2 B/R condo in Westchester for $179,000

See the ad on Craigslist.

If you don't like the village manager, why do you need to change form of government?

Suburban Life (Joe Sinipoli) has an article about a Village of Westchester petition that may or may not exist. As I read the article, neither the journalist or the sources interviewed, have seen the petition to switch Westchester from a village manager form of government to a strong mayor (full-time mayor like Broadview and sorta like Forest Park).

I've heard rumors that village employees are unhappy with current village manager, Carl Goldsmith. OK. Employees are unhappy with their boss. Sometimes bosses do dumb stuff. And sometimes public employees think they are entitled to jobs for life even when they are providing crappy services.

The guy who comes out of the article looking classy is Angelo Luciano, who is no friend of the guys who threw him out of office.

Former Trustee Angelo Luciano said while he has heard about the petition, he was in no way involved with the movement.

“I told a lot of people that I don’t want my name attached to it,” said Luciano, who served on the village board for 32 years. Luciano added he was one of the key supporters of a village manager-based government when the village made the transition years ago.

“There’s no way I can sign a petition to do away with that,” he said.

BTW, I think the same question applies to Forest Park. If you don't like how Calderone runs things, why not beat him in an election? If Calderone had a 5-2 majority or a 6-1 majority and Forest Park had a village manager form of government, what would be different? Melrose Park and Maywood have village manager forms of government and the "mayors" (really, village presidents) still act like strong mayors because they have compliant board majorities and communities that assume things should be run by a boss.

Westchester Fest

Anyone go to Westchester Fest 2008. How is it? Was it?

West-View News hits news stands

Judy Brown-Marino has expanded her newspaper to include Westchester as well as Broadview.

The issue dated July 25, 2007 has a number of stories and columns that caught my attention.

"Broadview Sued Over Strip Club" (page 1) covers Chicago Joe's Tea Room suing the Village of Broadview in federal court.

The Complaint charges that Broadview's zoning laws are unconstitutional and violate the plaintiffs [sic] First Amendment rights....

The introduction of the Complaint reads, "This case results from an attempt by local officials's misuse of their power to censor speech and other expression with which they disagree. Defendants have imposed a unconstitutional prior restraint on the dissemination of erotic speech through Broadview licensing and zoning ordinances in violation of the First Amendment..."

Starting on page two the paper includes summaries of village meetings in Broadview and Westchester, including citizen comments. I expect that there's a reason other newspapers don't use this format. While it's truer to what happened at meetings than the traditional way reporters write about local meetings it's not as readable.

Judy Brown-Marino has a column expressing skepticism about Broadview considering one or two more TIF (tax increment financing) districts.

TIF Funds are not money sent from heaven. The money diverted into TIF's would otherwise go to the taxing bodies like the School, Library and Park Districts as well as to the Village itself.

I am disappointed in the school, library and park Boards and especially in their attorneys for not doing their jobs to protect their much needed revenue.

One additional issue about TIFs is that they let current elected officials borrow against future revenue to implement big projects today. Sometimes this is appropriate and sometimes this is just putting money in the pockets of politically connected developers.

I also have a column in the paper. I will have a regular column under the name "Probing Proviso".

You can get a copy of the paper at the following locations:
Broadview Village Hall
Westchester Village Hall
Broadview Public Library
Broadview Park District
Marquee Restaurant
Le Petite Cafe
Cookie Outlet
The Epicurean Restaurant
Westchester Citgo
Joe's Place
Sawa's Old Warsaw
Paul's Pizza
White Hen, 10235 Roosevelt
Gobber Real Estate
American Car Center

If you want to suggest a location, call (708)945-4942.

A07, robocalls in Westchester [W]

Someone is making robocalls in Westchester warning that trustee Angelo Luciano will be a tool of the Melrose Park political machine.

Is this also the work of Citizens for Honest Government?

A07, Westchester Progressive Party criticizes Broadview Westchester Water Agency [W]

Westchester Progressive Party is raising the issue of the Broadview Westchester Joint Water Agency.

Critics of the water agency suspect that it's a sweetheart deal for Don Sloan, one of the two employees, and the guy who has billed for a large amount of overtime.

Proviso Herald (David Weese):

[Trustees Rick] Fox and [Bill] Buikema contend no audits have been done on the agency in years. And Buikema said when he examined agency employees' time cards, 38 percent of the overtime paid over the past four years was paid without a supervisor signing off on it. Buikema said records show that in fiscal year 2003-2004, $28,603.88 in overtime was paid. In fiscal year 2004-2005, $34,618.48 in overtime was paid. In fiscal year 2005-2006 30,793.77 in overtime was paid.

The village's budget only allocates $15,000 per year for overtime. Buikema and Fox said that since they began asking questions last year, overtime has decreased -- $14,468.20 as of March for the fiscal year 2006-2007, which ends in May.

Westchester Progressive Party (which includes Fox) sent the following press release:

Changes sought for joint water agency

Nearly two years after the Westchester Board of Trustees voted unanimously to require Trustee Luciano to report back to the board on actions taken by the Broadview Westchester Joint Water Agency, he continues to resist change.

According to an article in the April 11 issue of the Proviso Herald, “ Luciano said former Mayor John Sinde used to make the reports to the board, and that it was now Gattuso's responsibility to make those reports.”

During committee session, Mr. Luciano objected to language requiring him to report back to the board stating, “I’m not anybody’s messenger and I don’t intend to do that.”

This Agency controls Westchester ’s supply of water. Its mismanagement and lack of transparency and oversight is alarming. Mr. Luciano has served on the Joint Agency/Commission for nearly two decades, including his current role as treasurer. Even Mr. Gattuso admits to the Agency’s shoddy performance during Luciano’s term in his conversation with the Proviso Herald saying that when he came on the commission two years ago, he inherited a mess.

Some of that “mess” includes:

* Questionable, possibly illegal payouts
* Board members/officers receiving pay for their roles on the Commission despite the original charter stating that none would receive compensation
* Unchecked, unjustified Over Time for patronage work
* Failure to have a financial audit for the last decade
* $15,000 budgeted for board member junkets funded by water fees
* $30,000 annually to pay for a lobbyist
* A Treasurer saying he doesn’t pay the bills or see the checkbook
* Mr. Luciano’s refusal to provide regular reports to the Village Board – despite a law requiring this action

A07, James Boyd, a former board member [D209]

James Boyd, a Westchester resident and a former member of the board of education, is running for school board of Proviso Township High Schools (District 209).

In 1994 at the request of Mike Manzo District 209 discontinued paying for health insurance for board members. Paying for board member health insurance violated Illinois law because school districts are not allowed to compensate board members for their service.

Paying for health insurance wasn't limited to employees and board members. District 209 also paid for the health insurance of the former attorney's widow.

In the early 1990s District 209 obtained $15 million by issuing a bond. Boyd arrange for the money to be invested with a bank in Wisconsin. Why not invest locally?

Apparently Boyd was working as a financial consultant for the bank in question.

A reporter from one of the local newspapers seemed hopeful that Boyd is an independent candidate who can bring professionalism and civility to the board of education. People in the Education Reformers camp see Boyd's candidacy as candidates encouraged to run to divert votes in Westchester from the Harris, Kelly and McDermott slate which would presumably do well in Westchester.

GOV, village board rejects strip bar in Broadview [BV]

Last week the Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals voted down Joe Inovskis' application for a strip club bar in Broadview; last night the board of trustees voted unanimously to reject the application. See Chicago Tribune (Joseph Ruzich).

The application was rejected because it clearly violated existing code that prohibits adult entertainment establishments from serving alcohol.

But what if Chicago Joe's Tea Room applies for permission to provide adult entertainment without serving alcohol?

The Westchester residents seem to be opposed to the strip club whether it serves alcohol or not. The property is isolated from Broadview's residential areas, but across the street from a whole neighborhood of Westchester single-family homes.

From Tribune:

[Broadview Village President Henry] Vicenik said he thinks Inovskis will give up trying to build the club in Broadview for two reasons:

- State laws prevent strip clubs from opening in areas that have day-care facilities, Vicenik said.

- There would be problems getting parking for the club, Vicenik said.

But the value of Vicenik's insights would be diminished in credibility if Vicenik was in on the original plan to sneak the strip club into Broadview until the residents rose against it.

I don't know what Vicenik knew and when. Westchester Village President Paul Gattuso and Westchester Village Manager Carl Goldsmith knew about the proposal about a week before residents did. And Gattuso and Goldsmith weren't the primary sources for notifying Westchester residents about the application.

Presumably Vicenik would have known about the application as early as Gattuso and Goldsmith. Again, Vicenik wasn't leading the opposition to the application. He waited until the residents had already expressed their ire to jump on the bandwagon.

Based on the law firms involved its reasonable to suspect that Chicago Joe's Tea Room is a project of some of the politically connected. So, if Vicenik is privately working with Inovskis, his lawyers or his investors it diminishes the credibility of his claims that residents don't need to worry about Inovskis re-applying for permission to conduct adult entertainment.

GOV, Broadview zoning board of appeals and planning commission consider strip bar [BV, W]

Over 130 people formed an overflow crowd at the Broadview village meeting room.


This is Joe Inovskis talking to David Pollard of the Pioneer Press.

I've been to some heated local government meetings, including Oak Park's testimony over whether to have a domestic partnership registry. The level of emotion at last night's meeting in Broadview exceeded anything I'd witnessed. People were angry in the way they get when they are serious about. It wasn't the posturing for effect; these people were deeply opposed to Joe Inovskis' proposed strip bar.

Some people raised the issue of morality, but some the residents opposing the strip bar included nurse who worked through school as a dancer, a strip club patron, a guy who grew-up near strip clubs in Melrose Park and Stone Park and a guy who used to work security in a strip club. The Westchester residents were convinced the strip bar would reduce property values. A Westchester man who worked in the mortgage industry said his lenders do not write mortgages on properties too close to strip clubs.

James J. Roche & Associates did not serve as Inovskis' lawyer.

I was also impressed with how vague Inovskis' plan was. The formal request was basically a blank check for a 24/7 17,000+ square foot club with no restrictions.

In his supplemental testimony he tried to portray it as Gibson's Steakhouse with tits.

Inovskis brought an engineer and his head of security, Kenny Tsai. Tsai was cocky and probably hurt his "bosses" case. When asked about his credentials to do security work he started talking about his father being a grandmaster in China--I suspect he meant Taiwan--and his father serving in the Chinese military.

[UPDATE: Chicago Tribune (Matt Baron) covers the story.

Other than Inovskis and his consultants, nobody voiced support for the plan. In an interview during a break, Inovskis acknowledged that he expected opposition. But he expressed surprise at its ferocity.

[Baron quotes Brian Cross, but missed Cross' strongest words, "You want to ruin my dream [of owning a home]." Cross was one of the many who seemed genuinely pissed, like he was taking the proposal personally.]

A07, list of candidates running in April

Proviso Herald has a list of candidates running in...

• Bellwood, village (uncontested) and library (contested)
• Berkeley, village (uncontested), park district (contested), school board (insufficient candidates)
• Broadview, village (contested)
• Hillside, library (insufficient candidates)
• Maywood, village (contested)
• Melrose Park, village (contested)
• Stone Park, village (uncontested)
• Westchester, village (contested), library (uncontested)
• District 209 (contested)
• Veterans Park (uncontested)