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Proviso Probe

Friday, July 28, 2006

GOV, how does your village president stack up?

In Forest Park there are people who criticize Mayor Anthony Calderone. My major disagreement with Calderone is over the police department. Otherwise, Calderone's a pretty decent mayor.

But, I recently thought of a system for analyzing mayors (village presidents in most Proviso communities) that perhaps makes them look better. How do they compare to their peers.

The village presidents could be considered analogous to the president of the school board, president of the county board, president of the board of Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, governor and president.

How would you rank your village president (mayor) in the following field?
* Emanuel "Chris" Welch, president D209
* Kathy Ryan, supervisor, Proviso Township
* John Stroger
* Terry O'Brien, president board MWRD
* Rod Blagojevich
* George W. Bush

My thinking is that Tony Calderone is easily a better mayor than Bush is president, than Blagojevich is governor, than Stroger was county board president and than Welch is school board president. And I suspect even most of Calderone's local critics would agree that he's done better for Forest Park than most of these others have done for their unit of government.

How do the village presidents stack up?

posted by Carl Nyberg at 10:42 AM

17 Comments:

  • I love Tony Calderone. He's turned Forest Park around in two short terms. We are the suburb to watch and the credit goes to him, Art Jones and David King. Say what you want about Tony but, I'll be voting for him.
    The haters need to stop.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:21 PM, July 28, 2006  

  • I like Tony Calderone also, sometimes I may not agree with him but that holds true for all elected people. I think he has provided needed leadership since he took over in 1999. Before this we were loosing it.

    True leaders are always subject to critisism. Thank you Honorable Mayor Calderone.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:39 AM, July 29, 2006  

  • Mayor Gatusso from Westchester seems to be a likely bet to be a one termer, because he has not done a thing to change the village of Westchester! If you see Westchester, it's a failing community, which if nothing is done,proactively the village will be like Bellwood in a few years.
    There grammer school disytirct is worsening by the years, families with money are moving out, and only seniors or families with not enough money are staying behind. Gattuso seems to only worry about his hotdogs being sold, and everyone in town believe that he's apuppet for the Luciano clan and Don Sloan.Gatusso is really a huge disapointment and needs to change or leave office!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:16 AM, July 29, 2006  

  • Maywoodian said,
    The mayor should be judge as to how the town has improve during his or her tenture. Being an outsider looking in, I can tell you Forest Park is looking great and some credit should be given to Mayor Calderone.

    Calderon I wish you were running my town. Good Job!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:25 AM, July 29, 2006  

  • I think the only way to rate the effectiveness of a Mayor or a public official is to compare them to the past succesors,the villages,schools and other municipalities around them and there actions.
    Proviso Township in its entirety has become an exact replica of the West side of Chicago. Proviso Township has failing schools,severe drug problems,high crime rate,poltical and police corruption,highest area in the entire Cook County for single mother households, and highest drop out rate in the County!
    Examples, Melrose Park where both the Police Chief and Mayor are under Fedral watch, with probable indictments coming soon. Melrose Park has no school system! District 89 is an absolute disaster, as a school and as an entity that taxpayers pay into. The high school is also the worst public high school in the County, and there board members are also under the scrutint of the Fedral govt. with possible indictments coming down on them. Young Families have nothing to offer there children in town,unless joining a gang is an option.The Mayor of Melrose Park has had a rubber stamp from the public and has done nothing postive for the village and there residents. Where in the past,village residents would only get warnings from the police for parking violations , now the Mayor has told his officers to ticket everybody in the Town from not wearing seatbelts to parking in front of there homes! Serpico hates Melrose and the residents! He bled it dry and has not improved the town. His idea of Economic Development is Adult bookstores and opening the largest Porn theater in the Midwest!!
    He has allowed the town inspectors to look the other way, and allows single family homes to be lived in by three to four families!Lake St. Corridor is the worst eyesore in Cook County, and not one resturant in town is worth the price of the meals in quality or taste!
    The residents, who have lived there all there lives are moving in droves out of the Ghetto that Serpico created. All over town,section 8 renters are moving in,and families are moving out!!!
    Serpico could have done so much for the town and as well as withn the schools,especially during the real estate boom, which currently has stopped, and insteasd he focused on only getting rich for himself.His legacy will be one of shame and dishonor , and he will go down in history as the Person who destroyed Melrose Park!!!!!
    Other villages around have also failed Miserably, look at Maywood, where the pot holes are bigger that there buildings! No fiscal responsiblity, the worst school districts in Cook County, highest murder rate in Illinois per capita,highest school drop out rate in Illinois,largest recipient of Public aide in Ilinois, the most households led by single women,the largest caseload of any municipality in Illinois for DCFS, and yet the have a Cook County record of Deed,State Senator Lightford(head of education) and a state Rep. Yarbrough!!!
    Now look at Bellwood, they have improved with the Leadership of Pasquali,eventhough I believe if he showed interest in 209, he could probably improve the school.But his disctrict 88 is second to last ,above 89, in failing students and the crime rate in Bellwood has skyrocketed along with murders,rape and drug dealing and gang activity!!!
    Hillside has maintained itself in Limbo,eventhough the Mayor Tamborino has started to re-develop certain property in town. He also faces the prospect of failing schools, but he has been very active in not allowing the crooks to take over the school board in hillside and letting proffesionals run it. Berlkly is doing a great job surviving, and Forest Park is the model of improving your village and trying to capture young families to make there village there permenent home!
    Westchester is failing miserably under the do nothing administration of the Mayor,Mr. Hot Dogs, and is being referred to as Ghettochester!
    Stone Park has improved, but still needs to do more, and needs to clean up the image. Lagrange Park is safe, eventhough they do nothing,because they have quality schools, also Brookfield has good schools and has also redeveloped there downtown area and are doing veery well!
    Our Township Goverment is a total joke, with Kathy Ryan, do nothing, only worried about getting her check and insurance and keeping her attorney.The rest of the board,is the epitome of Hacks for hire, who can't think or shoot straight!The school dsitricts are destroyed and need gutting out, but since Maywood is running the schools , all you can expect is more failure,thievery and grandstanding!!!
    Proviso is one big joke, a very sad joke ,that has destroyed many hopes of families who wanted to stay here but have been forced to leave because of the rotton,corrupt,goverments who respresent us!!!!!!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:19 PM, July 29, 2006  

  • A mother and her young boy are gathering mushrooms in the Proviso forest preseves. The boy finds some poisonous ones. The mother explains that there are good mushrooms and poisonous ones, and, as they go home, says:
    "Look,son, human beings in this world are like the mushrooms in the forest. There are good mushrooms and there are good people. There are poisonous, bad mushrooms and there are bad people. And we have to be on our guard against bad people just as we have to be on guard against poisonous mushrooms. Do you understand that?"
    "Yes, mother," the boy replies. "I understand that in dealing with bad people trouble may arise, just as when one eats a poisonous mushroom. One may even die!"
    "And do you know, too, who these bad men are, these poisonous mushrooms of mankind?" the mother continued.
    The boy slaps his chest in pride:
    "Of course I know, mother! They are Don Sloan and his friends,Welch,Cross,Moore,Asparza(his true teacher and mentor) and others.! Our teacher has often told us about them."
    The mother praises her boy for his intelligence, and goes on to explain the different kinds of "poisonous" activities Don Sloan has done to hurt and destroy proviso in it's entirty: Sloan the pedlar who promises to help politicians get the vote out if they only pay him some money;, the Sloan the liar to senior citizens, telling them he will help them with there services yet do nothing but report them to the village, and ,Sloan lying to the mayors about "being there guy"yet backstabbing every mayor in proviso and bad mouthing the mayors of broadview,Bellwood,Stone Park,Hillside,berkley,Lagrange park and brokfield as well as Mayor of maywood and her wife,Sloan the slum landlord not cutting his grass or cleaning his house for over 6 months,yet trying to have his fines "taken care of" by assuring the village that he'll trade his vote for any pet project they might want,and Sloan with education,promising his neighbors better schools for there children,yet not caring about education and instead hiring his friends and family into jobs at 209!
    "However Sloan disguises himself, or however friendly he tries to be, affirming a thousand times his good intentions to us, one must not believe him. Sloan and his hillybilly kind are thieves,liars and dishonest and wil always remain. For Proviso he is poison."
    "Like the poisonous mushroom!" said the son.
    "Yes, my child! Just as a single poisonous mushrooms can kill a whole family, so a solitary Don Sloan can destroy a whole village, a whole city, even an entire township."
    The boy has understood.
    "Tell me, mother, do all the people know that Don Sloan is as dangerous as a poisonous mushroom?"
    Mother shakes her head.
    "Unfortunately not, my child. There are many people who do not yet know Don Sloan and his evil ways. So we have to enlighten people and warn them against Don Sloan. Our young people, too, must be warned. Our boys and girls must learn to knowwho Don Sloan is and the scorge that he is. They must learn thatDon Sloan is the most dangerous poison-mushroom in existence. Just as poisonous mushrooms spring up everywhere, so can Don Sloan and his like is found in every country in the world. Just as poisonous mushrooms often lead to the most dreadful calamity, so Don Sloan is the cause of misery and distress, illness and death."
    the moral of the story:
    All Proviso residents must learn to recognise theDon Sloan poison-mushroom. They must learn what a danger Don Sloan is for theTownship and Westchester. They must learn that the Sloan problem involves the destiny of us all.
    "The following tales tell the truth about the Don Sloan poison-mushroom. They show the many shapes that Don Sloan assumes. They show the depravity and baseness of Don Sloan. They show the Don Sloan for what he really is:
    The Devil in human form.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:04 AM, July 30, 2006  

  • The best mayors in proviso in no order are,
    1.Tony Calderone of forest park
    2.Frank Pasqualli of bellwood
    3.Mayor Esposito of berkley
    All three men have done marvolous jobs with there villages in improving the infrastructure and improving the bussiness climate.I would say Bellwood Mayor has been the most impressive,considering with what he had started with and has to work with.
    The Worst mayors are
    1.Ron Serpico of Melrose Park
    2. Paul Gatusso of Westchester
    3.Henry Vicink of Broadview
    The first because not only is probably going to jail, but his village has become an eyesore visually and estethically, and under his reign both catholic schools in Town closed down, district 89 and 209 have worsened and all his constituents(italians)have moved out in disgust with what he has done, or better said how he destroyed such a great community who had so much civic strength and togetherness, and now looks worse than the Austin or Pilsen neighborhoods!
    Gatusso because "Mr. Hot Dogs", has no clue what a mayor's job is and he can't see that his village is becoming "maywood south" because he has no idea on how to get the village moving forward!
    Vicinik because the town is bankrupt and he has to be the won to blame!
    In regards to stae officials, the worst State Senator in Illinios history has to be Lightford, who as a Democrat and in the majority and being head od the Senate education panel, has not done anything or has not even been outraged with the worst schools in the state being in her own district(88,89, and 209). Her reputation as being mentally challenged and of being a lush for married elected officials is humilating for proviso and shows how dumb the voters are to re-elect her!Rep. yarbrough has also been a disapointment, she has done nothing to improve her district or the township, and refuses to to stand up for her community.Her victory against welch and Moore, was not a vote of confidence for her, but a vote against moore and Welch.She better take advantage of the good will and work with everyone or else the feeding frenzy of proviso will go after her.
    Regarding Township goverment the most useless elcted officials sit there and don't do anything else, but hire two different set of law firms to spend our tax dollars and hire hacks for ghostpayroll jobs!Whaere can you actually see a Township President,Kathy Ryan and her husband, both unempoyed for over 10 years,broke, and getting elected to township board president twice, so they can eat and live on the salary of the township president and have health insurance? Only in proviso can an unemployes ,lazy,irish women get elected and is in charge of over 6 million dollars of our tax money , as well as mental health services! Mrs. Ryan probably needs mental health services herself! Also imagine that our Township had three people run for Board president, three irish individuals, who did'nt graduate collwge, are broke,unemployed, and would have bamboozeled us;The three were Don Sloan, Mary herrell, and Kathy Ryan(the latter has bamboozed us for 6 years now), no wonder there are no services,those three drunks along with Gillian, the fourth drunk, actually think they are superior to the majority Black and hispanic residents of proviso!!! Imagine if three black or hispanic unemployed,high school graduates were running for Township president,what these white pundits would say!!!!!
    But the worse elected officials have to be the school boards of 88,89 and 209, who are being run by incompetent school board members,who think they can hire , fire and create education!!!! Look what they have done, the disaster of 88,89 and 209!!!! The common denominator is Chris Welch,! Enogh said!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:36 AM, July 30, 2006  

  • Should anyone in the hobo camp on the outskirts of the abandoned railyard in Proviso find this note, I would ask you to please pass along the following message to your cohorts before you use it to line your shoes, assuming you can read. It would be greatly appreciated.
    In regards to our encounter this past Saturday, apologies are in order, the first, and not the least of which to the gentleman, Don Sloan,Proviso trustee, whom I approached at the hobo encampment last Tuesday night looking to acquire some temporary labor in exchange for a hearty bean dinner. I leapt to certain conclusions about you based on your appearance, and I shudder to think of my rudeness. Primarily, I am sorry that I took for granted that you were the mayor of your hobo village.
    I admit, I rushed to judgment. In all honesty, I had previously only read about hobos in books or seen them in movies and maybe a painting or two, usually in clown makeup, and I suppose I had a rather romantic notion of what they were like. So when I saw you, Don Sloan, at what appeared to my untrained eye to be a position of prominence at the fire barrel wearing a top hat and the most striking coat of all the hobos, I assumed you were the leader. But you know what they say about assuming. Assume makes—well, I'm sure you've heard it before.
    I don't want to appear to be making excuses, but you were eating from the largest can of beans as well, which only served to heighten my confusion. Had I noticed that your big toe was sticking out of your boot from the start, I would have looked elsewhere for leadership.
    I now know that afterwards ,that it was you who, was passed out at the time of our encounter, and looked nothing like a Proviso township trustee. Maybe it's my naiveté, but I thought that if one were to rise to the level of hobo king, or whatever one would call it—well, there is simply no gracious way to put this—I never imagined that the hobo leader would smell so strongly of old urine.
    So to Don Sloan, it seems, I also offer my apologies. Again, I am so embarrassed.
    In any event, it was certainly not my intent to slight your president in any way. I also regret waking her in such an abrupt fashion. I suppose that if I had been jarred from my slumber by a sharp blow from someone's boot, I would have lashed out as well. Perhaps not quite as physically, but, all the same, I would have been quite cross. The fact is, no matter how we appear, even if it's in a sunbonnet and woolen blanket mottled with summertime filth and reeking of Sterno and effluvia, we are all human beings.
    While I'm at it, allow me to extend heartfelt apologies to both the gentleman in the calico-patched trousers and red-kerchief bindle upon whom I think I poured gasoline in a moment of confusion, and to Boxcar Kathy Ryan as well. On reflection, it seems obvious that her name is derived from her preferred means of transportation, and not her size, upon which I made a few unfortunate and poorly chosen remarks. I must confess some amazement that a woman of her means would be so large, but I suppose her size is irrelevant. It is probably because she houses such a big heart, though I wouldn't know, given that she threatened to boil my insides and eat them.
    In any event, I hope that we can move beyond all this misunderstanding so that future encounters, should they occur, will not result in the promised blade between my ribs. Please accept my humble apologies, some cigar butts that you can smoke with toothpicks, four cans of stew and two dollars, which I understand is the cost of justice among you people.

    I'm sorry. That came out all wrong.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:03 PM, July 30, 2006  

  • Tony Calderone should bow his head and thank the lord for creating apathy, for without it, he would not be considered a good Mayor. Are you people serious? Maybe we are talking about a different Tony Calderone. Because the one I know is nothing but a disciple of all that is bad about government and cut from the same cloth as Serpico. He has learned every dirty trick in the book from him and the likes of him. He has paraded a who's who of corruption into this town with Bruno, Ronan, Segal and more. In his first four years as Commissioner of Finance and then as Mayor he bankrupted the village with his foolish mismanagement. He has used his power in corrupt and unethical ways to retaliate against his opponents and employees, he takes money from the Duffs, Nick Boscarino, Anthony Bruno, Ronan Potts, The Stephens and every other person doing business with the village. There has been one federal lawsuit settled for sexual harassment on his watch and another on it's way for retaliating against an employee, police brutality exists and nothing is done about it, political patronage hiring exists and Federal subpoenas for water projects are in. He has done nothing but line his pockets and the pockets of his corrupt friends right under your noses. Absent the election of 2003 that brought at least some accountability to the board, Forest Park would be Broadview right now as Tony pinned all his hopes and careless spending habits on Home Rule just like Vicinek, and just like Vicinek, lost. He is only barely accountable because he has people watching him now. Forest Park has progressed in spite of him, not because of him. He is not what is right with Forest Park he is what is wrong with Forest Park and we will change that in 2007. Try looking further than your noses.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:27 PM, July 30, 2006  

  • A better question to ask is, Who is the most hated and disliked politician in proviso?
    If that was a question the anwser without a doubt would that joke of a Proviso township trustee Don "slumlord" Sloan from Westchester. His record of bad goverment,lies,deciet,and corrupt ways from the times with taddeo until now, and his dishonesty towards everyone, from stealing $3,000 dollars to be in charge of getting votes for his township ticket,which by the way none of the other people who ran with him knew about,to not getting anybody or himself any votes, just crowns him the King Of Lies, beating out such notable figures like his best friend and political mentor, Paul Asparza! Sloan has shamed his village and has truely embarrassed those who got him elected!!! He is the babe ruth of the hall of fame for hillbillies, or the author of "how hillybillies can get ahead without working" or "how you to can be a trail park trash and succeed in Politics"!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:16 AM, July 31, 2006  

  • Can anyone please find if Welch and his cohorts reported there finances from there previous campaigns yet? If they don't they'll be fined!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:58 PM, July 31, 2006  

  • The worst Mayor in all Proviso is our new Mayor in Westchester. Paulie "Hot Dogs" is a disaster and does nothing or says nothing. I'm wondering if he is deaf,dumb and blind!
    The guys a true bum and he has an I.Q. of 44, but his waist size is 46!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:38 PM, July 31, 2006  

  • Welch has filed his D-2 campaign disclosure forms.

    By Blogger Carl Nyberg, at 6:05 PM, July 31, 2006  

  • Hahahah...some moron standing up for Pasquale? - you gotta be kidding.

    Bellwood has the worst mayor in Illinois. Since he got in there's been massive civil rights violations, dictatorship government, bungled organization of police and fire, huge legal and insurance bills, businesses deserting town and none replacing them, regular unfair labor practices, hiring of Anthony Bruno, waste, mismanagement, spying, TIF abuse, cronyism, huge tax increases, racist hiring and firing, sexual harassment, intimidation, housing falling apart, currency exchanges and Section 8 taking over.

    Welcome to the ghetto - thanks to Pasquale. He and his Melrose Park bosses are laughing at the residents all the way to the bank.

    Yeah, Pasquale is definitely worse than Bush, Blagojevich, and Saddam Hussein on their best days. Carl's just too afraid to say anything because Pasquale plays footsies with the so-called reformers Yarbrough and Davis. Wake up Carl - you are on the wrong side of history.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:33 PM, August 03, 2006  

  • This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:39 PM, August 04, 2006  

  • Lightford has to be the worst elected official in Proviso. Her lack of skills, her absence from school debates in Proviso is deafening. The Black caucus in Springfield,Meeks and Jones, should change her committees and put her in charge of possibly some committee that does not affect Proviso. Maybe they can make her head of Agriculture,thus she can than have a good excuse why she can't influence any change in Proviso!
    But the true story is that she whole heartily supports Gene Moore and Chris Welch and Ron Serpico, and she thinks the problems at 209 and at 88 and 89 are attributed ot "us peons who send our kids there and those rebal rousers,Flowers,Yarbrough and others"!!!
    What a class act we have with Lightford,nappy hair,gap tooth,brianless,State Senator!!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:49 AM, August 05, 2006  

  • I deleted a comment for making a gratuitous attack on the family members of a public figure.

    By Blogger Carl Nyberg, at 2:51 PM, August 05, 2006  

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