Straight In!

Diddle for the middle and enjoy the weekend!

PRUdos to the Wsolman!

In a piece of City Council action that received little fanfare or attention, the 7th Ward's Alderman Frank Wsoooool man managed to get his ubiquitously ass-covering Council peers to agree to place a referendum question on the November election ballot asking voters to decide whether or not they want to stagger the election terms for Park Ridge aldermen.

Journal & Topics: Referendum to Decide On Staggered Terms

However, we do suspect that the unanimous support of the Council was given in part because it may be that some of these Aldermen believe they are guaranteed to serve the full 4-year terms to which they were elected.

It seems to us that Ald. Wsol understands not only the importance of Council experience, but also the greater importance of ensuring the election process allows the citizens of Park Ridge to benefit from that experience.

We hope that any opinion received from the State's Attorney General will allow for the staggered elections to begin in 2009. But even if that doesn't happen, we offer our PRUdos to the 7th Ward's Wsoooool man for taking the long view on the best interests of Park Ridge voters.

And we hope the voters of Park Ridge take advantage of this opportunity.

A PRU Two-fer!

Today we read in the Journal & Topics that Mayor Howard is upset about "the blog" again. Excellent!





Mayor Howard, you may file a formal complaint with the PRU Crew Complaint Department. Please take a number and the next available representative will be with you shortly.



In the future, Mayor Howard, remember to consult your oath of office and refrain from any attempt to use the conventional press to promulgate your lies; for your convenience, we've added a link to the Merriam-Webster definition that also includes a pronunciation key for the word 'promulgate'.

We understand that you like to appear to be in control of everything; it helps your stature among your generous contributors. But Howard, we just aren't willing to sit idly by while you try to dupe the public, our friends and neighbors, by using the dupes in the press as your unwitting mouth pieces.

The times they are a-changin'.

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At last night's Procedures and Regulations committee meeting the topic of whether or not St. Mary's Episcopal Church and the Journeys from PADS to Hope organization will have to seek a special use permit before opening a homeless shelter was discussed.

Sources tell us that the committee, chaired by 4th ward Alderman Allspaghetti, serving with 1st ward Ald. Schmidtzkrieg and the Unfriendly Ghost of the 6th ward, Ald. Tom Carey, are likely to recommend that a special use permit be sought before a shelter is allowed to open.

Ald. Schmidtzkrieg offered compelling evidence from a Seventh Circuit Court decision that he said clearly lays out the framework allowing that a "neutral zoning ordinance is applicable to churches".

We expect that at a future meeting the Procedures and Regulations committee will recommend for approval to the full City Council that any entity seeking to open a homeless shelter anywhere in Park Ridge will be required to seek a special use permit.

We hope the full City Council adopts that recommendation.

In The Spotlight!

anony-mouse said...

This is soooooo classic Howie (from today's online Herald-Advocate): "Frimark stated that Hock was not his first choice for city manager, claiming that his preferred candidate withdrew his name from consideration "upon realization that the political atmosphere was so toxic that [his] vision of Park Ridge would not be realized."

TOXIC?!! Howie, you CREATED that!!!
May 6, 2008 8:41 AM


Herald-Advocate: Updated 5/5: Park Ridge OKs James Hock as city manager

The PRU Crew would like to extend our welcome to the new Park Ridge City Manager, Mr. James Hock. We hope that, unlike Mayor Howard's first choice for city manager, you work to realize a vision of Park Ridge that is the residents' and not just your own.

Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

One of the City Council's committees is the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Boards and Commissions. It is comprised of the four chairmen of the council's four standing committees; Public Works, Finance and Budget, Procedures and Regulations, and Public Safety. The four Aldermen making up the current Mayor's Advisory Committee are Ald. Don DreadBach (3rd ward), the Lord of the Manor, Ald. Rich DiPietro (2nd ward), Ald. James Allspaghetti (4th ward), and Ald. Frank Wsoooool man (7th ward), respectively. Ald. James Allspaghetti, in his role as chairman of Procedures and Regulations, is supposed to automatically become the chairman of the Mayor's Advisory Committee, though Ald. DiPietro is serving in that role currently.

The Mayor's Advisory committee's job is to interview prospective candidates for appointment to the city's various boards and commissions, then make recommendations for appointment to the Mayor. During the candidate interview process, which is by law an open meeting, the Advisory committee usually opens each interview with a statement that includes reminding each candidate of the "importance of attending at least 75% of meetings."

The PRU Crew decided to take a look and see if the Aldermen were practicing what they have been preaching to the prospective appointees for boards and commissions.

We took a look at the various meeting minutes available on the city's website to determine aldermanic attendance to council meetings (including workshops and special meetings), as well as the four standing committees (including any special meetings) on which each of the aldermen is serving. We've made every attempt to double and triple check our findings, but if you've ever tried to search the city's website, then you know what an abysmal site it is to surf.

For the City Council, there are minutes available for 32 meetings; from 5-21-07 up to 4-21-08. Four "special meetings" held in April do not seem to have minutes available online.

For the Finance and Budget committee, there are minutes available for 12 meetings; from 6-12-07 up to 2-12-08, but we have also counted the 2-16-08 Budget workshop into our count, as that meeting was referenced during a recent city council meeting, making the meeting count we are using, 13. The Finance and Budget committee does not appear to have met in March, and despite the fact that the 4-7-08 meeting minutes were scheduled for approval on the 4-8-08 meeting agenda, they are not available online (not during our last check, anyway) and neither are the minutes of the 4-8-08 meeting, 4-14-08 C.O.W. meeting, nor the 4-21-08 Budget Hearing.

The Public Works committee has meeting minutes available online from 6-6-07 up to 4-16-08 for a total meeting count of 20.

The Procedures and Regulations committee has a meeting count of 10, based on available minutes; from 6-5-07 up to 4-15-08.

Finally, the Public Safety committee's available online minutes, from 5-30-07 up to 4-3-08, allows a total meeting count of 12 to be used for attendance-taking purposes.

And here we go!

First Ward, Alderman Dave Schmidt; is serving on the Procedures and Regulations committee, and serves as an alternate to the Public Works committee.

-- has missed 2 out of 32 city council meetings -- 94% attendance.
-- has missed 0 out of 10 Procedures and Regulations committee meetings -- 100% attendance.
-- has attended 5 Public Works meetings in his role as a committee alternate.

Second Ward, Alderman Rich DiPietro; is chairman of the Finance and Budget committee and serves as an alternate to the Procedures and Regulations committee.

-- has missed 1 out of 32 city council meetings -- 97% attendance.
-- has missed 0 out of 13 Finance and Budget committee meetings -- 100% attendance.
-- has attended 1 Procedures and Regulations meeting in his role as a committee alternate.

Third Ward, Alderman Don Bach; is chairman of the Public Works committee and serves on the Public Safety committee; he does not serve as an alternate to any of the council's standing committees.

-- has missed 1 out of 32 city council meetings -- 97% attendance.
-- has missed 1 out of 20 Public Works committee meetings -- 95% attendance.
-- has missed 1 out of 12 Public Safety committee meetings -- 92% attendance.

Fourth Ward, Alderman James Allegretti; is chairman of the Procedures and Regulations committee, and serves on the Public Safety committee; he does not serve as an alternate to any of the council's standing committees.

-- has missed 3 out of 32 city council meetings -- 91% attendance.
-- has missed 0 out of 10 Procedures and Regulations committee meetings -- 100% attendance.
-- has missed 2 out of 12 Public Safety committee meetings -- 83% attendance.

Fifth Ward, Alderman Robert Ryan; is serving on the Public Works committee and the Finance and Budget committee; he does not serve as an alternate to any of the council's standing committees.

-- has missed 2 out of 32 city council meetings -- 94% attendance.
-- has missed 8 out of 20 Public Works committee meetings -- 60% attendance.
-- has missed 4 out of 13 Finance and Budget committee meetings -- 69% attendance.

Sixth Ward, Alderman Thomas Carey; is serving on the Finance and Budget committee and the Procedures and Regulations committee; he serves as an alternate to the Public Safety committee.

-- has missed 1 out of 32 city council meetings -- 97% attendance.
-- has missed 1 out of 13 Finance and Budget committee meetings -- 92% attendance.
-- has missed 2 out of 10 Procedures and Regulations committee meetings -- 80% attendance.
-- has attended 1 Public Safety meeting in his role as a committee alternate.

Seventh Ward, Alderman Frank Wsol; is chairman of the Public Safety committee and serves on the Public Works committee; he serves as an alternate to the Finance and Budget committee.

-- has missed 1 out of 32 city council meetings -- 97% attendance.
-- has missed 0 out of 20 Public Works committee meetings -- 100% attendance.
-- has missed 0 out of 12 Public Safety committee meetings -- 100% attendance.
-- has attended 2 Finance and Budget meetings in his role as a committee alternate.

Pretty darn good, for the most part. As for the "reminder" about the "importance of attending at least 75% of meetings", maybe it's time somebody had a little chat with a certain 5th Ward alderman.

And while we're on the topic of attendance, try to make time this evening to attend both the 6:30 PM City Council PADS Workshop as well as the 7:30 PM City Council meeting; both are at Park Ridge City Hall.

Recognize this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcKurvm_0oE

If not, ask the nearest kid to tell you what it is.

Have a "Super" weekend!

Benedict Alderman Ryan, Illustrated!

Benedict Alderman Robert Ryan (5th ward) has penned a letter in today's edition of the Park Ridge Herald-Advocate. We decided to illustrate his missive here.

Finding right solution that all can embrace

I would to thank the Ministerial Association and St. Mary's for holding a public open house Monday, April 28 about the proposed PADS site suggested at St. Mary's, and for all the work that St Mary's has put into the proposed PADS program.

I believe that almost everyone would like to help the homeless -- help give them a better chance in life, help them while they are down, and give them courage. Such generosity and compassion have long been the cornerstones of this community.

However, it is critical that we as a community find a location that all can embrace. Such a positive outcome requires dialogue in the context of a process that explores all options available. To that end, I encourage the Ministerial Association to:

• Form a subcommittee to consider other sites in Park Ridge; this committee should include residents as well as PADS representatives.



• Agree upfront on a set of 4 to 5 key criteria for an optimum location.

• Hold another public meeting in three months or so to share their findings, including a comparison of sites using the St. Mary's site as the "base condition" for comparison purposes.

Perhaps this dialogue will prove that St. Mary's is the best site, but this dialogue is critical and should take place to ensure the final site is the optimum location.

I would rather delay the opening of a PADS site for six months than select a site that has been identified without exploring other options and before the concerns of neighbors and community members have been addressed.

Robert Ryan, Alderman, 5th Ward