Freewheeling -- Sept. 2, 2009!

From wallpaper-s.org


#1 -- Flood Control Task Force

The pocket protector posse will be meeting again tonight! We just love engineers -- really we do! We hope these engineers will manage to stick to the engineering issues facing them again this evening!

#2 -- Baffle Them With Bullshit!

Once again, PRUdos to the Pub-dogs for their highlight of an article in today's Journal & Topics!

#3 -- Surprise! Surprise!

Our long time readers may remember one of our earliest posts -- Drop the Chicken And Put Your Hands Up!

PRU readers will be pleased to learn the good executives at Koch Food won't be facing any repercussions for all the good work they do!

Turns out Koch Food executives are great at doing business, as this article from the Middletown Journal reports, "According to www.forbes.com, Park Ridge, Ill.-based Koch Foods in 2008 ranked at No. 272 on the magazine’s list of largest private companies. It reported sales of $1.8 billion in 2007 and employed 14,000, according to the Web site."

But asking all workers for documentation of citizenship is just too hard, it's really really hard. Just ask Koch Food's attorney Martin Pinales. He'll tell you. According to the article, "Pinales said employment regulations were difficult to follow. "You can’t discriminate against anyone,” Pinales said. “You can’t ask for anyone with a Hispanic-sounding name to provide more documentation than a non-Hispanic."

#4 -- Facts are either stubborn or stupid things! You Decide!

Some PRU readers may be John Adams fans, while others may be Ronald Reagan fans.

The PRU Crew likes to think we're fans of facts.

So we liked a forwarded link we received, in our now working gmail email account today, enough to want to share it with all of you!

Twenty-six Lies About HR 3200 published by the self-proclaimed nonpartisan people at Factcheck.org.

Happy reading!

Waiting to Exhale.

We first told you about the problems of air quality at the Public Works Service Center back in early January in our post Thar She Blows. At that time the Public Works employees were engaged in discussions with the City of Park Ridge for a new contract.

We hate to admit it, but the Crews' cynical selves thought that the efforts by IUOE Local 150 to address the air quality issue with the city were, at some level, part of their negotiating tactics. We believe the air quality issue is a serious matter for our city employees, but we thought that once the workers agreed to a contract, the matter would die and their union reps would go have a beer. So we weren't surprised when we read an article in the Herald-Advocate headlined, Budget constraints may delay fixing emissions fumes at Public Works.

In that article we read, "Availability of funds will determine if any projects are completed." And the PRU Crew thought...



If the Mayor, City Council, and then City Manager Tim Schuenke could find $400,000 dollars to give to Napleton for the environmental clean-up of their private property, then they can damn well find half that amount to clean up the environmental air quality at the Public Works Service Center to ensure the health and welfare of our own city employees.

The PRU Crew had planned to rip the union, Director of Public Works, Wayne Zingsheim, and our elected officials for their callous disregard for the health and welfare of the men and women they work with.

So now it is with great satisfaction that we report to you that at Monday night's City Council meeting the Local 150 representative, Steve Karpowitz, again raised the issue under the council's agenda section, "new business".

Mr. Karpowitz disseminated study material to the City Council members and, as detailed in an article in today's Journal & Topics, concluded his remarks by saying, "Local 150 is here to stand beside these employees...and make sure we have a good resolution."



And that, people, is exactly what a union is supposed to do -- stand beside their members and seek good resolutions to problems. Especially when those problems may pose short and long term risks to the physical health of union members.

We were disappointed in reports about Public Works Director Zingsheim's tepid efforts to offer a modest solution to the issue, and that he only did so after the union rep. raised the matter before the council.

Zing, you are now the guy in charge. This is your facility. These are your people. You work with them every day. You should be fighting harder on their behalf.

But today the PRU Crew offers PRUdos to the 5th Ward's Benedict Alderman Ryan. After discussion of the issue among City Council members at Monday night's meeting, it was Ald. Ryan who captured the bottom line by saying, "I don't think we can compromise the health of our employees."

Good thinking, Alderman Ryan.

Two-fer!

Item #1

A commenter on yesterday's post tried to spread the word about upcoming presentations on "The State of the District" by School Superintendent, Sally Pryor. We found a link to a news item that lists several dates and times. We laughed when we saw who the first presentation is being given to.

In any case, we agree with the commenter that if you have a chance to attend, this may be where you get answers to questions that have been raised about doings in the district. We also agree with a following comment, that these presentation times suck if you have a day job.

THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2007

Dist. 64 Presentations Show Residents Where Money Goes

A series of presentations by Superintendent Dr. Sally Pryor is planned for next Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 14-15.

~~On noon on Wednesday in the district's offices in the Hendee Educational Service Center, Pryor will give a brief presentation to realtors in the community.

~~At 9 a.m. on Thursday, she will make a similar presentation to a group of community leaders, also at the Hendee Center.

~~At noon Thursday, she will provide the same information to the public in the Park Ridge Public Library's first floor meeting room.

Informal question-answer sessions will follow each presentation.

Item #2

A couple weeks ago we gave District 64 An 'A' for Effort in making a good attempt to inform the school community about a public health threat; MRSA. In that post we offered a kick in the ass to the City and the Community Health Commission because they hadn't made use of their website to also help inform the public about MRSA.

We are pleased to now also give the City and the Public Health Dept. a pat on the back for making the effort to provide the community of Park Ridge with public health information. The City of Park Ridge, Illinois has posted on its website a link to information about MRSA.