Ready! Fire! Aim!

Hey Chiefski, are you running for office? A little more circumspection in consideration for the judicial process may have been better for all concerned.

PressRlseLeavittNov2010

For our faithful PRU readers who may have missed the conventional press coverage of this story, the Herald-Advocate has an online article for your reading displeasure.

In the article, the following is reported -- "Following the settlement of the lawsuit the State's Attorney's Office, assisted by the FBI, began investigating the Police Department" -- things that make us go hhhmmmmm. We aren't experts on such matters, but we're pretty sure the State's Attorney's Office doesn't make a habit of opening investigations into settled lawsuits. We wonder what their source of investigative inspiration may have been?

We Are All $6,672 Safer!

Various news outlets and the Chicago Tribune are reporting today that the Mayor of Chicago has issued a one day suspension to a bureaucrat for circulating an email memo "warning police supervisors that the city was on track to fall far short of this year's "targets" for parking ticket revenue." The unfortunate bureaucrat broke the cardinal rule of bureaucracy -- never tell the whole truth.

When it comes to things like parking tickets and red light camera citations, the bureaucratic script must be diligently followed -- parking tickets are written because a parking law has been broken and red light cameras are all about safety at intersections. Everybody got that? Politicians are not, repeat not, interested in revenue generation from things like parking tickets and red light cameras. They are only concerned with public safety and enforcement of the law.

The bureaucratic script, demanding discussions of public safety and enforcement of laws, are particularly important when discussing the use of red light cameras and the potential for installing more.

So any local news story or memorandum (.pdf) that includes and emphasises the amount of revenue generated by the use of red light cameras should not leave readers with the impression that there's any truth beyond your local government's concern for public safety and enforcement of the law.

Everybody got that?

A Thursday Two-fer!

#1 -- Water works!

For those of you disinclined to building or buying your own ark, the Park Ridge Park District will be meeting as a Committee of the Whole tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Maine Park Leisure Center to discuss two issues concerning water. The agenda (.pdf) includes the following --

Buildings and Grounds Committee – Commissioners Vile/Maloney

A. Northwest Park – City Flood Issue/Future Plans (Executive Director Ochromowicz)

B. Future of Oakton Pool (Executive Director Ochromowicz)

On a related soggy note, the Park Ridge Park District website contains the following notice --

Notice from Park Ridge Park District:

In the interest of safety, South Park Pool will be closed from June 1 to mid-June for maintenance. To accommodate South Park's pre-season hours, the Centennial Wading Pool will be open at 10am during this maintenance. Thank you for your patience.


#2 -- Wet your whistle!

For those of you disinclined to attend meetings, you may want to consider attending a benefit party tonight!



1900 - 2300 hours is 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. for those of you disinclined to military time.

H-Apocalypse Now!

On March 11, 2010 the H-A -- a.k.a. the Park Ridge Herald-Advocate -- published an article headlined, "Crossing guards could be crossed off budget," written by the PRU Crew's favoritest local reporterette.

The opening line of the article says, "As many as a dozen school crossing guard positions could be eliminated in Park Ridge under a proposal to cut costs by more than $100,000."

The horror! The horror!

The article goes on to report, "Park Ridge Police Chief Frank Kaminski said the department's crossing guard budget is $62,100 for the 2010-11 fiscal year, considerably less than the $190,000 the city spent the current year. Kaminski said 12 intersections now staffed by crossing guards before and after school may have to be eliminated unless an alternative plan can be agreed upon. "I don't want to say all 12 intersections will definitely be cut," Kaminski told the Park Ridge City Council during a Sunday budget workshop, calling the list of impacted intersections "preliminary" until the department can discuss the matter with the crossing guards themselves."

The horror! The horror!

The article further reports, "Each crossing guard now is paid the equivalent of three hours of work per day, though they work closer to an hour per day, Kaminski said. Paying the crossing guards for just the hour they work could save the positions, but Kaminski questions whether this proposal would generate enough interest from community members. "The issue is getting a core group of people to work as guards on one hour pay per day," Kaminski said. He added that the department has not yet met with the crossing guards to discuss the situation."

The horror! The horr...er...wait...what???

Did we read that right? The issue isn't that "Crossing guards could be crossed off [the] budget," but rather, whether or not the crossing guards will agree to be paid for...wait for it...wait...only the time they actually work??? So instead of padding the crossing guards' pay with two extra hours beyond what they may actually work, as an inducement to get them to do the job of seeing school children across roads safely, the crossing guards would have to agree to doing the job and getting paid only for the time they actually do the job???

The horror! The horror!

We just love the H-A's reporting!

Another Monday Two-fer!

#1 -- For those of you who can't get enough of municipal meetings, you're in luck! Once again this evening, there is a City Council COW -- the agenda (.pdf) is set to cover Public Safety and Public Works.


#2 -- If you didn't have a chance to attend the City Council Budget Workshop this past Saturday, you're in luck! Below are the videos with minimal indexing!

video #00000.MTS Budget Discussion 3/6/10


@ 2:00 mark -- Ald. DiPietro reiterates current budget deficit is at $227,600

@ 2:50 mark -- City Manager Hock begins review of revenue projections

@ 6:50 mark -- City Manager Hock notes the request for 5% property tax increase

@ 7:58 mark -- City Manager Hock comments, "Home values in Park Ridge seem to be holding"

@ 10:00 mark -- City Manager Hock notes the Uptown TIF is not generating enough income to cover the bond this year


video #00001.MTS Budget Discussion 3/6/10


Begins with continuing discussion of revenue projections

@ 17:15 mark -- Residents comments begin

@ 31:33 mark -- Police Dept. presentation begins


video #00002.MTS Budget Discussion 3/6/10


Begins with continuation of Police Dept. presentation

@ 12:30 mark -- Aldermanic Q & A begins

@ 25:15 mark -- Ald. Wsol makes sure the record reflects suggested cuts are not Council ideas

@ 39:50 mark -- Resident comments begin


video #00003-2.MTS Budget Discussion 3/6/10

-- replaces previous video

Begins with continuation of resident comments

@ 11:55 mark -- Ald. DiPietro calls for a short recess before Fire Dept. presentation


video #00004.MTS Budget Discussion 3/6/10


Begins with Fire Dept. presentation

@ 33:15 mark -- Review of "staffing matrix" begins

@ 42:50 mark -- Aldermanic Q & A begins


video #00005.MTS Budget Discussion 3/6/10


Begins with continuation of Aldermanic Q & A

@ 8:58 mark -- Fire Dept. presentation concludes

@ 10:11 mark -- Resident comments begin

@ 37:58 mark -- Mayor Schmidt comments

@ 38:51 mark -- Ald. Wsol comments

@ 40:19 mark -- Ald. Ryan comments

@41:11 mark -- Motion to adjourn

Put On Your Thinking Cap!

The new Chief of the Park Ridge Police Dept. needs you!

Announced on the City's website --


Chief's advisory task force created
Tuesday, September 15, 2009

A Chief’s Advisory Task Force is being created to assist Park Ridge Police Chief Frank Kaminiski in obtaining feedback and input on Police department issues, performance, and activities.

The Task Force will include about 15-20 volunteers from a cross-section of the community. Members representing a blend of age groups and representing schools, businesses, civic organizations, neighborhoods, clergy and youth, are being sought.

Applications are being accepted in the Chief’s Office, 200 S. Vine. The application is posted here and is available at the Park Ridge Police Department.

Once applications are received, the Mayor will appoint the advisory members and ensure the Task Force represents a cross section of the community. Volunteers will undergo a criminal background check.

Initially, the Task Force will meet on a monthly basis for 90 minutes. The Chief will prepare the meeting agenda, take minutes, and serve as liaison to the task force.

Related Documents
Advisory Task force appl 09 15 09.pdf


The PRU Crew hopes this is a more productive effort than "coffee with the cops."

Council Recap!

Greetings, PRU readers! We've got a council meeting recap for you today -- it's not as full as we wanted it to be, but sometimes digging into background information isn't as easy as we would like it to be. And sometimes we come up empty too.

Without further ado, here's your council meeting recap!

Monday night's City Council meeting began with an attempt by the leader of the ORD-REST community group to provide a power point presentation.pdf (we assume it's the same one presented at the 12/13/08 Town Hall Meeting) to the assembled masses, but Ms. Christine Kutt-Zolt couldn't get cooperation from the technology gods. Instead Ms. Kutt-Zolt went ahead and verbally presented the case for ORD-REST and what they hope to do. Mayor Howard and some of his Alderdopes are looking to make ORD-REST a city sponsored task force, and no doubt shift the responsibility for dealing with the O'Hare issue away from themselves, the elected officials who dropped the ball on this for the last two years.

Our sources report the Council's eyes boggled as Ms. Kutt-Zolt began listing expenses for the proposed ORD-REST groups becoming a city task force -- the grand total being $300,000.00 to begin the effort to research whether or not there is anything that can be done to pursue some forms of relief from the O'Hare expansion.

The ORD-REST effort could include the hiring of many many consultants to research and advise on such things as the Environmental Impact Statement issued for the O'Hare Modernization Program, write federal legislation "to protect us and others" from airport problems, give ORD-REST a "seat at the ONCC table" -- which conveniently lets Mayor Howard and Alderdunce Don Bachtard (3rd ward) off the hook of accountability -- as well as suing the FAA on behalf of property owners in Park Ridge who believe their property value has diminished in light of the opening of the new 9L/27R O'Hare runway.

We feel those efforts would be an exercise in futility. However, we strongly feel the City of Park Ridge should not even be thinking of using taxpayer money to fund lawsuits on behalf of some private property owners. We know there are those who will argue that the city has an interest in the value of that private property; however, we maintain that city funding of lawsuits that may or may not return monetary relief to private property owners, in the way of some settlement, is not the sort of interest the city should take in the issue and would not serve to protect the collective city interests.

Sources tell us that after the Alderdopes listened to the dulcet tones of the cash registers in their heads begin ringing, the 2nd ward's Lord of the Manor, Rich DiPietro, suggested the issue be referred to committee and that the process of interviewing task force members, by the Mayor's Advisory board for recommendation for appointment by Mayor Howard be followed. And here PRU readers should note, bureaucracy has its advantages -- as every bureaurat comes to understand in time.

The City Council then moved on to discussion of how the City Council COW meetings are to be conducted. We are told the low light from this portion of the meeting was having to listen to 4th ward Alderman James Allspaghetti, in response to an amendment offered by 1st ward Alderman Dave Schmidtzkrieg that would have demanded a super majority vote of the council to limit debate, argue that debate should be allowed to be limited by a simple majority vote, and that he's never seen the limiting of debate "abused", and that he feels demanding that a super majority vote to limit debate of public business is not good government. For his part, Alderman Bachtard whined that "COW meetings should mirror City Council meetings" and that now there would be two sets of rules for different meetings. Schmidtzkrieg argued that COW meetings are supposed to be different from City Council meetings.

Initially a voice vote was taken on the amendment and it seemed to pass, with our sources telling us that Aldermen Bachtard, Allspaghetti, and Benedict Alderman Ryan voted no on the amendment that would have demanded a super majority vote to limit debate. But then, in what has become a sort of City Council tradition, confusion ensued and a roll call vote was requested -- a sort of City Council do-over. With the roll call vote, sources tell us the Unfriendly Ghost from the 6th ward, Tom Carey, seemed to change his vote to a no and then the amendment to demand a super majority to limit debate was defeated.

The Council also discussed the complaints they had received about the COW meeting location at the Public Works Service Center -- by consensus they have decided to hold COW meetings at City Hall.

The next item on the agenda was discussion of 7th ward Alderman Frank Wsooooolman's resolution to include a referendum on the April ballot asking voters something -- we still don't know exactly what -- about building a new Park Ridge police station. Alderman Wsooooolman said he was introducing this resolution because, until Monday morning when Joe Egan and his volunteers submitted 2800 plus signatures to the City Cluck for their referendum effort, it had seemed to him the citizen effort to get the referendum question on the ballot wasn't going to be successful, so he figured he would do it. Which leads us to wonder why, after learning Joe Egan and his volunteers were successful, Ald. Wsooooolman didn't pull his discussion item for a referendum resolution off the City Council agenda?

During the very lengthy and circular discussion of Wsooooolman's resolution the assembled masses were treated to another Ald. Allspaghetti dissertation on the ignorance of the citizens of Park Ridge, saying we are "uninformed." Allspaghetti's remarks elicited a pointed retort from Ald. Schmidtzkrieg who said "calling the populace uninformed is wrong." Then the Lord of the Manor, Ald. DiPietro, offered that Ald. Wsooooolman had come up with referendum language because at an earlier meeting Joe Egan had said that if the council didn't like his referendum wording they should come up with their own. Alderman Benedict Ryan said he though Ald. Wsooooolman's referendum "clarifies" the issue. The PRU Crew is wondering if Benedict Ryan needs a new pair of glasses because the final wording of the Council's referendum --

"In adopting a capital project to improve the administrative/public and police facilities, shall the city of Park Ridge require as a condition of issuing any bonds for such improvements that the total spent, absent interest and operational costs, be less than $16.5 million and the facilities be located at 505 Butler Place on land already owned by the city?"

-- seems to us to be anything but clear, or clarifying.

Ryan then attempted to amend the referendum by adding language that said approval of the referendum "will not cause an increase in taxes, fees, or service reductions as of 2008 levels."

The first portion of that language to get axed was the "as of 2008 levels" then, after City Manager Jim Hock said the language would tie the hands of the City Council while making budget decisions, the Council nixed the rest of Benedict Ryan's amendment.

The Unfriendly Ghost, Tom Carey, motioned to have the issue deferred for two weeks, but that motion failed.

We are told Alderman Wsooooolman then launched into some bellicose bellowing, to borrow a phrase, on how all the discussions about building a new police station and land needed for the project had taken place in open meetings.

Sometimes this really is like shooting fish in a barrel, isn't it?

Would anyone like to remind Ald. Wsooooolman about the discussions that have taken place behind closed doors about land purchases? Would anyone like to remind Ald. Wsooooolman about Mayor Howard's discussion and attempts to INCREASE THE PRICE THE CITY WOULD PAY for the property at 720 Garden Street, all of which took place behind closed doors? Would anyone like to remind Ald. Wsooooolman about Mayor Howard's attempts to get a deal for his friend and campaign contributor, Bill Napleton? Many many many of the discussions about the deals, plural, for Napleton's property have taken place behind closed doors.

The final vote on inclusion of the Council referendum on the April ballot was approved by a final vote of 5 (Wsol, DiPietro, Bach, Ryan, and Carey) to 2 (Schmidt and Allegretti).

The Council then moved on to discussion of Ald. Wsooooolman's next proposed referendum question -- whether the voters want the City to go to referendum whenever non-emergency debt is being considered. This item was referred for consideration to the Finance and Budget committee by a unanimous vote.

Next up, City Manager Jim Hock let everyone know that it's business as usual with ComEd. Hock reported that 80 homes were without power during the recent subzero temperatures, and that this outage was actually scheduled by ComEd. Hock also told the Council that another report received from ComEd said that an additional 1000 homes were without power, but that report turned out to be false. Unfortunately, the City had begun notifying residents before being able to confirm the validity of ComEd's report. Alderman Bachtard said it wouldn't do any good, but he wants to call ComEd on the carpet anyway. Sensational!

The assembled masses were then given a report by acting Chief of Police Tom Swoboda on his investigation into the Oberweis incident involving allegations officers had attempted to intimidate employees at the ice cream shop who were allowing police station referendum petition volunteers to collect voter signatures in the store. The result of Swoboda's investigation resulted in his finding that one employee received a telephone call from a woman claiming to be a Park Ridge police officer, who complained about the referendum effort. The PRU Crew is wondering if dollface has been smiling and dialing? Swoboda also said that one officer had been in the Oberweis store but nothing other than "small talk" took place. Swoboda then went on to complain bitterly about inaccurate information being released to "the press" and how that unsubstantiated information damages the reputation of the police department. Chiefy, the PRU Crew thinks you do a pretty damn good job in helping that effort along yourself.

Mayor Howard then took the opportunity to say, and we quote -- he was "incest" because of the incorrect and invalid accusations, and that "our police officers aren't types that bully people."

Next up, City Manager Jim Hock proposed the City Council go into closed session to approve closed session minutes and als discuss acquisition of land. Ald. Wsooooolman earned his only PRUdo for the night by asking City Manager Hock if the land acquisition item had any relation to the Park Ridge Police Department? Mr. Hock reportedly replied, "Potentially." Ald. Wsooooolman, fully realizing the implications, then said "this is why residents don't trust us." Ald. Bachtard simply said "we can't afford land right now", but Ald. Allspaghetti said that discussion doesn't mean we have to buy it. The Council approved the closed session agenda item to review other closed session minutes but did not vote to discuss any land acquisition in closed session.

The Council then voted to form a task force to review the tree preservation ordinance, because you can't possibly have too many unelected, Mayoral appointed bodies making recommendations to elected officials on city policy.

Under the Council's agenda item for New Business, Ald. Bachtard again said he wanted a ComEd representative to come to Park Ridge. Sensational! Bachtard also went on to say he has received complaints about empty stores and city policies that "keep them empty" so he wants the Procedures and Regulations committee to review city ordinances governing local business matters. We can't wait for the recommendations from the Procedures and Regulations committee!

All together now --

Give us a "T",
give us an "A",
give us an "S",
give us a "K",
give us an "F",
give us an "O",
give us an "R",
give us a "C",
give us an "E"!

Is There A Doctor In The House?

Sigmund Freud is considered the father of psychoanalysis -- a practice, in part, by which a person's ego is analyzed and motivations are discerned. According to Dr. Freud, the ego will pursue the attainment of something to compensate for something else felt to be missing.

Sigmund Freud assigned to women a desire for compensation, of what was "missing" from them, as penis-envy. The PRU Crew has never bought in to that psychobabble, because we feel very deeply that with what women do have, they can have as many penises as they want. We know this. We know this because offers have been made. And rejected -- even after major effort has been made to explain to them what they're missing. We can only conclude Dr. Freud is completely wrong on this women with penis-envy thing, because people do not reject offers for things they envy and supposedly want.

However, the PRU Crew isn't ready to summarily reject the entirety of Freud's theory of an ego's desire for compensation.

If we go looking for an example of Freud's theory in practice, close to home, we feel it can be found in 7th Ward Alderman Frank Wsol's police station referendum solution -- or Wsolution, as the PRU Crew is preferring to call it.

In an article in today's Journal and Topics, 'Wsol Pitches Idea For Police Referendum Wording', we read that Ald. Wsolution is quoted as saying, "I think I have a solution, and I'm going to be asking the City Manager to put this on the schedule for next Monday." Alderman Wsolution is pitching two referendum questions to the voters of Park Ridge --

1. -- "In adopting a capital project to improve the administrative/public and police facilities at 505 Butler Place, shall the City of Park Ridge require as conditions of issuing any bonds for such improvements that:The annual bond payment will not cause an increase in City taxes/fees or service reductions as of 2008 levels (adjusted for inflation); the total spent, absent interest and operational costs will not exceed $16.5million; the facility improvement will not require new land purchases and the facility improvements will, where economically appropriate,include "green engineering" for the purpose of lowering on-going operational costs."

2. -- "Shall the City of Park Ridge adopt a policy that all non-emergency debt and all non-emergency budget increases above the CPI-U (CPI-U decreases will not apply) shall require voter approval by referendum vote?"

The PRU Crew is wondering what Ald. Wsolution is trying to compensate for -- is this really the best he can do? The PRU Crew has to admit we aren't even sure of what a yes or no answer means for each of those questions, as one of our commenters pointed out yesterday.

We know there are those who feel the condition of the police station is fine and there is no need to address the shortcomings in the facility. The PRU Crew strongly disagrees with that position.

We know there are those who feel we can't afford the expense of an entirely new station. The PRU Crew feels that position has some merit, at this time. But the City of Park Ridge has mucked around about the police station for so long, under much better economic conditions, that we are beginning to feel we may never see a real solution to the problems of the police facility in our lifetime!

The PRU Crew is a fairly uncompromising bunch on nearly every issue. We tend to take a look at things and make a judgement about what we feel is the right course of action.

On the issue of our police facility we feel we could swallow some kind of compromise. We don't know exactly what that is, but we know that the current condition of the station is unacceptable.

We're hoping the politicians can stop their ego compensation games for a little while and get to work on a real solution. We've had just about all we can stand of their dicking around.

Comment in the Spotlight!

Joe said...

Police station petition.

If anyone is interested in gathering signatures to place an advisory referendum on the next ballot, I have one drafted based on Alderman Schmidt's attempt to allow the taxpayers of Park Ridge decide whether or not we should spent over $24 million (includes interest but not operational and maintenance costs) in front of the City Council. I will need at least 25 volunteers that would be willing to gather at least 100 signatures each. I am researching exactly how many we would need. Time is of the essence since our City Council is afraid to ask this question. They are committed to going forward without our input. If you are interested, please email me at jjegan1@aol.com. I would also need someone to co-lead this effort.

December 3, 2008 8:54 PM

Council Recap -- SSSHHHHH!

Our sources report that last night's City Council meeting was business as usual for the forces of darkness.

After the usual beginning niceties, including congratulations for our Maine South Football Champions, Mayor Howard let everyone know he's a day late and a dollar short on chasing the O'Hare noise problem. While Mayor Howard was doing his Rip Van Winkle impression, when he wasn't voting to pull out of the Suburban O'Hare Commission, the problem of noise and the new runway configuration at O'Hare was creeping up on the citizens of Park Ridge. But now Mayor Howard, and one of his more drooling alderdogs, Don Bachtard (3rd ward), are "challenging the FAA" to provide answers to questions about the jet noise. If either of these idiots had bothered to pay attention to this issue over the last several years, they would find all the answers they're now looking for in the meeting minutes of the O'Hare Noise Compatibility Commission. Or they could have spent an afternoon in the park on the North end of Park Ridge for a taste of things that were to come.

"Challenging the FAA" -- that is very funny stuff!

Next on the council agenda was 1st ward Alderman Dave Schmidt's report and resolution request to put the issue of building a new police station to a referendum vote. In stark contrast to the treatment of every other single resolution undertaken by the council, our sources report that Mayor Howard would not allow Ald. Dave to read an opening statement to begin his report and then offer a motion to adopt the resolution. When Ald. Dave began speaking, Mayor Howard cut him off asking for a motion. Ald. Dave then read the shorter text of the referendum question and motioned the item up for discussion and debate. Mayor Howard then asked for a second to the motion, as required by Roberts Rules of Order, so that discussion and debate could begin. Our sources report that for the first time, Mayor Howard proceeded very slowly through the process of asking for a second -- asking three times if there was anyone to second the motion. All the other aldermen on the council remained silent, and the motion died -- along with the possibility of a public discussion and debate -- for lack of a second.

The PRU Crew feels that, no matter where anyone falls on the issue of building a new police station, everyone should have the guts to discuss, debate and defend their position publicly. And if you are an elected representative of the people, you are obligated to grab hold of your fortitude and tell the people of Park Ridge, in an open forum, why you don't feel they should have a direct and explicit say on the issue through a referendum vote.

We're told two members of the audience rose to address the council after bearing witness to the shenanigans, calling the council's action -- or lack of action -- "appalling" and "sorely disappointing."

The City Council then moved on to other business which included debate and discussion, in great detail, of whether or not to allow businesses to advertise that they have televisions in their establishment, and whether or not minors can play arcade games in an establishment "when accompanied by a person twenty-one years of age." We are told the discussion of keeping our local youth safe from the ills of arcade games took about 30 minutes, and the ordinance passed on a final vote of 5 (Schmidt, Bach, Allegretti, Ryan, and Carey) to 2 (DiPietro and Wsol).

We bet our readers may be wondering why the council was willing to spend a half hour on the minutia of the liquor ordinance, while foregoing any discussion on the potential expenditure of an estimated $20million dollars and a referendum vote. The PRU Crew feels anyone wondering about that should contact their alderman and the Mayor, and ask.

The final highlight in the council's actions last night was to tell PRC Partners, the development entity for Target Area 2 (Uptown), they would have to wait another two weeks before the council would again consider their request to lease space to service provider, Coldwell Banker, instead of a sales tax generating business.

We're told the discussion between the council and two of the partners for PRC began very cordially, but as it became clear the council wasn't in a mood to again give a concession to PRC, the partners became somewhat testy and said the city wasn't likely to ever see the originally promised profit sharing, and that the city should take this deal now. The partners also let it be known that every payment made to the city now, in return for the city's concessions to PRC, is included as an expense that is added to the project. What this means, people, is that PRC is adding expenses to the ledger which will almost guaranty that the city never sees a dime of profit from the project, because if the 11% target return for PRC partners isn't met, then the city is left out of the calculation for profit taking. So, is there anybody out there who would be willing to settle for an 8% return on an investment? We're betting the PRC partners will be just fine with that.

Alderman James Allspaghetti (4th ward) asked what would happen with the potential tenant if the council didn't approve the deal in a timely manner? The partners for PRC said they weren't sure what the potential tenant would do, but that it was important to approve the concession. We are told Allspaghetti then launched into one of his long winded and circular ramblings about approving the concession because the empty spaces in the new development are bad!

We are also told that a member of the audience then rose to address the council and, citing "the interest of full disclosure", said that Coldwell Banker is already leasing space in town and that if they were to move into the new development another, larger space would become vacant.

The PRU Crew has long heard that PRC Partners has spent a great deal of time trying to "canibalize" other local businesses in their efforts to fill up their development.

We give big PRUdos to the council for deferring action on this item until the costs to the city can be more fully understood. However, we're not foolish enough to believe the council will see this one through, and we think PRC will eventually get exactly what they're asking for again.

Reader Soapbox!

Today we read in the Park Ridge Herald that Alderman Ryan has asked for costs involving potential design/construction of a new police station.

I for one am for this and congratulate the city fathers once and for all.

But , recently we have seen the posted statements by our new city manager Mr. James Hock who stated that we are currently operating a city budget that is in the "red ".

Therefore, if we are already in the hole - why would we go forward with this proposal ?

Did we miss something here ?

A letter was submitted ( respectfully ) with suggestions as to how we can cut the fat from the budget. Such as :

- Stop the use of take home city cars for those non-emergency personnel.

- Stop all paid overtime with time due being substitute until funds are available.

- Salary cuts and start from the top down on a volunteer basis - first.

We are in tough financial times and have seen other cities cut very deep such as the city of Naperville in cutting three officers and two fire fighters from their budget.

The city of Hoffman estates had decided not to fill the five vacancies from their police department also due to the budget.

We certainly hope that this will not be the case here in Park Ridge but if we don't get tough and stop the spending and make some revisions within the city - we could see the above nightmare in loosing highly trained city department personnel being laid off.

I'm sure this is not what the city and the residents want.
Less coverage and more spending.

Its like the current rear wheel squad cars that we have patrolling the streets - when the heavy snow comes - our wheels will only spin.

We need some traction with our budget and those who protect us deserve only the best. Let's not let them or the residents down before its too late.

Thank you.
Gene Spanos
Park Ridge Resident

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.

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!

How Long Can You Tread Water? - Freewheeling!

A record amount of rainfall again soaked all of us this past weekend. We hear things got a little dicey at places like Home Depot as residents were again making quick trips to purchase items such as shop-vacs. And residents are again dragging warped furniture and sodden rugs out to the curb for pick-up.

If this weren't such a regular occurrence, we'd be smacking our foreheads and downing V8 juice. Unfortunately, it's an all to frequent happening. It seems that if ComEd doesn't get us, the sewer system will.

Our Public Works, Police, and Fire personnel are to be given a hearty round of applause. We feel they did as good a job as they could, under the circumstances. Many volunteers and even our aldermen pitched in knocking on doors and sandbagging, while Mayor Howard kept Park Ridge safe from media crews by sacrificing himself to interviews.

All in all, it was a rough weekend. But as we've seen time and time again, the more demanding the task, the tougher the people of Park Ridge prove themselves to be. And many manage to stay in good humor too.

Remember folks, it could always be worse. Don't forget, ultimately it's just stuff. And to those with family down in Texas -- glad to hear everybody came through okay.

To Protect and Serve.

1957 Pulitzer Prize winning photo taken by
William (Bill) Beall, Washington Daily News.

We had planned for today to comment on the findings, both the perceptions and the realities, of the Ekl Williams Police Department audit. Then an anonymous reader submitted the following, and we feel it's a lot better than anything we had to say today. We're going to leave our comments on the audit for another time.

A Policeman Is...

A policeman is a composite of what all men are...a mingling of saint and sinners...dust and deity. Cold statistics wave the fan over the stinkers... underscore instances of dishonesty and brutality because they are news.

What that really means is they are exceptional, unusual - not commonplace. Buried under the froth is the fact that less than one half of one percent of policemen misfit that uniform. And that's a better average than among clergymen.

What is a policeman made of. He of all men is at once the most needed and the most unwanted...a strangely nameless creature who is "sir" to his face... and "pig" to his back.

He must be such a diplomat that he can settle differences between individuals... so that each will think he won...But if the policeman is
neat, he's a flirt. If he's not, he's a grouch.

In an instant he must make decisions which require months for a lawyer. But if he hurries, he's careless. If he's deliberate, he's lazy. He must be first to an accident...infallible with a diagnosis...he must be able to start breathing, stop bleeding, tie splints and above all be sure the victim goes home without a limp, or expect to be sued.

The police officer must know every gun...draw on the run...and hit where it doesn't hurt. He must be able to whip two men his size and half his age... without damaging his uniform and without being brutal. If you hit him, he's a coward. If he hits you, he's a bully.

A policeman must know everything and not tell. He must know where all the sin is and not partake.

The policeman must, from a single human hair, be able to describe the crime, the weapon and the criminal.. and tell you where the criminal is hiding. But if he catches the criminal he's lucky...if he doesn't he's a dunce. If he gets promoted he has political pull. If he doesn't he's a dullard.

The policeman must chase bum leads to a dead end and stake out ten nights to tag one witness who saw it happen, but refused to remember.

He runs files and writes reports until his eyes ache to build a case against some felon who will get dealt out by a shameless lawyer or an honorable judge who isn't.

A policeman must be a minister...social worker...a diplomat...a tough guy... and a gentleman.

And of course he will have to be a genius, for he will have to feed a family on a policeman's salary.

-- Author unknown

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.

Our Own Star Chamber!

"The Star Chamber" (1983)

Yes, PRU readers, once again Park Ridge's own Star Chamber will be meeting again tonight. On the City Council agenda (.pdf) is yet another closed session to discuss the acquisition of property for a new police station. Place your bets folks -- which Friends of Frimark do you think will be in line for another heapin' helpin' of taxpayer money?

Of course, all of the questions that were outstanding the last time the Council discussed acquisition of property for a new police station remain unanswered. But as we all know, Mayor Howard never saw a parcel of property for sale that he didn't want to use taxpayer money to buy, especially if such a purchase can help feather a friend's nest.

Also on the City Council agenda, under the Finance and Budget committee report, is item "b. Approve payment to former Police Chief Caudill", which is rather presumptive considering that the Finance and Budget committee will be meeting a mere half hour before the Council meeting to discuss the issue -- the sole action item on their meeting agenda (.pdf). And the PRU Crew finds it rather curious that there are no supporting documents available for public review under either the Finance and Budget committee posting or the City Council posting on the City web site.

You don't suppose any discussion of the issue has taken place out of the public light, do you? Of course not, our fine elected officials wouldn't do such a thing. And they sure wouldn't be trying to hide the information from public review either, would they?

Council Rodeo Recap!

Last night's council meeting was another exciting display of representative democracy in action! Here's a quick recap of the highlights of what your council did to...er...did for...you.

After the cursory adoption of the consent agenda items, Mayor Howard announced that the city has received a letter from IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation) promising that bad stretches of Cumberland and Higgins will be repaved, contingent upon Springfield's passing a budget. Our sources report that a good laugh was had by all.

The council then moved to the City Manager's report portion of the agenda. The first item of business was the adoption of an agreement with Ekl Williams for the Park Ridge police department audit.

We are told Alderman Wsoooool man (7th ward) lead the charge by asking several questions of Mr. Terry A. Ekl, who was in attendance. Alderman Schmidtzkrieg (1st ward) moved to amend the agreement to 1) not provide immunity for disciplinary action against police officers interviewed by Ekl Williams, 2) release the final report to the public, and 3) have Ekl Williams keep and manage a list of people to be interviewed.

That amendment was divided into its respective parts and treated independently for discussion and vote. Procedurally (under Roberts Rule of Order) that's known as "dividing the question".

Most of the discussion among the council and with Mr. Ekl centered around the question of providing immunity from discipline for police officers who will be interviewed by Mr. Ekl, while allowing that criminal prosecution would still be available, and the release of the final report to the public. It seems Mr. Ekl had asked to be able to grant immunity, as well as asking the council if the final report is intended to be released to the public so that his firm would know whether or not they were operating under the guidance of confidential attorney-client privilege; something Mr. Ekl would seem to have preferred.

During the discussion, Ald. Schmidtzkrieg mentioned that a letter of recommendation for Mr. Terry Ekl was received by the city from DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett. Ald. Schmidtzkrieg also noted that Mr. Terry Ekl was, at one time, Mr. Birkett's campaign manager and that over the years Mr. Ekl has donated nearly $20,000.00 to Mr. Birkett's election efforts.

In answer to the question of whether or not Mr. Ekl had any affiliation with the mayor or any member of the council, Mr. Ekl responded that he did meet Alderman Allspaghetti (4th ward) a number of years ago, but that he did not have any affiliation with any other members of the council.

After much discussion, the council did finally vote on the amended main motion to adopt the contract with Elk Williams. The result is that immunity from disciplinary action will not be given to officers being interviewed, the final report will be released to the public in some form, and Ekl Williams will keep and manage any list of interviewees.

Next, the council then moved to ratify the notice given to Napleton Cadillac that the city position on the previously adopted deal with Napleton was now kaput, with Alderman DreadBach (3rd ward) stressing that this notice means Napleton will not get a cent from the city. We can only imagine how very disappointing all this is to those 30 constituents whom Ald. DreadBach previously said he was representing.

The third item under the City Manager's report was a discussion of the process under which the proposed PADS shelter at St. Mary's Episcopal Church would be allowed to proceed. The city attorney, Everett "Buzz" Hill, asked the council for direction; stating that normally staff would make such a determination but that case law in this area was conflicting and that this was a very unusual circumstance.

Again it was Ald. Schmidtzkrieg who moved to refer the matter to the council's Procedures and Regulations committee for further discussion and recommendation.

Mayor Howard then informed all present that the city council will be conducting a PADS workshop at 6:30 pm on May 5th, 2008 with St. Mary's, people from PADS and selected members of a "community group".

With those items of business done, the council then moved to the portion of the agenda that allows members of the public to comment on non-agenda issues. And again, many many members of the public spoke both for and against the PADS shelter at St. Mary's with pastor Amity Carruba providing the council with 343 signatures from various church congregants in support of the PADS shelter at St. Mary's.

We hate to burst Amity's bubble, but the last time signatures were submitted to the council it was a final count of 400 residents opposed to granting zoning variances to Norwood Builders for the condo project at Executive Office Plaza, and the council wasn't persuaded. We can only guess that none among those 400, and likely none among the 343 submitted by Amity, are the "magical 30" DreadBach needs to vote to represent his constituency.

The rest of the council's business was conducted with much less citizen participation, and your water rates are going up, your sewer surcharge is going up, ambulance fees are going up, the parking tax at Lutheran General Hospital is going up, and your city government will undoubtedly be finding new and exciting ways to spend it all.

Have a great day.

Council Roundup!

We hear it was a long city council meeting last night. After the usual opening niceties of declaring April to be Fair Housing Month and some recognition awards, acting City Manager Julianna Maller requested that the acting Director of Community Development, Carrie Davis, brief the Council on a March 31, 2008 meeting between city staff, the Park Ridge Ministerial Association, Benedict Alderman Ryan and Mayor Howard regarding the proposed PADS shelter.

Everyone was reassured that it is "typical" to meet with "potential" applicants to lay the groundwork for future action. Ms. Davis also said such meetings are necessary because such proposals effect many layers of city government. Ms. Davis also referred to PADS as a "franchise" that deals with the provision of shelter to the homeless, and that the Park Ridge Ministerial Association believes there is a "gap in services" for the homeless in Park Ridge.

Acting City Manager Maller then told those assembled that St. Mary's has been asked to provide more information and that if the council chose to they could refer the matter to committee for discussion to talk about the process. Ms. Maller requested direction from the City Council.

Ald. Dave Schmidt (1st ward) then remarked that he hoped the City Attorney would provide his legal opinion in a written memo with supporting citations and cases. Ald. Schmidt said he has looked at case law on the subject and that this is a confused area of the law, but that all signs point to PADS needs to get a special use permit. Ald. Schmidt went on to caution those in attendance, who are opposed to the PADS shelter, that there is a balancing requirement in the law. The city can require standards, but those opposed to the shelter can't simply say they don't want it; there must be a compelling interest for the city to protect. All that leaves the PRU Crew to wonder, what's more compelling than the protection of our kids, ourselves, and our property?

Benedict Ald. Ryan (5th ward) then spoke about his last Saturday morning meeting with area residents and the Ministerial Association. He spoke of the many questions raised and believes that residents had taken time to think through their concerns, and that the Ministerial Association had also taken time to think through the issue, for the two years they have been thinking through the issue. Benedict Ald. Ryan said everyone needs to find a "way forward" and that the special use was not the issue. Ryan wants to see everyone engage in dialogue to have a better understanding. Ryan said he's asked that a public meeting will be held by the end of April, and that the Ministerial Association has said they would do that.

Ald. Rich DiPietro (2nd ward), addressing the actual request of the acting City Manager, said he hoped the Council would choose to discuss the PADS subject as a committee of the whole.

Mayor Howard said he has asked that a City Council workshop be put on by the Ministerial Association, and that he's also asked the City Attorney for his opinion, and he encourages everyone to listen to the City Attorney's opinion.

Ours has got to be the most work-shopped City Council in the history of municipal government!

The next item on the agenda was supposed to be a vote to accept the proposal from Ekl Williams to do an audit of the Park Ridge Police Department. Some of you may recognize the name of Ekl Williams -- their firm represented the female bartender who was beaten by Chicago Police officer, Anthony Abbate. However, Ald. Frank Wsoooool man (7th ward) requested that the matter be deferred for two reasons, 1) A resident of the 7th ward has purportedly asked Ekl Williams for representation, and 2) a source has referred to allegations raised against attorney Terry Ekl by a group calling itself Citizens for Legal Responsibility.

We have no idea whether or not the resident seeking Ekl's representation has a beef with the Park Ridge police or not. The PRU Crew did do so some very quick online searching and found some very disturbing information about Mr. Ekl. None of which we will discuss here today. We aren't even certain it's the same Mr. Ekl. But if it is, we would hope there would be no further consideration of Ekl Williams for the police department audit.

The Council voted unanimously to defer the matter.

Next it was time for Citizens Wishing To Address The Council On A Non-Agenda Item. Mayor Howard warned that he would be "very strict" in enforcing the Council's 5-minute rule for speakers.

The Unfriendly Ghost of the 6th Ward, Ald. Thomas Carey, inquired that this was for address to the City Council on Non-Agenda items, stressing the Non-Agenda aspect, and as you will see he was roundly ignored.

Our sources tell us that the count of for/against ran 7 to 17 with 1 "don't know exactly". Most all of the speakers who rose to support the proposed PADS shelters were the pastors and PADS volunteers, while those who voiced concern and or objection to the proposal were residents.

Father Ted Stone from Mary Seat of Wisdom was the first to speak, saying that they have had 20 "clients" coming to MSW asking for help and that they, MSW, hasn't been able to help. They have wanted to find a way to help and make provisions for temporarily homeless people. Other members of the clergy also spoke in similar terms offering that sheltering the homeless is a mandate to churches and that they too were looking for dialogue on this issue.

Those with PADS volunteer experience spoke of how much more they got from the experience than they have given and that but for the grace of God...etc. etc. etc. One of the PADS volunteers said she has never felt threatened and that she has never observed people congregating outside shelters waiting to get in, vomiting on the street, or urinating in public. The woman reported that late arrivals receive a police escort and that, in her estimation, homeless people are no different from anyone else. The PRU Crew suggests this woman make an immediate visit to an optometrist.

The members of the public who spoke against the proposed PADS shelter offered nearly unanimous feeling that the biggest problem with the homeless shelter is location, location, location. But many reiterated the "stealthy" way the project has been handled. Two residents, Pat Livensparger and Judy Barclay, were also adamant about the zoning code and the necessity for PADS to seek a special use permit through the proper procedures.

The citizens' address to the City Council ended at about 9:15 and everyone took a break.

The Council then resumed business on the topic of the first reading of the special use permit for Christie's Carousel of Learning Child Care Center at the Park Ridge Presbyterian Church. They spent nearly an hour discussing the placement of a dumpster in the church parking lot, and the size of arborvitae bushes to be used to screen residents' view of the unsightly sight of children playing on the Christie's playground. At one point in the discussion, Christie's attorney Jack Owens seemed to be begging the Council to please just tell them, Christie's, what they want and they will do it! But City Councils being what they are, the discussion continued on and on. Two residents in the area of the Park Ridge Presbyterian Church spoke of their concerns about the child care center moving into their neighborhood, but ultimately the City Council voted unanimously to approve the first reading of the Christie's special use permit.

Then the council again voted unanimously to approve a 3 year contract with a new tree care service and to raise the water and sewer taxes.

Next up, Fire Chief Dubowski attempted to entertain the crowd with talk of disaster plans and emergency preparedness. Our sources report that Chief Dubowski was their favorite speaker of the evening because he kept it short.

Finally, under New Business, Ald. Don DreadBach (3rd ward) asked why Maine East can't have a digital bulletin board and learned that the Park Ridge zoning code doesn't allow them. Maryor Howard then offered that Maine East will be submitting a request for a text amendment to change the zoning code to allow for electronic bulletin boards. While Benedict Ald. Ryan passed out a summary of research he's done on the process of building a new police station.

The most interesting item under New Business came when Ald. Wsoooool man mentioned the rumored and confirmed closing of Napleton Cadillac by May 2, 2008, then asked that the City Council review the gift contract that had been given to Napleton to see if this closing renders the contract null and void, because he thought that the City should not be "fooled twice".

Mayor Howard, who took much credit for having negotiated this deal, then said he had been called by Napleton that day and had been told that General Motors had pulled their franchises from the Napleton location at Busse and Greenwood. Mayor Howard then lamented the sad story of the current conditions of the car sales market.

The PRU Crew is wondering why Mayor Howard did not mention this rather important matter under the council agenda item where it says "Reports of City Officials - Mayor", or is that space expressly reserved for political idiocy like pseudo-condemnations?

Alderman Dave Schmidt then asked that Napleton and PRC be made aware of the fact that the City will be reviewing the contract so that they do not proceed with their closing on the old Napleton site under the impression that they City will still be paying money for the clean-up of that property.

Mayor Howard said he thought Ald. Schmidt shouldn't make such "wild statements", to which Ald. Schmidt replied that his was not a "wild statement" but rather a "caution" to all parties involved that they should not proceed without being fully informed of the current circumstances.

Watch for Mayor Howard and others to still push to give Napleton and PRC the $400,000 to clean up the old Napleton site. What you will hear is how terrific that redevelopment will be, and your taxpaying support will be expected. Of course, you will also be expected to forget that the reason for this whole incentive deal in the first place was to get Napleton to keep their Cadillac and Buick dealerships in town.

BOHICA MAXIMUS!