— In what could be a preview of things to come, the Society of the Divine Word, which owns the land under the Willow Festival shopping center, has added trees to the center median on Willow Road west of Waukegan. At the suggestion of architect and planner Zalman Alper, 55 black locusts and ornamental trees were planted. Alper, who first envisioned a greenway stretching from the landfill north of Willow to the Techny Basin, sees the trees as another important feature for the area, and Northbrook has agreed to care for the them. “They just need to be watered the first couple of years. Getting somebody out there to cut the grass is a much bigger issue,” says Northbrook’s Director of Community Planning Tom Poupard. The greening of an otherwise grim thoroughfare became possible after the Illinois Department of Transportation changed its policy banning trees in central medians. State Senator Jeff Schoenberg has suggested that widening of Willow Road through Northfield could also include richly landscaped medians.
— The Illinois Tollway Authority has followed the advice of Northbrook’s fire chief after two fatal accidents on the Edens Spur. The authority closed one east-bound lane.
— Glenview’s park district will begin work in October on a berm along I-294 – a green sound barrier that should further enhance the Grove experience.
The Glenview Watch 
The tress in the median on Willow were not paid for by the developer, but by the Society of the Divine Word.