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Proviso Probe

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

A07, FPR endorses Bob Cox, Ralph Harris & Kevin McDermott [D209]

The Forest Park Review editorial ends with this paragraph.
Frankly, there isn't a single sitting board member in District 209 that would get our endorsement. There are several who have actively contributed to the financial and academic disaster that passes for a school system. Meanwhile, those who have been complacent in voting along party lines are no less guilty in their roles as enablers.

I encountered similar thinking when talking to a journalist from another newspaper.

These journalists who come to some of the District 209 board meetings see that members from the minority sometimes behave disrespectfully toward the majority and Superintendent Stan Fields.

These genteel journalists are offended that members of the board minority behave rudely.

It's easy to be polite in the majority. In the majority you put your items on the agenda. Staff largely backs your items (or they get fired). And you don't have to explain your position because you know you've got the majority of votes.

These genteel journalists seem to overlook the fact that showing up to meeting after meeting in the minority gets frustrating. The minority doesn't get their questions answered, and if Josh Adams attended the last board meeting, he'd know that Fields implemented a policy that members of the board minority have to file FOIA requests to get basic information.

Board members aren't getting paid. The minority is trying to shift the district's emphasis from crony politics to education. And they get frustrated and lose their tempers.

These journalists seem to be missing the big picture. If the minority behaves badly it should be seem in the context of the various provocations by both the majority and Superintendent Stan Fields. Remember, how Fields wouldn't respond to board member Kelly's emails? And remember how Fields ridiculed Kelly in his first board meeting as superintendent?

If voters follow the FPR endorsements then we'll be stuck with two more years with Chris Welch as president of the school board. Cox is a Welch supporter. And Welch only needs one ally elected to the three positions to form a majority with himself and Dan Adams and Reatha "Sue" Henry.

Does the Forest Park Review support two more years of Welch being president of the school board? Based on the endorsements, it appears the Forest Park Review does support Welch continuing as president of the school board.

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24 Comments:

  • After reading the Forest Park editorial one can conclude that Mr. Adams or who ever wrote the endorsement section did not truely do there homework.To say the least, the writer for FP was too lazy to read his own forest park review articles from the past when such"luminaries" like James Boyd sat on the board!
    Most of the comments are very well knee jerk comments, which the typical bystander would feel if they had attended only a few meetings.They are right on on there assement of the miserable failure of the Chris Welch regime!I call it a regime because with his four voting member majority ever since he got on the board,he has run the school like Kim dun Yung from North Korea, and has made the postion of Superintendent as one of a political postion and not what it should be as one to guide the school!From Greg Jackson,Bob Libkka,Phyllistine Murphy to the now incompetant Stan Fields, all these superintendents were unqualified and miserable guardians of the childrens education,teachers careers and of the tax payers money!As Josh Adams should be made aware Welch's first majority included a Forest Parker,Mr. Carlson, who voted along Welch's party line and contributed nothing to the Forest Park community , only higher taxes and his only contribution was that he landed himself and his spouse jobs($25.00 an hour) at 209 after he left the board and continues to profit from his votes for Welch's agenda!
    Also his comments on James Boyd being an Independent is laughable and even worse depressing knowing that Forest Park and Proviso Township suffered tremendously under Boyd when he was on the board and as president! Boyd's terms in the past contributed to the spiraling downfall of Proviso Township high schools!His so called Independence, as Josh Adams was fooled to believe and who Josh Adams refused to do any background check(use Lexus-nexus or read back copies of the FP review Josh!), would show James Boyd allaince to gene Moore,Danny Cogliniese,Chucky Baxter and Chris Welch! He was noted during his last tenure for trying to sway 209 moneies to his friends bank.Mr. Boyd is lucky that the school did not take actions and reported him to the FBI, because if they had he would have been now in Jail!Your comments that a white independent from westchester not having a chance to be elected is not only a fat out lie, but to me a racist comment.How do you know Blacks won't vote for a white independent?You don't even know who Boyd is aligned with!I hope the owner and editor of your paper don't think like you, because after all the great writing and spotlight given by your paper to show proviso and Forest Parkers all the disgraceful actions at 209, now here comes Josh to screw it up.
    I do agree on one thing with Josh Adams, Theresa Kelly is a poor choice.The Proviso Democratic organization, and Karen Yarbrough should be embarassed to have sponsered her.Mrs. Kelly's days should have ended, due to her mismanagment and disregard for taxpayers monies with her continued trips and cell phone uses!But, Mr. Adams, the problem here is just like our most recent presidential elections,who is the least evil? As for for voting for Kelly or voting for Foreman,Johnson,Boyd or Cox,who everyone knows are Welch's puppets(also Josh, did you know that Foreman,Cox,Boyd and his running mates, as well as Johnson have promised to pay %5,000 each to the campaign if they are elected?Mr. Welch,Stan Fields,Gene Moore,Calderone,Mazzulla,Serpico,Bruno,Pasquale and Cogliniese have put up the money for them to run, and I'm sure they don't have to pay them back if they vote there way). My choice of the lesser of the two evils is Theresa Kelly, because at least Theresa Kelly will want to see the school improved and the children do well.
    So Mr. Adams I wished you would have done your homework.I guess from your lack of research and lack of preparation you probably are a 209 graduate.Mayebe because your a "white independent fron Forest Park" 209 did not give you the required attention they would have had you been a black student!As Loyd Benson told Dan Quale,"I knew Seth Stern,I was friends with Seth Sterns, and you Josh are no Seth Sterns"!Being fat,dumb and lazy is not a way to go through life!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:41 PM, April 03, 2007  

  • FPR should have their heads examined. Why would you say, "we need new leadership?" Then endorse the same idiot "Bob Cox" that would continue to bring us under? I suggest that on April 17, 2007, we vote for Ralph Harris, Keven McDermott and KELLY!!

    I think Forest Park residents need representation on the board of education for High School District #209, but not someone who supports Chris Welch! We have had enough of Welch and Forest Park residents will work hard to get rid of Chris Welch, and place someone of intergity in that position.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:05 PM, April 03, 2007  

  • Josh Adams is a pseudo-journalist without an ounce of integrity to boot.

    As a journalist, you are judged by your work. What noticable work has Josh Adams penned...how has his work made a difference in the lives of citizens in the communities he serves? You will be hard pressed to find any poitive work form the likes of Adams.

    A a journalist, he should be shown the door...he has no balls to cover real stories and not enough intellegence to garner real results.

    Theresa Kelly need not worry about Adams and his half-cocked opinion. Adams is upset because Theresa Kelly refuses to back down to him or any other person who is not here to better the community.

    Theresa Kelly will receive my vote...and due to this...I will work twice as hard to make sure Kelly receives others.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:08 AM, April 04, 2007  

  • Boyd is the ace in the hole for Welch. If Boyd slips by he is with Welch. Dont be surprised if it happens.......

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:05 AM, April 04, 2007  

  • Carl, I understand that Chris Welch is the key to this election, and that you and the anonymous ones don't like him -- but there's so much innuendo and invective involved -- I have difficulty finding any fact-based, rational arguments.

    Can you present some ? (beyond just listing a few of his relatives who got small jobs)

    By Blogger chris miller, at 9:29 AM, April 04, 2007  

  • Chris Miller, thanks for asking to provide details about Chris Welch and the way he's run the school board.

    * test scores are abysmal (90th of 90 districts in the Chicago area)
    * school finances have been mismanaged with large deficits
    * Welch has failed to balance the budget in spite of the huge tax increase he implemented through a "back door" referendum
    * when citizens gathered the signatures to put the "back door" referendum on the ballot Welch disallowed enough signatures to keep the voters from saying yeah or nay on his tax increase
    * Welch has engaged in wasteful spending, usually with contractors who contribute money to Welch and his political allies. e.g. paying Eugene Moore $160,000 for being "broker of record" on insurance and spending $500,000 on the district website. There are other examples connected with PMSA.
    * Welch makes no effort to bring the minority onboard with decisions. He's got his four votes and that's all he needs.
    * Welch has been exceedingly vindictive in his firings.
    * There is little stability b/c Welch keeps switching the superintendent/CEO.
    * Morale is low because of the perpetual political meddling in jobs and promotions.

    Anybody else have contributions?

    By Blogger Carl Nyberg, at 10:17 AM, April 04, 2007  

  • Per Steven:

    Nobody is good enough to run for the District 209 school board.

    Dude, you're sad...please tell me...what is it like to live a life full of sadness, paranoia and depression?

    You know they have medicines and clinics for that!

    You should try some...

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:24 AM, April 04, 2007  

  • Steven, if any of Welch's supporters get elected, you know things aren't going to change, right?

    Why not give Flowers, Harris, Kelly and McDermott the chance to make things better?

    BTW, I encourage you to contact Karen Yarbrough and Charles Flowers and request the next school board slating process be more open and inclusive of more people.

    By Blogger Carl Nyberg, at 10:33 AM, April 04, 2007  

  • Carl in the same paper, was the Forest Park Endorsements, it's pretty bad, when your former employer turns on you like this

    Carl Nyberg, we hope that this campaign marks a turning point in his approach to civics, but until that corner is turned and a new path forged, we cannot endorse him. For far too long Nyberg has shown an interest in controversy and conspiracy theories while coming up short on solutions. Several of his responses at the candidates' forum sponsored by the Review were on point and worth exploring. But before he can win the public's trust he must show he has their interests.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:48 AM, April 04, 2007  

  • Do you get the impression Josh Adams doesn't like me?

    By Blogger Carl Nyberg, at 10:49 AM, April 04, 2007  

  • Carl,

    If you were dishonest...Josh Adams would like you.

    If you stole from the community every chance you got...Josh Adams would like you.

    If you engaged in patronage hiring and nepotisim...Josh Adams would like you.

    If you were Lil man stan and Chrissy Welch...Josh Adams would like you.

    Carl Nyberg, you are an upstanding individual, best believe...Josh Adams dosen't like you.


    Josh Adams suffers from self-esteem issues...he dosen't even like himself...

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:14 AM, April 04, 2007  

  • Thanks for the vote of support, but let's stay focused on the community.

    Josh is the editor of the Forest Park Review and that's probably going to be true for awhile.

    By Blogger Carl Nyberg, at 11:17 AM, April 04, 2007  

  • Ok...

    I'll leave Josh alone...maybe.

    Regardless of his career or position, he is not beyond the realm of criticisim and ridicule.

    Done...

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:37 AM, April 04, 2007  

  • This letter was in The Forest Park Review in the opinion/letter section.


    Breakup the bloc

    On March 19 I attended D209's school board meeting and came away both highly encouraged and deeply disappointed. On the brighter side, selected students received awards for academic and athletic excellence. On the darker side, I witnessed the "power" of a board majority gone astray.

    Bear in mind, there's no problem with a board majority - if it is committed to doing the right thing. It was obvious that board votes casts in unison by Chris Welch's board majority were clearly not in the best interest of the taxpayers, nor students. The board minority, particularly Charles Flowers, fought valiantly to save taxpayer dollars by making a motion to terminate two specific contracts with vendors who are major political supporters of board president Chris Welch. Danielle Ashley Communications has received from D209 roughly $840,000 for PR work while producing literature for Welch's (failed) state rep. campaign. EMM Associates (a.k.a. Gene Moore) receives from D209 roughly $160,000 in broker fees as the "broker of record." Such fees serve to increase the cost of insurance paid by D209 and employees even though a broker is not a necessary ingredient to obtaining renewal insurance.

    It's amazing to me that the board majority seems so "hell-bent" on doing the WRONG thing. It's as though they have been acting in this manner for so long that they are oblivious to acting otherwise. It's clear that the only way to put an end to this insidious cycle of wrong-doing is to break up the existing board majority. The only way to do this is to NOT elect any of the candidates being backed by Chris Welch and Gene Moore. Instead, a vote cast for Reform party candidates Ralph Harris, Kevin McDermott, and Theresa Kelly will provide support to individuals that have the best interest of students and taxpayers at heart.

    Barbara D. Cole
    Maywood, Ill.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:04 PM, April 04, 2007  

  • Steven...

    You and I are closely related...

    Son!

    Yes...

    I'm voting for:

    Ralph Harris
    Kevin Mcdermott
    Theresa Kelly

    Mwah!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:09 PM, April 04, 2007  

  • Has anybody produced evidence Kelly has done anything wrong on her trips?

    If Welch wanted to block Kelly from attending any conferences he had the votes.

    If Kelly did make claims for inappropriate expenses wouldn't Welch have released this info?

    By Blogger Carl Nyberg, at 3:24 PM, April 04, 2007  

  • Carl:

    After reading the arguments back and forth, and being a witness to the garbage that is on our schools, I am tired and just want this whole mess to end. I'm so angry that I'm exhausted.

    Of course, nothing is being done with concern to the students and how to improve the learning environment for those who come to school for that purpose.

    As to the performance of Dr. Fields, I have seen actions representing the majority, and new initiative that frankly, should have been taking place when I started almost ten years ago.

    My question, Carl, is what good is going to come if the new board comes in and their first action is to buy out the contract of the superintendent. That's over $500,00 wasted because of damn power. That's all it is. If we are trying to cut the deficit, will that help? And will that help the children? Absolutely not.

    Sadly, I don't think the current majority has students' best interest in mind either. Which is the lesser of two evils? I'm still out on that one.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:50 PM, April 04, 2007  

  • Steven I can't seem to understand why you have so much resentment towards Kelly.

    I hope my comment will sway you to think differently :). The Illinois School Board encourages board members to attend trainings and conferences. What proof do you have that Kelly went to Sea World?

    If you know anything about conferences, you would know that most conferences are in big cities. National and state organizations can not hold a conference in a little town. Conferences will not take place in towns like Bellwood, IL. DUH! Elected officials attend conferences; it is apart of their job as an elected offical to go to conferences and trainings.

    Dumb as the 209 board is, I encourage those board members to get as much training as they can. Shirley Madlock, Sue Henry, and Dan Adams could sure use some board training.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:00 PM, April 04, 2007  

  • I just got a "Proviso First Party" mailing -- wherein they mention several of the same problems you have:
    *bad test scores
    *overspent budget
    *Patronage hiring

    --and yet you say that Robin Foreman, Carla Johnson, and Bob Cox support the current leadership of Chris Welch.

    What is the evidence for that support ?

    By Blogger chris miller, at 7:41 PM, April 04, 2007  

  • Chris, if you read the text of the mailing there's a point where the Proviso First Party mailing says something to the effect of, "supporting the policies of the superintendent".

    Welch knows he's unpopular so his candidates are running against the problems at D209, not as the Welch candidates.

    I could show you that the money for the Proviso First Party is from the same source as Welch's money, but the party hasn't filed paperwork to disclose its spending or fundraising.

    Carla Johnson works for Sen. Kim Lightford, a Welch ally. She's the mother of Eugene Moore's grandson.

    Robin Foreman is Nikita Johnson's aunt. She's the business manager at D209.

    Until the Proviso First Party files it's financial statements there's only so much I can show.

    By Blogger Carl Nyberg, at 11:13 AM, April 05, 2007  

  • Steven,

    You are being as duplicitous as Lil man Stan Fields. You have made numerous accusations and you haven’t presented an ounce of factual information to substantiate your claim. What frequent emails to Lil man stan are you referring to? What evidence do you have that she “cooked the books” for the Alumni Wall of Fame and what did she change? What “pieces” by Kelly were put in place during her tenure to start the “shameful” academic showing of our students? Why did test scores, graduation rates and daily attendance rise during Theresa Kelly’s tenure as board president? Why have they dropped and continue to drop 6 years after Chris Welch and his majority board took control?

    There is such a thing called “folk wisdom”, in which you seem to subscribe and facilitate. Folk wisdom is defined as, a body of unproven assumptions, unwarranted speculation and generally accepted opinions that is present in any group of people. The statements that you have made thus far fall into this realm.

    Steven, if you would like to have an intelligent discussion, I suggest you take the bull by the horns and back up your statements with facts to substantiate your claims.

    Please note: one cannot have an intelligent discussion with someone who subscribes to “folk wisdom”.



    I’m voting for:

    Kevin McDermott
    Ralph Harris
    Theresa Kelly

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:25 AM, April 05, 2007  

  • Carl,

    Please excuse this posting.

    Chris Miller,

    I noticed your question on the Proviso Insider...I would post a comment there, but the author (Chris Welch) will not post my comments.

    The Proviso Insider never answered your question.

    Any wonder why?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:38 AM, April 05, 2007  

  • Carl, I've read that Proviso First Party flier five times now -- and I still can find anything "to effect of supporting the policies of the superintendent".

    But I have sent them the following email -- and we'll see what they have to say:
    ********************************
    Dear Proviso First Party,

    I just received your "We've All Read the Bad News" flier -- and I have a question.

    If we all agree that these are serious problems:

    *Proviso test scores rank last among all suburban high school districts
    *Proviso High Schools charged with Patronage hiring
    *Proviso overspends budget for 10 straight years

    Then shouldn't the current board majority -- and the board president whom they elected -- be held responsible ?

    If you were elected, would you vote to replace the current board president ?

    Thankyou for running - and for bringing the above problems to the
    voters' attention.

    By Blogger chris miller, at 6:46 PM, April 05, 2007  

  • Partonism/cronyism in SD209 has become so entrenched as to now be inseparable from the mission/goal that originally formed the basis for the District’s existence. As a result, the kids are really suffering. Chaos (my observation) has evolved to such a point that, essentially, all officials have been rendered incapable of guiding the ship along the path of a turnaround. Fields has come to better understand the nature of what he is up against. His tenure will in all likelihood be short-lived, and the game will go on.

    Fragmented little fiefdoms, literally functioning on the level of small “private armies” have proliferated and now operate beyond oversight by nearly all authority. That budgets are public is, in actuality, a huge misnomer. Many accounts are secretive in nature, cleverly designed to mask numerous agenda, especially as relates to the local politics and the quest to concentrate power. They can successfully thwart any attempt at a clean-up.

    What are these agencies doing with the taxpayers money provided to them each year? Maybe it’s time for an independent audit of the District’s financial records. Away from that, one might also look for clues amongst the trail of resignations (premature) from those regarded as adept in their respective assignments. Their reasons for leaving belie part of what is a crisis of utterly huge proportion (although I don’t suspect any whistleblowers will ever really come forward. Too much to lose in terms of their own personal constellation).

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:17 AM, April 07, 2007  

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