District 89 discusses issuing bond for working cash

On Monday, October 1, at 5:00 PM, the District 89 (Maywood and Melrose Park elementary schools) board of education held a special meeting to discuss district finances.

After a presentation by a representative from UBS, the board informally agreed to move ahead with issuing a working cash bond. The UBS woman portrayed the money as not quite essential, but helpful to keep the district's cash reserves sufficient that an emergency wouldn't cause checks to bounce. UBS is a financial services company that will be paid for processing the district's bond.

Because financial services fall under the exception of “professional services” the district will not be required to seek bids for the work on letting the bond. UBS employees have given generously to Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Also, the district is on course toward needing to go to the taxpayers for a referendum for either academic year 08-09 or 09-10. The speaking board members expressed frustration that the district overspends various sub-district budgets before the board of education becomes aware.

There were only three people in the audience: Arbdella Patterson, a former school board candidate, Willie Mack, of the regional superintendent's office, and me.

After the meeing I spoke to Grady Rivers, president of the board of education, about Sandra Berryhill, who has been nominated to the board. The district contends that Regional Superintendent of Education Charles Flowers missed the deadline for nominating a candidate. See Proviso Insider.

As I understand it Flowers made two claims about District 89's handling of the vacancy. One, the district failed to meet it's obligation of notifying the regional superintendent of the vacancy withing the five days required by law. Also, the notificaation was misleading or ambiguous as to the effective date of the vacancy.

I asked Rivers how he justified spending money on legal bills contesting the nomination of Berryhill when the district is nominally trying to cut unnecessary expenses. Rivers responded that it was Flowers who was forcing litigation and legal wrangling on the matter.

The curious thing about Rivers' behavior is that after I thought we were finished discussing the matter Rivers came back to re-open the discussion, twice. Largely, he restated his position. In the third encounter, I asked Rivers if Flowers was right and District 89 missed its deadline for notifying the Regional Superintendent of Education about the vacancy within five days, would he allow Berryhill to be seated. Rivers stated that if this determination was made legally then he would accept it. I think Rivers answer makes it clear he intends to fight Berryhill joining the board of education by all legal means at his disposal. No amount of tranfering money from eduction to legal bills is too much to keep Flowers' nominee off the board.

Presumably, either the board's attorney, Emanuel “Chris” Welch (of Sanchez, Daniels & Hoffman), or a firm designated by him will make money fighting to keep the seventh seat on the board of education vacant.

Also, board member Ric Cervone has been indicted for corruption. There is currently a 3-3 split on the board on some matters. Cervone is due to be tried in February, 2008. Rivers may figure that once Cervone is convicted, the Rivers-Neely-Cooper block will have a 3-2 advantage and be able to control the appointment of the new board member. With Berryhill on the board there could be a 3-3 deadlock creating a situation where Flowers would appoint Cervone's replacement too.

Flowers appoints Miller-Berryhill to District 89 board

Suburban Cook County Regional Superintendent of Education press release:

Westchester, Illinois – September 25, 2007 –Dr.Charles A. Flowers, Regional Superintendent of Suburban Cook County Schools, today appointed Mrs. Sandra Miller-Berryhill to serve on the School District 89 Board of Education. Mrs. Berryhill a lifelong Maywood resident is married with 3 children currently enrolled in District 89 schools. Mrs. Berryhill serves as the Vice President of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) at Irving Elementary School in the district, and past President of the PTA, position she has proudly held for the past two terms. A professional counselor on faculty at Triton College (www.triton.edu), Mrs.Berryhill obtained a Bachelors Degree in Liberal Arts from Mundelein College and a Masters Degree in Counseling from Illinois State University. “I am pleased to appoint Mrs. Berryhill as she brings an impressive background of professionalism, integrity and community involvement. She is focused on improving the quality of education for all students in District 89 and ensuring the fiscal accountability for the tax payers of the district. She has a clear understanding of the divisive politics that continue to plague the district and is committed to making a difference. Her background and experience make Mrs. Berryhill an ideal candidate to serve the students, parents and constituents of District 89.” states Dr.Charles A. Flowers.

The appointment of Mrs. Berryhill was a result of a vacancy created by the resignation of District 89 School Board Member Patricia Samuel-McFall, effective July 13, 2007. The Board of Education of School District 89 had 45 days from that date to fill the vacancy. The vacancy was not filled. Therefore, according to Illinois State law, “the Regional Superintendent under whose supervision and control the district is operating . . . shall within 30 days after the remaining members have failed to fill the vacancy, fill the vacancy as provided for herein . . .” (105 ILCS 5/10-10; Board of Education; Term; Vacancy).

District 89 holds closed-door meeting on Cynthia Broughton

Proviso Herald (David Pollard):

Lawyers for School District 89 and the district's superintendent, Cynthia Broughton, met behind closed doors last week to iron out the process of the hearing that will determine Broughton's fate as a district employee.

Broughton has been on administrative leave with pay since June. Her paychecks ended Aug. 15, less than a week after the School Board voted to stop her pay and start the hearing. As part of Broughton's contract with the district, a hearing is required if the board wants to terminate her employment prior to the contract's expiration.

Rosenthal and Murphey (it's misspelled in the article) is the same firm that represented Proviso Township High Schools (District 209) in litigation connected to firing Greg Jackson as superintendent.

D89 superintendent to face hearing Thursday

Proviso Herald (David Pollard):

A hearing will be held Thursday to determine whether School District 89 Superintendent Cynthia Broughton will remain in her position.

The hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. at School District 89 Board of Education, 906 Walton St., Melrose Park. Broughton has been on administrative leave with pay since June.

Another superintendent getting canned for reasons that appear political or arbitrary... What can I say that's new?

District 89: want to apply for position on board of ed?

District 89 (Maywood and Melrose Park elementary schools) is accepting applications until August 16 to fill a vacancy on the board of education. See Proviso Herald.

Welch hired at District 89

Since leaving James J. Roche & Associates, District 209 (Proviso Township High Schools) board president Emanuel Chris Welch has joined Sanchez, Daniels and Hoffman. See Proviso Herald (David Pollard)

District 89 (Maywood & Melrose Park elementary schools) has hired Welch to be the lawyer. District 89 board members are all either loyal to Cook County Recorder of Deeds Eugene Moore or Melrose Park Village President Ron Serpico.

In the past Welch has run-up exhorbitant legal bills. For example, he bill District 88 (Bellwood and Stone Park elementary schools) about $200,000 in a six-month period.

will Cervone implicate Calderone for alarm deal at District 89?

Many of the anti-establishment, pro-reform crowd in Forest Park suspect Mayor Anthony Calderone is a nefarious political actor and using his official position for personal benefit. The allegations are largely that he uses the implied threat of being liquor commissioner to coerce support from bar owners and that he finds various ways to convert his political influence into contracts for his alarm business, Illinois Alarm.

For example, some suspected Illinois Alarm's contract with District 89 (Maywood and Melrose Park elementary schools) looked suspicious. Later we learned Illinois Alarm made over $800,000, not including the monthly fees. (BTW, when is Forest Park Review going to do the news story on this?)

Seven people connected with the Melrose Park Police Department were indicted on Thursday, including District 89 board member Ric Cervone.

Many of the anti-Calderone people are salivating at the possibility of Cervone telling the feds that Calderone's alarm contract at District 89 was an illegal sweetheart deal.

Illinois Alarm awarded huge contract by District 89

Bill Dwyer filed a FOIA request and discovered the details of Illinois Alarm's contracts with District 89 (Maywood & Melrose Park elementary schools). Illinois Alarm is the business owned by Forest Park Mayor Anthony Calderone.

Bill Dwyer (Forest Park Review):

Then there are the contracts that Tony Calderone has inked with governmental bodies the past few years. He insists he has no political connections with Melrose Park, but the $824,000 contract his Illinois Alarm firm inked with the District 89 school district, headquartered in Melrose Park, suggests different. Signed by Calderone the day after Christmas, it pays his company nearly $660,000 for installing security equipment in 13 district buildings, as well as nearly $160,000 in monthly fees over the next three years.

I haven't received anything yet from a May 10 FOIA with Melrose Park regarding Illinois Alarm, but I'm patient. I won't even get grumpy if I have to contact the Illinois Attorney General's office for help.

I remain curious about the bid process. How many bids did District 89 get for this job?

I look forward to the Forest Park Review doing a full news story on Illinois Alarm's dealings with District 89.

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A07, what happened in District 89? [D89]

Going into last Tuesday's election all District 89 (Maywood & Melrose Park elementary schools) school board members were allied with either Melrose Park village President Ron Serpico or Cook County Recorder of Deeds Eugene Moore. None of the school board members were aligned with State Representative (and Democratic Committeeman) Karen Yarbrough or Charles Flowers, EdD. Flowers was elected Cook County Regional Superintendent of Education in November and will begin his term in July.

Yarbrough and Flowers ran a slate against a slate backed by Serpico and Moore. Five seats were up for election: four four-year terms and one two-year term created by the death of Jose Montoya.

The slate backed by Serpico and Moore won all five seats.

The Yarbrough-Flowers slate ceded Melrose Park. Of the slate's five candidates none were from Melrose Park. The slate hardly campaigned in Melrose Park. And Yarbrough failed to use her power as committeeman to replace polling place judges loyal to Melrose Park village president Ron Serpico.

Yarbrough's team probably saw the low Melrose Park turnout in 2006 and assumed Serpico had lost the fire in the belly or was pre-occupied with the federal investigation of the village. In 2006 Serpico was trying to pass a tax increase referendum and may have wanted low turnout. In 2007 Serpico's trustee candidates were being challenged by a slate backed by Jesse Martinez, a trustee in both Proviso Township and Stone Park. Serpico flexed the muscle of the Melrose Park machine. The large turnout in Melrose Park overwhelmed Yarbrough's advantage in Maywood where her husband Henderson Yarbrough is the village president.

This entry has a macro analysis of the election.

KLEPT, Illinois Alarm scores pre-election work in District 89 [D89]

Illinois Alarm is owned by Forest Park Mayor Anthony Calderone.

This picture was taken in the last month at District 89 (Maywood and Melrose Park elementary schools). District 89 is currently controlled by allies of Recorder of Deeds Eugene Moore and Melrose Park Village President Ron Serpico.

Why the need to install new alarms right before the election?

Could it be that Serpico and/or Moore were steering Calderone a contract as part of some quid pro quo?

What would Serpico and Moore want from Calderone?

If Calderone did endorse the Proviso First Party, could it be that Calderone's price for selling-out Forest Park taxpayers was to get some alarm contracts?

BTW, I'm curious about the bid process for the District 89 alarm contract.Illinois Alarm is owned by Forest Park Mayor Anthony Calderone.

This picture was taken in the last month at District 89 (Maywood and Melrose Park elementary schools). District 89 is currently controlled by allies of Recorder of Deeds Eugene Moore and Melrose Park Village President Ron Serpico.

Why the need to install new alarms right before the election?

Could it be that Serpico and/or Moore were steering Calderone a contract as part of some quid pro quo?

What would Serpico and Moore want from Calderone?

If Calderone did endorse the Proviso First Party, could it be that Calderone's price for selling-out Forest Park taxpayers was to get some alarm contracts?

BTW, I'm curious about the bid process for the District 89 alarm contract.

ED, Proviso Herald endorsements [D88, D89]

For District 88 (Bellwood and Stone Park elementary schools) Proviso Herald endorses:
* Antonette Dorris
* Daphene Walker
* John Wicks

For District 89 (Maywood and Melrose Park elementary schools) Proviso Herald endorses:
* Jaime Anguiano (two-year term)
* Donna Miller
* Lequita Neely
* Arbdella Patterson
* Grady Rivers

If the voters elect the candidates picked by Proviso Herald the same factions will still rule the roost at District 88 and 89.

The endorsement in D88 ends with:

Though we are critical of the board's performance, and though Dorris and Wicks are part of the current board, we thinks they can be forces for stability, not disruption.

This seems like particularly muddled thinking.

Arnie Bryant has called the D88 board "dysfunctional" and the endorsement began with "There is so much bickering and infighting on the District 88 School Board...."

OK. The problem is a screwed-up board of education in the eyes of Proviso Herald. So what's the Proviso Herald solution? Continue the 4-3 split with six of the seven characters who are part of the current board.

The endorsement makes no sense to me. If the board's problem is the majority then Proviso Herald should get behind changing the majority. If the problem is the minority then they should be dumped. The wimpy but logically consistent position would be to dump all incumbents. (This was the Forest Park Review's approach to District 209.)

Proviso Herald's endorsement was worthless in District 88.

A07, Yarbrough/Flowers school board candidates have website [D88, D89, D209]

Citizens for Better Schools has a website. Citizens for Better Schools is the umbrella organization supporting the Yarbrough/Flowers candidates in District 88 (Bellwood & Stone Park elementary schools), District 89 (Maywood & Melrose Park elementary schools) and District 209 (Proviso Township High Schools).


Rep. Karen Yarbrough is also the Proviso Township Democratic Committeeman. Charles Flowers, EdD, is a member of the District 209 board of education and was elected as the Cook County Regional Superintendent of Education in November. He takes office in July.

The alliance between Yarbrough and Flowers grew from their opposition to Emanuel "Chris" Welch, the current president of the District 209 board of education.

Flowers leads the minority block on the District 209 board. If his candidates sweep the election (three seats) he will be able to form a majority and replace Welch as president of the school board.

Welch ran against Yarbrough in the Democratic Primary for state representative in March, 2006. The coalition that coalesced to support Yarbrough included many people who had grievances against Welch. Welch had been the school district attorney at District 88. So, various people who opposed his actions at District 88 and 209 joined Yarbrough's organization.

A07, NOMCO meeting [M]

North Maywood Community Organization (NOMCO) held its endorsement session last night.

The meeting was chaired by Maywood Trustee Gary Woll. Woll is a candidate for re-election, so some may consider it a conflict-of-interest for him to chair the meeting.

I didn't attend the meeting. People who did attend are encouraged to leave their observations in the comments.

My understanding is that the following candidates were endorsed for District 89:

• Duane Black
• Donna Miller
• Regina Rivers
• Della Patterson
• Lenore Sanchez (two-year term)

And Ralph Harris and Kevin McDermott were endorsed for District 209.

Proviso Insider spins the NOMCO meeting against District 209 board member Theresa Kelly.

ED, Proviso Insider blames elemtary schools for high school's shortcomings [D88, D89, D209]

Proviso Insider regurgitates Proviso Township High Schools' all purpose excuse that its failures are really the failures of the elementary school districts.

The Insider has learned that the feeder schools to Proviso Township High Schools, District 209, are sending students to high school reading way below grade level. Out of a possible 1600 students preparing to enter the high school in August 2007, 1400 students are reading at 3rd, 4th or 5th grade level. The worst prepared students are coming out of school districts 88 and 89. Sources say a report detailing the inept performance of the feeder school districts will be released next week.

What do you notice about the districts that are the "worst prepared"?

District 88 and 89 are the ones that "the mayors" are complaining about Rep. Karen Yarbrough trying to "take over the world".

The usual suspects (Chuck Baxter, Anthony Bruno, Bennie Mazzulla, Eugene Moore, Emanuel "Chris" Welch, Frank Pasquale, Ron Serpico and perhaps Claude Porter) have a bunch of patronage, contracts, legal bills, land deals, etc. from two school districts, District 88 and District 89.

And these school districts, the most political school districts in Proviso Township are the weak sisters feeding into Proviso Township High Schools, District 209.

Proviso Insider--who many suspect is District 209 board president Chris Welch--blames two elementary school districts for the shortcomings at the district he has run for years. Proviso Insider neglects to mention that Welch's allies control Districts 88 and 89. And Proviso Insider neglects to mention that s/he's opposed to changing control of the weak school districts.

So Proviso Insider wants to blame District 88 and 89. But Proviso Insider doesn't want to change the status quo at either district.

Proviso Insider wants the elementary schools to keep failing so Welch can keep pointing his finger at the elementary schools and shirking responsibility while the politically connected continue to milk the system for jobs and contracts.

A07, cheating alleged in two ballot lottery drawings [D89, D209]

Candidates who file nominating petitions at the beginning of the filing period enter into a lottery for top ballot position. Yesterday Mark Sterk and Burt Odelson did the drawings for ballot position for Distrit 89 (Maywood and Melrose Park elementary schools) and District 209 (Proviso Township High Schools). Odelson & Sterk are the partners at the politically connected law firm, Odelson & Sterk. They are campaign contributors and political allies of Emanuel "Chris" Welch, the president of the District 209 board of education.

Proviso Insider--whom many assume to be Chris Welch--reported the results of the lotteries: District 89 and District 209.

Amazingly Welch's allies ran the table on getting top ballot position. The odds of doing that in District 89 is 1 in 140. The odds of doing it in District 209 is 1 in 56. The odds of doing it in both districts is 1 in 7840.

According to two observers Sterk failed to say what it meant when he drew the first number. The assumption, based on state law, is that the first number corresponds to the person in that position when the names are ordered alphabetically. And that person gets #1 ballot position. Sterk had some other interpretation which was not explained to the audience in advance.

At District 209 a fairly simple cheat was attempted and detected by Theresa Kelly, a board member running for re-election. The numbers were placed 6" X 9" envelopes. Kelly detected that three of the envelopes the hasp was used to close the envelope and the other five the flap wasn't even folded over. Kelly succeeded in getting all the envelopes shut with the hasp. Odelson's subordinate, Felicia, did the drawing.

A07, Italian mayor says Yarbrough trying to take over the world [D88, D89, D209]

Proviso Insider is trying to portray Democratic Committeeman Karen Yarbrough's involvement in school district races (District 88, District 89 and District 209) in a negative light. Proviso Insider quotes one of the Italian mayors as accusing Yarbrough of trying to "take over the world".

First, claiming that fielding candidates for three school district races is an attempt to take over the world shows how parochial the speaker is. If three school districts is the entirety of your world you need to take a ride on the "L" and visit a couple museums, Mr. Mayor.

But the statement also conveys a sense of entitlement. A few Italian-American mayors and other politicians have been pulling the political strings for years. They have allowed a few Blacks and Latinos to hold office but the decisions about how the big money was spent have largely been left to the Italians.

And Black and Latino children have gotten poor quality educations in District 88 (Bellwood and Stone Park), District 89 (Maywood and Melrose Park) and District 209 (Proviso Township High Schools). A reasonable inference is that political bosses concerned about making themselves and their cronies rich have neglected the education of the students. It's not like Black and Latino students should be expected to amount to much anyways, right?

The mayors and other Italian politicians kept their power by being organized and exploiting interpersonal differences and feuds in the community.

And now the communities are getting organized. Mayors Ron Serpico, Frank Pasquale and Bennie Mazzulla are getting nervous. They want to divide the Black community as much as possible by exploiting whatever negative feelings there are about Yarbrough.

But the education reform movement isn't about Karen Yarbrough. It's a bunch of people that want to improve education and they've rallied around Yarbrough.

This happened largely because Chris Welch, the president of the District 209 school board, antagonized so many people and then challenged Yarbrough for state rep in 2006. Welch motivated many people to change the system because he's so arrogant, obnoxious and really pretty cruel, vindictive and sadistic in how he practices politics.

When Welch challenged Yarbrough the reformers networked through Yarbrough's campaign, but they aren't "her people". They are involved because they want to improve our communities and Yarbrough is savvy enough to work with these citizen activists.