened in my past that I haven’t thought about. The story behind the title: I was campaigning in Highland Park, and a woman came up and asked me if I was a Republican or Democrat. I said “Democrat” and she said, “Well, lose the pearl!”
Directors Association] ends in late May, and serving that organization has helped me a ton. I enjoyed giving back. But I’m looking forward to stepping back, taking a breather. One of my resolutions is to stay involved in the organization after May. I also plan to stay healthy and happy.