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Call to Action Your Time July 13, 2026

A Call to Action: The Post Office Site Survey

The Post Office is gone and the corner at 512 Chestnut sits empty. The Village is weighing six concepts for the site — and wants your input before the survey closes Friday, July 31.

A Call to Action: The Post Office Site Survey

This is a generational decision about public land in the middle of downtown — one that will help define the future of our community. It's worth a few minutes of yours. The Village survey is open until Friday, July 31. Please don't delay — be heard.

Take the Post Office Survey →

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What Winnetka Governance Is Costing You — Right Now
Your Money
What is governance costing your household?
$3–5K

Every year, stalled development on key Village parcels costs each Winnetka household an estimated $3,000–$5,000 in lost property tax revenue — revenue that would offset your levy. Plus $440 in new fees in 2026, and $20K per household if the $100M stormwater plan moves forward as proposed.

Explore Your Money →
Your Time
What has been taken away from you?
6,570

Days the Post Office site has been idle since 2007 — nearly 18 years. Plus 5+ years with Tower Road Pier closed and five straight Capital Improvement Plan deadlines missed. Plus the years Elder Lane Beach remained contaminated while the Village delayed testing.

Explore Your Time →
Your Investment
Is what you put in being protected and grown?
65

Just 65 residents decide who governs all 12,750 of us — that's how many attended the last Winnetka Caucus Council meeting, the body that sets the slate for every Village board. Reforms like online voting access and published candidate criteria are long overdue.

Explore Your Investment →

What's New— all OTW content, most recent first

Full Archive →
JUL 13 Call to Action Your Time A Call to Action: The Post Office Site Survey JUL 10 Special Report Your Money A Longer, Less Predictable Path Through Village Hall JUN 29 Op-Ed Your Investment If Five Governments Could Once Solve a Flood, Why Can't Two Approve a Fence? JUN 10 Report Your Money Winnetka Finally Has a 20-Year Capital Plan. Now It Needs a Five-Year Promise. MAY 22 Special Dispatch Your Investment An Open Memo to the Winnetka Caucus Council MAY 18 Report Your Money The Budget Winnetka Bought — and the One It Didn't MAR 14 Overview Your Investment Think Big, Winnetka: Ten Issues That Will Shape the Village's Next 75 Years FEB 25 Survey Your Time What do YOU want for the Post Office site? JUL 31 Op-Ed Your Investment What's at Stake This Fall
The Most Important Thing You Can Do This Week
JUL
7
2026
⚡ Action Required — Attend This Meeting

Winnetka Village Council Meeting

Tuesday, July 7, 2026 · Winnetka Village Hall, Council Chambers (510 Green Bay Road) · 7:00 PM

A light-but-strategic agenda: the Council reviews the Village's Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (a $28.17M General Fund balance and a reaffirmed Aaa bond rating), weighs a proposed short-term rental ban (Ordinance MC-03-2026), and takes an early look at the 455 Linden planned development. OTW's executive summary breaks down what's at stake — and why a strong balance sheet should now translate into measurable, multi-year commitments.

Read the Executive Summary → View Agenda & Minutes Share With Neighbors
More ways to get involved: Take the survey · Email your trustee · Download fact cards · Browse all action tools
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