Some of our faithful PRU readers may remember the shock, SHOCK, former Mayor Howard offered about local businesses becoming involved in local political matters -- we discussed the topic here.
We noted in the linked piece above that former Mayor Howard launched his 2009 mayoral campaign inside Morningfields Market on Devon Avenue in Park Ridge. We've also noted the first mention of billboards was on former Mayor Howard's campaign website -- in our post here, we said, "And we hope Mayor Howard isn't serious about licensing billboards in town!" Looks like former Mayor Howard was very serious.
And now it looks like close associates of former Mayor Howard are still very serious about billboards in Park Ridge.
As some of you may be aware, the owner of Morningfields Market, where former Mayor Howard launched his 2009 campaign, is none other than local attorney, Frank DiFranco --
Our faithful PRU readers may also have taken note of Mr. DiFranco's recent public interest in the topic of billboards. In an article posted on the Herald-Advocate website, it is noted -- "Other residents, including Park Ridge attorneys who share a law office with Allegretti, expressed support for the billboards, saying the city needs the revenue at this time.
"$600,000 is a substantial amount of money," said attorney Frank DiFranco. "I think the city needs to find more ways to get revenue other than through property tax."
Aw Frankie, you are a real good guy to show up and support your pal, 4th ward Alderman Jim Allspaghetti in his fervent quest to see to it the City of Park Ridge gets back on its financial feet!
And the PRU Crew thinks the fliers being distributed at your Morningfields Market are positively priceless!
Morning Fields Billboard Flier
Absolutely priceless! Absolutely bullshit, too!
But Frankie, we do have to confess -- we sure hope you didn't write up that flier! Do your briefs read like that? Shocking!
You are right, Frankie, Park Ridge residents should care about the City of Park Ridge running multiple year budget deficits in multiple millions. Hey Frankie, where you been for the last 5 years, buddy?
Frankie, we hate to break it to you but...the $400,000 offered up front won't make a dent in the budget deficit and because of the very fact that there is a budget deficit, that $400,000 won't do a thing to cap property taxes, even if the City of Park Ridge can find some way around the court ruling that impact fees for billboards are unconstitutional.
We've got some other bad news for you, Frankie. The $200,000 over the next 20 years of living with billboards would barely go beyond the costs of covering city staff efforts for inspections.
On the Pub-dog's blog, somebody commented, "It’s interesting that guys who would never be caught dead at a PR Council meeting were there; Frank DiFranco, Dave Nelli, Jim Debruzzi. Now I get that there are many family relationships in place but still, why would they all show up for this particular issue if they didn't have skin in the game?"
Hey Frankie, you're working your attorney tail off on this one, buddy, though we have to confess, we aren't impressed with the effort.
Hey Frankie, you got some skin in the game?
January 5, 2010
Billboards And Bullshit, Baby!
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15 comments:
Wow. It sure looks questionable.
I agree that money from billboards wont do much good for the city budget.
I think the flier is offensive to the people who live near where these billboards are supposed to go.
No way do all these people not have skin in the game.
Nothing better than hiding in plain sight, Mr. DiFranco. I'm beginning to understand why the Generation Group needed Allegretti to make this proposal.
Allspags always has complained about the lousy 100 bucks a month he gets for being an alderman.
In the State of Corruption, in the County of Crook, outside Shitcago sits the pure and perfect Park Ridge?
I don't think so.
The PRU post today is why the PRU post yesterday is so important.
Register to vote!
Nothing is going to change if we don't send the message to our representatives that we won't put up with business as usual any more and hold them all accountable for their actions.
If billboards are supposed to be some golden goose answer to the budget deficit and higher property taxes...
...Park Ridge could begin to look like a billboard farm!
Joseph Loss wants to put up 4 billboards with 8 sign faces and pop $400K to Park Ridge for the privilege...
Well now...all we need is 16 more with 32 more sign faces and we could erase the budget deficit... for THIS year...
How many more would we need to put up so the city doesn't raise our property taxes again next year?
...and $200K for the twenty year deal is only $10K per year...how many billboards do we want in order to make those annual inspection fees really pay off?
BS doesn't begin to cover all the BS in that flyer.
Schmitty save our town from the big bad billboards!
Here is what will happen. Allegretti will get a gig as a "consultant" to the billboard company or some sort of fee after he is no longer Alderman. Mayor Dave will vote not to do a thing about it.
Apparently there is a lot of money in billboards, at least a lot more than the crumbs these clowns are offering.
From the PubDog, December 29th, 2009...............
" Back in 2003 when Premere Outdoor got permission from Des Plaines to erect 10 billboards, its attorney happened to be…surprise!…Joseph Loss, one of the attorneys (along with the ubiquitous Park Ridge insider, attorney Jack Owens) for GGI. And…surprise again!…one of Premere Outdoor’s shareholders just happened to be Heather Loss, reportedly the wife of Joseph Loss. And two other Premere shareholders just happened to be convicted felon (and former Crook County undersheriff) James Dvorak, and the wife of convicted insurance fraud schemer Joseph Nicosia.
Not the most savory cast of characters, is it?
Just in case anybody doubts there is big money in billboards, a story in the December 1, 2004, edition of the Des Plaines Journal (“Billboard Backlash Is Concern For EDC”) reported that 42 days after Des Planes gave Premere Outdoor the rights for 10 billboards, that company was sold for $10.5 million to another sign company, Lamar Outdoor Advertising, which then sold the rights to 5 of those 10 signs to Premere Media, Inc. – reportedly, an affiliate of Premere Outdoor – before Premere Media sold those rights to Viacom, the media giant, for an undisclosed sum.
What does that mean for billboards in Park Ridge?
Well, thanks to Ald. Jim “Billboards” Allegretti and Alds. Robert Ryan and Frank Wsol providing the 3-2 majority vote (over Alds. Rich DiPietro and Joe Sweeney, because Alds. Don Bach and Tom Carey were absent), the City of Park Ridge, rather than GGI, was the applicant for the zoning code text amendments needed for the billboards. That meant that GGI was able to avoid being the “applicant” – which, under the Park Ridge ethics ordinance, would have required GGI to disclose the identities of all its officers, directors and anyone having a 3% or greater ownership interest in GGI.
Was the decision by Allegretti, Ryan and Wsol to make the City the applicant stupid? Corrupt? Other? All of the above? None of the above?
For the time being, that’s your own personal call.
But to provide some kind of frame of reference, consider that 3% of the $600,000 GGI is offering to pay the City – presumably a mere fraction of GGI’s potential take on the four billboards – is $18,000. But that same 3% of the $10.5 million Premere Outdoor got from its sale of what effectively might have been little more than 5 billboards in Des Plaines yields a nifty $315,000."
Judging from the enthusiasm these ass hats are showing to push this thru, chances are that there is quite a bit of dough going to be made by someone, and that someone ain't the lovely little burg we know as the City of Park Ridge.
What baffles me is how someone like Allrightallready and Difranco could think that the nice folks in this town are a bunch of hayseeds who have never seen their type of shuck and jive bullshit before.
Can't wait to see these fine folks on the 18th.
The potential for a sale could explain Clear Channels recent searches and visits here --
NAT.clearchannel.com
IP Address 207.230.144.240
Country United States
Region Texas
City San Antonio
ISP Clear Channel Communications
Anon 2:50- you are probably right or Mayor Dave will have his thinking disrupted by something Bach says.
Ah yes clearchannel, one of the top three billboard companies accross the cournty (the other two being viacom and lamar). Combined they own 75% of all the billboards coast to coast. They have also been a leader in filed law suits against municipalies country wide.
I can see why we should do all we can to help broker a deal to have them come into Park Ridge.
5:33:
You are right. I sure want to see a deal for a company that has no respect at all for the residents in the area.
The remarks at the council meeting and the remarks in the flier PRU published here are very offensive to the people who will have to live around and look at these eye sores.
Pru,
I finally found what I remembered you wrote about on billboards and video poker.
I don't know how to do a link so I hope you don't mind if I copy only the part of your statement.
You said in November,
***We anticipate some Alderidiots will say the revenue, which may be produced from licensing video poker machines in Park Ridge, is not an amount for which it is worth altering the character of Park Ridge, despite the budget black hole deficit. We also anticipate some Alderidiots will completely ignore such an argument when they discuss billboards at a future meeting.***
Pru, you nailed it.
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