Kissing and Telling!

For those of you who don't know, there's a guy in town who is not so affectionately referred to as "The Frog". That guy is retired Park Ridge police officer and unsuccessful 7th Ward aldermanic candidate, Robert Kristie; one of Mayor Howard's favorite pets and another name we've heard tentatively floated as a potential replacement for "retiring" Police Chief Caudill.

The PRU Crew does not believe for a minute that even Mayor Howard would be dumb enough to try to name Kristie The Frog as the new Chief. Mayor Howard needs and wants the cooperation of the police department rank and file for use in carrying out his petty personal vendettas. And Mayor Howard knows that it's a toss-up between The Frog and "Hoopty Lou" Jogmen for who is more despised by the majority of officers in the department. But that doesn't mean that Kristie isn't useful to Mayor Howard, or that Mayor Howard doesn't engage in a kiss and tell relationship with The Frog.

So it came as no surprise that The Frog was overheard last week at a Maine South event telling everyone within earshot all the astoundingly accurate details of the "separation agreement" with Chief Caudill. That agreement, according to the now departed city manager, Tim Schuenke, contains language that mandates confidentiality. According to a report in last week's Herald-Advocate, "The entire separation agreement has not been released to the City Council or the public because the document includes a clause stipulating it remain confidential, Schuenke said. Both Schuenke and Caudill have signed the agreement." Also according to Tim Schuenke, the city council agreed to a general framework for the terms of the separation agreement in closed session; for the first time, Chief Caudill's separation agreement will be the subject of discussion in open session at tonight's council meeting.

The PRU Crew does believe that the terms of the agreement should be subject to public discussion and review. The Chief of Police is a public employee, whose compensation is directly paid for by the taxpayers of Park Ridge; though Mayor Howard and the city council have worked hard to keep Park Ridge taxpayers in the dark.

However, what the PRU Crew finds really entertaining in all of this is that Mayor Howard has taken the position that city council closed sessions are to be kept strictly confidential. And a majority of the Mayor's lapdogs on the council agree with that position. Mayor Howard has even tasked the 2nd Ward's Lord of the Manor, Rich DiPietro, with the job of raising the issue before the Procedures & Regulations committee; the committee will be discussing the issue, along with other interesting items, at their meeting Tuesday night. And the Procedures & Regulations committee chairman, 4th Ward Ald. Allspaghetti, is a known and notorious Mayor Howard lackey, who will eagerly do Frimark's bidding.

As we have said before, we believe a policy or ordinance mandating confidentiality and imposing a punishment on those who disclose closed session information is contrary to State law.

But we have to ask, if the Mayor's lapdogs on the council foolishly enact a policy or ordinance that mandates confidentiality and imposes a punishment on those who disclose closed session information, will they then be willing to also punish Mayor Howard for doing exactly what he has hypocritically objected to others having done?

Come on aldermorons, you know Mayor Howard may be one of the biggest gossip mongers in all of Park Ridge.

We can't wait for the twisted contortions of the pols when and if they have to explain it all as they pucker up and kiss the Mayor's ass on this one.

And it should also make whatever Mayor Howard has planned for tonight's "council decorum" discussion all the more amusing to listen to; like Heidi Fleiss being invited to deliver a Sunday sermon on the benefits of clean living.