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Op-Ed Your Money Your Investment September 20, 2026

A Power Grab Masquerading as Preservation: When the Post Office Site Gets Zoned as a Park

For two months the Village has sold its new Open Space District as a gift to the trees. The draft ordinances tell a different story: two downtown commercial addresses — including the former Post Office at 512 Chestnut — zoned into a district where commercial use is prohibited.

★ NEW — 2-Minute Explainer Audio
How the Open Space District blocks development on the Post Office site — in plain English.
Open Space District map highlighting the former Post Office site and Chestnut Court

The Plan Commission held its one public hearing on the Open Space District on September 23. The ordinances now head back to the Village Council, which can vote this month — the same month it decides the Post Office site.

Both downtown parcels are zoned C-2, commercial. Put them in the new district and a future development partner would have to ask the Council to rezone the land all over again. Call that what it is: a lock on the door before the town votes on what’s behind it.

Read the full op-ed →
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.

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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.

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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.

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

Full Archive →
SEP 22 Council Recap Your Investment Council Recap — September 17: Six Days Before the Hearing, Not One Word on Open SpaceSEP 22 Council Recap Your Investment Council Recap — September 1: The Cameras Came On. The Open Space District Stayed Off.SEP 20 Op-Ed Your Money Your Investment A Power Grab Masquerading as Preservation: When the Post Office Site Gets Zoned as a ParkSEP 14 Op-Ed Your Time Your Investment Closed Beaches: The Village Council Is “Big-Footing” the Park DistrictAUG 13 Call to Action Your Investment Deadline: The WCC Annual Survey Closes TomorrowAUG 7 Council Recap Your Investment Council Recap — August 4: A Gaga Pit Gets Three Hearings. The ‘Open Space District’ Gets Zero Words.AUG 6 Explainer Your Investment The TRUTH About the VC’s New “Open Space District”JUL 22 Council Recap Your Investment Council Recap — July 21: An ‘Open Space’ District That Runs Every Public Body’s Land Through Village HallJUL 22 Call to Action Your Money Your Investment 44 Years, Six Concepts, and the One Question the Village Never Asked 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
OCT
15
2026
⚡ Action Required — Vote at the Town Hall

Winnetka Caucus Council Fall Town Hall

Thursday, October 15, 2026 · Skokie School auditorium · 7:30 PM

This is the night Winnetka picks the slate for its elected boards — and this year, for the first time, residents can vote online as well as in the room. Pre-register for a voting code beforehand. The Park District seats are the contested race, and the Open Space District — which rezones parks, schools, the library and two downtown commercial parcels — goes back to the Village Council this month. OTW’s op-ed explains what the ordinances actually do.

Read What’s at Stake → Latest Council Recap Share With Neighbors
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