Goodmorning, Sunshine!

As we told you last week, Mayor Hammer Time Howard and his council lapdogs were busy putting the screws to Alderman Schmidtzkrieg (1st Ward) for daring to disclose public business to the public.

We wanted to do something to try to make Schmidtzkrieg feel better about his terrible behavior. After all, what's this world coming to when a representative actually goes around representing?! Can't have that. Surely Schmidtzkrieg is chastened.

Still, as all seasoned mid-westerners know, February can be one very dreary month. But March is now here and the calendar is progressing as expected toward Spring. We are looking forward to some nice warm sunshine!

So one of the Crew was given the task to look for warm sunny online images of warm sunny sunshine. And that tasky, surfing Crew member found something even better.

Nominations for Sunshine Trouble Maker of the Week!

Schmidtzkrieg, consider yourself nominated! But rest assured, we didn't call you "Schmidtzkrieg" in the glowing email we sent.

The Sunshine Trouble Maker of the Week awards are part of the “State Sunshine and Open Records” blog which is associated with the WikiFoia, a project of the Lucy Burns Institute. It's all about open and transparent government.

We're not kidding.

The Mighty Pen!

Artist, Stephen Hansen - zenithgallery.com

Almost two weeks ago, the Herald-Advocate published an editorial on the potential drawbacks of televising city council meetings; likening the endeavor to network reality television which, during the writer's strike, supplanted shows dependent upon professionally scripted plots.

'Reality' TV for public meetings?
February 28, 2008

Part of the editorial says, "So, given how quickly these staged "realities" paled in the public's patience, it is reasonable to ask, would local municipal meetings pull in any better ratings than, say, "Law and Order" or "Lost?"

The information we are about to reveal may come as a shock to the Herald-Advocate editor, but... "Law and Order" and "Lost" are fictional television dramas, not reality tv shows. And just so we're all clear, the "Flintstones" is not an historical documentary.

The PRU Crew now understands why so many of the stories that appear in the Herald-Advocate simply don't resemble the reality of what happened at municipal meetings -- the Herald-Advocate editor appears to confuse fiction with reality and must subsequently be encouraging the "professional writers" to "script" the stories they are telling! And that usually means providing a happy ending for local government.

The Herald-Advocate editorial goes on to say, "We certainly encourage residents to get interested and involved in knowing what their government is doing.

For Park Ridge, however, it means spending close to $130,000 to get the system up and running the first year -- except the city is facing an unexpectedly high budget deficit for 2008-09 and can't really afford it from a purely financial basis. To make it worth the effort, aldermen will have to convince themselves -- and their constituents -- that what happens in their meetings is worth the expense to transmit, and that the city's residents are significantly underserved without access to such coverage. We'd like to seem them consider a less ambitious, less expensive system, that might address the same needs."

Like.....maybe.....suggesting more constituents buy a subscription to the Herald-Advocate?

The PRU Crew does not recall this same level of concern for the fiscal well-being of Park Ridge when Mayor Howard and his goons were giving away $2.4 million dollars to Napleton Cadillac; $400,000 for environmental clean-up for their private property prior to a private sales transaction and $2,000,000 in sales tax benefits for their new location in town.

The fact that the Herald-Advocate takes a position that thinly veils its' own self-interest in being the preeminent source of reported information on city meetings tells us that the residents of Park Ridge are, and we quote, "significantly underserved."

Still we would even support the idea of the Herald-Advocate/Sun Times News Group charging municipal governments a flat yearly fee for taping and then hosting web-casts of municipal meetings, free to web viewers. But we are still ticked off about the archiving of print articles after only 30 days, so our "support" is rather unenthusiastic about any involvement of the Sun Times News Group.

The editorial also posed the question, "What happens when newer aldermen or board members ask, frequently, for explanations of issues which have been on the table for years -- which all the loyal listeners already may understand?"

Answer = "Loyal listeners" learn their new alderman or board member is a dumbass who hasn't been paying attention, or watching broadcasts of municipal meetings! That may be embarrassing for the new dumbass, but at least it will alert the "loyal listeners" to lower their expectations. After all, aldermen and board members are well-intended volunteers, and just because somebody promised to do a good job for you doesn't mean you should actually expect them to!

The Herald-Advocate editorial concludes with, "And those who have sat through many a City Council meeting also know that questions asked do not always have a tidy answer by the end of the program -- the "Law and Order" model, where everything is resolved -- nor is there any guarantee that there will be an answer given to the public, even if the aldermen are answered in private later -- the "Lost" model where every answer raises new questions."

And people having access to that reality would make it harder to write those happy endings, wouldn't it?

Cash Out.

Enjoy the weekend.

Suckers-R-Us!

Last week we linked to the Burbcopschicago post, $afety Fir$t. The piece was about Red Light Cameras. But we also wanted PRU readers to become aware of the many officers who seem to feel they, themselves, are also being used as revenue generating machines for over-spent municipal budgets.

The Burbcops' post noted the cynicism of politicians who tell the public they are concerned for traffic safety matters, while behind the scenes the issue seems to be all about revenue generation.

So PRU readers, let's play a game -- The PRU Crew calls this game, "Suckers-R-Us."

Start...If you were an alderman, and you were on a city council that had to find a way to generate revenue to help reduce an unexpected city budget general fund deficit of $600,000...

Question #1...Would you vote to increase taxes?

Question #2...Would you vote to increase the parking tax by $1 per car at one of your largest local employers, say...a local hospital?

Question #3...Would you then think about that increase for a few days?

Question #4...Would you remember the amount of revenue that local hospital contributed to the city budget through the recent construction and permit fees the city collected -- the contribution that local hospital made to the new paint job on your town's water tower -- the money that local hospital gave to your constituents for repaving one of your ward's streets?

Question #5...Would you feel regret for having to increase the parking tax on that local hospital's employees and visitors?

If you answered "Yes" to question #5, go back to Start and begin the game again...

If you answered "No", proceed to the next question...

Question #6...After thinking about the increased parking tax, would you hit upon the idea that employees and visitors may try to avoid paying that extra dollar by trying to find parking in the residential area surrounding that local hospital?

Question #7...What would you do then?

Question #8...Would you send an email to the Public Safety committee chairman suggesting that the police department patrol the area to make sure no traffic safety issues arise from the possibility of more cars being parked throughout the neighborhood?

If you answered "Yes" to question #8, go back to Start and begin the game again...

If you answered "No", proceed to the next question...

Question #9...Would you send an email to the Public Safety committee chairman suggesting that the police department patrol the area to make sure your constituents aren't being inconvenienced by people parking too close to, or blocking, driveways?

If you answered "Yes" to question #9, go back to Start and begin the game again...

If you answered "No", proceed to the next question...

Question #10...Would you send an email to the Public Safety committee chairman suggesting that the police department be aware of a "revenue generating opportunity" surrounding the local hospital, because the hospital's employees and visitors may be looking to avoid paying the increased parking tax?

If you've gotten to question #10 and you answered "Yes", congratulations!

You could be a Second Ward Alderman.

Hey! Mr. Milissis! How'd you score?

Waiting to Exhale.

We first told you about the problems of air quality at the Public Works Service Center back in early January in our post Thar She Blows. At that time the Public Works employees were engaged in discussions with the City of Park Ridge for a new contract.

We hate to admit it, but the Crews' cynical selves thought that the efforts by IUOE Local 150 to address the air quality issue with the city were, at some level, part of their negotiating tactics. We believe the air quality issue is a serious matter for our city employees, but we thought that once the workers agreed to a contract, the matter would die and their union reps would go have a beer. So we weren't surprised when we read an article in the Herald-Advocate headlined, Budget constraints may delay fixing emissions fumes at Public Works.

In that article we read, "Availability of funds will determine if any projects are completed." And the PRU Crew thought...



If the Mayor, City Council, and then City Manager Tim Schuenke could find $400,000 dollars to give to Napleton for the environmental clean-up of their private property, then they can damn well find half that amount to clean up the environmental air quality at the Public Works Service Center to ensure the health and welfare of our own city employees.

The PRU Crew had planned to rip the union, Director of Public Works, Wayne Zingsheim, and our elected officials for their callous disregard for the health and welfare of the men and women they work with.

So now it is with great satisfaction that we report to you that at Monday night's City Council meeting the Local 150 representative, Steve Karpowitz, again raised the issue under the council's agenda section, "new business".

Mr. Karpowitz disseminated study material to the City Council members and, as detailed in an article in today's Journal & Topics, concluded his remarks by saying, "Local 150 is here to stand beside these employees...and make sure we have a good resolution."



And that, people, is exactly what a union is supposed to do -- stand beside their members and seek good resolutions to problems. Especially when those problems may pose short and long term risks to the physical health of union members.

We were disappointed in reports about Public Works Director Zingsheim's tepid efforts to offer a modest solution to the issue, and that he only did so after the union rep. raised the matter before the council.

Zing, you are now the guy in charge. This is your facility. These are your people. You work with them every day. You should be fighting harder on their behalf.

But today the PRU Crew offers PRUdos to the 5th Ward's Benedict Alderman Ryan. After discussion of the issue among City Council members at Monday night's meeting, it was Ald. Ryan who captured the bottom line by saying, "I don't think we can compromise the health of our employees."

Good thinking, Alderman Ryan.

Hammer Time Howard!

Our sources have reported back to us the entertaining show Hammer Time Howard put on for all to see at last night's City Council meeting.

As some of you may have noticed, last night's City Council agenda was nearly devoid of any actual city business. But that doesn't mean that our fine Mayor didn't have his own political business to attend to and, as many of you know, Mayor Howard never misses an opportunity to use city resources for his own political purposes.

After the City Council recognized three brave citizens for helping to save the life of a local woman whose home had been engulfed by fire, then anticlimactically voted to name Ms. Julianna Maller City Manager pro-tempore, Hammer Time Howard's song and dance routine began!

First came the approval of the "separation agreement" with Chief of Police, Jeff Caudill. Alderman Wsooooolman (7th Ward) asked the City Attorney for clarification of any potential conflict regarding the agreement's language concerning the mutual "non-disparagement" clause and the requirement that Caudill cooperate fully with the police department audit.

The City Attorney assured all present that, if the city chooses to disclose the results of the audit to the public, the information could be "managed" in a way that doesn't violate the mutually agreed to terms that the city and Caudill not talk bad about each other.

Alderman Schmidtzkrieg (1st Ward) then asked if the Mayor would be seeking input from the members of the public who were present for the meeting. Not surprisingly, the Mayor said he would not be asking members of the public to participate in the discussion.

Then Alderman Schmidtzkrieg took the opportunity to express his "grave concerns" about the disclosure of the terms of the separation agreement. Schmidtzkrieg noted that a close friend of the Mayor, someone to whom Frimark had given a substantial campaign contribution, had been revealing information to members of the public prior to the City Council's having been informed of the agreement. Alderman Schmidtzkrieg noted that retired police officer, Robert Kristie had been discussing the agreement in public. Schmidtzkrieg then said that the leak of this information was a very serious matter and that since Mayor Howard is a close friend of Robert Kristie, who we reported to you yesterday was overheard discussing the terms of the agreement at a Maine South event, would the Mayor please investigate the source of the leak and ask his friend where he received the information? Schmidtzkrieg indicated that the Mayor should investigate who leaked this information to Mr. Kristie and report back to the council at their next meeting. The Mayor made no comment.

The PRU Crew predicts the Mayor's "investigation" of who leaked the information to Robert Kristie will be as fruitful as O.J. Simpson's efforts to track down his ex-wife's murderer.

The City Council then voted unanimously to accept the separation agreement between Chief of Police, Jeff Caudill, and the city.

Next on the agenda was Mayor Howard's prepared statement on "council decorum". Frimark began by accusing "an elected official" of disclosing confidential information to the press and public that may place the taxpayers of Park Ridge at a disadvantage. He went on to accuse the "elected official" of "laying waste" to the trust of the public. Mayor Howard concluded his rambling and repetitive remarks by saying that he, Mayor Howard Frimark, City Clerk Betty Henneman, Aldermen DiPietro, Bach, Allegretti, Ryan and Carey have all attached their names to the condemnation of the "elected official's" actions.

That Wsooooolman, what a trouble maker!

Alderman Schmidtzkrieg then asked City Attorney, Everett "Buzz" Hill, if the Mayor's remarks and the attachment of the names of 7 of the city's elected officials to the "condemnation" constitutes a violation of the Illinois Open Meetings Act (IOMA), since the matter had not been discussed and decided upon at a public meeting prior to the final offering of the public "condemnation".

The City Attorney is reported to have swallowed his tongue. The only response the City Attorney could provide at that moment was to offer that "it depends upon how it was done". Alderman Schmidtzkrieg offered that the City Attorney could look into the details of IOMA and get back to the Council on the issue at a later date.

With Hammer Time Howard's song and dance routine having come to an end, the City Council moved rapidly through the rest of the empty agenda.

A few issues came up under "new business", and in a future PRU posting we will have PRUdos to give to IUOE Local 150 and, believe it or not, Benedict Alderman Ryan.

Break it down!

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.