Kids These Days!

Enjoy doing something you're good at this weekend.

Some 411 from BCC

Last November, we told you about an article in one of the local rags that discussed 3rd Ward Alderman DreadBach wanting to revisit the idea of Red Light cameras; our post was titled Say Cheeeeeeeeeese!

One of the PRU Crew's favorite blog spots, BurbCopsChicago, has posted about this issue. It may be worth your time to read what our police officers have to say about it.

Please remember people, it's a blog for coppers. We haven't asked and we don't think they would mind much, but if you aren't a cop consider that it's their party before you jump into the comment pool.

Come On Down!

Park Board Commissioner, Dick Barton

The Park Ridge Park Board has appointed Nicholas Milissis to join their fun! We hear Mr. Milissis was the early favorite of Park Board Commissioner, and Frimark pal, Dick "Cones" Barton. Mr. Milissis will serve out the remaining term of former Park Board Commissioner, Terry Majewski, who resigned earlier this year.

According to an IPO* article, Mr. Milissis was honored by the Illinois Association of Park Districts (IAPD) in 2005 as a "Notable Board Member" while he served the Golf Maine Park District; reportedly a position he was also appointed to**. What did the IAPD find "notable" about Mr. Milissis? According to the IAPD...

The IAPD Board Member Development Program gives recognition to local board members who consistently go above and beyond the call of duty through committee involvement, attendance at continuing educational opportunities and achievements at the local, state and national levels.

The program tracks board members' accomplishments obtained during terms on their local boards. Participants accumulate "Board Development Units" (BDUs) yearly from October 1 to September 30 for park district, forest preserve, conservation and recreation-related activities in which they have participated. Notable Board Members have accumulated 100 units. Distinctive Board Members have accumulated 400 units, and Master Board Members have accumulated 750 units. Master Board Members retain their status through the accumulation of retention units each year.

Translation = pay the registration fee, attend the meetings, nod appropriately, tell us how terrific our program is, and we'll give you an award.

We do hear Mr. Milissis does have experience in working with grants for the construction of recreation facilities.

And he has been a faithful associate of Mark Thompson, Maine Township Republican Committeeman. Undoubtedly, Mr. Milissis has learned to accumulate the necessary awards and certificates so as to avoid another exasperating experience like the one he endured when he attempted to run for Maine Township assessor. Judges can be very persnickety about the law.

Mr. Milissis is considered a fiscal conservative by those who know him. That characterization may bode well for taxpayer's the next time the Park Ridge Park District Board considers its budget; especially when they are considering budgeting for "social welfare" programs. (Make sure to read the comments)

Some of you may recognize the name of Nicholas Milissis from his more recent activities. Just five months ago the Park Ridge City Council approved the appointment of Mr. Milissis (.pdf) to both the city's Civil Service Commission and the Fair Housing Commission.

It looks like that public service resume is getting thicker and thicker. All that public service experience may come in handy if the rumors of Mr. Milissis' future run for 2nd Ward Alderman in Park Ridge comes to pass.

Welcome to another appointed position, Mr. Milissis. And thank you for your public service -- we hope we won't have to take that back.

*Note*
Illinois Periodicals Online (IPO) is a digital imaging project at the Northern Illinois University Libraries funded by the Illinois State Library

**Note**
According to a blog comment left by Mr. Milissis, he ran unopposed -- he was not appointed to his position with the Golf Maine Park District. We regret the error in reporting and wish Mr. Milissis well.

A Quickie!

From the City Council 2/11/08 TIF Workshop minutes --

JOURNAL OF THE PROCEEDINGS
OF THE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP OF THE
CITY OF PARK RIDGE
505 BUTLER PLACE, PARK RIDGE, ILLINOIS
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
February 11, 2008
CALLED TO ORDER BY Mayor Howard P. Frimark
at 6:33 p.m.

On Roll Call vote:
Ald. Schmidt, Ald. DiPietro, Ald. Bach, Ald. Ryan, Ald. Carey, and Ald. Wsol (arr. 6:49
p.m.)
Ald. Allegretti was absent.

City Manager explained the following:

TIF: What is it?

· Tax increment financing is a financing tool used to pay for public investment and infrastructure needed to simulate economic growth.

We guess it's better late than never for City Manager Tim Schuenke to tell the truth!

Was it good for you?



You can read the rest of the council's workshop minutes here (.pdf). We warn you, after that opener it's all downhill propaganda.

"Pepper" Burton!

As almost everyone who is paying attention knows by now, Park Ridge Chief of Police, Jeff Caudill, is "retiring". And now the search is on for who will be named the new Chief of Police in Park Ridge.

One of the names we've been hearing floating around is Des Plaines' own highest ranking Police Woman, Angie Burton. And the PRU Crew can't resist nicknaming her "Pepper" Burton, in a nod to one of our favorite old t.v. shows starring Angie Dickinson.

It looks to us as if "Pepper" Burton's former experience in sales is coming in handy when dealing with the press.

In the Letters to our Editor section of the Des Plaines Journal & Topics we read in part:

Editor, Journal:

Could Des Planes Deputy Police Chief Angela Burton possibly be leaving the department in the near future? The current Park Ridge chief of Police is under fire from several directions due to internal departmental problems. According to rumors in Park Ridge political circles, Burton is getting some serious consideration to replace him if he resigns his position. She is the wife of former liquor commissioner Michael Rozovics. Rozovics' Park Ridge CPA firm donated $1,000 to Park Ridge Mayor Howard Frimark's 2005 mayoral campaign. Burton seems to be a nice person and may make a great police chief. It is probably just one of those coincidences that Burton's being considered for the job and her husband was a contributor to Frimark's election campaign.
~~
Wayne M. Serbin, Des Plaines

We get the sense that we've got at least one faithful reader in Des Plaines. But that isn't what the PRU Crew found interesting. What caught our attention was the "Editor's Note" that said:

(Ed. Note: Deputy Police Chief Angela Burton said this week that her husband is not associated with a law firm by a CPA firm. She added that rumors surfaced several months ago about her moving to the Park Ridge department. She says that those rumors are just that, rumors, and she has never been approached about joining the Park Ridge Police.)

We're wondering what the question was? Did the Journal & Topics' chronically clueless editor really ask "Pepper" Burton, "Is your husband's CPA firm associated with a law firm?" We're also wondering, if that was the question asked, why was that the question asked? What does that have to do with the campaign contribution her husband made to Mayor Howard, or her husband's stint as a Park Ridge liquor commissioner, or rumors of her possible selection as the new Park Ridge Chief of Police?

We're also wondering why "Pepper" Burton chose to give an answer that isn't as straight-forward and honest as it could have been. Or did the Journal & Topics editor screw up "Pepper" Burton's answer? If the "Editor's Note" is accurate, is "Pepper" Burton embarrassed by her husband's support of Mayor Howard?

Yo Pepper, your husband's web site profile along with the State's required campaign contribution disclosures, is all anybody has to read to see the connections.

You weren't trying to deny those connections, were you?

Come on Pepper, you can do better than that.

Surreal!

www.bergoiata.org

Enjoy a dream-filled weekend!

Happy Trails.

The Chief of Police, Jeff Caudill, is "retiring."

click document pic for larger view

Another One Bites the Dust

Look! There Goes Elvis!

That Crazy Karma School Bus!

Doooood! This toootally crazy article in the Herald-Advocate was all, "Fresh off last year's successful referendum, the Park Ridge-Niles District 64 school board is considering adding more administrative staff at a cost of more than $200,000 per year."

Whoooaa! What a toootal freak out, man! Superintendant Sally Pryor and Assistant Superintendent for Student Learning Diane Betts rapped the rush for this bad scene. Now that District 64 has some major bread coming through from the referendum, Pryor and Betts are toootally buzzed! But like, it's sooooo toootally bug to bogart new revenue for an administrative love-in.

We thought it was righteous that Board President Sue Runyon tuned in and turned on to the funky stuff and said, "When we talk about adding administrators, we have to talk about the public relations component," she said. "At the referendum, we didn't talk about adding administrators."

Doooood! Far out! You found the steering wheel for the karma bus! So like, now you've got to toootally hit the breaks on this bummer of an idea. And you may be diggin' it alone, because it sounds like C'man Mollet is ready to get it on by suggesting that "Carpenter Elementary School be among the schools considered for added administrative staff." While J'man Heyde is maybe like spaced out?

Board member Heyde said, "he would support the measure, but only if it worked financially with a long-term budget. "I think we are asking a lot of our principals and we are asking a lot of our administrators," Heyde said. "At the same time, we also have fiscal responsibility piece. (sic) We promised the community we'd go another 10 years without another referendum."

Dooooooooood. It's not just about the bread, man. It's like toootally about what's good for education! Like, if you are going to be trippin' on new hires, then it would be toootally groovy to spread the love to new teachers; reduce class sizes even further. Past board members researched class size for when the school board told the community that increasing class size was cool, because you'd have to reduce clase size to like 17 kids per teacher for the kids to benefit from smaller class sizes. So like, why not do that? We think that would toootally stoke the kids and the cats running the classes too. Like, toootally!

Boxed-In Bob.

At last Monday's City Council meeting, Aldermen voted to move forward with a Request for Proposal (.pdf) for an "audit" of the Park Ridge Police Department. "Audit" is the preferred term being used by city insiders to describe what is, in fact, supposed to be an independently conducted investigation into purported problems with our police department.

There is a ton of back-story to each of the items on the audit list. But because these matters involve personnel below the level of Department head, and because the PRU Crew would like to see this investigation conducted with something resembling integrity (though we aren't holding our breath), we are only going to discuss list item "g" at this time.

Last week an article in the Journal & Topics reported, Council Requests Bids for Police Investigation. In that article it is noted that, "The land purchase item spurred some discussion among council members. Ald Don Bach (3d) said, 'I don't see how this is going to make the police department better.' Ald. Robert Ryan (5th) also questioned the land purchase activity listing. 'I do not see where (the listing) fits in here,' he said. 'I think it should be struck'."

We can't explain Ald. DreadBach's opposition, but we do view him as generally dim-witted and uninformed. But Benedict Alderman Ryan won't be getting a pass from the Crew, because we believe we know exactly why he wanted the item "struck" from the list.

As many regular PRU readers may remember, Park Ridge almost had a new police station back in 2004. We posted a link to PublicWatchdog.org for their article: The Park Ridge Police Station That Almost Was.

In the Pub-dogs piece we are told about a local realtor who tried to make a quick buck off the backs of his friends and neighbors, Park Ridge taxpayers. He got caught and was eventually disciplined for his "dishonorable, unethical, or unprofessional conduct of a character likely to deceive, defraud, or harm the public" by the State of Illinois' Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

That local realtor is Owen J. Hayes, II who was also the treasurer for Benedict Ald. Ryan’s 5th Ward campaign. Mr. Hayes has also been one of Mayor Howard's campaign contributors.

As we said, we believe we know exactly why Benedict Ald. Ryan wanted the item struck from the investigation list. We believe Benedict Ald. Ryan was trying to cover up for his buddy, or at the least, not allow the subject of his campaign treasurer's unethical conduct to be raised anew. Alderman Wsooooolman boxed Ryan into a corner by responding, "If there is nothing there, what are we afraid of?" Again, Prudos to Ald. Wsooooolman for being unafraid to confront the truth.

Benedict Alderman Ryan also wasn't keen on the idea of citizen input. Is he ever?

Whatever the investigation produces, we hope it is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And we hope the powers that be at 505 Butler Place are willing to tell that truth to the Park Ridge public. Really, we can handle it.

Pothole Fishing!

An article in last week's Journal & Topics reports that Alderman Wsooooolman (7th ward) brought up the issue of the terrible condition of Cumberland Ave. in Park Ridge. Wsooooolman noted, "The residents are tired of hearing 'It's a state route, we have to wait for Springfield.' We have to do something; the people are begging for it."

Why would the Chairman of the Public Safety Committee bring up this issue? Because he is doing exactly the job he should be doing; looking out for the safety and welfare of the residents of Park Ridge. Our PRU Crew kudos -- or, as we like to call them, PRUdos -- to the Wsooooolman.

An ABC News/Good Morning America consumer report recently noted that Potholes Cost Drivers Millions in Car Repairs. And that's not all that's at stake in dealing with the issue of potholes. The same report goes on to note that, "New York City settled a case for more than $1 million with a woman who claimed permanent injuries after her car hit a gaping pothole in Brooklyn. And the state of California paid $1 million to the family of a San Francisco motorcyclist who died after hitting a pothole."

The Journal article goes on to report that, "Ald. Robert Ryan (5th) pushed for the city to fix the roadways.

"I think this is something that we're going to have to address long term," he said. "The state does not have the money."

Oddly enough, the State has had money over the past 6 years to award contracts to Benedict Alderman Ryan's architectural and engineering firm, HDR; a whopping $9,770,988 to HDR's architectural division, and $55,432,694 to HDR's engineering division. If you check the State's Open Book website, you can type in the search term "HDR". What you will see is a list of State contracts that have been awarded to Ryan's architectural and engineering firm along with the political campaign contributions HDR has made; a total of $117,790 to a wide variety of Illinois candidates and committees since 2000. All of that adds up to some serious "ROI".

In the Journal article Ald. Don DreadBach is quoted as saying, "I don't know if the citizens of Park Ridge are going to accept a tax hike to fix what they already pay taxes to do" ..."We need to shame our state representatives to do something to help us."

The PRU Crew's got a better idea! Disguise our state representatives as reporters, then maybe Mayor Howard will drive them around town so they'll see for themselves how bad the streets are. Then, because we know how much our city officials love a road trip, and Ald. DreadBach is just oozing persuasive diplomacy, send Ald. DreadBach to Springfield to lobby our state reps for funding for street repairs. Then Benedict Alderman Ryan's firm can lobby for the contract to do the engineering work.

And everybody's happy.

Feed Your Head.

www.bergoiata.org

Have a good weekend.

Love Letters!

On 1/27/08, Spanos Eugene (xxxxxxxxxx[@]sbcglobal.net) wrote:

Dear parkridgeunderground -

Thank you for allowing me this opportunity
to allow my comment on your fear based
website.

The more I read further makes me believe
that the goals set forth for your website
are ill mannered and destructive in nature.

Furthermore, I believe that whom ever
decides to volunteer and serve the city
of Park Ridge as its mayor and or city
council member will be fair game whether
they like it or not.

To punish those who give of their time day
in and day out borders on liable and is wrong.

No matter who or what your end game is -
its not in the best interest of the people of
Park Ridge. This anonymous approach continues
to backfire like an old car and it smells.

Who appointed you the judge and the jury ?

Take it down - now !

Thank you.
Gene Spanos
6Th Ward
Park Ridge Resident 12 years.

" Dedicated Twice By Choice"
Police - Marines
Det # 553 MCL

---------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Eugene,

Thank you for your service to our country and any contribution you may have once made to protecting our Constitutional freedoms, including freedom of speech.

Happy Valentine's Day,
The PRU Crew
Park Ridge Underground
Since August 21, 2007

"Irreverent and Unrepentant By Choice"
Blogger.com - World Wide Web
Blog ID 5020995311923657564

Superstar!

In today's edition of the Journal & Topics, Editor Todd Wessell lets us all know that Mayor Howard is hard at work representing the interests of Park Ridge by fielding calls from the media about Hillary Clinton.



"Mayor Says He Speaks With Numerous Media Outlets A Week, Even Drove One Around Town"

"I'm getting two to three calls every week from the media," said Park Ridge Mayor Howard Frimark."

The last paragraph of Wessell's report tells us that, "Frimark said he drove the reporter around town including a visit to the Pickwick Restaurant where the reporter was able to see what is known as a "Hillary Burger"."

Maybe the reporter read some of the recent health inspection reports for some of our local restaurants and only preferred to "see" what is known as a "Hillary Burger".

Too bad Mayor Howard couldn't find the time to drive any of our Federal Representatives around town, instead of spending the taxpayer's money on a trip to Washington, D.C.

Flatliners.

Once again, thanks PRU readers for your patience; here's a quickie report on last night's city council slumber party.

Your representative's were treated to eloquent statements from several residents who all stated that they were speaking for the specific purpose of lending their support to Alderman Dave Schmidt (1st ward), and the principles of open government. And each spoke under the portion of the agenda set aside for those wishing to address non-agenda items.

What that tells us is, people are beginning to pay attention and they are talking to each other about their city government and what they have the right to expect from it. The PRU Crew could not be more pleased.

Reports from our sources say the Mayor and Aldermen sat grim faced while speakers expressed their displeasure and strongly suggested that the council discontinue the practice of keeping public policy discussions secret from the public.

Neither the Mayor nor any member of the city council responded to any of the resident's statements.

Another matter on the council's agenda last night included a much needed modification of the tentacled reach of the Fair Housing Commission's complaint procedure. The Fair Housing Commission's chairman, Nan Parson, complained about the limits on the commission's mandate. On a motion from the Lord of the Manor, Ald. DiPietro (2nd ward), the council referred the Fair Housing ordinance back to the Procedures and Regulations committee.

The council was also set to consider approval of a resolution to place a referendum on the November ballot asking voters to approve the staggering of terms for aldermen. The council opted to defer action on the item until an opinion from the State's Attorney General could be received. The council is unsure of what State law requires for when the staggering of terms may begin.

The PRU Crew is amused that the council is seeking the opinion of the Attorney General on the matter of staggering aldermanic terms, while at the same time seeking to ignore the stated and re-stated opinion of the Attorney General on the matter of disclosing closed session information.

But logic and reason are not legal requirements for holding elective office; they are only hoped-for qualities.

Man At His Best.

Esquire Magazine's tag-line is "Man At His Best."

The very first cover featured a classic male-bonding scene of some guys going fishing, probably in Canada. We can taste the shore lunch now...



Since 1933, Esquire has made some serious improvements in their magazine cover choices. At least we think so.



And once a year Esquire puts out an issue titled Women We Love. To our women readers, relax ladies. You are just going to have to accept that men love you -- or, if statistics are to be believed, that 90% of men on the planet love you. That other 10% we just can't explain and we won't even try.

Considering that Esquire magazine has been in the business of showing "Man At His Best" and treating its readership to pictorial celebrations of "Women We Love", the PRU Crew decided to borrow on that theme and tell you about a local man at his best and a woman we love.

As our regular readers know, Alderman Dave Schmidtzkrieg (1st Ward) has been battling the forces of evil in an attempt to provide the people of Park Ridge with access to information about what our local government has been up to behind closed doors.

Ald. Schmidtzkrieg wrote a letter published in both the local rags last week telling the citizens of Park Ridge what he believes and why he's taken the actions he has. That would be an example of a "man at his best", attempting to perform his representative duties to the people of Park Ridge.

We hear things are getting ugly. We hear Mayor Howard has been directing things behind the scenes in an attempt to publicly smear Ald. Schmidtzkrieg, and that he's boasting of having enough votes to accomplish his goal. Unfortunately, this too is an example of a "man at his best"; this is what passes for Mayor Howard's "best" -- trying to keep the people of Park Ridge in the dark about what it is he and his cronies are doing and why they're doing it, and engaging in smear campaigns against those who dare to challenge Mayor Howard.

There are conflicting reports coming into PRU about what the city council intends to do this evening. Some sources have told us that the council means to adopt a resolution condemning the actions of Ald. Schmidtzkrieg, while other sources tell us the council means to pass a local ordinance or enact a council policy forbidding the disclosure of closed session information. We haven't seen anything on the council agenda for tonight's meeting that gives any clear indication of what the council is up to on this matter. But we trust our various sources who are insisting the Mayor is running all over town claiming that he, Mayor Howard, is adored and will have his revenge one way or another.

Which is where the "woman we love" comes into the picture. Her name is Lady Justice. She's hot, and we aren't just talking about that peek-a-boo breast she's got going. We mean that this lady weighs the facts of a matter, then wields that double edged sword for the twin causes of reason and justice.



We hope that if and when the city council determines to pass a local ordinance or policy forbidding the disclosure of closed session information -- an act that would be in direct conflict with State law, the demands of the Illinois Open Meetings Act, and the Attorney General's opinion on such things -- Lady Justice will plant that sword firmly up the ass of Mayor Howard and his council hacks. Like we said, Lady Justice is hot stuff.

That Explains It!

In both of the local rags this past week, we got to read about Mayor Howard's views on the Napleton deal, which the Mayor's tie-breaking vote assured would give his campaign contributor, Napleton, as much as $2.4 million over the next 15 years.

The Wednesday rag ran Mayor Backs Incentive Vote, while the Thursday rag had a special "Guest Essay" under the Mayor's own name.

Members of the PRU Crew have had the dubious privilege of reading things the Mayor has actually written, and while it cannot be proved at this time, it is universally believed among the Crew that the Mayor's pen never met paper, nor did any of his fingers touch a keyboard during the production of that essay. And if you've ever heard the Mayor speak, then you are already aware that the Mayor's having dictated his thoughts is not even close to a possible reality in this lifetime - nor the next.

However, since the Mayor put his name on the "Guest Essay", we will move forward as if he really did author the thing, and we will explain to you all the things the Mayor didn't tell you in either of those pieces.

We read in the first piece that Mayor Howard said of his vote on the Napleton deal, "I'm not ashamed of my vote at all." Translation = "I'd do it again." Believe it people; he sure will.

The first article also quoted Frimark as saying, "43% of our sales tax comes from automotive: car dealers and gas stations" What the Mayor didn't tell you is that the roughly $5.9 million dollars in total sales tax revenues collected accounts for only 11% of the City's total revenue income of almost $53 million.

Property taxes ($15 million) account for about 30% of all revenue collected. All other revenue is split among 5 other sources of income. The City earns more from the sale of water ($6.5 million), and almost as much from the utility taxes it collects ($5 million) as it does in sales taxes.

Further, that 43% includes ALL automotive categories not just gas stations and car dealerships, but also car rentals and repair shops.

One of the City's greatest revenue streams comes from a category of income called "other"; about $12 million. The revenue sources for "other" include income from various fees, such as ambulance, gasoline, food and beverage taxes, etc.

It seems to us that the $200,000 in sales taxes generated by Napleton may be a 6% contribution to the City's total sales tax revenues, but it is less than .5% of the City's total income. So the PRU Crew isn't exactly sure what would be so tragic about losing the Napleton dealership to some other municipal suckers willing to bribe a car dealership to locate in their town; and that's if you are willing to believe that Napleton would high-tail it out of Park Ridge for "greener" incentive pastures.

Here's what we think: Napleton isn't going anywhere for the foreseeable future. They have already invested in their new site at Busse and Greenwood. And more significantly, Napleton has more clout in Park Ridge because of that 6% addition to the City's sales tax bottom line than they would have in any of the larger, more sales tax rich surrounding towns like Niles or Des Plaines. And Napleton is probably well aware that when it comes to generating sales tax revenues, what they are talking about generating in Park Ridge would be nothing more than a pimple on a flea’s sales tax ass in Niles or Des Plaines. Napleton knows this. Des Plaines' Mayor Arredia and Nile's Mayor Blase know this. And so do Mayor Frimark and his council bobble heads, even if they don't want to share that knowledge with you.

The Wednesday rag goes on to report that Mayor Howard said Park Ridge taxpayers, "...hear you're giving (Napleton) $400,000," he said, but he explained the town would eventually get that money back after the town homes are built and property tax starts coming in at a higher rate."

There you have it folks. You'll get the money back, as long as you are willing to tolerate more town houses being built into an already saturated and slumping housing market, not to mention the greater residential density and traffic the project will bring to Uptown and the surrounding neighborhood.

Of course, the taxpayer's of Park Ridge know that they wouldn't have to "get that money back" if it hadn't been given away. And most Park Ridge taxpayer's also seem to have a healthy respect for the idea that government should keep its nose out of private business transactions between two privately held businesses.

In the Mayor's essay, he elaborates on what he said about the use of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds in the news piece; that, "The agreed-to contribution of up to $400,000 will be generated by the project itself and is consistent with the intended use of TIF revenues. None of this revenue comes from the taxpayers of the city of Park Ridge."

That is such a remarkably stupid statement, we aren't sure where to begin to unravel the idiocy.

TIF funds are, in fact, revenue from the taxpayer's of the City of Park Ridge. Period. Whether the taxes are generated within the TIF district or not, ALL OF IT is taxpayer money. Those residents and businesses located within the TIF district are as much Park Ridge taxpayers as are the folks at Boardwalk, Park Ridge Point, Edison Park Homes and every other property owning and property tax paying person or business in Park Ridge.

Because TIF funds are held separately from the general City fund used to pay for services for Park Ridge residents, that DOES NOT MEAN IT ISN'T MONEY COMING FROM PARK RIDGE TAXPAYERS! And every dollar of TIF revenue given to a private interest is a dollar less that the City has to spend on infrastructure within the TIF district; or to retire the TIF debt sooner so that our local School District and Park District can realize the full benefit of Uptown redevelopment along with the rest of Park Ridge's taxpayers.

Furthermore, the longer the TIF fund takes to break even, the longer taxpayers outside the TIF district will have to cover increasing expenses for City services, including those demands for services within the TIF district. And the City's general fund is forced to advance money to the TIF district for anything not covered by the generation of enough TIF funds.

The Mayor's essay also says, "Napleton will be investing $2 million in improvements into his dealership. This will be used to help remodel the facilities at their new location on Busse and Greenwood."

What the Mayor fails to tell you is that the remodeling of Napleton's new location is required by their franchise agreement. Perhaps Napleton Cadillac would remodel their new facility anyway, without the franchise agreement. But they have to, and now the taxpayers of Park Ridge will be paying for yet another deal between private businesses: Napleton and the manufacturers for whom it serves as a dealer.

Mayor Howard's concluding remark in the Wednesday article is, "The agreement benefits both of us"

Yeah...both Mayor Howard and his campaign contributor, Napleton Cadillac.

2011.

At Tuesday night's Procedures and Regulations committee meeting, aldermen discussed the adoption of a resolution that would place a referendum on the November ballot asking voters if the City of Park Ridge should stagger the election of members of the City Council.

A memo from the City Attorney explains that if the referendum is approved by the voters, staggered terms for the election of aldermen will begin with the general aldermanic election in 2011; where aldermen from even-numbered wards would be elected for two year terms, aldermen from odd-numbered wards would be elected for four year terms, and "thereafter, their successors shall be elected for terms of 4 years."

Of course, the practical effect is to ensure that Frimark's hand-picked alderpuppets are guaranteed full four year terms. And that should Mayor Howard choose to run for reelection in the next 14 months, he will then be able to concentrate his energy and money on himself, presumably with the help of his protected incumbents.

During discussion among committee members last evening, Alderman Allspaghetti (4th Ward), who was originally appointed to the council by Mayor Howard, remarked that council members expected to run for four year terms. Alderman Wsooooolman (7th Ward) reminded Allspaghetti that he, Ald. Wsooooolman, had now had to run for two four year terms. Allspaghetti seemed to have momentarily forgotten his support for the Mayor's council cutting referendum that also cut 7 aldermen's terms to two years.

As reported (without a by-line) in the Journal & Topics, City Could Bring Staggered Terms Back, Mayor Howard explained that aldermen take "a certain period of time" to become efficient in their job, and that the reason staggered terms were removed from the Mayor's referendum to cut the council was because the matter was "too complex".
In light of what we recall of Mayor Howard's criticism of the last council, and his motives for cutting that council, the PRU Crew is enjoying a hearty laugh. The guy actually says these things with a straight face!

In any event, it looks as if any residents unhappy with their current representation will have to wait a full four years, until the 2011 aldermanic election, for a chance to make their sentiments known in the voting booth.

We wonder if their will be anything left in the City's coffers by the time Frimark and his merry band get done bonding, taxing, spending, and gifting the taxpayer's money away to Friends of Frimark and other special interests.

Advocating for Evil.

Good afternoon, PRU readers. The Crew appreciates your patience while we get our story straight.

At last night's Procedures and Regulations Committee meeting, it was the Lord of the Manor, Alderman Rich DiPietro (2nd ward) who led the charge to keep Park Ridge "safe" for the doing of evil under the guise of "protecting" the residents of Park Ridge from too much knowledge.

Just like the Illinois Family Institute, who prefer that High School freshman never even hear the words birth control, let alone learn how to use methods of birth control, the Lord of the Manor is reported to have said that the taxpayers of Park Ridge must be protected from the disclosure of information the council chooses to discuss in secret.

It is further reported to PRU that the Lord of the Manor is demanding that a procedure for censure be put in place to punish anyone who does release closed session material, or the Lord of the Manor can't, "in good conscience", vote for future closed sessions of the city council.

We've got news for the Lord of the Manor, what you're advocating is pure evil and illegal.

Keeping information from the citizens of Park Ridge and claiming it is for their own protection is so Orwellian in its twisted logic we believe DiPietro's "good conscience" has been possessed by some sort of evil demon.

Forget censure. The city council needs a procedure for an exorcism.

Comment - In The Spotlight.

Anonymous said...

February 5, 2008 3:01 PM

If you want to exercise another right, I hear that the procedures and regulations committee will be discussing the open meetings issue and Alderman Schmidt's handling of that issue at its meeting tonight. 7 pm at City Hall. If Alderman Schmidt is going to be getting reprimanded, perhaps some people ought to show up to let the committee know how we feel about closed session meetings....

Super Tuesday!

Have you exercised your right today?

You Can't Handle the Truth!

During one of those classic Hollywood moments in the 1992 film 'A Few Good Men', Actor Jack Nicholson in the character of Colonel Jessep treats viewers to a passionately patriotic speech worthy of Oliver North. Of course, viewers already know Jessep is a bad guy, and his impassioned pontification reeks of ego-maniacal madness.

It is with tremendous pleasure that we now assure the City Council and Mayor Howard Frimark that Park Ridge is not Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. There is no wall or fence to be patrolled. Park Ridge residents are not Cuba's "Frontier Brigade". You can tell us the truth about what you're doing. We can handle it.

And you can stop conducting so much of the public's business behind closed doors.

Since the current council members took their seats on May 21, 2007, they have had 17 meetings; including one oddly titled "Special Meeting" (Nov. 14, 2007); which does not appear to have been a "Special Meeting of the City Council", but nevertheless was a closed session.

The council's very first full working meeting on June 4, 2007 included a closed session to discuss the acquisition of property. When Mayor Howard was asked by a resident what was the "business of the closed session meeting regarding acquisition of property. Mayor Frimark stated no further information could be released at this time." Correction, Mayor Howard, but you could release "further information." The law does not demand that you keep information secret from the public. It is your choice to do so.

There have been 18 items scheduled for closed session discussion; 9 of which have been listed as "discipline, performance or dismissal of a specific employee" or as a "personnel matter". We strongly agree that those items covering the discipline, performance, or dismissal of a specific employee and personnel matters are best discussed privately; providing staff with some measure of employment "due process", especially where discipline and dismissal may be concerned.

However, the rest of the items scheduled to be closed from public view now appear to possibly have been abuses of the closed session exceptions allowed under the law, at least according to press reports (press report 1, press report 2, press report 3) and quotes attributed to Alderman Dave Schmidtzkrieg (1st ward).

Again, a big high-five to Alderman Schmidtzkrieg from the PRU Crew. And a warning too; we hear Mayor Howard is trying to sick his lackeys on you for the purpose of "ripping your eyes out of your head and pissing in your dead skull" (-Jessep; 'A Few Good Men'), which may take the more literal form of some Frimark-orchestrated theater during a council meeting.

We sure hope somebody can read the law - the Illinois Open Meetings Act - to Mayor Howard and explain that the release of "confidential" information about public business conducted in secret is not against the law, and in fact the law does not allow for any form of sanction against those who do.

In short: "the people have a right to be informed."

We think the people can handle the truth.

Killer!

Have a super weekend!