It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere...

Relax and have a good weekend.

Another One Bites the Dust!

In February of this year, the last city council passed the Early Retirement Incentive plan (ERI). We've been watching the dominoes fall ever since.

First out the door was Joe Saccomanno, Director of Public Works.

Second out the door was Brian Emanuel, Assistant Director of Community Development who was also the top Environmental Health Officer for the City.

Third to announce his exit was Randal Coo coo cachoo Derifield, Director of Community Development.

Yesterday, City Manager Timothy Schuenke announced he's leaving to return to the land of milk and cheese, a.k.a. the State of Wisconsin.


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In this weeks edition of the Journal & Topics, the last paragraph of an article about the city council's Law Firm Decision? reads as much like a want-ad as it does a reporting of facts. As we told you before, Chief of Police Jeff Caudill's head seems to be next on Mayor Frimark's butcher block.

Did we say falling like dominoes? We meant that they are dropping like flies over there at 505 Butler Place!

With the exit of 4 top-tier city employees, Frimark is in the position of populating the upper echelon of city government with people he hand-picks for like-minded loyalty to himself.

We can hardly wait for the tall tales to begin spinning about "Mayor Howard Frimark; Government Reformer!"

Welcome to Howardwood!

"Everybody's Awesome!"

Calvin and Hobbes; written and illustrated by Bill Watterson

Daily Herald -- Is there honor in forgiveness?

In what we at PRU view as an "awesome" display of "entitlement" thinking, a DePaul graduate and Park Ridge native has hired an attorney to sue DePaul University "to force it to designate him an honors student even though some of his grades were not high enough for honors."

Nobody in the PRU crew had ever heard of "grade forgiveness" before; probably because the PRU crew never thought of demanding anything that hadn't been legitimately earned.

We are nearly speechless about this.

Worse Than Kool-aid!

The games have begun! In today's issue of the Journal & Topics, we read two interesting items. The first is an article about the amazing disappearing council agenda item regarding council decorum:


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It seems the city council has more than one whiny cry baby occupying a seat. It appears the 5th Ward's Benedict-Alderman Ryan went running to the Mayor to wail about a personal email from the 1st Ward's Alderman Schmidtzkrieg that he didn't like, and the Mayor was willing to place the item on the city council agenda for public discussion. We understand that Benedict-Alderman Ryan isn't used to being strongly challenged either publicly or privately, but we had no idea he was such a remarkable cry baby.

According to Mayor Fri-nocchio, he pulled the item from the council agenda because he was afraid the meeting would last too long. Since that entire city council meeting was about 30 minutes in length, we feel Mayor Fri-nocchio must have pulled the agenda item for other reasons. And we are digging in to find out why.

The second item of interest is a letter from 1st Ward resident Dave Kemerer:


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Mr. Kemerer accuses Alderman Schmidtzkrieg of having a "penchant for loose rhetoric." It appears to us that Mr. Kemerer has a penchant for "loose truths." As an attorney, Mr. Kemerer should know better than to declare something unconstitutional before a court has declared something unconstitutional. But we feel the crux of the matter for Mr. Kemerer is not necessarily the truth involved with the constitutionality of a recall ordinance as much as it may be his desire to spin the message and provide his pals with cover.

It appears to us that Mr. Kemerer isn't any better with numbers than he is with his treatment of the truth. The final vote to approve the density variance for Norwood's condominium project was 4 to 3. Schmidtzkrieg was joined in voting "no" by Aldermen Wsooooolman and DreadBach. So, in fact, "the rest of the council" did not "conclude" that the density variance was justified.

Mr. Kemerer also seems extremely concerned that Alderman Schmidtzkrieg may run for mayor - something Schmidtzkrieg himself has said he is not doing, much to the PRU Crew's disappointment.

We wonder what Mr. Kemerer is "running" for?

In any case, what is going on here is that the Usual Suspects Club is cranking up the smear and spin machine. It's of vital importance that a representative with populist appeal gets knocked down and dragged around so that the politically connected can have their way with public policy.

It's nothing more than absolute bullshit.

Say Cheeeeeeeeeese!

In an article in last week's Journal & Topics, we learned that 3rd Ward Alderman Don DreadBach wants the Public Safety committee to Revisit Red Light Camera Idea for various and presumably dangerous intersections in Park Ridge.

According to the article, Ald. DreadBach was prompted into action because "a driver running through a red light broadsided the son of one of his constituents at Oakton and Greenwood Avenue." The article did not say if anyone was injured, and we hope nobody was. We would like to point out though that accidents are called accidents for a reason; nobody intends for them to happen. And personal experience alone or even along with anecdotal "evidence" is rarely if ever a good basis for determining public policy.

Setting aside for the time being our own visceral reaction to the continual surveillance of citizens, and serious constitutional questions about due process...

We'd also like to point out that red light cameras may reduce accidents according to some studies, but have also been shown to increase rear-end collisions in other studies where red light cameras have been installed. And we'd sure like to know exactly who is doing which studies and coming up with which findings. However, we feel it's safe to say that red light cameras cannot prevent accidents, they can merely record them. So while the Public Safety committee gets busy talking about ________ (fill in the blank with your buzzword of choice: risk-reduction, risk-mitigation, risk-management, risk-avoidance) be assured accidents can and will continue to happen.

The last time the Public Safety committee reviewed the issue of red light cameras was in February, 2007. Alderman DreadBach said he read the Public Safety meeting minutes 2/1/07 - pdf and "found several inconsistencies in the (minutes)." We are hoping that Ald. DreadBach can point out the inconsistencies he found - we have no idea what he could be referring to. We also hope he's read the excel traffic study, which appears to indicate the type of accidents that most often occur at the intersections studied are rear-end collisions; the second highest number of accidents involve turning vehicles.

We appreciate that Ald. DreadBach has stressed that his interest is strictly a matter of making Park Ridge streets safer - that red light cameras are not intended to be revenue generators. However, many if not most of the vendors who market their products and services to municipalities are far more shameless in their promises of increased revenue. Of the three red light camera vendors previously discussed by the Public Safety committee, one of those vendors, RedFlex promises to "deliver the most innovative, and comprehensive turnkey public safety programs that provide substantial benefits for our customers year-after year." Since municipalities are the customers, not the drivers, that sounds a lot like promising revenue generation.

The Journal & Topics article goes on to report that Ald. DreadBach "is not in denial or unhappy that the plan could do both" - reduce accident risks and generate revenue for the city. DreadBach goes on to say, "If it's going to add revenue to the city's general fund and make the streets safer, I'm not going to apologize for that," he stated.

Alderman DreadBach, you don't have to apologize for that, you just have to be honest about that.

Kwitcherbellyachin'!

The 4th Ward's Aldermoron, James Allspaghetti, is sounding a lot like a whiny cry baby these days.

Last week we told you about Allspaghetti's whiny response to the proposal that the city council consider a recall ordinance for local elected officials. An article in the November 15th edition of the Herald-Advocate quoted Allspaghetti as saying that if an aldermoron had to face a recall election he may say, "This job ain't that great -- see ya."

In an article in the November 14th edition of the Journal & Topics, about Discussions Could Be Limited To 30 Minutes At Council Meetings, we read that Allspaghetti was again whining about the job demands of being a Park Ridge Aldermoron. This time Allspaghetti was quoted as saying, "I don't want to be there for two-hour, three-hour presentations anymore."

Two city council meetings in the last 6 months have lasted considerably longer than the usual 2+ hours that council meetings normally take. And both of those meetings dealt with issues of serious concern and potential impact to the Park Ridge community; one meeting on July 16, 2007.pdf included an address by Nicor about PCB contamination to residences in Park Ridge, and another meeting on August 20, 2007.pdf included one and a half hours of citizens commenting about Allspaghetti's and 3rd Ward Don DreadBach's zero tolerance idiocy, as well as a presentation by Norwood builders for their condominium development at Executive Office Plaza.

From our reading of both those sets of meeting minutes, it appears to us that what extends the length of meetings is the back and forth debate and questions from and among city council members, as well as increased citizen participation. We don't view any of that as being a bad thing, nor as too demanding of representatives' time.

But from all the whining Allspaghetti has been doing lately, it would appear that he feels sitting through the seemingly rare "two-hour, three-hour presentations" at city council meetings - the only venue where the public can have almost as much access to applicants and information as the city council has - is just too much time for Aldermoron Allspaghetti to have to spend on doing the public's business, in public.

Hey, Allspaghetti! We agree! We don't want you to sit through two-hour, three-hour presentations anymore either! You could save yourself from all the demands of being an elected representative, and save the people of Park Ridge from having to listen to you whine like a cry baby about it, and just leave office. The job you're doing ain't that great -- see ya!

Talk Turkey!

Whatever is on your mind, post it or ask it here.

The PRU Crew will be checking in periodically.

Thanks to those who've offered their support and compliments publicly and privately.

Hell, we're even thankful for the people who give us a hard time - keeps things interesting.

Do-Over Redux!

As we told you before, we're down with Ald. Dave Schmidtzkrieg's (1st Ward) proposal for a recall ordinance that would allow the voters of any ward, after gathering enough petition signatures, to force a recall election for their sitting aldermoron if he isn't getting the job done.

Not surprisingly, Mayor Howard Frimark and his hand-picked successor, Ald. James Allspaghetti (4th Ward), don't like that idea. As reported in last week's Herald-Advocate, Allspaghetti thinks it's a bad idea: "By passing this we open ourselves up to the removal of a volunteer government and the potential for a government by action groups, or a government by interest groups." Say what? How the hell would a recall election be any different from the regular election?

Allspaghetti is also reported to have claimed that if subjected to a recall election, most sitting aldermen would say, "This job ain't that good -- see ya."

To any aldermen who would whine like that, we say, "Good riddance."

But leave it to Allspaghetti's lord and master, that great dissembler, Mayor Howard, to provide the most disingenuous reason for not supporting a recall ordinance: "When you are voted in, [voters] expect you to serve the four years of your term unless you do something that is a felony," Frimark said. "I don't think it's good judgment that if they don't like the way [elected officials] vote they vote [them] out."

Gee, Mr. Mayor, weren't you the leader of an action group petition drive to cut the council in half by depriving the voters in all seven wards of the seven aldermen that they voted in only two years earlier? Did any of those seven aldermen commit a felony? Even a misdemeanor?

Could it be that Mayor Howard is just determined to hold onto the current council because he knows he's got at least four alderpuppets to rubber stamp anything he wants?

Dive In!

Enjoy the warm waters of your weekend.

Hong Kong Phooey!

Hong_Kong_Phooey - Hanna-Barbera Productions

Woooooo! Those Pub-dogs! It was worth the wait!

The Pub-dogs at PublicWatchdog.org are kickin' ass and taking names today!

Very interesting documents!

Go read: The Park Ridge Police Station That Almost Was

Two-fer!

Item #1

A commenter on yesterday's post tried to spread the word about upcoming presentations on "The State of the District" by School Superintendent, Sally Pryor. We found a link to a news item that lists several dates and times. We laughed when we saw who the first presentation is being given to.

In any case, we agree with the commenter that if you have a chance to attend, this may be where you get answers to questions that have been raised about doings in the district. We also agree with a following comment, that these presentation times suck if you have a day job.

THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2007

Dist. 64 Presentations Show Residents Where Money Goes

A series of presentations by Superintendent Dr. Sally Pryor is planned for next Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 14-15.

~~On noon on Wednesday in the district's offices in the Hendee Educational Service Center, Pryor will give a brief presentation to realtors in the community.

~~At 9 a.m. on Thursday, she will make a similar presentation to a group of community leaders, also at the Hendee Center.

~~At noon Thursday, she will provide the same information to the public in the Park Ridge Public Library's first floor meeting room.

Informal question-answer sessions will follow each presentation.

Item #2

A couple weeks ago we gave District 64 An 'A' for Effort in making a good attempt to inform the school community about a public health threat; MRSA. In that post we offered a kick in the ass to the City and the Community Health Commission because they hadn't made use of their website to also help inform the public about MRSA.

We are pleased to now also give the City and the Public Health Dept. a pat on the back for making the effort to provide the community of Park Ridge with public health information. The City of Park Ridge, Illinois has posted on its website a link to information about MRSA.

Look! There Goes Elvis!

There's nothing better for a politician than a good distraction to keep the public from focusing on what the politician is and isn't doing. And a good distraction with a good cover story is even better.

Consequently, it was with great amusement that the PRU Crew read the local rags last week and found several shining cover story gems that should provide the public with plenty of distractions away from Mayor Frimark's continuing power grabs.

The Journal & Topics contained two items, both written by its chronically clueless editor, Todd Wessel. The first was a "news" item about Cops Accused Of Assault, Cover-Up In Federal Lawsuit that was missing so much relevant information that we wondered if Todd has a phone in his office with which he can act like a real reporter and make a few phone calls, get some information, and then write a story that gives readers something that resembles the whole picture. Of course, that approach only works for a reporter who has built a sufficient reputation for credibility, trustworthiness and good reporting on which sources can rely - and we haven't seen that kind of reporter on the local beat for at least a decade.

The second item was Wessel's editorial asking What's With The Park Ridge Police Department? The PRU Crew saw that and immediately thought that "planting season" (as in planting news stories, not rhododendrons) lasts year 'round in that manure-filled patch between the local press and the local politicians here in Park Ridge. So the question became whether Wessel actually knew something. But maybe the guy really is asking the question because of what he knows, which isn't much. And, maybe he is calling for an "independent investigation" because the picture presented by his own newspaper sure does make things look grim at the PRPD. There have been problems of police conduct within and without the Park Ridge Police department, and we agree, the Mayor and City Council should get to the bottom of what the hell is going on.

But then the next day, we read an article in the Herald-Advocate written by the self-confessed "copper"-philiac (as in "police"), Jennifer Johnson. That article tells the Park Ridge community that City considers special counsel to investigate the PRPD, and that pretty much confirmed for us that the fertilizer was being spread.

Unlike Wessel and Johnson, the PRU Crew owns phones and we use them. We made some calls to our favorite sources and here is what we learned...

• Yes, a federal lawsuit has been filed. Yes, things within the PRPD are bad - morale may be at an all time low. And yes, the City will be looking to hire an expensive law firm to "independently investigate" the Park Ridge Police Department.



• Mayor Frimark wants the authority for hiring and firing City personnel, particularly in the Police Dept. That authority currently belongs to the City Manager, Tim Schuenke. We sure aren't fans of Schuenke, but we don't feel giving hiring and firing authority to any politician is a very good idea. Doing that would be pretty much like sending out an engraved invitation for patronage.



• Mayor Frimark may want to sack Chief of Police Jeff Caudill and replace him with a ranking officer who's a favorite of Frimark's but not of many of the rank-and-file officers serving under him - who sometimes refer to him as "the shirtless man."

In other words, the Park Ridge Police Department may be headed out of the frying pan and into the fire. And if you know anything about the City staff grapevine, this may very well have the decidedly unpleasant affect of bleeding into other City departments like the Public Works Department.

Why would Frimark view Hoopty Lou as such an asset? Well, as we told you before, "there aren't too many coppers with the ability to speak and write impressive sounding bullshit" - and the Mayor and the City administration will certainly need someone with that ability to serve as their pitchman for the next new cop shop dog and pony show, which was foreshadowed in another Johnson offering: Police station site search resumes.

Why is the Herald-Advocate's self-confessed copper-philiac walking on proverbial egg shells when it comes to the PRPD and City departments like Public Works? Could it have something to do with the fact that not only is she a neighbor of Hoopty Lou's, but that her daddy is employed by Public Works? That also might explain the slant on her reporting about the PRPD rank and file who dared to complain about Hoopty Lou's cell phone indiscretions.

Meanwhile, if you are Mayor Frimark, you go about your usual public relations practice of sharing questionable "scoops" with the local press while telling the public that their concerns about police conduct will be given the most serious attention the City can afford.

And while everyone is distracted by the cover story, you go about the task of wresting hiring and firing authority from the City Manager.

Hey, everybody! Look! There goes Elvis!

Veterans Day 2007 - Observance

In observance of Veterans Day - Today we will set aside any discussion of politics, government, elected leaders, and policy concerns in order to offer our deepest gratitude to those soldiers who have served our country to protect our freedoms, so that tomorrow, and every tomorrow to come, we may again freely discuss politics, government, elected leaders, and policy concerns.

To all our veterans near and far, thank you.
May God bless you all.


Veterans Day Poster Gallery

Below is a letter that appeared in last week's Herald-Advocate; it is republished below with the permission of the author.

Remember to thank veterans this week

As Veterans Day approaches each year, it typically causes me to pause and consider my service in the Army, particularly my time in Vietnam. However, unlike previous Veterans Days, the approach of this date has caused me to spend significantly more time in contemplation than I normally have done in the past.

Moreover, I know why. For me, this Veterans Day represents a significant anniversary.

On Nov. 11, 1967, elements of my unit (including me), Company C of the 75th Rangers, was sent into the highlands to be attached to and in support the 173rd Airborne Brigade in securing a hill not quite 3,000 feet high (875 meters). What is so hard for me to believe sometimes is that what was barely-out-of-high-school back then for me is now 40 years ago.

For those next 12 days in 1967, Hill 875 became a battleground unlike any other in Vietnam as the 66th Regiment of the North Vietnamese Army -- with its Chinese advisors -- stood their ground and fought a battle of trenches and fortified bunkers more like World War I or II than Vietnam. The network of tunnels used by the NVA throughout the area made any semblance of a "front" frustratingly fluid.

With the 2/503d Battalion of the 173rd leading the way, we initiated the final push for the top of the hill on Nov. 19. Over the next five days the 173rd lost 279 souls killed in action, suffered over 900 wounded, and reported 33 MIA's.

Can you imagine the outcry and uproar if those casualty numbers were reported out of Iraq today?

On the morning of Thanksgiving Day 1967, "The Hill" was finally taken in a cold steady monsoonal downpour made worse by the devastated terrain, the despair over the losses experienced, and just pure exhaustion. Thanksgiving dinner that last day was one of the most miserable meals I ever ate.

I was alive, in large part because of the heroism of Carlos Lozada. Carlos, despite being out-manned and out-flanked, was able to maintain a rate of machine gun fire that disrupted an attack of superior forces set to overrun our sector, enabling the rest of us to withdraw with five of our severely wounded. The attack had broken off when "Moose" and I went back up the slope the last time, where we found Carlos mortally wounded.

Despite the medic's best efforts, Carlos died before he could be medi-vac'ed. PFC Carlos Lozada was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions that day, a richly deserved honor. I wish I could say that I knew Carlos well and for a longer period, but in truth I knew him barely more than a week. He came across as an ordinary kid from the Bronx who ultimately made a most extraordinary and selfless sacrifice. And because of the extraordinary acts of this ordinary man, today -- 40 years later -- I still am able to say how proud I am to have even briefly served with him.

Forty years is a long time and the Vietnam of then is now a long way away; yet sometimes, when I close my eyes in quiet reflection, those events happened but a moment ago.

I think I am like most other veterans, with their own tales to tell and their own memories to share or keep to themselves as they choose. Like most other veterans, I must admit that some of those memories are painful, some humorous, some happy and others melancholy. That is why I personally think the Canadians calling their 11th of November "A Day of Remembrance" is so appropriate.

On the 11th of this month, Veterans Day, if you are related to a veteran, know a veteran, or even see a veteran, please take a moment from your busy life and thank them for their service to our country. Some of these veterans are still kids, freshly home from the Middle East, while others of us served a long time ago. And a quickly diminishing few even longer ago. They all richly deserve credit for what they did, are doing, and will continue to do so Americans like you and I - our children and grandchildren - can have the opportunity to do what we do and be what we are.

However, if you do not happen to know or see a "Vet", I offer an alternative -- pause for a moment to reflect on PFC Carlos Lozada's ultimate sacrifice for his unit and the "troopers" of a very proud Brigade.

To all my fellow "Vets": Thank you for your service and your personal investment in what makes this country so unique in this world.

Jay Hirst, Park Ridge

Below is an email that was forwarded to Park Ridge Underground; it is published here with the permission of the author. We have edited the structure of the piece for readability - all content is as originally submitted.

I received this from my son Tony today, Nov. 7, 2007 and as a proud American and father of this American Hero I wish to share this information with all of my fellow citizens. Despite your personal position on the situation in Iraq we ALL must support our troops.

LARRY FRIEL

"Department of the Navy - this is to certify that the Secretary of the Navy has awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medal to First Lieutenant Anthony L. Friel for meritorious service while serving as the 4th Platoon Commander, Company g, 2d Battalion, 8th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 6, I Marine Expeditionary Force (forward) from 1 August 2006 to 8 February 2007 in support of operation Iraqi Freedom.

First Lieutenant Friel displayed leadership and ingenuity in directing force protection improvements that expertly integrated weapons, barriers, and observation posts at the company firm base and posts. His quick thinking as the senior watch officer led to one counterfire mission that supressed an enemy mortar team, while he also led reaction force patrols against firing sites.

He contributed to the counter-insurgency efforts by integrating civil affairs projects for Saqlawiyah into company operations. His focus on improving local infastructure and developing a sense of Iraqi responsibility has left an indelible impression on the local population and contributed to intelligence development, leading to the capture of more than 30 insurgents.

First Lieutenant Friel's initiative, perserverance and total dedication to duty reflected great credit upon upon himself and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the united states naval service."

Given this 17th day of October 2007.

signed J.N. Mattis, Lieutenant General,
U.S. Marine Corps Commander,
U.S. Marine Forces Central Command

Go For It!

Have a great weekend!

Meanwhile in Lombard...

It looks like some elected officials listen to their resident's concerns and carefully consider the consequences of their decisions on their community. Our thanks to a PRU reader for the submission.



Daily Herald - Lombard denies group's plan to build senior housing complex
By Justin Kmitch Daily Herald Staff
Published: 11/7/2007 12:18 AM

Highlights from the article include:

• A Naperville-based nonprofit group has scrapped plans to replace the second phase of a stalled luxury condominium development in Lombard with apartments for fixed-income seniors.

• Lombard trustees denied the Xilin Association's bid to build a publicly funded 52-unit senior citizen housing complex in place of a previously approved 40-unit condo building along St. Charles Road.

• Village President William Mueller said the trustees were uncomfortable the Xilin plan called for 12 additional units. Trustees also had a short timeline to make a decision.

• "The board had a lot of questions that could not be addressed because of the timeline," Mueller said. "But, ultimately, the density was not thought to be proper for that location."

• On Thursday, trustees rejected Xilin's plan.

• Village planner Bill Heniff echoed Mueller's sentiments that "density was an issue." Heniff said several residents voiced concerns and support for the project during the past few weeks.

• Mueller wants the developer, Park Ridge-based Neri Companies, to construct the second condo building as planned in 2004. A message left Tuesday at Neri's offices was not returned.

The Spirit of the 6th Ward!

As we told you before, Thomas Carey the Unfriendly Ghost of the 6th ward usually doesn't communicate with the living. So we were a little spooked to hear that he actually participated in the city council meeting Monday night. We feel that Mayor Frimystic must have called this spirit forth to do his earthly bidding.

As you may recall, Mayor Frimystic was very generous in making "offerings" to the Ghost of the 6th ward. Of the $7,025.00 in campaign contributions taken in by Mr. Carey, Mayor Frimystic contributed $3,127.73, or 45% of the total Mr. Carey received. (See document copies below)

And, as we said before, we expect Alderman Carey knows how to show his appreciation for Mayor Frimystic's generous support.

But we found it very curious that a guy like Thomas Carey, of whom we'd heard rumors of great family wealth, would need or want such a large contribution from Mayor Frimystic.

So we started digging.

Turns out, Thomas Carey does come from a very well-known and prosperous family. A very prosperous family. A very well-known family, if you know anything about the horse racing world.

Mr. Thomas Carey is formally known as Thomas F. Carey, III and hales from none other than the family that owns and controls Hawthorn Race Course. At one time in the not too distant past, Mr. Thomas F. Carey, III was in charge of running Hawthorn Race Course, but now Mr. Thomas F. Carey, III is working for an engineering firm, and we are told a Carey family cousin is now in charge of track operations.

Why would Mr. Thomas F. Carey, III leave the family business? We can't say whether or not he actually left or was asked to leave. But, it seems Mr. Carey got into a bit of legal trouble over his fiscal management during his tenure at the track and then Hawthorne Race Course, Inc. got sued by National Jockey Club, Inc.

The parties went to arbitration, and the arbitrator found in favor of the claimants, National Jockey Club. The arbitrator awarded the claimants what they were seeking, which had the effect of putting Hawthorn Race Course and Thomas F. Carey, III on the hook for $1,200,000.00 That's a lot of hay. (See copy of arbitration doc. pg. 1 below)

A final judgement of the arbitrator's award was entered in the Chancery Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County in September, 2005. The Court decreed the motion to confirm the award be granted in all respects to National Jockey Club; the counterclaim by Hawthorn Race Course was denied in all respects; and, the arbitrator's award was confirmed. (See copy of court cover doc. below)

Of course, an appeal was filed, and the Appellate Court of Illinois First Judicial District affirmed the lower Court's decision in August, 2007. (See copy of court cover doc. below)

Which brings us to today - the deadline for Mr. Carey to have his case heard before the Illinois Supreme Court. We believe the case has come to a sad end for Mr. Thomas F. Carey, III.

The financial troubles Mr. Carey has faced may be why he wasn't more monetarily generous than the $1,375.00 he loaned to his own campaign effort. It may also explain why Mayor Frimystic was so generous.

What we don't understand is why a guy with this kind of legal and financial axe hanging over his head would run for public office.

But we think we may know. We hear Mr. Carey, upon assuming the lofty office of 6th ward Alderman in Park Ridge, got busy smiling and dialing his way up the political food chain. Not on behalf of his 6th ward constituents. No. On behalf of his engineering firm.

If we could get agreement from the horse's mouth that going public, with the specifics of the information, would be confirmed, we'd tell you. But the call-recipient hasn't agreed. So we won't. And at this point the smiling and dialing remains only rumor.

Alderman Carey is certainly a guy down on his luck. But as the old saying goes, you make your own luck. And sometimes you get lucky enough to be elected to the office of Park Ridge Alderman with the generous support of the Mayor.

And sometimes you get lucky enough to have an Alderman "owe" you, isn't that right Mayor Frimystic?

If there's one piece of advice we could offer to Alderman Thomas Carey it is this: Mayor Frimystic is not your way into the light. Find your own path. We actually feel you may have it in you.

It Ain't Over Til...

As we expected, last night the city council voted 4 (Allspaghetti, Benedict Ryan, Lord of the Manor and Carey the Unfriendly Ghost) to 3 (Schmidtzkrieg, Wsoooool man, DreadBach) in favor of giving Norwood's Park Ridge 2004 LLC the density variance for the 8 additional condo units.

Again, it was Aldermen Schmidt and Wsol who led the effort to not only keep the development within the parameters of the new and more lenient zoning code, but also tighten up the language on the ordinance regarding the "senior housing" component and ensure that the city not get handed the final bill for the water retention.

The language in the ordinance remains full of loopholes "big enough to drive a condo through", largely due to the parliamentary maneuverings of the Lord of the Manor and the stupidity of his fellow Aldermorons.

There were 13 comments from the gallery; 4 of those comments were in support of the project. Again, Carla Owen addressed the council and "updated" the petitions she and her Berry Pky. neighbors have been collecting in opposition to the code variances for the Norwood project. Those petition signers now number around 500.

To no avail.

The preferences and will of the majority of residents in the immediate area of Executive Office Plaza and throughout the city have been ignored.

Get used to it.

Bob "the Builder" Ryan!

Tonight's city council meeting may be the end to the Norwood-EOP Space Odyssey. Once the council gets their parliamentary act together, motioning to substitute one PUD ordinance for another or offer amendments as they feel necessary, we hear the final vote count will probably end up 4 to 3 in favor of granting Norwood's Park Ridge 2004 LLC their density variance.

For those of you who don't think 8 extra units and a sham "senior housing" component are good for Park Ridge, you may want to contact the 4 likely "yes" votes: Rich DiPietro (2nd Ward), Jim Allegretti (4th Ward), Bob "the Builder" Ryan (5th Ward) and Tom Carey (6th Ward).

Fifth ward alderman, Bob "the Builder" Ryan, is purported to have privately negotiated with Norwood and then lobbied his fellow aldermen in favor of granting Norwood's request. We're not sure exactly what he "negotiated", but we strongly urge him to remain in the field of traffic engineering, since the plan that is probably going to be approved this evening isn't much of a deal for the residents of Park Ridge.

Look Around.

Have a colorful weekend!

MMMMMMM...Pie!

We just love a good slice of disclosure. The only thing better is when that mmm mmm good slice of disclosure comes with a big heapin' helpin' of disclosure of the disclosures.

Help yourself to a slice of disclosure pie at PublicWatchdog.org - Scorecard Part 1.

Our thanks to the Pub-dogs!