Nuts!

We hope readers can spare the time - it's a long one today, and it's all about the Napleton give-away.



We are going to begin with a positive shout out to 2nd Ward Alderman Rich DiPietro. We are told the Lord of the Manor stuck to his guns and ultimately voted against the Napleton give-away. After explaining the proper motion procedures for dissenting committee chairman to his fellow council members, Finance and Budget chairman DiPietro then referred the Napleton motion to fellow Finance and Budget committee member, Alderman Tom Carey - the Unfriendly Ghost from the 6th Ward - who then referred the motion to 4th Ward Alderman Jim Allspaghetti - who is not a member of the Finance and Budget committee - who then finally moved to motion the Napleton matter before the council, and then moved to amend the Napleton motion to include an escalation.

Did everybody get all that?

DiPietro went on to explain his "thoughts and feelings" about the deal, and that by his calculations the amended deal only allowed for a 2% escalation each year, which DiPietro said he didn't think was enough and that, though he would be voting in favor of the amendment, he would not be voting in favor of the main motion - the final Napleton give-away.

When Allspaghetti was asked to explain how the escalation was arrived at in his amendment, Allspaghetti was quick to give "credit" to Mayor Howard Frimark for having "sat down with Napleton to get more for the city".



When all faces in the room turned to the Mayor for further explanation of his fabulous negotiating skills, Mayor Howard let it be known that Napleton told him "cars go up about 2% per year."



Clearly, when it comes to 'The Art of the Deal', Donald Trump's got nothing on this Mayor! Of course, nobody bothered to ask the Mayor if he'd made any effort to independently verify the information from Napleton because everybody can be pretty certain that he didn't. And we all know how Mayor Howard hates to micromanage things.

Benedict Alderman Robert Ryan (5th ward), offered that the Napleton deal was "fairly consistent with the other deal at Greenwood and Dempster", and thereby demonstrated to all present that he does in fact read the local papers, and he can sometimes offer an opinion without being expressly directed by the Mayor and/or City Manager.



Once again, the men of the hour at the city council meeting were Aldermen Schmidtzkrieg (1st ward) and the Wsoooool man (7th ward). If it weren't for these two council members, the citizens of Park Ridge wouldn't have any consistent representation in city government at all. They continue to deliver the representation goods.



Both Schmidtzkrieg and Wsoooool man made every effort to dissuade their council peers from going down the dubious path of providing private business with gifts of taxpayer dollars.

The Wsoooool man deftly explained that this was a bad deal for the City of Park Ridge, by noting that the $400,000 being given to Napleton would return a mere $540,000 upon completion of the deal. But that if the city were to put that same $400,000 in a regular bank account earning somewhere around 3% interest, the return to the city would be much better. The Wsoooool man then repeated a question he'd asked earlier, "How is this deal to the benefit of the city?"

The Wsoooool man also asked Mr. Napleton if he would be willing to waive his right to protest his property tax assessment on his Greenwood and Busse property for the duration of the deal, since that could have the effect of reducing the property taxes paid to the city. Mr. Napleton indignantly refused, bemoaning the increases in taxes on his property, and saying that Napleton files a property assessment complaint every year.

Mr. Napleton also indignantly refused to answer when Alderman Schmidtzkrieg asked Mr. Napleton the price for the property being sold to PRC Partners. Mr. Napleton responded by saying, "That's none of your business!" Mr. Napleton then asked Alderman Schmidtzkrieg, "How much did you pay for your house?!" Schmidtzkrieg replied, "Hey, that is none of your business. I'm not the one here asking you for money!" Though Mr. Napleton did answer that the property being sold to PRC Partners was appraised between $4 million and $5 million.

The PRU Crew's got news for everybody - property sales prices are a matter of public record; it's the figure upon which property transfer taxes are calculated and collected by municipalities, and the figure upon which Cook County bases your assessment and calculates your property tax bill. And if you are sick and twisted, like certain members of the Crew, you can read through the property transfers when they are printed in the local papers.

And the PRU Crew has very special news for Mr. Napleton; not only are property sales prices a matter of public record, but so are property assessment complaints; including the appraisal figures used to argue for the assessment reductions being sought - assuming of course, that Napleton goes the usual route of contracting for a new appraisal every three years as part of their assessment complaint process...

Seven residents rose to address the council regarding the Napleton deal. All seven of those residents raised their objections to the deal. But resident Steve Schildwachter best summed up the matter by saying, "This sounds like corporate welfare."

The vote on the amendment to the Napleton deal was 6 to 1, with Schmidtzkrieg voting "no".

The council then returned to discussion of the main motion at which time the Unfriendly Ghost from the 6th ward put on a rather impressive display of his skill at memorization. As Alderman Tom Carey ran through a prepared list of rhetorical and actual questions, the city manager was given the opportunity to regale the entire assembly with bullshit propaganda. Murmurs heard throughout the audience and reported to us are that Mr. Carey's list of questions were probably not his own; the language used was decidedly un-Carey-teristic of the Unfriendly Ghost; many believe the questions were designed to give the Mayor and City Manager "soft targets" to hit the stump on Napleton's behalf.

And again, Mr. Carey, the Crew believes you may be salvageable. But until you let go of the Mayor's coattails and get yourself clean from behaving like a trust fund junkie, you aren't going to cut it.

Schmidtzkrieg also introduced an amendment to remove language from the deal giving Napleton the entire $2.4 million they were asking for. That amendment was defeated in a 4 (Bach, Allegretti, Ryan and Carey) to 3 (Schmidt, DiPietro and Wsol) vote.

When the council finally returned to the main motion of the Napleton deal, all the amending and motioning and numbers just became too much for the Unfriendly Ghost, Alderman Tom Carey. This 33.33...% representative on the Finance and Budget committee just could not grasp the addition of all those big numbers, and admitted he was confused and offered that maybe the matter "merits a deferral so it can be fully understood".



Mayor Howard offered that Mr. Carey "had to understand", and repeated to Mr. Carey the numbers in the deal that Mr. Carey had just admitted to not understanding. It then appeared to become understood by Mr. Carey that it was time for him to be quiet.

Which then left the spotlight to, by all accounts, the star of the evening - 3rd Ward Alderman Don DreadBach. In what can only be described as "DreadBach Unplugged" (we've also heard, "unglued" and "unhinged"), DreadBach began his statement by remarking that he had been uncertain about what to do with regard to his vote on the Napleton deal. So, he did what he says he always does, "I asked my constituents". DreadBach revealed that there are 30 people on the planet who support the Napleton give-away, and all 30 of those people live in the 3rd ward of Park Ridge.



Then DreadBach let it be known that he drives a Cadillac, and that he bought his Cadillac from Napleton, but the next time he buys a Cadillac he was going elsewhere. So too would the people of Park Ridge! He told Mr. Napleton that he (Napleton) had lied to the council, and disrespected the council and the people of Park Ridge! But that he, Don DreadBach, would be voting in favor of the deal.

Or more succinctly stated, "Thank you Sir! May I have another! Here's your money!"

With DreadBach's moment on center stage having come to a close, a final vote on the Napleton deal commenced.

Wsooool man voted "no", Schmidtzkrieg voted "no", the Lord of the Manor voted "no", DreadBach voted "yes", Allspaghetti voted "yes", Benedict Ryan voted "yes", and after a moments hesitation the Unfriendly Ghost voted..."present".

After a brief thud of realization descended upon the room...

Mayor Howard Frimark, whose administration will soon be conducting a budget workshop at which his administration will have to find a way to eliminate a $600,000 budget deficit, while also managing nearly $47,000,000 in total city debt that is costing the city close to $5,000,000 in annual interest...

Mayor Howard Frimark, "artful negotiator" of a whopping 2% equivalent annual rate of return on this "investment" in the Napleton car dealership for the people of Park Ridge...

Mayor Howard Frimark, receiver of a $1,000.00 campaign contribution from Napleton Cadillac...

Mayor Howard Frimark, preeminent representative of the people of Park Ridge...

Mayor Howard Frimark cast the tie-breaking "yes" vote to give Napleton Cadillac $2.4 million dollars of the Park Ridge taxpayer's money over the next 15 years.

Super Scoopers!

The Pub-dogs completely scooped us yesterday! We hear Alderman Schmidtzkrieg (1st ward) may have been their source for the "confidential" documents they have posted. We hear Schmidtzkrieg also provided copies to the local press.

We give Schmidtzkrieg a big hairy high-five for open and honest government, but we've got to say, "WTF?! Is the PRU Crew chopped liver?!"

All in good friendly competition. By whatever means the people of Park Ridge have access to information about the actions of their government, we're okay with that.

If you haven't had a chance to read the Pub-dog's Adding Insult To Injury post, we strongly encourage PRU readers to pay a visit to PublicWatchdog.org.

Here's a Pavlovian excerpt to get you started:

Adding Insult To Injury

Last week we wrote about how lame-duck City Mgr. Tim Schuenke was aiding and abetting Alderpuppets Robert Ryan and Tom Carey in their proposed giveaway of as much as $2.4 Million of our money to Napleton Cadillac and PRC LLC, even as he was proposing a $600,000 deficit budget for 2008-09 and warning of future financial problems. (“Another Done Deal?”)

But Schuenke apparently isn’t content simply to throw away our money – he and his allies, including Mayor Howard Frimark, also want to keep us in the dark about how it’s being done.

Let’s start with the Napleton/PRC fiasco. Even though the agenda for tonight’s City Council meeting shows that the Sales Tax Rebate Agreement is scheduled for a vote, the City/Schuenke have deprived the public of the ability to read and consider for themselves the terms of that agreement by not posting it on the City’s website (as of 12:01 a.m. today). Although PublicWatchdog published that agreement [pdf] on January 11 (“The Napleton $2 Million Secret”), that’s no substitute or excuse for the City Manager leaving it off the City’s website of materials related to tonight’s meeting – unless, of course, his goal is to keep the public in the dark.

And that’s not the only thing on tonight’s agenda that Schuenke, et al. seems intent on concealing from us...more>
--------------------------------------------

The PRU Crew had planned for today to provide our readers with a report on last night's city council meeting. But our sources are reporting some bizarre behavior on the part of council members. So we are going to hold off, try to confirm what we've been told, and see what the Wednesday rag has to say.

We can tell you that Mayor Howard cast a tie-breaking vote that gave his generous contributor, Napleton Cadillac, the $2.4 million deal the car dealership was seeking.

FriMack Daddy!

Park Ridge's own Mack Daddy of municipal give-aways, Mayor Howard Frimark, will undoubtedly be providing more of his "escort services" to Napleton Cadillac at tonight's city council meeting, if tonight's city council agenda (.pdf) proceeds as schemed. Usually we would provide a link to the relevant documents, but the city hasn't seen fit to post the deal documents on its web site. --Update 12:50 pm; the city web site now lists the Napleton Documents for review, but those documents still do not contain the document of the deal pending before the city council tonight.

Mayor Howard has been escorting the Napleton deal through municipal channels for quite a long time now. He made sure he had a spot on the city's "negotiating team" that has been meeting with Napleton to create this deal. Of course the PRU Crew feels obligated to point out that it may be just a bit of a conflict of interest to have Mayor Howard, a recipient of a generous campaign contribution from Napleton, on the Napleton "negotiating team" - but hey, we're all friends here!

Mayor Howard even showed up at the Finance & Budget committee meeting (.pdf) where the Napleton deal was discussed and voted on; providing his very visible, public support for the deal. Two of Mayor Howard's favorite alderpuppets, Carey the Unfriendly Ghost (6th ward) and Benedict Alderman Ryan (5th ward), made sure FriMack Daddy got what he wanted. By some miracle, the Finance & Budget committee chairman and Lord of the Manor, Rich DiPietro (2nd ward), voted against the deal. We expect the Lord of the Manor to come through with another of his ass-covering compromises, but we would sure be happy to be wrong about that.

And while we're paying attention to the scheming taking place at Friends of Frimark" headquarters...

Some PRU readers may be interested in noting another meeting set to take place this evening; tonight's city council workshop agenda (.pdf) The topic will be the police station. The PRU Crew notes that there is no place on the workshop agenda for comments from Park Ridge serfizens and that the issue is not scheduled for discussion on the regular agenda of the city council.

The PRU Crew strongly believes that the current police facility is unacceptable. We hope the city council gets off its yacking ass and finally begins actually doing something to address the gross conditions of the current facility. We aren't convinced that a new police station needs to be super-sized, but we are convinced that our police department has wrung every ounce of functionality it can get from the current facility.

But we will never condone the hiding of information, nor the circumventing of public review and input on any matter of the public's business. That is exactly what the city council will be undertaking this evening in the closed sessions on the agenda.

And finally on tonight's agenda, we noticed that there's a big F-U to the Public Safety rank and file (.pdf) in the form of a city council resolution. We bet City Manager, Tim Schuenke, would never ask the council to pass that kind of resolution about the funding of his generous pension. We sure hope the city council doesn't pimp our Public Safety personnel by passing that thing.

Relax and Re-Energize!

cameron i/o

Have a great weekend.

Serving It Up!

As the old saying goes, there's never a cop around when you need one. If you are very lucky, you never need one. But most of us at some time in our lives usually need one. And having the assurance that when you need a cop you can call for one costs money.

In today's Park Ridge Herald-Advocate we read that the soon-to-retire City Manager, Tim Schuenke, is blaming a projected city budget deficit on an increase in police and fire pension funding. While the former City Treasurer, Carl Brauweiler, took a break from napping to call a spade a spade: "He said budget deficits are due to an excess of city expenditures, and that police and fire pensions should not be singled out as the primary cause."

One of the Crew's favorite blogs, BurbCopsChicago, has something to say about the matter of pensions, and we agree with them.

Think carefully now, of all the things your government provides to you through use of your tax dollars, what are the things you would be happy to eliminate? Police? Firefighters? Paved streets? Sewers? Give-aways to car dealerships?

Community Dunces?

On Monday, we mentioned that the owner of Napleton Cadillac should probably be recognized as some sort of Community Star because to us it looks like the pending $2.4million deal being considered by the city for Napleton may be the most impressive Return On Investment (ROI) that we're aware of, for a local "investor".

The article about honoring Community Stars by the Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce was a piece published in the Herald-Advocate a couple of weeks ago. The article notes:

"Seven new "stars" will be honored for their work in the community during the Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce's 72nd annual Recognition Dinner on Saturday, Jan. 26.

The dinner will be held at Rosewood Restaurant and Banquets, 9421 W. Higgins Road in Rosemont on Jan. 26"

Today we read about the election of new officers to the Park Ridge Chamber in an article in the Journal & Topics.



Of course, the Journal's reporter failed to mention the location of the dinner.

In any event, maybe the new officers of the Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce will keep their mission statement in mind and remember their own recent advertising campaign - "Shop Local" - the next time they schedule their Community Stars and Installment of New Officers dinner. Maybe next year they can find a place to...uh..."dine local"?

Big Up! Dat Cris! That means "Cool".

When we told PRU readers about the Bad Air at the Public Works Service Center, we guessed "the discussion did not include asking the architect of record to come in and address what appears to us to be an air pressure/air flow flaw in this award-winning building's design."

Third ward Alderman Don DreadBach gets our props (big up) for at least mentioning the idea that the building's designers may bear some responsibility. According to the recently posted Public Works committee meeting minutes (.pdf), "Alderman Bach questioned the value engineering and why the designers were not responsible."

Alderman DreadBach, if the "quantified, measurable figures" you said the city needs come back and tell you a way must be found to "balance" the building to correct the air quality problems, are you willing to follow through on the idea that the building designer should answer to that?

Da PRU crew be tinkin' dat be bashy, mon - very cool.

"ROI"

In the world of finance, it's called "Return On Investment" (ROI).

In the world of politics, it's called "Pay to Play".

In Park Ridge, we're all about "investments"; remember the Peotone "investment"? In Park Ridge, there isn't any "Pay to Play" going on...is there?

Regular PRU readers are familiar with how much we think of Aldermoron Jim Allspaghetti (4th Ward). Allspaghetti became a member of the city council back in 2005, when he was appointed to fill the 4th ward aldermanic seat vacated by Howard Frimark upon his election to Mayor. During Allspaghetti's lengthy interviews with a hand-picked mayoral panel of 4th ward residents, and during Allspaghetti's interview before the council, neither he nor Mayor Howard disclosed a prior campaign contribution Allspaghetti made to Frimark. As has been noted, it's probably mere coincidence that the most qualified applicant for appointment to the council by Mayor Howard just happened to be a contributor before and after that appointment was made:

Below - Screen captures with cut and paste information;
click on pictures for a clear and larger view.*



Allegretti's law office address is the same as another Frimark contributor:



Park Ridgeans likely remember DiFranco recently being quoted in the press and offering his vigorous defense of one of his clients, Bruce Adreani of Norwood Builders repute, another Frimark contributor:



For those of you who don't recognize Laden Acre Farm LP as a Norwood entity, chances are you aren't supposed to. The entity writing the check is all that has to be reported on a politician's D2 filing with the State Board of Elections. Though we do find it interesting that one of the least recognizable Adreani holdings gave Frimark more than double the contributions than those under his more recognizable names. We also find it interesting that Mayor Howard did not disclose the extent of Adreani's contributions to him, nor correct the mistaken remarks made about the amount of contributions he received from Adreani's holdings on the numerous occasions the issue has come up.

We also do not recall Mayor Howard ever disclosing to the council any contributions he received from the original zoning attorney for Norwood's Executive Office Plaza, that ubiquitous Park Ridge variance czar, Mr. Jack Owens:



For the the next big deal on the council table, Jack Owens' talents aren't required. But the owner of Napleton Cadillac made sure that Mayor Howard knows he has his support. If the city council agrees to give Napleton Cadillac the cumulative $2.4million the deal calls for, Mr. Napleton should probably be recognized as some sort of Community Star, as his may be the most impressive ROI that we've seen:



Looks to us like another zoning code variance (.pdf) will soon be arriving at the council for approval. It also looks to us like Sam Markos, the owner of Crystal Palace Banquets and several other generous Frimark-supporting entities, could have invested a lot less if variances for a CVS pharmacy are all the return he's looking to get:



As many of you know, current Park Ridge Chief of Police, Jeff Caudill, is under fire from several directions. The PRU Crew has heard a lot of talk about who could possibly be named as the new Chief of police if Mayor Howard has his way and manages to oust Caudill. The "open secret" in DesPlaines is that Deputy Police Chief Angela Burton is getting some serious consideration. We aren't surprised to hear that, but as you know we're cynical. And, after all, Burton is the wife of former liquor commission member and Frimark supporter, Michael Rozovics:



We're sure she's really nice and may even make a great Chief of police. It's probably just one of those happy coincidences that Burton's being considered for the job and her husband was a contributor to Mayor Howard's election campaign.

In Park Ridge, we're all about "investments" and ROI. There isn't any "pay to play" going on in Park Ridge. Nah. Just a lot of "happy coincidences".

*To aid in viewing, our Tech took screen captures of the Illinois State Board of Election website, then cut and pasted the relevant information together. We encourage anyone interested in doing so, to check the information for themselves at - Illinois Campaign Disclosure

Critical Mass!

TIME - Picture of the Week - 9/21-27/07

Critical Mass Bicycle Rides


The hits just keep on comin'! The BCC's 'No! No! No!' post tells us that some commission with a really really long name has a plan for fixing transportation infrastructure by adding a tax of as much as $.40 to a gallon of gas.

Keep warm and have a good weekend.

Biblical Truths or Consequences.

The Propaganda Remix Project

GUEST ESSAY

Biblical Truths or Consequences
Or, Does Abstinence Make the Heart Grow Fonder?

Sean O’Leary

The District 207 School Board meeting Monday night at Maine South High was a lively event that attracted about 100 visitors. The topic was the volatile issue of sex education in the schools, specifically, a Freshman biology unit at Maine South that deals explicitly with birth control methods. The complaint, as filed by Corky Allegretti, the mother of a Main South freshman, read in part as follows:

“…the current curriculum for freshman biology class contains a co-ed unit teaching birth control, including types of birth control methods, uses and effectiveness of such methods. I along, with others here tonight, believe this curriculum must be removed as it violates the Illinois School Code, it includes inappropriate materials for freshman students, it does not appear to have to have been subjected to parental review or appropriate District monitoring, and goes far beyond a reasonable threshold of appropriate discussion topics for freshmen students.”

Included in the document is a metaphor comparing freshman birth control instruction with teaching minors how to use a firearm. This was surprising, as the Christian right has always seemed comfortable with guns. I would have gone for the obvious loaded gun analogy.

Three types of people attended the District 207 School Board meeting. First, there were the Maine South and Park Ridge parents who support the Allegretti complaint and want the sex unit removed. Second, there were parents who disagreed with the complaint, and supported the teaching of sex education in the schools. And finally, there were a lot of “other people from other places” (including one of the Pullen sisters – remember Penny?) summoned by a radical Christian organization called Illinois Family Institute (IFI).

Because Ms. Allegretti explicitly stated at the meeting that she had enlisted the help of this organization, and because the IFI website had posted a call to arms, documents (including the statement that Ms. Allegretti would be reading) plus helpful directions to the meeting, it’s reasonable to conclude that the strangers who applauded the anti-birth control speakers and heckled the pro-curriculum speakers (including me) had something to do with the IFI.

I am not going to rehash the arguments relating to whether or not abstinence makes the heart grow fonder or whether sex education or birth control should be taught at Maine South. Suffice to say there was no shortage of competing studies, data, and personal anecdotes presented by both sides of the argument. And further suffice to say my personal opinion is that kids around here have already been exposed to so much sexual noise by the time they graduate from Middle School, that sex education in their Freshman year is already late.

But there is room for honest differences of opinion on this matter ... within the Park Ridge community. And I want to make clear that I respect the parents who are willing to publicly take a stand in opposition to the policies of an educational institution. I was sincerely interested in their particular set of concerns and some of the information they shared.

However, what deeply troubles me is the rather glaring fact that all students have the right to opt out of this biology unit: therefore, it appears that the parents and IFI are entering into a fundamentally different realm here. Demanding that the school remove the unit in its entirety – presumably to replace it with an abstinence only version – is an attempt to dictate values for all the students at Maine South and the community as a whole. Of course, that is precisely what the IFI and their national affiliates specialize in and that is one reason why I emphatically regret the introduction of this extremist organization into Park Ridge.

As stated on their website, the objectives of the Illinois Family Institute are to “promote and defend Biblical Truths to foster an environment where families can thrive and reach their full God-given potential to serve and glorify Him.” What do we conclude from this, besides the fact that God is obviously a guy (I mean, a Guy)? Certainly, that the IFI has a larger agenda prepared for us and our schools, one driven by Biblical Truths.

There are a lot of Truths in the Bible, so I’m not sure exactly which Biblical Truths we are dealing with here. If it’s the Truth in Leviticus Chapter 20:10* about putting adulterers to death (plus, “their blood will be upon them”), I assume everyone around our little town is comfortable with that.

Then again, if it’s the Truth in Judges 11:29-40*, in which Jephthah sacrifices his teenage daughter at the altar in order to give thanks to Yahweh for his victory over the Ammonites, well, that’s a little more worrisome. I have simply warned my daughter that if I ever go out to fight the Ammonites, don’t be around when I get home.

However, I am concerned about the “New Testament” Truth in 1 Timothy 2:11-12*, in which St. Paul explicitly describes the place of women in society: “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.”

If that is one of the Truths we’re working on, then I am surprised at the number of women who attended the meeting. Clearly, according to this unambiguous Bible Truth, they should have been home. Being silent.

In actuality, there is little doubt about the Truths the IFI considers important. Here is a more specific truth discovered on the IFI website, at least until I read it to the District 207 School Board. This is a verbatim excerpt:

“Public schools: The new red-light district? Most of us don't realize that we have a red-light district just down the street from our homes. And our children are not only allowed to be there, their presence is actually required by law. Our nation's schools have become the new red-light district of the 21st century.”

To illustrate this point, IFI has chosen an image showing the window of a “Licensed Sex Shop.” The PRU crew may even post it with this editorial.
(PRU Editor's note: You know it!)



About the red light thing…there is some teenage driving I’d like to see improved, but the leap to a sex shop metaphor seems…I guess you could say, extreme. Even more interesting, the IFI took this page off their server the day after the Dist 207 meeting. Maybe it sounded bad even to them. Someday, I will tell their webmaster that Google caches web content, so I still have a copy of the page. It might even be discovered right here for a week or so: Illinois Family Institute

In all seriousness, I think it’s important to understand the nature of any group that would like to re-write our science books. A little more time on the IFI website should convince you that their next target will be the Gay and Straight Alliances on school campuses, because IFI specializes big time in homophobia. Visit the site.

Elsewhere on illinoisfamily.org, the American Library Association is described as “radically liberal”. I imagine they are considered radical because they are unhappy when people like IFI and Focus On the Family tell them what they are Biblically permitted to place on PUBLIC library shelves.

So, let’s see what we have: IFI: just plain folks helping out by telling you how to live your life according to their imaginary friend. Librarians: dangerous radicals defending the first amendment of the Constitution. I can’t imagine the special place in Hell they have prepared for gay librarians.

I don’t want these hate mongers around Park Ridge.

In summary, when stormtroopers like the IFI come to town with the objective of introducing Biblical Truths into Public Schools, then people like me find it difficult to have a civil discussion. And there are an awful lot of people who feel the same way. On Monday night, the IFI was able to mobilize a sizable group of people, apparently to convince the Board that they represented a majority in the community. It may have appeared that the anti-sex faction had more local support than they did because a significant part of their support came from Bible mercenaries. I guarantee the numbers will be more equal next time.

* BibleGateway.com: searchable online Bible; 50+ versions - 35 languages

Meanest Mom on the Planet!

In one of our very first posts, we told you about 4th Ward Alderman James Allspaghetti and 3rd Ward Alderman Don DreadBach's apparent lack of support for enforcement of Park Ridge's Zero Tolerance law: Lullaby and Goodnight to Zero Tolerance?

After Allspaghetti and DreadBach, along with the rest of the aldermen, were treated to nearly 90 minutes of citizen comments at the August 20, 2007 city council meeting in support of the law, the issue faded away.

We were recently reminded of the zero tolerance "dust up" when we read about the self-described "meanest Mom on the plant". This is a woman who practices the zero tolerance she preaches.

'Meanest mom on planet' sells son's car

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Jane Hambleton has dubbed herself the "meanest mom on the planet."

After finding alcohol in her son's car, she decided to sell the car and share her 19-year-old's misdeed with everyone -- by placing an ad in the local newspaper.

The ad reads: "OLDS 1999 Intrigue. Totally uncool parents who obviously don't love teenage son, selling his car. Only driven for three weeks before snoopy mom who needs to get a life found booze under front seat. $3,700/offer. Call meanest mom on the planet."

Hambleton has heard from people besides interested buyers since recently placing the ad in The Des Moines Register.

The 48-year-old from Fort Dodge says she has fielded more than 70 telephone calls from emergency room technicians, nurses, school counselors and even a Georgia man who wanted to congratulate her.

"The ad cost a fortune, but you know what? I'm telling people what happened here," Hambleton says. "I'm not just gonna put the car for resale when there's nothing wrong with it, except the driver made a dumb decision.

"It's overwhelming the number of calls I've gotten from people saying 'Thank you, it's nice to see a responsible parent.' So far there are no calls from anyone saying, 'You're really strict. You're real overboard, lady."

The only critic is her son, who Hambleton says is "very, very unhappy" with the ad and claims the alcohol was left by a passenger.

Hambleton believes her son but has decided mercy isn't the best policy in this case. She says she set two rules when she bought the car at Thanksgiving: No booze, and always keep it locked.

The car has been sold, but Hambleton says she will continue the ad for another week -- just for the feedback.

FOXNews.com

Speaking of Driving...

visualparadox.com

We think that we shall never see
The lovely Park Ridge money tree.
It must exist, we truly feel
Or why give Napleton a deal?

Yes, dear readers, we're sad to say
But another deal is on the way.
It's in the works at City Hall
Where "Friends of Frimark" often call.

A story in the press last week
Gave to us all a little peek,
Of what is up and soon may come
To Howard Frimark's good ol' chum.

We invite you now to go see
And read the plans for your money.
About Napleton Cadillac,
The Pub-dogs ain't just talkin' smack.

Traditional Family Portraits.

Victorian Family Portraits - 'Haunted When It Rains'

Just as we do today, during the Victorian Era it was tradition to take at least one family portrait. Traditionally, family portraits can be of the entire family or just the kids. More on this tradition later...

Park Ridge is mostly a traditional community of mostly traditional families with mostly traditional values, and mostly law-abiding citizens. Park Ridge is a nice place to live and raise a family, mostly.

Another tradition is for principals at local schools to write a message for the school take-homes. Last week, a PRU reader forwarded to us a copy of the traditional message from the principal's desk at Lincoln Middle School which included, in part, the following:

From The Principal's Desk

Parents,

I am ashamed to tell you that I had the Park Ridge police come to my office yesterday complaining about the number of traffic violations that are occurring daily at Lincoln Middle School because parents, not students for the most part, are not obeying the law.

Please parents, my teachers, Mr. Gleason and I have been trained to teach middle school students and are compelled to give them the best education possible. As adults you should be doing the same by setting good examples. One good example would be to obey the rules of the road. You should have learned those rules when you earned your driver's license!

When you don't follow life's safety rules around this school, you put a child's life in danger. Follow the rules, not because it's the law, but because it will save your child's life!

My parents taught me always “to think of others more highly than yourself”. That translates to me, as drivers of a motorized vehicle, to relax. You will get to your next destination, but maybe not on time. If not, leave earlier, make better plans or just accept that on a given day you will be late and that's life. Guess what, any of those possibilities may happen on a given day, so just think of others more highly than yourself (our kids) and leave it at that. You will save lives!

With every new year we are given the opportunity to make resolutions that are designed to produce changes. Most people make at least one resolution, and I would like to propose one resolution to all of our parents that is designed to save a student, and your child's life.

I would like every parent to resolve to observe the following three Lincoln transportation safety rules:

1) I will not drop off my child on the north side of Crescent between the corner of Lincoln Ave. and the 9 spaces allotted for pickup and drop off on Crescent Ave.

2) Whether in the morning or after school students I will not drop off my child in the middle of the street either on Lincoln Ave. or Crescent Ave., which basically means you are double parking.

3) I will not park on the north side of Crescent between Knight and Western from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on school days only. This area is reserved for our busses.

Whether you make this a resolution or not, violators of the above three safety rules plus the remainder of Lincoln's transportation rules WILL BE ISSUED TICKETS. THE PARK RIDGE POLICE DEPARTMENT WILL PERIODICALLY BE AT LINCOLN TO WATCH THAT YOU ARE OBSERVING THE LAW. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

The remainder of our safety rules include:

o When dropping off students in the morning on Lincoln Ave. the preferred drop off site is on the west side of the street which is the side closest to the main doors.

o If parents choose to drop off their child on the east side of Lincoln Ave., they must instruct their child to cross Lincoln at the crosswalk by Crescent and Lincoln. Walking across Lincoln Ave. in any other part of the street will be considered jaywalking.

o In the afternoon, pickup is on the west side of Lincoln Ave. only. No one can be picked up on the east side unless they use the crosswalk at Crescent and Lincoln to cross Lincoln Ave.

o There is no parking on the south side of Crescent between Lincoln and Knight.

o There is no parking on the south side of Crescent Ave. between Knight and Western between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on school days only.

o When our busses have their warning arms extended and lights flashing while students are getting off and on the bus, cars may not drive past the arms when they are in the loading zone.

o Barricades are also put up on Lincoln Ave between Knight and Western from 2:55 p.m. until 3:10 p.m. on school days to help insure the safety of our students while they are entering the busses for departure from school. Cars are not permitted to drive around the barricades.

o Helmets are required if students want to ride their bike, skateboard or roller blades to and from school. We will warn a student but after the warning they may lose the privilege of riding a bike, skateboard or roller blades to school.

In case any of you Park Ridge parents out there think this is a problem only at Lincoln Middle School, we assure you it is not. We've seen some pretty piss-poor driving at ALL of our local schools.

Back to the issue of traditional family portraits... Taking a family portrait is a very traditional practice, as is the practice of including a protrait of the kids in the annual family Christmas card.

So Park Ridge parents, keep up the irresponsible driving around our local schools and maybe it will become a re-newed tradition in Park Ridge to take a family portrait like the ones above.

You see, in the above Victorian family portraits, the kid in the first photo, the kid on the father's lap in the second photo, and the kid on the big chair in the third photo are all dead. Victorian post-mortem photography was a tradition, and often the last and only portrait of a family as it once was.

And when another kid gets killed in an accident (because it's never on purpose) near one of our schools, maybe the PTO can take up a collection to buy a gift certificate for the family to have a Victorian-style post-mortem family portrait taken - in "living" color, of course; a modern twist on an old tradition. That would look great in the annual family Christmas card, wouldn't it?

Make A Game!

Enjoy some free-wheeling play time this weekend.

Beware of Braying Ass!

Yesterday, we read a "guest commentary" written by the Journal & Topics reporter, Dwight Esau (sounds like EEE Saw, which sounds to us like Hee Haw).

It seems the Journal's reporter couldn't pass up the opportunity to counter punch a letter writer concerned about questions left unanswered in an earlier Esau offering: Who's On The Other Line, Mayor?; which was written only as a result of the concerns of an unnamed community activist who had to physically pay a visit to the Journal & Topic's offices to draw attention to the issue. The entire issue came to light because of our post: Worth 1000 Words.

The letter writer is former 3rd ward alderman, Kim Jones. In her letter she asked:

"The most obvious question is why doesn't Mayor Frimark use his cell phone to call his wife or conduct his insurance business?

Why is Mayor Frimark conducting any type of personal or Frimark Insurance business from his city hall office?

If the listing is in fact wrong, why hasn't the Mayor corrected it with AT&T? He has had nearly three years to do so.

Is the bill for the "Friends of Frimark" line being sent to his home address or the city hall address it is listed at?

If the number was listed by AT&T as a political phone for the past 2-1/2 years why hasn't Frimark listed any telephone expenses, including installation costs on his semi-annual reports filed with the State Board of Elections?

By the way, who is actually paying for the "Friends of Frimark" phone located at City Hall? Is it Mayor Frimark personally or is the city of Park Ridge?"

We feel those are very good questions. We feel the Mayor should answer them. We wonder why Esau didn't ask those questions and report the Mayor's answers.

Esau concedes that the Mayor should get rid of his personal/political phone in City Hall. But Esau also calls Frimark's continued ethics violations "dust-ups". If we were to concede that Frimark's on-going ethics violations are nothing more than "dust-ups", we'd also have to concede that Frimark is surrounded by so much dust that he looks like the Charles Schultz Peanuts character, Pig-Pen!

But we do concede that the local rags' reporters seem to view their public role not so much as reporters as they are the public relations arm of local government.

Esau goes on to say that, "Someone who obviously doesn't like the mayor has gone so far as to set up a website dedicated to embarrassing him as often as possible." The first part of that statement is correct. The PRU Crew does not like Mayor Howard. But if Esau weren't a 2nd rate English major, working for a 3rd rate local newspaper, he may have been able to count our post labels - located under each of our pieces. If he'd made that much of an effort to "investigate" our blog, for his Beware Of Blogger article, he would have discovered that less than 1/4 of all our posts are about, or high-light, the Mayor.

But we understand that irreverent and unrepentant criticism of Frimark isn't something anybody is used to seeing, especially from local reporters.

No Discouraging Words, Please.

In typical pol fashion, the mayor and city council have decided to do a citizen survey, to find out what citizens think about various subjects, but without asking the dangerous question: "Do you think Park Ridge should adopt a local ordinance that allows for the recall of an elected official?"

According the 12-17-08 city council minutes (.pdf), a randomly selected sample of 1200 households will receive the survey.

Questions will range from issues of "traffic calming" to citizen opinion on building a new police station. There will also be questions asking those 1200 residents about police conduct, despite the mayor and city council's already having determined that police conduct is an issue that requires an independent investigation at considerable cost.

But the mayor and city council DO NOT want to hear what citizens have to say about having the right to recall an elected official.

Citizen opinions that displease the pols are just too negative.

Pas plus Francais.

In the December 28th edition of the Chicago Tribune we read: District closes books on French classes.

The District 64 School Board has acquiesced to the wishes of district parents and made Spanish the sole foreign language that will be offered at all elementary schools.

We think that is unfortunate. Especially since the district's FLES program is, as Dr. Sally Pryor notes, not intended to "develop fluency," ..."The goal was to develop those neural pathways so that when [pupils] reached middle school and high school and wanted to study foreign language in a more academic way, they'd be able to."

Toutefois, e'tant donne' que l'objectif principal du programme est de developper des structures neuronales, ces voies doivent developper n'importe laquelle langue e'trangere est enseignee.* As long as the proper curriculum guidelines are followed...

We note the article goes on to report: "Children receive two 25-minute lessons a week, instruction that is intentionally light on grammar. Instead, students learn vocabulary tied to other parts of the curriculum -- the names of the planets, for instance, when the solar system is being studied -- and the cultures of French- and Spanish-speaking nations."

The standard minimum guideline for weekly instruction for FLES programs, last time we looked, is 75 minutes per week. So, it looks like the district's program isn't just light on grammer, but also light on instruction time.

C'est la vie!

* Translation: "However, since the program goal is to develop neural pathways, those pathways should develop no matter which foreign language is taught."

Thar She Blows...

Public Works Service Center, Park Ridge, IL.

...some Bad Air, according to an article in the Journal & Topics, and as also discussed in a Public Works Committee Background Memo.

The background memo states:

"B. Public Works Service Center Air Quality

The Public Works Service Center is experiencing ongoing air quality issues in the office and garage areas. Staff has been in contact with several air quality consultants on this matter to help determine the best course of action. The remediation work has been included in the proposed capital budget, which you will soon be reviewing.

We will discuss this matter."

The Public Works Committee meeting's minutes haven't been posted yet, but we are guessing the discussion did not include asking the architect of record to come in and address what appears to us to be an air pressure/air flow flaw in this award-winning building's design.

Looks like the taxpayers in Park Ridge could be spending some bucks on correcting the problem.

Oh, by the way, the architect of record is Chipman Adams Architects. Yes, that's right - the same Chipman Adams whose name partner, John Chipman, is also one of the principal investors in Norwood's Park Ridge 2004 LLC. The same John Chipman who held private talks with at least two Park Ridge aldermen seeking their "yes" votes - which he got - on a density variance for the condo project at Executive Office Plaza; that should enable his group to make an extra half million dollars or more in profits over what they would have made if the zoning ordinance was strictly enforced.

Think city officials will point out that Mr. Chipman could use any extra profits he, along with his fellow investors, will make off the density variance for the extra units at Executive Office Plaza, to cover the costs involved with correcting the problems at the Public Works Service Center? We don't suggest anybody hold their breath waiting for that.

Well, not anybody except the municipal employees who work at the Public Works Service Center, who otherwise may end up dizzy - or worse - from the diesel fumes wafting into their work space. For those folks, we strongly suggest an immediate visit to their personal physician and a complete base-line physical exam.

Our Kind of Sleigh Ride!

Could have used this for travel on some Park Ridge streets this week.

Huck the bumps and enjoy some big air this weekend.

Stupid Gets What Stupid Agrees To.

A few weeks ago we reported on an action item before the city council in our post about 800 lb Gorilla in City Council! We discussed the mandates of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised and the role of a meeting chairman. Shortly after that, a PRU reader asked for a follow-up on the issue.

At the City Council meeting on 12/17/07 (minutes-.pdf) an amendment was offered by the Lord of the Manor, Alderman Rich DiPietro (2nd ward), to add the words "upon relinquishing the chair" to the motion by the unfriendly Ghost of the 6th ward, Alderman Thomas Carey, to allow the Mayor to participate in debate and discussion of matters before the city council.

Gee fellas, did you work out that motioning and amending business prior to the meeting?

The change to the procedure governing the Mayor's participation in debate and discussion "upon relinquishing the chair" does mean that some ward may on occasion not have a representative participating in debate and discussion.

So there's the update on the issue of the Mayor's participation in debate and discussion at city council meetings.

The PRU Crew has enjoyed a few laughs over this issue and its outcome.

DiPietro, sometimes you are a real piece of work.

Yes! We have no bananas!

The Banty Cock Crows!

Shortly before the Holidays, the citizens of Park Ridge were treated to another round in the continuing saga of Kemerer v. Schmidt (Pub-dogs post 12-20-07)

Mr. David Kemerer, known 'round PRU as the self-titled "Cousin Dave", wrote yet another letter to the local rags; this time, defending all things Benedict Alderman Ryan (5th Ward). The PRU Crew is beginning to think Ryan may be as illiterate as Mayor Frimark, since he hasn't taken the time to write any of his own letters, communicating his own position and defending his own vote before the citizens of Park Ridge - many of whom believe Ryan is doing everything EXCEPT representing them.

The Pub-dogs note that Ryan did indeed hold private discussions with one (or more) of the investors in Norwood's Park Ridge 2004 LLC, whose request was then pending before the council. We believe that investor was Mr. John Chipman, who was eager to have Ryan's affirmative vote for approval of the density variance Norwood was seeking for their condo project at Executive Office Plaza. And Chipman eventually got that affirmative vote.

Mr. Kemerer has spent considerable time on the subject of Executive Office Plaza, as well as considerable time on researching and discussing the issue of a recall ordinance for local elected officials that has been proposed by Alderman Dave Schmidtzkrieg (1st Ward).

Mr. Kemerer treated PRU readers to some lengthy discussion of the topic of a recall in his "Cousin Dave" comments (#21, #24, #27) in our Worse Than Kool-aid! post. Noting specifically in one comment that we had better "buckle our seat belts" because he had to "throw a little law" at everybody.

And now it appears we may know why Mr. Kemerer has had so much valuable attorney time to dedicate to stumping for Norwood, defending the "honor" of Benedict Alderman Ryan, and attempting to provide Alderman Schmidtzkrieg with etiquette lessons...


ARDC Lawyer Search Results

The ARDC's website notes:

REMOVAL FROM AND REINSTATEMENT TO THE MASTER ROLL OF ATTORNEYS

Supreme Court Rule 756 provides that on February 1 of each year, the ARDC must remove from the master roll the name of any lawyer who has not registered for that year. The rule also provides that any lawyer who practices law while not on the master roll engages in the unauthorized practice of law and may be held in contempt. ARDC sends a Final Registration Notice in January, warning unregistered attorneys that they will be removed from the master roll if they do not register. Shortly after the removal, ARDC sends notice of an attorney's removal to the attorney and to the Chief Judges and Clerks of the circuit courts in which the removed attorney was registered.

If you have been removed from the master roll for failure to register, you can be reinstated by registering and paying the registration fee and any penalty due.

Mr. Kemerer may we suggest, the next time you "throw a little law" at anybody, that you make sure you are authorized to do so? Or give folks a heads up about your lapsed registration status? After all, you must know that those hearing and reading your words are doing so under the presumption that you are an attorney, authorized to practice law. Letting folks know you, in fact, are not seems like the polite thing to do.

Thanks.

The More Things Change...

We took a look at some recent condominium and mixed-use developments going up in the surrounding area suburbs. In our opinion, it looks like the more redevelopment changes any given town's landscape, the more those towns begin to look the same.

But maybe all these developers and architects are just using the same graphics software? Maybe that's why all these renderings look remarkably similar?


Addison


Lincolnshire


Berwyn


Naperville


Park Ridge


Homewood


Franklin Park


Lombard


Vernon Hills

We actually like the one in Homewood. It reminds us of the stretch along Prospect, South of the Pickwick in Park Ridge.

All of these pics were lifted off an internet forum dedicated to discussion about big, big buildings. Much of the discussion also notes how great it would be if suburbanites would just learn that density is delightful and tall buildings are terrific; we just don't seem to have that Euro-flare for density that city sophisticates do. There is also some grave concern expressed for how terribly sprawl-tastic us sub-urban dwellers tend to be.

We think big big buildings are great and tall buildings are terrific too, for big big cities like Chicago. But we don't feel everybody has to, or should want to, live in a big big city, with big big buildings that are terrifically tall. But that's just our opinion.