The PRU Crew went through the usual exercise of reviewing and taking notes on each of the videos so graciously provided by the truly volunteer efforts of Charles Melidosian and George Kirkland.
Consideration was given to which lowlights should be noted in the index for each video and PRU.ADMIN was prepared to do the usual write up.
But sometimes we wonder why we bother. All of the lowlights are really just more of the same idiocy, pandering, ignorance and rank stupidity we've witnessed and reported to PRU readers for more than two years now.
These guys do not get it. They never have and they probably never will.
The first ward's Ald. Sweiner is too new and unfamiliar with Council history and procedure to make any real impact on any of the discussions.
The second ward's Lord of the Manor too often has to provide mini-courses on Council history and proper procedure to people who've occupied those chairs long enough they should already know. And his all too frequently mild-mannered approach comes off as equivocating.
The third ward's Constitutional UNscholar is such a moron we don't know where to begin to address all he lacks. The voters of the third ward should be ashamed this man represents them.
The fourth ward's Ald. Allspaghetti brains is nothing more than a greasy dealer for special interests and another embarrassment beyond words.
The fifth ward's Benedict Ald. Ryan is so vacuous we figure the wind whistling through his ears creates a breezy chill which must be the cause for Economic Development Dir. Kim Uhlig's persistently crossed arms during each meeting -- as if she's trying to warm herself while sitting for hours next to a human wind tunnel.
The sixth ward's Unfriendly Ghost leaves the impression that at any moment whatever unseen leash is holding him back will break and he'll maul the closest person he can get his jaws clenched upon. He is of a "breed" which should be banned! At least from ever warming a Council seat ever again!
The seventh ward's ultimate panderer, Ald. assWsol, is so fundamentally dishonest and unprincipled we aren't surprised his face seems plastered with a permanent smirk.
Finally Mayor Schmidtzkrieg, whose heart may be in the right place but whose head is too often half empty or preoccupied with a desire to have people like him, really like him!, functions at a level barely beyond the functionally illiterate on budgetary issues. We know and understand that learning the language of -- let alone becoming comfortable with -- municipal accounting and budgets can be intimidating, but after two years as an Alderman and approaching one year as the Mayor, our patience is threadbare.
And none of these guys get it. And they don't have to as long as the same small handful of residents are the only ones who consistently show up to meetings and ask questions and demand these morons do something which might resemble their representative jobs.
Below are the embedded videos. Go ahead and watch another installment of the same stupid bullshit, if your stomach can hack it. Because until the taxpayers, residents and voters in this town start paying some serious attention to the city budget and demanding these guys stop behaving like morons, nothing is going to change.
Flood Control Task Force Workshop
1 -- PRCOW 1/25/2010
2 -- PRCOW 1/25/2010
3 -- PRCOW 1/25/2010
January 28, 2010
Like Nails On A Chalkboard!
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25 comments:
Looks like the Pru got up on the wrong side of the bed today.
We should all be cranky about the budget discussions...because these folks are wankers!
I enjoyed hearing from Francis on two topics...first he claims he's uncomfortable discussing water rate increases "without a full picture of the budget"...hello?!!? Did you NOT have a "full picture of the budget" the LAST time you voted to subsidize water usage...?
...but my personal favorite was the discussion of "realistic revenue projections." Very special discussion that was...Wsol blah blah blahing on and on about wanting a "more intense review during the budget process"...and that they should "build in revenue projections from expected projects!"...??? Holy crap! Sure...that worked GREAT with the Heinze development and EOP!!!
It seems like there are only two possible reactions. We let these stooges continue to do what they've been doing and watch Park Ridge turn into a third-rate town, or we get pissed off and demand that these stooges either do their jobs or quit. The next aldermanic elections are just a little over a year away, so these mopes can be replaced, although unless the voters demand better we very well could just get more of the same.
I don't think PRU got up on the wrong side of the bed. I think PRU is tired of waking up to the same nightmare over and over again. I am, too. And that nightmare is the city council.
Whatever you may think of our mayor, I think he's the smartest one up there, and he is practical. That's a great place to start. The best way we can help him do the job we hoped he would and still expect him to do is by letting him know how we feel about things (good or bad), and by getting aldermen/women in there who will do a much better job serving our city and not their own egos and interests.
Let's all recommend some people to run... here on the blog, and then maybe those people can get recruited.
I'll start. How about JOE EGAN?
Carla Owen.
I would vote for those Cub Scouts I read about in the paper who spent a day pretending to be Aldermen.
At least they could figure out we need to salt our streets before we buy a new toy for the Public Works.
Egan and Owen are good. Also Joan Sandrick and Jane Reardon.
But watch out for that new "Homeowners Party" and the Taste of Park Ridge corporation candidates.
I certainly appreciate Mr. Egan and his efforts. He seems like a very bright guy - probably too bright to put himself through the job of being an Alderman.
Do we want people who have lived in Park Ridge for decades -- who may have old, go-along-get-along ideas, or who may have too many local resentments? Or do we want people who have lived in the community for less than a decade, less than five years -- and have skin in the game if they intend to stay here for decades in the future? It seems to Rorschach that the people who already belong to the Chamber of Obverse, the Park Ridge Gentlemen's Club (hosts of Plae Dae), the Taste of Park Ridge -- they all may have been here for a long time, but they may retire and move away at about the time when our property taxes skyrocket in order to meet the obligations set in motion in budgets being approved now. If you want to write a budget you must not only start with a clean sheet of paper but a fresh slate of candidates.
How about Charlie Melidosian for 5th ward alderman?
If we are worried about the old homeowners party start watching Steve Huening. What a mistake Huening or anyone he would back would be!
Rorschach:
It is nice to sit back and define who we think is the perfect candidate. Alas, I think we also need to remember that in the last election we could not even find enough candidates for each ward to actually have a choice at all.
I also think it is important to rmemeber that the "pre-game" often does not match the real ball game. Please see the above comments from PRU about Mayor Schmidt.
Rorschach
What does living in PR and long or short time have anything to do with this?
Why are you even asking such a question?
I don't know who suggested it but I agree that Joe Egan would be great as an Alderman and a representative of all of us. He is honest and practical and would not get caught up in the nonsense of Park Ridge politics. I hope that Joe reads this.
For those of you who continue to misuse the word and--or confuse the meaning --
Main Entry: pol·i·tics
Pronunciation: \ˈpä-lə-ˌtiks\
Function: noun plural but singular or plural in construction
Etymology: Greek politika, from neuter plural of politikos political
Date: circa 1529
1 a : the art or science of government b : the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy c : the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over a government
2 : political actions, practices, or policies
3 a : political affairs or business; especially : competition between competing interest groups or individuals for power and leadership (as in a government) b : political life especially as a principal activity or profession c : political activities characterized by artful and often dishonest practices
4 : the political opinions or sympathies of a person
5 a : the total complex of relations between people living in society b : relations or conduct in a particular area of experience especially as seen or dealt with from a political point of view
I just moved to PR a couple of years ago and have been to ONE City Council meeting.
I would love to get someone in there that, oh, I don't know, maybe has had some experience managing a budget.
But the problem is that those people already have full-time jobs (and that no longer means 9-5).
Heck, I couldn't make most meetings because I'm still working or not yet home.
I live in the 5th ward (Ryan's ward) and was appalled by his performance at the meeting I attended. And I do mean performance. I think there's so much under-the-table dealings that a new alderman would need a code book to catch up. The only reason I knew was because I read this and the Public Watchdog Blog.
I don't know the answer, but unless we work toward a reasonable solution that gets the property taxpayers involved and filters through the hype, we're going to be in sad shape as a community.
Mike: All the years I have been here, city business has been conducted the same way, by the same people, with the same results. We elected a new mayor who probably hasn't lived here as long as his predecessor and I think that helped. What really prompted the comment, though, was the string of commentary here: full of the names we've all heard before, who would probably do the same things they've always done. Look, it really doesn't matter -- I'll vote for the candidate who makes the most sense regardless of their tenure on the tax rolls of our fair city.
>>Rorschach said...
All the years I have been here, city business has been conducted the same way, by the same people, with the same results.<<
I.
Don't.
Think.
So!
R:
How long has that been?
BTW, here's some info on past amyors.
Marty Butler.
20 year resident before being elected in 1973.
R. Wietecha.
21 year resident.
Mayor Ma Rouge.
Can't remember his first name and I think he grew up here.
Howard Frimark.
34 year resident before becomming Mayor.
I'm thinking Sal Raspanti would be a good replacement for M. Allegretti.
Mike,
You're talking about interim Mayor Mike MaRous.
...heh...Mayor MaRouge...:::now he's back home doing 9 to 5...living his grey flannel life:::...
bwaaahhaaaaa...
Rorschach,
I think the reason those names came up is exactly because people think they would do "the same things they've always done." Those "things" have been good things, generally, and they mostly have NOT been self-interested things.
But I, too, think that the voices of more short term residents are important. Just not to the exclusion of the longer-term residents, who are not necessarily part of an old boys network from the country club or the chamber. I don't think that ANY of the names thrown out even fall in that category.
We just need good candidates. Long or short term residents, it doesn't matter, as long as they are open-minded, hard-working and smart. And they can't be too sensitive, because they'll probably get skewered on PRU from time-to-time!
-- mmmmm, BBQ!
anon 3:37:
You forgot the biggest thing. They have to be willing to do it all (time committment and not being sensitive) for $100.00 per month!!!! If I may quote Bean.............bwaaaahhaaaaa!!!!!
-- which is $100 more per month than the Park District Board, District 64 Board, or District 207 Board members get.
You are correct, Bean.
I've been here long enough to remember when Marty Butler was the mayor and running the Homeowners Party (which he organized). Things seemed to change when Marty became a state senator and Ron Wietecha became mayor and acted like the unofficial head of the Homeowners.
Wietecha cared about nothing but the Suburban O'Hare Commission and Uptown Redevelopment, which is why infrastructure started getting neglected. Meanwhile, the Homeowners became more of a "club" than ever, with a few people in each ward controlling the aldermanic candidate selection process that produced few contested elections, and rubber stamps like Mike Maggio, John English, Ellen Upton, Mike Tinaglia, Rich DiPietro, John Benka, Dave Rundblad, Andrea Bateman, Sue Bell, John Kerin, Mark Fishman, Sue Beaumont, Steve Huening, Dawn Disher, Rich Whalen, Dick DuSold, Mary Anne Irvine, Frank DePaul, Mike Marous, Frank Bartolone, Larry Friel, Paul Hansen, etc.
That changed in 2003 when Don Crampton, Howard Frimark (who ran as an "independent" when he was denied the Homeowners' endorsement), Mark Anderson, Rex Parker and Jeff Cox beat Homeowners candidates and the Homeowners Party as we knew it disappeared. Wietecha quit a few months later, Marous became acting mayor, and things remained unchanged until 2005, when Frimark defeated Tinaglia and the Homeowners ran no candidates.
In 2009, the Homeowners signed over their campaign fund to the John English's new party.
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