Council Recap — September 1: The Cameras Came On. The Open Space District Stayed Off.
Winnetka’s first livestreamed Council meeting ran 47 minutes. It covered schools, flags and a landmark, and left the biggest land-use change in a generation to a single passing reference. Watch it, then decide for yourself.
OTW’s take, up front: The livestream is a real win, and we say so. But three weeks before the Plan Commission hearing on the Open Space District, the only mention of it all night came in a trustee’s question to District 36 — one of the very bodies the district would put under Village Hall’s permitting. Nothing on the Post Office site, Tower Road Pier or the Park District. The hearing is Wednesday, September 23, 7 p.m. Show up.
The September 1 regular meeting (watch the full video here) opened with news worth applauding: for the first time, Council meetings are live-streamed, and staff said the Design Review Board, Plan Commission and Zoning Board will follow (0:00). Transparency starts with being able to watch. Credit where it’s due.
District 36 shows what partnership looks like
The strongest 22 minutes of the night belonged to District 36. Board President Dan Waters and Superintendent Dr. Kelly Tess walked through a AAA bond rating, a summer maintenance program that came in under budget, and enrollment that has grown from 1,619 in 2019 to 1,818 today, headed for a projected 1,900 (2:41). Waters was candid that Skokie School is “nearing the end of its useful life” (16:46).
Then Trustee Myers asked about areas “beyond maybe… the zoning conversation, the open space conversation that we’ll be having later” (21:04). Dr. Tess answered that the partnership “is a positive one and ongoing and the zoning conversation will be part of that” (21:50).
Hold that thought. The Open Space District would place all five D36 schools — including a Skokie School its own board says needs a long-term facilities plan — in a zone where schools are a special use, approved case by case by Village Hall. The district is heading into its biggest facilities decision in a generation, and the Council’s only public word on the rule that will govern it was “later.”
Consent, without conversation
Two resolutions on the consent agenda rejected all bids, waived bidding requirements and awarded contracts for the Village electric utility — a substation transformer and flue-duct painting at the electric plant — alongside a change order for tree care (35:14). All passed 5–0 by roll call. No dollar amounts were read aloud, and no one asked why every bid was rejected. Waiving competitive bidding may well be justified. The public should hear the reason.
A landmark, and a useful explanation
The Council designated 115 DeWindt Road a local landmark, 5–0, after Community Development Director Scott Mangum explained that for 32 of Winnetka’s 34 landmarks, Historic Preservation Commission review is “an advisory process… it’s not a prohibition” (43:44). Homeowners deserve to know exactly what they are signing up for. This was clear and well run. More like it, please.
What residents brought
A Fuller Lane resident asked for “some light regulation” of neighbors renting driveway and street parking to students (29:22). Two Washburn seventh-graders made a well-researched case for a backyard chicken-coop permit, pointing to Glencoe and Highland Park. Both were heard politely. Neither got an answer.
What wasn’t said
Forty-seven minutes. No trustee reports. No old or new business. Then a closed session on litigation (46:49). Not a word on the Post Office site, Tower Road Pier, the dog beach, Elder Lane Beach or the Park District — 63 days after the June 30 dog beach plan was deferred “to a date uncertain.”
OTW Top Ten scorecard — September 1
#2 Leadership: livestream launched ✓ — but no reports, no new business.
#6 Fiscal Stewardship: bidding waived twice; amounts not read aloud.
#8 Collaboration: D36 presentation, the best of the night ✓ — Park District absent.
#9 Property Rights: landmark rules explained plainly ✓.
#1 Post Office · #4 Pier & Beaches · #11 Open Space District: silence.
Watch the September 1 meeting for yourself: Village of Winnetka — September 1, 2026 Regular Council Meeting (YouTube). Then come to the Plan Commission hearing on Wednesday, September 23 and ask the question District 36 was told would come “later.” Read OTW’s op-ed on what’s at stake →
Published by Our Town Winnetka · Our Town. Our Future. Your Voice.
Sources: Village of Winnetka, September 1, 2026 Regular Council Meeting (video and agenda). Quotes are taken from the meeting video’s transcript; timestamps are linked for verification. Official minutes were not yet posted at publication.