A Rare Saturday PRU Post.

Above for your viewing pleasure is the highly offensive political ad placed in this week's rag by Mr. Joe Egan of police station referendum petition infamy. The ad that allegedly inspired Mayor Howard to pick up one of his phones and call Mr. Oberweis to investigate this matter.

Mr. Egan, we have no reason to believe you are not telling the truth about anything Howard Frimark has done and said. The PRU Crew knows the man far too well. The PRU Crew has watched the man for too many years. We hope you now understand the bottomless black hole you are dealing with. We hope you are taking the necessary precautions.

Acting Chief of Police Tom Swoboda is charged with investigating the allegations of the participation of on-duty, uniformed officers in this matter, and so the PRU Crew will have nothing further to say on that portion of this story.

We are thoroughly disgusted by the stupidity of all involved in this matter. You have failed to understand the long term harm you have done to your own cause for the immediate gratification of political expediency. Stupid. Asinine. Idiocy.

PRU.ADMIN

NOTE -- All comments to this post will be pre-screened exclusively by PRU.ADMIN and all comments not worded with extreme care and judged to be wholly accurate will be rejected.

Relax With Friends.

Have a good weekend.

Addendum --

PRU readers --We just received a copy of an email with an account of what has taken place today, and what anony-mouse first alluded to in comments posted here.

We haven't had a chance to verify the email, and the Pub-dogs seem to have scooped us again.

You can read the account on their website --

Pub-dogs -- Howard the Bully

We sure are hoping at least part of this story isn't true.

Don't Give Up! - Guest Comment

Submitted for your consideration by Ms. Christine Kutt Zolt

Many thanks to any and all citizens of the bubble known as Park Ridge for your support of ORD-REST - the organization created to gain relief from the O'Hare Modernization Plan. As apolitical as I would like to be, I will hold my tongue for private, verbal discussions - but I will say this. I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore.

The OMP is in process. We coulda, shoulda, woulda done things different and protected our little hamlet from the Big Bad City of Chicago and the FAA. But we didn't. Still, not all hope is lost.

In case you've not noticed, there is a new sheriff in town - who has a million reasons to do the right thing to protect the health, welfare and economic status of all citizens - even those who live near airports. Of course, our little problem here in Mayberry isn't going to be at the top of his list, yet once he solves the economic crisis (don't get me started), ensuring quality of education, environmental safety and value of prosperous markets will come into play. Our little problem is the perfect opportunity for the elected officials of the great State of Illinois to be heroes, help solve our problem and that of those in Orange County CA, Seattle WA, Cincinnati OH and other areas where air traffic is intolerable.

There is a way to achieve balance. We don't know what that balance is, but let's go with this:

The team that has created ORD-REST wants to search, find, aim, fire, shoot and hit the target that will gain relief. We're committed and we'll do our best to move this agenda forward. Luckily I'm "in between opportunities" and only working part time - so I can throw myself into and at this effort.

The residents of Park Ridge are paying big for the City of Chicago to fill their bank accounts whilst using our skies. All residents in Park Ridge are affected as this intolerable increase in air traffic - passing over 5 elementary schools and pointed directly at our top ranked High School - is foxtrotting with everyone's property - in every way, in every corner, in every ward of our City. To suggest that "we" didn't care about air traffic until the new runway opened is inaccurate. Many of us supported the SOC and have been commenting and fighting airport noise for many years. The opening of 9L/27R was the straw that broke the camels back - the dam has broken and the flooding has begun.

I'm not ready to give up. I hope you aren't either. Attend the next ORD-REST meeting scheduled for January 17th at 1:30 at the Park Ridge Library to find out how you can be part of the solution.

Or you could move.

Respectfully,
Christine Kutt Zolt

They May Try This Next!

By: Gary Larson, The Far Side


As regular PRU readers know, we usually post a city council recap the day after city council meetings. But yesterday we decided to bite the bullet and post about the O'Hare expansion issue -- we felt we had sat on the topic without comment for long enough. We had been looking to find something, anything, to offer PRU readers on the O'Hare issue as a beacon of possibility, so we took our sweet time researching the issue. We are grateful we didn't get a beating.

So thank you for your patience! And once again today we have a quickie council recap for you, plus a snippet.

Today's recap has been written and submitted by a guest reporter -- Naomi de Plume! We are grateful for the opportunity to publish this guest perspective.

We've got a sneaking feeling that the next move Mayor Howard and his Aldermorons may try, to get people to stop paying attention, is to feign death! We say everybody should hold out for the real McCoy!

O.k. -- we're just kidding about that...mostly.

Enjoy!

Council Recap!

Howard Frimark’s handpicked City Council started off the new year the way it spent all of 2008, thumbing its noses at the residents of Park Ridge. In a precursor of things to come, almost every matter on the agenda was designated as a “consent” item, meaning there was no discussion at all before they were approved. Get used to it.

Most of the evening’s festivities centered on the Council’s ill-conceived plan to go to a Committee-of-the-Whole process. Incredibly, Fourth Ward Alderman Jim All-spaghetti even admitted, proudly in fact, that now the Council will be able to put almost every issue on a consent agenda and forego public debate at Council meetings, because all of the discussions will already have taken place at the COW meetings!

Rubber stamps will be in short supply in 2009, because the Council will be using them all. So if you happen to be a resident who chooses to attend Council meetings to find out what the Council is up to, well you’re out of luck. When Alderman Dave Schmidtzkrieg warned that the COW process was inherently flawed because the public will have even less opportunity to follow what the Council is up to, he was told that any alderman who wants to can pull an item off the consent agenda. Right. We can see it now: an alderman will do just that, say his piece, and the others will sit there in stony silence or criticize the offending alderman for wasting their time since the discussion has already occurred. Dollars to donuts that All-spags himself will be the first guy to say just that. And what if a citizen wants to pull an item off the consent agenda? Well, tough luck. You don’t count.

Once that fiasco was through, Alderman Schmidt updated the Council on the citizens’ efforts to get a police facility referendum on the April ballot. He reported that Joe Egan & Co. have obtained over 1000 signatures despite the fact that Park Ridge experienced its most inhospitable December weather in years. Schmidt implored the Council to do the right thing and listen to the residents who want to have a voice in this matter by doing in 5 minutes what it has taken these valiant citizens weeks of braving snow and cold and rain to accomplish. The reaction from the other aldermen? Stony silence. Better get used to that as well.

Naomi de Plume
Cub reporter for the Underground


Snippet!

We've been wondering what the Journal & Topics has been up to because we hadn't seen anything come over the wires from them in a while -- now we know! They're upgrading their web site; welcome to a brave new world, Journalites!

And here's a sample of the JOURNALonline to come, along with an explanation of something we've been scratching our heads about too!

You May Hate Us Today.

It is not our intention to have you hate us. But we understand that sometimes those offering a message that won't be well received become a target -- a shoot the messenger response that is all too common. However, when we decided to begin blogging, we pledged to ourselves that we would speak the truth as we understand it and offer our honest opinion on public policy matters for review.

Today's post will be exactly that.

On the issue of the new 9L/27R O'Hare runway, and O'Hare expansion in general --

The PRU Crew is of the opinion that we are all screwed. The PRU Crew is of the opinion that there is nothing that can be done to undo the new runway opening -- it is not going to be closed. The PRU Crew is of the opinion that litigation would be a losing proposition in terms of reducing runway usage or reinstating flight caps, and would prove so costly that undertaking such an effort is not worth either the time or expense; a lesson our involvement in the Suburban O'Hare Commission should be seen as having taught us all.

We would be more than pleased to be proven wrong on all fronts, from every angle.

As we have researched the history of this issue, we've come to understand that our elected officials and the local press failed us on so many occasions and in so many ways we can't count them. And still we can't make any claims about not knowing this was coming our way.

Going forward, we see some potential for relief through compensation for reduced property values -- both for the property owners and the City of Park Ridge. Please note, such "relief" is not the same as "relief" from jet noise, frequency of flights, nor reductions in pollution -- people should ask themselves the difficult question as to whether they would be willing to accept monetary relief or not, because that form of relief is all we see as being potentially available, even though we also see that potential as very very remote.

Also going forward, we hope Park Ridge voters will consider the history of the issue and take note of those elected officials who did and did not do their jobs on our behalf. The Pub-dogs have an excellent post which discusses some of the more recent history of (in)actions on the part of Park Ridge elected officials concerning O'Hare expansion.

Finally, to the ORD-REST.com group being lead by Christine Kutt Zolt --

1. -- Would you please consider getting rid of the auto-play jet noise on your site? Those clicking in from work are less likely to do so if the rest of their work mates will also be subject to jet noises at the office -- keep in mind, those most interested in your site are probably those already being subjected to jet noise, so more of the same seems like salt in the wound.

2. -- As we previously stated and feel is worth repeating -- we would be more than pleased to be proven wrong on all fronts, from every angle. We wish you the best of luck and if we come across anything we feel may be helpful or useful to your cause, we will pass it along.

3. -- Anyone who is suffering under the delusion of believing the issue of O'Hare expansion is not about politics, or that politics can be kept out of the discussion, should read this speech, given on June 16, 2008 by the Acting Director of the FAA -- and we quote, "Airport expansions are hard to accomplish and this has been a tough political fight. This makes completion of the entire plan even more critical. Mayor, stay the course. Even greater days are ahead for O’Hare."

4. -- Seeking relief for one area of Park Ridge could subject another area of Park Ridge to all the noise, pollution, and safety concerns residents along Belle Plaine are now aware of. We know that there are those in Park Ridge who are very pleased with the shift in air traffic, because this shift has provided them with some relief from the constant noise. Be advised, we've received some pointed correspondence from those folks who feel "ORD-REST is nothing but a bunch of *%$#, who never gave a *%$# about any "safety concerns" when the planes weren't flying directly over their own precious property." We've politely responded that as one part of Park Ridge goes, so goes all of Park Ridge; it's in everyone's best interest to work together.

5. -- We feel at this point one of the best hopes for Park Ridge is the completion of the southern-most runways in the O'Hare expansion plan -- those runways may again shift some air traffic away from the Touhy/Belle Plaine/Devon approaches to O'Hare.

6. -- And we recognize this may be the most distasteful part of the message, but -- there is virtually no denying that O'Hare Airport is one hell of an economic generator for the region. We fully recognize that Park Ridge is taking it up the backside in suffering for the sake of the economic benefits others will enjoy, particularly the City of Chicago. But we hope that when the arguments for relief are made, those doing so will keep in mind there are benefits too.

Let the beating of the PRU Crew begin -- we'll understand.

Addendum -- Press Release just received.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, January 5, 2009

A Statement from Park Ridge Alderman Dave Schmidt, candidate for Park Ridge Mayor, on the O'Hare runway issue

Howard Frimark has failed the residents of Park Ridge on the O'Hare runway issue to the point that they have been forced to take matters into their own hands. I respect, admire and applaud citizen activism. That is why I commend the organizers and members of ORD-REST, the newly-created organization working for relief from the noise and pollution caused by the new runway. In one month's time, these citizens have done more to address the problems presented by the new runway than the entire Park Ridge city government has done since the plans for the new runway configuration were unveiled in 2001.

But as much as I support the efforts of ORD-REST, for which I serve as a member on its legal subcommittee, I must question how and why we have reached the point where our citizens are forced to do for themselves what the duly elected City officials should have been doing on their behalf years ago. Unfortunately, Frimark did nothing since taking office in May 2005 to address the many issues posed by the new runway until the horse had left the barn and was flying over the residents' heads.

Unlike most other member communities of the O'Hare Noise Compatibility Commission ("ONCC") which recognized the importance of being represented at ONCC meetings by their mayors, since his election in 2005, Frimark has consistently chosen to pawn off his duties on aldermanic surrogates, thereby conveying the unmistakable message to our fellow member communities, the City of Chicago and the Federal Aviation Administration that the ONCC and the new runway itself meant little to Park Ridge.

Back in June 2005, just a month after taking office, Frimark met with Mayor Daley in what was described in the August 2005 Spokesman as a "congenial and positive meeting" in which Frimark asked Daley "that we be kept informed about all developments that will affect the citizens of Park Ridge." Frimark, however, completely dropped the ball after that. In fact, he was advised at a December 2005 City Council meeting by then-Alderman Jeannie Markech that O'Hare expansion was going to have a significant impact on Park Ridge, and that Frimark, himself, should be attending the main ONCC meetings to safeguard the interests of Park Ridge residents. However, he ignored that caution. In February 2006, Markech again implored Frimark to attend the ONCC meetings. ONCC records reflect he went to just one. Incredibly, even after the new runway opened in November 2008 and the residents were up in arms, Frimark chose not to attend the December ONCC meeting in Rosemont, a meeting that I did attend along with more than 100 very angry and concerned Park Ridge residents.

Because of Frimark's total neglect of this issue, we will never know what concessions, considerations and benefits Park Ridge might have achieved had he actively participated in ONCC meetings when it really mattered. In typical Frimark fashion, however, not only does he refuse to acknowledge his failure to lead when it mattered most, he is blaming others for his own failings and using his office as our top elected official to do nothing more than cheerlead the citizens from the sidelines as they try to salvage what they can in the way of noise and air pollution reduction. To deflect criticism, Frimark and his political allies are now claiming that they were duped by the City of Chicago into believing that the runway would only be used on occasion and only by small planes. However, in a letter to Frimark which is posted on the City of Park Ridge website, the FAA states that "[p]rojected usage of the runways was disclosed in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and source documents made available for public review and comment….The FAA met with and provided information to the ONCC and communities surrounding O'Hare…prior to approving [Chicago's] requested runway alignment." The FAA letter also states that the EIS reflected the runway would be used for all types of aircraft. In other words, if Frimark had been paying attention and attending the ONCC meetings, he would have known the real situation and perhaps been in a position to do something about it.

What can we hope to achieve at this late date? Unfortunately, Frimark's neglect has left us with few alternatives, none of which will likely have a significant impact on the problems faced by the residents most affected by the new runway. We can push for noise monitors and soundproofing money, a process which should have been started years ago. We can hope that the federal government frees up funding for the planned additional southern runways. However, that solution is still years away. Our ORD-REST legal subcommittee can explore possible legal remedies, but litigation is expensive and there is no way to guarantee success. Finally, we can urge, cajole and beg our federal elected representatives to come to our aid. They may be our only hope. Frimark has given us none.

Contact Dave at
www.electdaveschmidt.com or at (847) 430-3165

It Didn't Take Long!

On November 18, 2008, the day after the City Council passed the final reading of ordinances allowing for the licensing and regulation of temporary overnight homeless shelters in Park Ridge, we told PRU readers that "we sure hope none of us is given a reason to have to talk about PADS or the PRMA for a long while."

Only a month later, mere days from the New Year before the champagne had even been popped and poured, the Park Ridge Ministerial Association managed to piss-off our Bluebird of New Year happiness.

In several emails received from faithful readers, we were informed of the following:

HOMELESS PEOPLE MAY NOT SLEEP IN PARK RIDGE, BUT WE CAN STILL OFFER TO FEED THEM: The Park Ridge Ministerial Association is sponsoring Sunday Night Suppers. Starting January 18, 2009 all who are hungry or homeless are welcome!! Every Sunday Night doors open at 5:45 p.m. and the meal is served at 6:00 p.m., St. Paul of the Cross Roman Catholic Church, in the Morello Parish Life Center, 320 South Washington in Park Ridge. For more information call 847/692-6767.

This gem of an announcement was made not in the St. Paul of the Cross bulletin, or school take home, or church. No. Making such an announcement in any SPC-related venue would have made too much sense. But as we all know, Fr. Carl Morelleon doesn't like to let his own parishioners know what's taking place in their parish before done deals are announced some place else. No. Can't have that. Must not tell SPC parishioners anything first. Let the latest goings on at SPC be announced at a City Council meeting or, most recently, in St. Luke's Parish Notes. Clearly you all see the brilliance of this method of operating.

We also have been hearing that the PRMA is planning to invite all of the guests from the weekly Sunday Night Suppers to pray all evening (and into the morning) in the sanctuary of one of the PRMA member churches. In effect, they will be holding a lock in at this unnamed church so that the folks attending the supper won’t be out in the cold once the supper concludes. Because if there's anything hungry, homeless people need it's to be awake all night, praying -- unless our PRU readers aren't buying that bullshit either.

If the plan is to lock in the homeless and call the thing an all night prayer session, vigil, revival, or come-to-Jesus meeting, but then look the other way as the homeless fall asleep for the night, we've got news for the PRMA and any other interested party -- that is a temporary overnight homeless shelter, and we expect the City Council to enforce the licensing regulations they just passed.

The PRU Crew are also wondering, if the homeless are invited to a soup kitchen set up in the SPC gym, will those soup kitchen suppers be legal under the recently discussed, changed, and passed environmental health codes? In the minutes of the Special City Council Environmental Health Workshop(.pdf) held last April, it is noted that "the floor was opened for a question/answer session. Various questions were raised about church and community organizations holding bake sales and Pot Luck suppers, etc. Events that are planned which include the serving of food are said to be permitted, as long as the event is not open to the public at large." (emphasis added)

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

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Our Milky Way

Top Ten Reasons To Keep Reading PRU
in the New Year!

10) We don't accept advertising; advertisers can't call our Editor and raise holy hell about a story they didn't like and threaten to pull their advertising dollars.

9.) We offer an interactive experience on local issues with nearly unlimited space for your comments.

8.) We've got nothing to lose by ratting out the rotten apples in local government, and neither do you.

7.) We don't give a shit who you know, how long you've lived in Park Ridge, how much money you make, what club(s) you belong to, or what ivory tower gave you a degree; as a resident and/or taxpayer you are entitled to open, honest, transparent, and representative government, and that's what we are pushing for.

6.) If we know something and can verify its authenticity, we will tell it to you whether you want to read it or not; we refuse to infantilize the adult population of Park Ridge.

5.) We aren't politicians and we will never ask you for your $upport.

4.) We are a fun and entertaining alternative to the local presszzzzzzzzzzz...

3.) Where else can you see pictures of --

2.) Admit it, you like seeing arrogant politicians and stupid kool-aid drinkers being made fun of.

And the number one reason to read PRU...

1.) You don't have to press "1" for English.