City Council 11-3-10 video!

Some hair of the dog for your viewing displeasure!

Hump Day Post-election Hangover?

We hope our faithful PRU readers are recovering from any post-election hangovers. However, for those who believe in the hair of the dog cure, we suggest giving the City Council some of your time and attention this evening.

What passes for our local representative government will be meeting tonight at City Hall, beginning at 7:30 PM.

The revised agenda (.pdf) isn't as jammed with entertaining possibilities as usual, but there are some important topics under consideration. Supporting documents for tonight's meeting are available on the City website, here.

Listening Politely!

Sorry people -- this post was supposed to be scheduled for publishing this morning but PRU.ADMIN, not to name any names, somebody forgot!



For our faithful PRU readers interested in the City's efforts to mitigate neighborhood flooding problems, by proposing use of Park District property as we mentioned here a few weeks ago, some of the news does not appear very promising.

As many of you may be aware, the City of Park Ridge has approached the Park Ridge Park District, armed with the recommendations from Burke Engineering -- the City Flooding consultant, about the idea of using park property for storm water retention ponds. The location currently under consideration for discussion are a significant portion of the fields at Northwest Park.

At last week's Park District Board COW meeting, Park District Commissioners were treated to a 90 minute presentation and discussion of the subject with two of the consultants from Burke Engineering, the Park Ridge City Manager Jim Hock, Director of Public Works Wayne Zingsheim, City Engineer Sarah Mitchell, and 2nd ward Alderman Rich DiPietro. City officials attempted to persuade the Park Board of the necessary wisdom of allowing the City to spend $1.9 million for the project, which could probably reduce flooding for 145 homes in the area, but would have the effect of also reducing the availability of the playing fields.

According to the Park Board minutes (.pdf) page 7 of the meeting, in addition to the reduced availability of the fields, Park District Commissioners also expressed concern about field damage and water safety issues.

Park District Executive Director Ray, The Big O, Ochromowicz did offer an alternative option to City officials -- turfing and lighting fields at Centennial Park so they are playable and available for night games. Some preliminary estimates we've heard are that the alternative plan could cost as much as $2 million in additional dollars to the City. Ironically, if the alternative plan were accepted, the total cost would be approximately $4 million -- equal to the amount Burke Engineering has estimated it would cost for underground work at Northwest Park.

The Park Ridge Park District Board has not formally discussed the alternative plan and City officials are said to be requesting the Mayor's involvement in the discussions, moving forward.

Why the Mayor hasn't already been involved in the discussions we can't explain.

In other Park Ridge Park District news, according to their meeting minutes --

"Executive Director Ochromowicz expressed his concern with the [Senior Services] agreement and said the District needs to stop the increasing subsidy. He said subsidy has to be decreased and he believes the senior building is used 99% of the time for Senior Services so the Senior Services should pay 100% of the full-time employees' salaries. Still under negotiations are that all programs that are planned and organized by Park District staff are open to all Park Ridge residents with no penalty." (sic)

~~THUD!!!~~ We're in love!!!

A Thursday Two-fer!

#1 -- Water works!

For those of you disinclined to building or buying your own ark, the Park Ridge Park District will be meeting as a Committee of the Whole tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Maine Park Leisure Center to discuss two issues concerning water. The agenda (.pdf) includes the following --

Buildings and Grounds Committee – Commissioners Vile/Maloney

A. Northwest Park – City Flood Issue/Future Plans (Executive Director Ochromowicz)

B. Future of Oakton Pool (Executive Director Ochromowicz)

On a related soggy note, the Park Ridge Park District website contains the following notice --

Notice from Park Ridge Park District:

In the interest of safety, South Park Pool will be closed from June 1 to mid-June for maintenance. To accommodate South Park's pre-season hours, the Centennial Wading Pool will be open at 10am during this maintenance. Thank you for your patience.


#2 -- Wet your whistle!

For those of you disinclined to attend meetings, you may want to consider attending a benefit party tonight!



1900 - 2300 hours is 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. for those of you disinclined to military time.

Your City Council Triple Feature!

Park Ridge City Hall is going to be a busy place this evening!

The festivities will begin with a quickie meeting of the Liquor License Review Board, beginning at 6:15 pm. The City Council will then hold a Workshop on the Flood Study Report, set to start at 6:30 pm.

The most entertaining portion of tonight's gathering promises to be the regular City Council meeting scheduled to start at 7:30 pm. The agenda includes the usual niceties and consent items. However, tonight's City Council agenda also includes two items we hope people will pay close attention to.

The first item is the City Attorney's report on the ethics violation issue concerning former Mayor Howard Frimark. The City Council will first decide whether to hold their discussion in closed or open session -- of course, the PRU Crew thinks it should be held in open session since there is hardly a soul that doesn't know the issue involves the former Mayor, and it is no secret there are Aldermen with whom the former Mayor has personal and economic relationships.

The Aldermen, with whom Frimark has shared personal and economic relationships, will have a choice to make before deciding what to do with the report from the City Attorney. Those Aldermen can choose to disclose their economic relationships with former Mayor Howard Frimark, and then they can freely engage in discussion and debate and a vote on the issue. Or...those Aldermen can choose to recuse themselves from discussion and debate and a vote on the issue. Recusal allows elected officials to avoid full disclosure, as recently demonstrated by Mayor Schmidtzkrieg here (.pdf), but recusal also demands elected officials not engage in discussion, debate or a vote on an issue. We believe the choice of either disclosure or recusal is required whether or not the City Council holds the discussion in closed or open session.

It should all be terribly interesting to watch!

The second item on tonight's City Council agenda which we hope people will pay close attention to is item b. Approve first reading of Ordinance for proposed text amendments to the Zoning Ordinance, Zoning Case Number TA-09-02, under the Planning & Zoning Commission report.

The PRU Crew has discussed the issue both here and here. And our opinion on the matter still hasn't changed. This is a very important issue moooooving forward.

And we look forward to the videos for tomorrow!

Beware of Opportunists!

A recent article in the online Herald-Advocate -- Residents thwart attempted 'grandparents' scam -- discussed how two residents avoided being bilked out of money by a caller, or callers, trying to scam them. In the news report, it is clear that the scammers were trying to play on the residents' personal and familial ties.

The PRU Crew knows most of the residents of Park Ridge aren't easily duped and we're very glad to hear these two residents avoided the scam that has turned out differently for many others across the nation.

Beware of scammers.

There are scammers everywhere.

And then there are opportunists.

There are opportunists everywhere.

Sometimes they don't use the phone.

Sometimes they're closer to home than you may think.

Discussion of one particular opportunist took place at last night's Flood Control Task Force meeting.



The discussion begins @ the 10:30 marker in the above video -- another from Cecil B. deMelidosian's Motionbox collection

A copy of the flyer being discussed by the Flood Control Task Force is below --




There's nothing illegal or outright fraudulent in the above flyer. But as we said, we find it very opportunistic and we hope Park Ridge residents aren't duped into believing any final decision on flood control rebates has been made or that anyone can count on receiving a "rebate" of up to $2500 dollars if they choose to install flood control systems of any kind .

Caveat emptor.

COW Clunkers!

The Obama Administration Rebate Plan looks like this --



The Alderman Frank Wsol Rebate Plan looks like this --



Hello everyone! We hope you've been staying cool during our recent heat wave!

We've been keeping up with the goings on and we've gotten a good laugh or two out of the things we've seen and heard taking place.

We're sure tonight's City Council COW will offer more entertainment. Come on out and enjoy the show!

The PRU Crew is especially looking forward to hearing 7th ward Ald. Frank assWsol justify giving taxpayer dollars away from an already bloody red City budget! We're wondering why this discussion for funding a subsidy program isn't taking place during a Finance and Budget Committee meeting, but logic hasn't ever stopped either Ald. assWsol or Public Works Committee Chairman, Ald. Don Bachtard, from moooooving forward with one of their schemes!

Another item on tonight's COW agenda includes a discussion of 3rd ward Alderman Don Bachtard's idea to add pit bull terriers to the City code which lists "prohibited animals" but, from what we read, new Police Chief Kaminski is coaxing Ald. Bachtard back onto the reservation.

Another sure bet highlight from tonight's COW will be 5th ward Benedict Alderman Robert Ryan's solution for unkempt properties -- if people won't mow their lawns before the weeds grow to 12 inches high, then dammit, reduce the height allowed by the City code! But whatever you do, do not discuss issues of enforcement of the existing City code!

We just love City government in action!

On The Loose!

Original from -- www.devilstowertradingpost.com

There's a Council meeting tonight! The agenda (.pdf) looks interesting, to say the least!

Finance & Budget Committee item c looks very interesting! Our sources inside the City tell us this little gem is the brainstorm of 7th Ward Alderman Frank assWsol.

Our sources have also told us, because Ald. assWsol hasn't provided any documentation for publication on the City's website, this will be a discussion about --

"-- rebates to owners of “existing” single family homes up to a maximum of a $2,500.00 rebate based on 25% of the actual cost of the verifiable construction of flood mitigation/prevention projects performed on a single-family residence, dating back to January 1, 2008. All new construction is required to meet all appropriate building codes and is specifically excluded from this program. The goal of the program is to provide Park Ridge homeowners of existing single family residences who have had flood mitigation/prevention construction work performed on their dwelling or those adopting such improvements an opportunity to address the new issue of “100 year flooding” rainfall that has become all too “normal.” Only existing single-family homes (and town homes) will be eligible whether owner occupied or not. Landlords may apply. Projects covered by the program will include improvements for: overhead sewers; backwater valves in basements or yards; lift stations in yards; glass block basement windows in cases where a home is subject to flooding through window wells; drain tile with sump pumps; backup battery sump pumps; emergency generators for flood control systems, “French drains” which can demonstrate their effectiveness at retaining significant rainwater that causes home flooding and sump pump connections to storm sewers. The type of projects not covered include maintenance items such as normal plumbing repairs, sump pump replacements, valve replacements, sewer clean-outs and repairs. Funding for this program will be from General Fund property tax reserves."

We are indebted to our brave source for this information. And, if Ald. assWsol gets his way, the entire City budget and Park Ridge taxpayers will be even further "indebted."

The current City budget is in the red by $2million and counting.

Last year's City budget was in the red by $2.5million.

Property taxes and fees have been raised.

City staff has been asked to take salary freezes.

The City Council increased funding for community groups beyond the original budget.

And Ald. assWsol wants to enact legislation to subsidize private home improvements, retroactive to January 1, 2008, before the City's consultants and Flooding Task Force determine any definitive causes of flooding and make recommendations for courses of action.

While the 5th Ward's Benedict Alderman Robert Ryan wants to make sure there is the likelihood of adding even more residential density to the Uptown area, and more housing units to the already depressed real estate housing market.

B.O.H.I.C.A!

No PRU recap tomorrow. We'll provide a post for any reader reports of the meeting.

Venice Ridge? Council Recap!

According to our faithful sources, last night's City Council meeting lasted 5 1/2 hours.

The first half of the meeting was dedicated to listening to a long parade of residents detail their recent experiences with flooding, residents' concerns and ideas for addressing the problem, and marginal updates provided by city staff.

According to one of our sources, there was a disturbing pattern of people who related that they had never experienced any flooding until last September and then again this past June 19th. The most frequently asked question was, "What changed?" The PRU Crew is wondering the same thing, and hoping the learned engineers on the Flood Control Task Force, along with the consultants hired to study the problem, will answer that question.

Many people addressing the Council used the word "emergency" to convey their belief that the City must address this issue immediately. The Crew believes people have paid enough attention to know that without the problem being given "emergency" status, the likelihood of approval for spending any money to mitigate the problem is nil. We're told even Mayor Schmidtzkrieg characterized the problem as an "emergency", so we feel confident in believing the Mayor would not veto a spending ordinance approved for this matter by the Council.

One of the exasperating circumstances for residents seems to be the snail's pace at which information is being gathered, by both the consultants hired to study the issue and the Flood Task Force formed to discuss the issue to come up with recommendations, and formulation of a final plan. We hate to tell you this people, but things can only move as fast as they can move -- and then the search for money begins. And make no mistake about it, whatever plan is eventually settled on will require gobs of money. We hope a majority of residents will be prepared to pay for what it is they say they need and want.

In the meantime, people may want to keep Service Master on speed dial.

The second half of last night's Council meeting was devoted to discussions of zoning changes for commercial parcels along Northwest Highway.

The zoning for the Napleton Cadillac parking lot property was changed from a B1 zoning designation to an R3, which means residential, despite the recommendations made by the Planning and Zoning Commission. We trust the neighbors in the immediate area are pleased with this change. We also trust that nobody will be surprised if Mr. Bill Napleton becomes totally pissed off about the change and files a law suit. The Crew hasn't heard any rumors about such a thing, as we try to avoid moving in the same circles as the likes of Mr. Napleton, but we're just saying we wouldn't be surprised by such a move.

The old Audrey's property was left as-is in terms of the zoning designation, but should the owner wish to place a generator 5 feet from the sidewalk, that could now be done, as the Council voted on an amendment offered by 3rd ward Alderman Don Bachtard that allows generators to be placed as close as 5 feet from any property lot line.

We hear this change to the zoning code for the placement of generators is a particular triumph for one particular resident. We also hear this particular resident thinks his shit doesn't stink and he has the right to act obnoxiously at Council meetings -- throwing a stack of petitions at the Director of Community Development and demanding that she pass the petitions around to the Council.

We're told Mayor Schmidtzkrieg got all up in the guy's grill. Good.

As for the PRU Crew, we generally feel Ms. Davis operates at a level barely above incompetence but, nevertheless, she's still the Director of Community Development -- required to attend public meetings for the benefit of the public. Be careful, sir, at whom you throw things or we may be tempted to see to it you go home wearing whatever it is you chose to throw at a city staff member.

As for Alderman Bachtard and the other Alderidiots, your silence on the matter was duly noted.

There you have it people, an admittedly lite recap.

The Crew has decided to take the month of July off -- off meaning an irregular posting schedule, if any -- we'll see you again in August.

Council COW Round Up!

Mayor Schmidtzkrieg called last night's Council COW to order and our representatives got down to business.

As usual, the meeting agenda contained a line item allowing citizens to address the Council on non-agenda items -- Mr. Dave Areen took the opportunity to discuss the vacant property at Greenwood and Northwest Hwy., stating he believes the large swath of land in that area could be used for an underground water retention facility to relieve some of the flooding in the area. Nice thinking, Mr. Areen!

The Council then moved on to the Public Works portion of the meeting.

The Council COW members present -- Ryan and Carey were both absent -- voted unanimously to approve the contract for Traffic Controls and Street Light Maintenance.

The next item of business was approval of the low bid for replacement of the condenser unit for the City Hall air conditioning system. Public Works Director Wayne Zingsheim said the low bid for replacement of the system came in $4,000 less than the original proposal he previously presented to the Council and that no bids were received for only repair to the system.

City Manager Jim Hock told the Council that the cost of this unbudgeted item may be eligible for reimbursement from a $158,000 grant expected to be received by the City of Park Ridge from the federal government.

Both Aldermen Don Bachtard (3rd ward) and the 2nd ward's Lord of the Manor, Rich DiPietro asked Mayor Schmidtzkrieg if he considered this expenditure to be a matter of emergency spending and if the Mayor would otherwise veto this expenditure.

Mayor Schmidtzkrieg questioned Director Zingsheim at length about whether or not the City Hall system would breakdown. Zingsheim answered that, "That is the $64 thousand dollar question" and that his recommendation is to put in a new system now and avoid an emergency situation.

Director of Economic Development Kim Uhlig repeatedly reassured the Council that this expenditure would meet the federal requirements for showing energy savings and would be reimbursable from the expected federal grant.

Mayor Schmidtzkrieg again asked the Director of Public Works if it is "more likely than not the air conditioning system would fail" and Zingsheim again said he believes it is "more likely than not" that the system will soon fail and require replacement.

Alderman Bachtard expressed his grave concerns for adding to the budget deficit at this time and that he would rather "roll the dice" and take the risk when the matter is "not an emergency yet."

The Council COW then voted 3 (Allegretti, DiPietro and Wsol) to 1 (Bach) to approve replacement of the City Hall air conditioning unit.

Next up the Council discussed passage of and ordinance that will require businesses to remove snow from sidewalks. Seventh ward Alderman Frank Wsooooolman suggested changing the wording of the ordinance to say "commercial property" and that he is concerned that city staff has the discretion to issue daily tickets for non-compliance with the proposed ordinance.

Alderman Jim Allspaghetti expressed his concern that passing this ordinance may "create a cause of action" should a commercial property owner fail to remove any naturally accumulating snow. Both the City Attorney Buzz Hill and Mayor Schmidtzkrieg agreed that the ordinance could add language that specifically says the ordinance does not create a cause of action.

Alderman Wsol again asked if there are any other instances where city staff has discretion over the amount of fines and City Attorney Hill said there were but that it has been the City's policy, when issuing daily fines for non-compliance, to issue those tickets at the minimum.

The Council COW then voted unanimously to approve the ordinance.

The next item on the agenda, related to snow removal, was another plea from Public Works Director Zingsheim to change the current snow removal ordinance and allow Public Works to issue warnings and then tickets to people who plow or shovel snow into the street, after Public Works plows have cleared the roadway. Council members found the ordinance as written to be problematic -- Ald. DiPietro offered that whenever residents get wind of what the Council is proposing on this issue they then "come to enlighten the Council" on the issue, and for that reason Ald. DiPietro has opposed this ordinance during the 3 previous times it has been offered. The PRU Crew tried hard not to laugh when we read that in our source reports.

On the matter of passing and ordinance to make it unlawful to deposit snow from a public or private area onto the public way, the Council chose to defer the matter and allow city staff to try to more precisely word the ordinance.

The next item of business was to approve the placement of 11 parking meters along the North side of Summit Avenue, east of Washington Ave. Public Works Director Zingsheim assured the Council this would not add any expense to the current budget since the meters are in stock and staff is present during the day anyway, so there wouldn't be any additional labor costs involved.

The Council COW then voted unanimously to install the new meters.

The Council COW also voted unanimously to approve the mandatory sidewalk replacement plan -- with City Engineer Sarah Mitchell noting there are currently about 1000 sidewalks squares which meet the city rating for mandatory replacement.

The Council COW then discussed various flooding and traffic issues on Western Avenue, Touhy to Elm as well as hearing updates from the Public Works Director about flood control plans in other towns. Zingsheim noted that both Palatine and Arlington Hts. have subsidy plans that allow for city reimbursement of up to $5000 for private homeowners who install overhead sewer systems.

The PRU Crew feels using public funds to subsidize private property improvements is a very bad idea. We are told the Lord of the Manor noted the City of Park Ridge has provided this very option in the form of facade improvement grants to commercial properties, so this may be something to consider. Alderman Bachtard also strongly expressed his support for this idea.

The PRU Crew rests our case. Bad idea.

The Public Safety portion of the agenda was up next for Council COW discussion and, as expected, the Council COW unanimously approved an ordinance restricting use of skateboards in the underground parking garage.

Next, Hoopty Lou Jogman, who was sitting in for acting Police Chief Tom Swoboda, updated the Council on some IDOT issues with Red Speed's efforts to install red light cameras in Park Ridge. Hoopty Lou said Red Speed expects the cameras will be up and running by August.

The PRU Crew has previously stated our opinions of both red light cameras and Hoopty Lou -- 'nuff said.

The last item on the Council COW agenda brought kudos from Council COW members for Mayor Schmidtzkrieg's Flood Control Task Force, with Aldermen noting that to date the task force is populated with impressive talent which it is hoped will lead to workable suggestions for flooding controls.

Finally, Ald. Bachtard offered a brief update of on an O'Hare, ONCC, and FAA issue involving the FAA's reconsideration of the 65DNL sound level used to measure jet noise disruptions over communities. Ald. Bachtard noted that Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and the ONCC has pressed the FAA for this re-review of the matter.

The PRU Crew is wondering why Congresswoman Schakowsky didn't lock in this effort by insisting her proposed amendment to the 2009 FAA Re-authorization bill be made a part of that law? Not that we don't trust big hulking federal bureaucracies, but we don't.

There you go people! Your regular Council COW round up!

Council Recap! And A Note!

-- For our patient PRU readers, a quickie council recap!

As we reported yesterday, the City Council had another meeting planned for last evening. Most of the items on the Council's agenda for approval were listed under the consent agenda that assumes no public discussion is necessary, as the items being approved are considered routine. The PRU Crew does not recall the Council routinely approving any Ground Water Ordinance (.pdf) or Limited Environmental Indemnity Agreements, but under the Frimark administration lack of public discussion does seem to be a routine.

Our sources report that Mayor Howard took full advantage of the evening's lack of scheduled public discussion to thrill those in attendance with an endless series of comments, offered under the Mayor's report portion of the agenda, though none of his comments were listed as agenda items. As we know, Mayor Howard just loves to surprise everyone with his missives!

Mayor Howard's comments included another mumbled reading of a Youth Commission* Proclamation, as well as slaughtering the English language while reading a City press release and a press release from Rep. Rosemary Mulligan concerning O'Hare expansion. Neither of which are listed on the terrific medium for City communications to residents known as the Park Ridge City website.

The two agenda items listed for discussion by the Council last night were "Approval of Modifications to CPS 36 -- Use of City Facilities" and "First reading of Modification to the Liquor Ordinance (12-6-10) -- Live Entertainment.

The first item passed unanimously without any questions or discussions from the Mayor or Alderman.

The second item also passed unanimously without discussion. Though we are told Alderman Dave Schmidtzkrieg (1st ward) recused himself because he is holding a fundraiser at Uncle Dan's which we are told will include live entertainment.

Under New Business on the Council agenda, our sources report that Ald. Dave made a statement regarding the disappearance of yard signs -- asking that all members of the community respect each other's right to free speech and respecting each other's right to take part in the democratic process. PRUdos to Ald. Dave!

Also under New Business, Benedict Alderman Robert Ryan (5th ward) asked City Manager Jim Hock when they would discuss the "objectives and goals" for the creation of a City Noise Commission. Confusion ensued as City Manager Hock seemed to recall that the matter of forming a Noise Commission had been deferred to the Council's March meeting. Benedict Ald. Ryan is reported to have disagreed with Mr. Hock's recall. The PRU Crew can only assume Benedict Ryan didn't read one of the documents (.pdf -- pg. 2&3) in his Aldermanic packet -- but at least Benedict Ryan made it to the meeting!

Finally under New Business, 3rd ward Alderman Don Bachtard reported that the Public Works Department has budgeted money for a City-wide study of the Park Ridge sewer system, and he invited Public Works Director Wayne Zingsheim to explain why 2.05 inches of rain could cause 26 basements to flood, 50 streets to have minor flooding, and make 2 streets impassable. The answer is? Because the frozen February ground caused the water to run off and not be absorbed. According to Zingsheim the 2.05 inches of rain falling on frozen February ground was the equivalent of 3 to 4 inches of rain falling in a short period of time.

There you have it faithful PRU readers!

*Note* -- thanks to a PRU reader for the correction. The notes we received said "campus", but a double check with a few of our other sources inside the city confirms that while Mayor Howard mumbled Youth Campus it was ideed the Youth Commission.


-- A Note from the Crew

Please, you can stop sending us copies of the Mary Jo PADS email -- we've gotten a ton of them! We swear it! And yes, it's more of the same bullshit the PADS pushers have been spouting since discovering, after decades of residency, that Park Ridge doesn't have any homeless shelters.

As for the role PRU may have played in seeing to it the PRMA, PADS, and certain pastors did not get to run rough-shod over the rest of the community in pushing their latest pet social cause down everyone's throat without being subject to regulation -- you're welcome.

For those of you who haven't seen the latest round of email garbage on the PADS issue, you can read the crap pasted below -- tsk tsk, Mary Jo. Maybe you should just keep to Book Group activities such as reading, instead of writing.

"Hello to all of the PADS team,

I just wanted to get a quick e-mail out to you regarding the upcoming mayoral election. We all had first-hand experience of Dave Schmidt's role in derailing the PADS initiative last year. He publicly referred to homeless shelters as "flophouses" and "cesspools of infestation". He quoted Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged in advocating the philosophy that those in society who work and are successful are in no way obligated to help those who are not. He aligned himself with the Park Ridge Underground even when it vilified and ridiculed Fr. Carl and other church leaders and citizens who didn't share their anti-PADS sentiments. Many of the people who were affiliated with the PRU and against PADS now actively support Mr. Schmidt.

The reason I write all of this is not to dredge up bad memories, but to encourage you to let people who were not involved in the PADS initiative know about Mr. Schmidt's role in it. I recently had a conversation with a life-long Park Ridge resident who called me about the Sunday Suppers. She was so upset about the outcome of PADS, but delighted that we are doing the dinners. She then went on to tell me about voting for Dave Schmidt. She had no idea about his role in derailing PADS and thanked me again and again for letting her now about it. I think there are a lot of people out there who are looking for change in local government, but who are unaware of Mr. Schmidt's history.

Hopefully, we can get the message out that Dave Schmidt is NOT the change we need or want. In my estimation, Dave Schmidt, the Park Ridge Underground and the anti-PADS movement represented the antithesis of what a caring community should be. On the other hand, the past month-and-a-half of working with so many people of good faith in our community on the Sunday Suppers has revealed the best of Park Ridge. It has shown a spirit of fellowship, compassion and unity that I dearly hope we can continue to build on and nurture. During these tough economic times, it seems that we need an even greater spirit of compassion and empathy from our public leaders for those in society who are most in need. We need leaders who are advocates of inclusion, not exclusion. In regard to Howard Frimark, I can only comment about what I gleaned from the PADS experience of the past year. I know that he sincerely tried to find a way to make the PADS initiative work and has fully supported the Sunday Suppers. In fact, he and his wife stopped by at last week's dinner to see how things were going and to show their support. Mayor Frimark always seemed willing to find middle ground and compromise, while Mr. Schmidt was divisive and always seemed to be politically posturing himself. I just think it is important that voters are aware of the difference.

I'm sorry if I may have crossed a line by sending this, but it just seems that there is a lot riding on this upcoming election.

Thank you for "listening"!

Mary Jo"

Thanks for the Memories!

Courtesy of a packrat PRU reader, today we get to take a trip down memory lane.

The first stop on our trip takes us back to a Herald-Advocate article published back in March, 2003. In it we read that Howard Frimark, when campaigning to become the Alderman for the 4th ward, showed himself to be fully aware of the issues with O'Hare expansion and the actions the City of Park Ridge should take. Frimark is reported as having said, "-- now is the time for the City of Park Ridge to negotiate what is best for the community in terms of the airport."



Unfortunately for all of us, once Howard Frimark became the Mayor, he failed to take advantage of his position of leadership, and completely ignored his own stated belief on what the City of Park Ridge should have been doing "in terms of the airport."

The next stop on our trip brings us to an article from the Journal and Topics published in March, 2005. In the article then-Mayoral candidate Howard Frimark promised that "a big priority of his work as mayor" would be his "vision" for a "flood-free Park Ridge."



The WGN Radio video below shows us that Mayor Howard either needs new glasses or a new "vision" for Park Ridge.



The PRU Crew is sure Park Ridge needs new leadership.

Thanks for the memories, Mayor Howard!

How Long Can You Tread Water? - Freewheeling!

A record amount of rainfall again soaked all of us this past weekend. We hear things got a little dicey at places like Home Depot as residents were again making quick trips to purchase items such as shop-vacs. And residents are again dragging warped furniture and sodden rugs out to the curb for pick-up.

If this weren't such a regular occurrence, we'd be smacking our foreheads and downing V8 juice. Unfortunately, it's an all to frequent happening. It seems that if ComEd doesn't get us, the sewer system will.

Our Public Works, Police, and Fire personnel are to be given a hearty round of applause. We feel they did as good a job as they could, under the circumstances. Many volunteers and even our aldermen pitched in knocking on doors and sandbagging, while Mayor Howard kept Park Ridge safe from media crews by sacrificing himself to interviews.

All in all, it was a rough weekend. But as we've seen time and time again, the more demanding the task, the tougher the people of Park Ridge prove themselves to be. And many manage to stay in good humor too.

Remember folks, it could always be worse. Don't forget, ultimately it's just stuff. And to those with family down in Texas -- glad to hear everybody came through okay.

Sandbagged!

At least one desperate Park Ridge resident who called city hall to ask about getting sandbags was told, yes, she could have some. Five, to be exact. That's all.

"Tina O'Donnell and an army of seven friends and family members donned rubber gloves at her home on Goodwin Drive. The teacher has been staying at a friend's since her basement became filled with 3 feet of foul-smelling water.

The power to her house finally came back on during the cleanup effort at noon, nearly 72 hours after it was lost. The water in her basement receded on its own, and she was relieved to hear that the river, about a quarter of a mile west, was going down.

Despite the positive news, O'Donnell remains frustrated with the city's response. She said that when she called city hall about sandbags, she was told five was the limit.

"What good would that have done?" O'Donnell says. "And it would be nice to know what's going on. Other people got notes in their mailboxes. I haven't."

Full story: Daily Herald Relief as river begins to recede

For Ms. O'Donnell, and others, we'd like to suggest the following:

Those should come in handy during any future flooding.

They should also come in handy when city hall begins 'splaining its' handling of the storm's aftermath.