PRU Holiday Briefs!

#1 -- PRU Opinion by proxy

We found ourselves unable to color inside the lines today; we could not resist the urge to comment on the arrest of Illinois Governor (we use the title loosely) Rod Blagojevich yesterday. We weren't sure exactly what we wanted to say, but we were sure it would include the word "resign" and good riddance.

Fortunately for us, today's Chicago Tribune editorial expresses our sentiments perfectly.

#2 -- All we can say is, THANK YOU!

To the man who has stayed the course and done more to combat public corruption than anyone we know of.

#3 -- Everyone is innocent, just ask them!

Or, you can ask their attorneys.

What do Governor Blagojevich's chief of staff, John Harris who was also arrested yesterday on federal criminal charges, and Park Ridge's Mayor Howard Frimark and 4th Ward Alderman, James Allspaghetti, have in common?

They know who to call when they need their ass covered!

Remember that guy? The battle hasn't yet begun, but we're putting our money on the US Attorney in this match-up.

#4 -- While visions of campaign contributions danced in his head!

Looks like Third Ward Alderman, Don Bachtard may have fired his load a little early?

From the press article -- "It was 3rd Ward Alderman Don Bach who announced Frimark's plans to seek a second term in office when he submitted a letter to the Park Ridge Herald-Advocate on Monday, stating his intention to place his support behind Frimark."

And -- "When contacted this week, Frimark confirmed that he will run for re-election, but declined to comment very much beyond that, saying he would discuss his reasons for running and his record as mayor on Dec. 20. He also said a press release would be issued within days."

...as soon as his likely campaign manager writes it for him.

Hey dollface, whose email accounts will you be raiding, presumably without permission, this campaign season? And, we can't wait to see the positively libelous emails that will be landing in the electronic inboxes of Park Ridge citizens! That was you, wasn't it dollface? Maybe Mayor Howard can give you Ekl's office number.

Ready To Move Forward!

In today's edition of the Journal and Topics, Mayor Howard has announced that "We're ready to move forward." It's one of Mayor Howard's favorite phrases, though we're not sure if that's because he has a limited vocabulary or a limited memory; he can't remember any other catchy phrases.

The article goes on to say "Frimark feels the report indicates that there was no pattern of misconduct. 'As far as I'm concerned, it sort of verified what we expected was there."

The report may "sort of" verify that there is no pattern of misconduct...among police officers. The report is woefully short from verifying whether or not there has been any misconduct on the part of elected officials -- elected officials Ekl refused to name in his report, but instead chose to name city employees.

We don't have the documentation to prove it, but some of our better sources tell us that certain elected officials have attempted to go well beyond mere "micromanagement" of police matters, and that the interference by elected officials was not merely calling the police department to inquire about constituents concerns, nor was it only about the zero tolerance idiocy of Aldermen James Allspaghetti (4th Ward) and Don Bachtard (3rd Ward), which by the by, took place at an open public meeting, rightly or wrongly, but nevertheless in response to some constituent complaints.

As for misconduct on the part of police officers, the PRU Crew has always believed the vast majority of the Park Ridge Police Department are stand up and be counted guys and gals. We sure do wish that members of the local business community had the same backbone, because then not only would the citizens of Park Ridge come to understand which police officers may have been misconducting themselves, but also on which elected official's behalf they were doing so.

When the City Council originally discussed whether or not the Ekl report would be released to the public, the council ultimately decide that they would release the report to the public, "warts and all." So the PRU Crew is wondering why Ald. Allspaghetti is allowed to get away with saying to his fellow council members and the public --

Ald. Allegretti cautioned the Council, "Be careful what you wish for. " He stated that Ekl might have withheld certain information from the report that is included in the back-up material. He said Ekl might have done this for a reason - it may open the City up for suit.pdf -- City Council meeting minutes.

Ekl might have withheld certain information? By whose authority did Ekl do that? What happened to the thorough investigation that was supposed to do more than just "sort of" verify what has been going on with the Park Ridge Police Department? What happened to providing the citizens of Park Ridge with a report that included "warts and all?"

Remember people, you are paying for this bullshit. In fact, you will be paying 15% more than the originally contracted fee of $75,000.00 for this bullshit.

Hard to swallow? Don't worry -- Mayor Howard will give you a Big Gulp of kool-aid to wash it all down.

On Tap!

As we told you yesterday, the Finance and Budget committee will be meeting tonight to discuss in part what limits, if any, should be placed on city staff's ability to authorize settlement payouts on legal claims.

Tomorrow night promises even more fun and excitement!

Mayor Frimark has scheduled another City Council Workshop at City Hall at 6:30 PM to again discuss the Ekl Williams audit. And if you are one of our loyal PRU readers, you know the last time the City Council dared to ask questions about the police department audit prepared by Mr. Terry Ekl it didn't go very well.

Sources inside the city tell us Mr. Ekl is still refusing to turn over his background documentation for review by City Council members. The PRU Crew strongly urges our City Council members to come prepared for tomorrow night's meeting.

Also on tap tomorrow night is another meeting of the Fair Housing Commission. It appears that, with all the excitement the commission went through over the last year, they forgot to look at the entire Fair Housing ordinance, and just noticed some missing definitions and minor wording changes.pdf they would now like to add to the ordinance.

The PRU Crew isn't going to be cynical and suggest that these "missing definitions" and wording changes are really just an excuse to get the Fair Housing ordinance before the City Council again. We aren't going to suggest that this is one of the oldest tricks in the book to have another bite at the apple, as it were.

photo source credit

Mind the maggots!

If The Shirt Fits! Council Recap!

Attorney Terry Ekl -- Ekl Williams

Once again, we thank PRU readers for their patience.

As most of you know, last night the City Council had two meetings scheduled: A 6:30pm workshop, and a 7:30pm regular council meeting. The purpose of the workshop was for council members to be able to ask attorney Terry Ekl, of Ekl Williams infamy, questions about his investigative procedures and notes, and his final work product -- the police department audit.pdf.

After Mr. Ekl arrived nearly an hour late, Mayor Howard opened the council workshop with a statement saying that everyone had read and analyzed the report and that it is...wait for it...wait...time to move forward!

Alderman Don Bach (3rd Ward) then began by asking Mr. Ekl about travel charges for which he billed the City of Park Ridge. Before Mr. Ekl could answer the question, Mayor Howard intervened to suggest the question was not appropriate for the workshop.

Alderman Frank Wsol (7th Ward) was next and greeted Mr. Ekl and jokingly remarked, "I hope you aren't billing us for this time." to which Mr. Ekl is said to have tersely replied, "I am." Alderman Wsol then responded with, "Then you can stay as long as we need you to answer questions." Mr. Ekl responded by saying he would stay as long as he is asked appropriate questions in the interests of the city. Which leads the PRU Crew to wonder who exactly gets to determine the "interests of the city", the members of our City Council or Mr. Ekl?

Then the exchange between Ald. Wsol and Mr. Ekl got really really interesting. Ald. Wsol asked Mr. Ekl why he (Ekl) had named several officers in his report but had not named any elected officials? Mr. Ekl's answer to that question was, "What are you asking? Where in the report are you referring to? It is not in the city's interest to assess any blame." Ald. Wsol responded that he was not asking Ekl to assess blame, and he repeated his question. Mr. Ekl again asked Ald. Wsol "which part of the report" he was referring to. Alderman Wsol stated that throughout the report several city employees were named and that what he was asking Mr. Ekl is not to change his report, but to simply explain why he had done the report in this way, and then Ald. Wsol again repeated his question. Mr. Ekl then informed Ald. Wsol that he was "not articulating his question -- he was not asking intelligent questions -- he is pandering to his constituents."

At that point, we are told Ald. Wsol kept his seat and did not get up and slug Ekl in the nose. We are also told that the other Aldermen, and particularly Ald. Bach, did not have anything close to a positive reaction to this exchange. We're also told some members of the audience were betting on whose face was redder -- Ald. Bach or Ald. Dave Schmidt (1st Ward). And during this exchange between Ald. Wsol and Mr. Ekl, Mayor Howard remained silent.

Here the PRU Crew would like to interject a note for the benefit of Mr. Terry Ekl and any other interested parties; We think Mayor Howard and most of the Park Ridge City Council are often assholes. But make no mistake about it, they are our assholes. We hope that's understood.

Alderman Wsol then went on to ask Mr. Ekl several questions about several sections of the audit Mr. Ekl had prepared. Our sources tell us that each response from Mr. Ekl was as vague and evasive as his previous responses, but without as much piss and vinegar.

Alderman Robert Ryan (5th Ward) then interrupted the questioning to ask Mayor Howard what the "pro-cess" is for having Aldermen ask questions; apparently because the previous half hour had not illuminated the "pro-cess" for Ald. Ryan.

Then Alderman Rich DiPietro (2nd Ward) cited the municipal code stating the schedule and times for which the council is to hold their regular meetings. Ald. DiPietro used that citation as a lead in to motion to continue the question and answer jousting between Aldermen and Mr. Ekl to October 6th at 6:30pm. The motion was seconded by Ald. Bach, and passed unanimously.

After a break, Mayor Howard then began the regular City Council meeting.

Former 2nd Ward Alderman John Benka was reappointed to the Library Board and had several gushy statements of praise for the work of the board, the services at the Park Ridge Library, and particularly board president, Shlomo Crandus.

After proclaiming October Toastmasters Month.pdf, Mayor Howard offered some gracious remarks about city staff and aldermen regarding their efforts during the past weekend's deluge, noting that the city did a "great job" of communicating with residents. The PRU Crew applauds the city's better than the past efforts at utilizing its web site and the reverse 911 system, but we aren't too sure the delayed and somewhat confusing calls received by residents would fall into the "great" communication category. However, our appreciation of the people who make up the network of our city employees remains unchanged.

Under the City Manager's report on the agenda, Library board president Shlomo Crandus wowed everyone with a power point presentation about the results of the June phone survey the library conducted.

Next up, were some zoning changes for Fifth Third Bank, and a variance for some hapless resident with a garage that was originally built .88 feet from the rear lot line of his property.

Alderman DiPietro offered an amendment to the zoning change for Fifth Third Bank to include cost-sharing between Fifth Third and the city for alley paving at 10 N. Cumberland, with the city's share to be $20,000. Mr. Dan Shapiro, representing the bank, agreed that the bank would pay. Mr. Shapiro also asked that the council wave a second reading of their ordinance approval for this, but the council declined to do that.

The zoning variance was for a resident who is looking to replace a dilapidated garage with a new garage to be built in the exact same location it has always occupied. Sounds easy, right? Wrong. Ald. Ryan was "surprised that we are doing this" and wanted to know if this kind of variance is "normal". Ms. Carrie Davis, acting Director of Community Development, replied that the Zoning Board of Appeals had found this to be a valid hardship. The resident did finally get what he was looking for, with the exception of having also asked the council to wave a second reading of the ordinance approving the variance.

We're not sure, but maybe sloshing through flood water is exactly what some of our aldermen needed! Seems to have rinsed some of the cobwebs out of their heads!

The next item of business was to approve a warrant payable to Ekl Williams in the amount of $52,381.25. And it was Ald. Don Bach who led the charge against paying the bill at this time to Ekl Williams. As a grim faced Ald. Bach phrased it, "not one more dime."

Of course there's a pooper at every party, and Alderman Jim Allegretti offered "a different perspective", noting that he is not unhappy with the audit and believes Ekl should be paid now.

Alderman Wsol offered an amendment to the motion to approve payment by including the condition that payment would be made "provided the City Manager receive all background information supporting the submitted report."

The Council then debated the merits and demerits of the amendment at some length, with Mayor Howard asking if the background information would be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. Substitute City Attorney, Kathy Henn, responded that "maybe parts" of the information could be subject to FOIA. Ald. Wsol then asked if, according to the FOIA law, names could be redacted from the materials. Ms. Henn replied that names could be redacted, but the content could not.

Alderman Schmidt stated that he thought the Ekl report was "flimsy" -- he had asked for the background information and wants to see it for himself. Ald. Schmidt offered that he agreed 100% with Ald. Bach and that Mr. Ekl should be reminded of "who works for who."

Alderman Bach then reiterated his disappointment with the report and noted that Ekl was an hour late in showing up to the council. Ald. Bach also strongly challenged Ekl's accusation that Ald. Wsol is pandering to constituents, saying he believes council members are responding to constituent's concerns. His final comment likened the Ekl report to "Swiss cheese".

Mayor Howard attempted to defend the late arrival of Mr. Ekl by noting that Ekl did, in fact, call the City Manager to say he would be arriving late. Sources tell us Mr. Ekl was coaching a kids football game. We're guessing Mr. Ekl's team lost, which may explain his surly behavior toward the City Council.

Mayor Howard, Aldermen Allegretti and Ryan all tried to persuade their council peers that the Ekl bill should be paid now, with Ald. Ryan noting that he "understands people have mouths to feed and he hates to delay professional service fees."

But get ready for this one folks -- it was Alderman Tom Carey (6th Ward) who demonstrated the greatest clarity of thought and reality-based thinking by offering that it seemed best for the council to defer payment of the bill until Ekl returned on Oct. 6th to continue answering the council's questions about the audit; noting, in as diplomatically stated terms as he could muster, that Ekl may decide not to come back to answer council questions if he's already been paid.

~~~THUD~~~

Holy wow! You think????? Rock on solid, Alderman Carey!

And after some further discussion, and a motion to "substitute for the whole" Ald. Carey's recommendation, the council voted to defer payment of the Ekl Williams bill until Mr. Ekl returns to the City Council to answer questions about the audit.

Finally, the City Council voted to increase ambulance fees and approve the proposal from Disclosure Video Systems to install and upgrade security cameras at City Hall, the police department, and our two train stations.

Under "New Business", we are told council members babbled on about various subjects and that those interested in the process for licensing of temporary homeless shelters should watch the council schedule carefully for upcoming meetings.

Never a dull moment!

Of Cops, Cameras, And Enforcement.

As you should know by now, the Ekl Williams report on the Park Ridge Police Department contained a rather lengthy dedication to the subject of elected officials who meddle in police enforcement matters; of course, without naming those elected officials.

Two examples of the pols interfering in enforcement issues were discussed: the zero tolerance law for underage drinking, and crossing the railroad crossing while the gates were down.

As you may recall, Aldermen James Allspaghetti (4th ward) and Don Bachtard (3rd ward) were the elected officials complaining of aggressive zero tolerance enforcement. We do not have confirmation of who complained about gate crossings.

As you may also recall, it has been Ald. Bachtard who has lead the charge to bring red light cameras to Park Ridge.

And as you may recall, we oppose red light cameras; observing that cameras cannot prevent accidents -- they can only record them. We will continue to maintain that it is the police who should be asked and then supported in the enforcement of the law.

As a glaring example of the above, we offer the below -- please dedicate a full 27 seconds to watching the video.



Just so we're all clear about the difference between what cameras can do and what officers can do.

Council Show Recap!

Last night's City Council meeting was another excellent installment of "Stupid Rep Tricks!"

The council's first interesting item of business was discussion of the release of the Ekl Williams Police Department Audit .pdf to the press and public, which can now be viewed on the City's web site. During the discussion, Alderman Allspaghetti (4th ward) said that he did not feel that if he had questions about the audit he should have to run those questions past his council peers first. Allspaghetti went on to say that he's "known Terry Ekl for 20 years" and would just pick up the phone and call Ekl to ask any questions he may have, indignantly adding that he nor anyone else is "not trying to hide anything" or "doing anything untoward". All of which gave the PRU Crew a good chuckle this morning, because we remember Ekl's interview before the City Council where Ekl was asked if he had any affiliation with the Mayor or any members of the City Council. As we reported to our readers back then, Ekl's response to that inquiry was that he'd met Allspaghetti once a number of years ago. And we are reminded of why not telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is a bad practice for elected officials -- as we also recall that Allspaghetti didn't say a single word during that question and answer session about knowing Ekl "for 20 years".

The next hot topic the City Council considered was the expansion of the R5 zoning district. Alderman Dave Schmidtzkrieg (1st ward) attempted to offer several amendments that sought to severely limit if not eliminate R5 zoning altogether; his reasoning being that developers could go through the planned unit development process for building taller and denser projects. Schmidtzkrieg's amendment was defeated in a 4 (Bach, Allegretti, Ryan, Carey) to 3 (Wsol, Schmidt, DiPietro) vote. The council then voted to adopt the new R5 zoning language in another 4 (Bach, Allegretti, Ryan, Carey) to 3 (Wsol, Schmidt, DiPietro) vote.

And once again Fair Housing Commission chairman, Nan Parson, along with her trusty sidekick, former Alderman Sue Ding-a-ling Bell, complained that the City Council was wrecking all their do-gooder plans for the people of Park Ridge by voting to adopt a Fair Housing ordinance that eliminates the commission's plans to "conduct studies", "educate", and "advocate" for the people of Park Ridge on the issue of fair housing. The City Council then voted to adopt the Fair Housing ordinance as written by a vote of 4 (Allegretti, Carey, Wsol, Schmidt) to 3 (Bach, Ryan, DiPietro).

In an anti-climactic action, the City Council voted unanimously to "authorize the City Manager to sign the Settlement Agreement and Release of All Claims with former Police Chief Caudill and authorize payment to former Chief Caudill pursuant to agreement", now that Ekl Williams has given assurances that Caudill cooperated with the audit. And the PRU Crew still feels that the stink wafting from this one is enough to make a butcher gag.

Finally, the political highlight of the evening came under council agenda item "new business". In what has been described to us as a scathing rebuke of Mayor Howard, Ald. Schmidtzkrieg read a letter in response to the Mayor's attack on Schmidt regarding the disclosure of closed session information to the press and the public. We are looking forward to reading Ald. Schmidtzkrieg's letter in the press this week.

A Comment In The Spotlight!

On June 5, 2008 8:36 PM

Anonymous said...

"PRU, enjoy the weekend. Police Department members won't since many of them will be thinking about yesterday:

Members of the police department were told (and told and told and emailed and encouraged and informed and advised, etc) that Terry Ekls and his associates would be available at 5pm on both Tuesday, June 3rd and Wednesday, June 4th to listen to any department members who wished to voice concerns of any kind for the investigation/audit. The PD members were told that Ekl and his staff would stay as long as it took to ensure all voices could be heard. These two dates were to cover all four patrol shifts since 6pm is the end of the day shift tour and the start of the evening shift tour.

So when at least five department members went to speak with Ekl and his people after the previous shift's end and the oncoming shift's 6pm roll call, there was no one to be found. Where did they go? Ekl was tracked down climbing into his vehicle in the parking lot. He was leaving at 6:30 pm. He was confronted by several of those who wished to speak with him. He said he was done. He said he thought no one wanted to talk to him, so he sent his people home. No, no, no, we have people who want to speak to you! Who need to speak to you! Who have important things to say! Come back in. Please! You're just here in the parking lot. Let's walk right back inside. Your staff must have cell phones, right? Call them and have them turn around and come back. You're being paid $75,000 to conduct an investigation but you're only staying an hour and a half? (and you were late after 5pm.) You didn't check with a supervisor to see if maybe there was an emergency call that tied everyone up so that was the reason no one just walked into your conference room? You didn't know shift change was at 6pm? That's why 5pm was the set time! You just decided, I'm outta here?

He handed out a fistfull of business cards to pass around. Just have everyone call me. I gotta go! Bye!

Low bid. This is what you get. And the truth is what you'll be missing...."

Alderman Wsol, you are the chairman of the Public Safety committee. This police department investigation was your idea. While you allegedly had another firm for your first choice to do this investigation, you went along with the first choice recommendation of your two fellow City Council subcommittee members, Mayor Howard Frimark and Alderman Jim Allegretti, in selecting the firm of Ekl Williams to do this investigation.

Alderman Wsol, you were the point-man who insisted that the City Council defer consideration on former Chief Caudill's amended separation agreement, to ensure his full cooperation with the Ekl Williams investigation of the police department; even though that assurance was already part of the separation agreement you previously agreed to in full. Will you be relying on the word of Ekl Williams in assessing the former police chief's level of cooperation? Will you be relying on the word of Ekl Williams in assessing the level of cooperation Mr. Ekl, himself, demanded from the police department in his meetings with City staff (.pdf)?

Alderman Wsol, did you see to it that there were provisions in the agreement between the City and Ekl Williams to ensure that Ekl Williams would fully cooperate with members of the police department in this investigation? Is there any potential for deferred or withheld compensation to Ekl Williams for their failure to cooperate in this investigation? Whose word will you rely on in assessing the level of cooperation and effort made in this investigation by Ekl Williams?

Alderman Wsol, what are you going to do about this?

Mayor Howard and Alderman Allegretti, Ekl Williams was each of your first choices for the investigation of the police department. What are you going to do about this?

Remember folks, there are two sides to every story. The PRU Crew can't wait to hear this one.