Come January, Maggie Reif's eyes and ears will be glued to the television, radio and Internet reports, hoping for news -- hopefully, nothing but good news -- concerning the American military presence in war-torn Afghanistan for 12 consecutive months.
So, too, will the attention of her son and the five children of her police officer husband, Steve, for their father -- and 9-year-old Andrew's step dad -- may frequently be in harm's way, serving as a sergeant with the Illinois Army Air Guard as one of three door gunners on a CH-47 double-rotor Chinook helicopter in the skies over Afghanistan.
"I always just wanted to serve my country," said Kneifel, 39, in a recent interview, just before leaving Nov. 12 as part of an 80-member Peoria-based 238th General Support Aviation battalion and undergoing two months of intensive combat training in Fort Sill, Okla., before deploying for a year in the Middle East.
"I've got a little fear, a little bit of anxiety," he said, revealing he will be home for Christmas before deploying overseas. "I also know there's nothing I can do about it. This is the real thing. I'm going overseas for 12 months whether I like it or not."
Other than serving as air support for the 101st Airborne Division, he admits he doesn't really know where he will be geographically and can only guess.
Beyond that, it's probably best he doesn't know -- or say, for his own safety and security.
"I have an idea about some of our missions; we'll be doing a lot of troop transports and flying seven hours a day ... but that's about it," he revealed, surmising they might often find themselves near the country's eastern border with Pakistan -- where much fighting is taking place. "I'm going to be right in the middle of it."
Since, 2001, the 15-year municipal patrolman -- 12-plus with the La Grange Police Department -- has been in the reserves. And he has been in and out of the service since his teens.
He was recognized at an Oct. 27 Town Meeting by Village President Liz Asperger, three days before colleagues threw a farewell party for him and members of the American Legion Coulter Post 1941 presented him with a blue star flag and four days before family and friends joined him in a goodbye party thrown by the owners of La Perla & Thipi Thai.
He was recently feted by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan for his efforts in helping prevent crimes to seniors and was cited in July of 2005 for dedication and exemplary service for helping out in a multijurisdictional drug investigation that led to many arrests.
In 1990, he served in the first round of fighting with Iraq on active duty during Operation Desert Storm -- where he was a mechanic fixing jet engines on the RC-135 refueler in Saudi Arabia.
More than a decade later, for six months in 2001, he trained in biological and chemical
warfare to prepare for deployment in Operation Desert Shield.
But, he recalled, he was never called up.
Then came the call to action -- just a few months back.
"I was told (in September) and I had a feeling it was going to happen," he said, shortly before taking a leave of absence from the force. "I figure it's better Afghanistan than Iraq. I think we're done in Iraq, but there's still work to be done where I'm going."
Kneifel, a squad leader hired by La Grange in January of 1997 and appointed elderly service officer in February of 2007 -- serving as point man for senior outreach through a grant-funded initiative called Aging Well -- has been in the military for 13 years.
He entered on a delayed enlistment in 1986, a year before he graduating from Evanston High School.
"After high school, I began training," he said, noting he attended basic and technical training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.
In the beginning of 1992, he went on active Army duty after going through basic and advanced infantry training at Fort Benning, Ga. His first tour of duty was in Fort Campbell, Ky., where he served for two years before a long break in service.
He re-enlisted in the Illinois Army National Guard in 2000 and has been in the reserves one weekend a month ever since.
His first assignment was with the Illinois Air National Guard Reserves, where he actively served for one weekend a month and three weeks in the summer for five years stationed right outside O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.
Kneifel got married to his first wife in 1990 and had five children together.
While still married in early 1994, he started his law enforcement career as a patrol officer in Bowling Green, Ky., after getting out of the service the first time around.
His inspiration for joining the military was, in part, due to his stepfather's own background. A fellow officer -- Miles Odom -- was also deployed to Iraq a few years ago.
"My step dad was in the service and he talked about it a lot," he said, noting his stepfather was an Army and Reserves officer who served during Vietnam.
He realizes the Afghanistan and Iraq conflict is a different war than his stepfather fought. Still, he feels safer than one might imagine, given the constant news of American and allied attacks and casualties abroad.
"I've trained on helicopters and it's not too often that one goes down," he said, "but when it does, it really does (hit) home. It's tough to see my (military) brothers go down like that."
"But ..." added Kneifel, ever the polite person one can only imagine he has taught his children to be: "things can happen."
After all. he said, even the streets of La Grange can be dangerous -- referring to a shootout outside of Harris Bank south of 47th Street a few years ago in which an armed robber led police on a multijurisdictional chase and killed himself after breaking into a home and killing a family dog during an all-night standoff six towns away in Villa Park.
His said his children are old enough to understand potential consequences of his departure, his wife was a bit upset upon hearing the news and his stepson was confused.
"It was a little hard for him to understand and it's going to be a little tough when I'm away ... but hopefully, it's going to go quick," he said. "What will help this time is I'll have my cell phone and laptop, so we'll be emailing a lot, and I'll have my camera taking pictures and sending them over and using my webcam and voice over the Internet."
Still, he says he looks forward to serving his country and coming home -- quickly.
"I just want to get it going," he said. "I'll be working a lot of hours so the time (will go) by quick. It's going to be hard but we'll all get through it."
Senior citizens at the Southwest Suburban Center on Aging on Harris Avenue in downtown La Grange will undoubtedly miss his daily presence and frequent friendly visits, as will those in churches and civic organizations and even private residences around town.
For nearly two years, "Officer Steve" has been fulfilling a goal he said he realized was an unmet need on the department before he became an ESO and one that was only being addressed on a part-time basis before him by his close colleague, Detective Dave Rohlicek, who has since trained Kneifel.
Every day, he helps out seniors with any issue they face, whether it be handicapped access or Medicare dilemmas, educating them about protection from home repair scam artists or identity thieves, or something as simple as conducting well-being checks or helping them figure something out.
"I go to a lot of senior meetings," said Kneifel, who earned his ESO certification through the Illinois Attorney General's Office in Springfield. "I really enjoy helping the seniors out. It's just a great feeling."
He said Police Chief Michael Holub -- also a U.S. Army veteran who served as an overnight guard during the Vietnam era in Washington, D.C. -- has been most accommodating about his partial pay with benefits leave. And, most seniors he's told about his deployment have been "pretty supportive," he said, adding, "They're going to pray for me."
However, he said he will not only miss not his wife and children and senior pals but the whole town.
"It's been going great and I love it here; I really do," he said. "It's such a close-knit community and I'm so glad that while we're growing we're still able to keep control of the crime rate."
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
VOTERS APPROVE PARK LAND SALE
Park District of La Grange voters have apparently given the Park Board the green light to go ahead with its plans to sell 2.82 acres of the 17.5-acre Gordon Park for a rumored $6 million, despite a contentious battle fought by a vocal opposition to the proposal.
According to unofficial results released late Tuesday night by the Cook County Clerk's Election Department, the referendum question was approved by a 54.73 to 45.27 percent margin. With all 16 precincts reporting, there were 4,164 yes votes and 3,444 no votes.
Although the proposed sale of public green space quickly gained opposition more than a year ago and spurred a lawsuit from resident Orlando Coryell (the president of the Citizens' Council of La Grange) and a vitriolic Internet blogging campaign by other opponents (with a little help from the Citizens Advocacy Center in Elmhurst), a pro-referendum group -- Citizens for a Great Gordon Park -- organized late in the game, with a $30,000 startup donation from Atlantic Realty Partners.
ARP is the proposed developer of the former Rich Port YMCA site, which will include the controversial 2.82-acre site in question based on an auction bid already negotiated with the Park District. Park officials believe the amount will be significantly higher than any other bid when the land is put on the auction block, as required by law. The development, to be called La Grange Place, is a mixed-use apartment and townhome complex with more than 30,000 square feet of retail space.
The land for sale is on the northwestern edge of the park, according to the Park District, just east of La Grange Towers and south of the Plymouth Place retirement community, comprised of two parcels. The larger parcel is on a hill and not used for many activities, the district maintained, and the smaller, 1.1-acre piece, has an empty maintenance shed -- the contents of which are now located in the new community center on East Avenue.
In a separate deal, the Park District has already agreed to swap a vacated .7-acre Shawmut Avenue (which splits the 2.82 acres) with the village. Shawmut will become a street and in exchange the village will give the district the east side of the Locust Avenue parking lot between the Y building and the park, which will become green space in a new 14.7-acre Gordon Park. That project will be heavily financed with proceeds from the land sale.
No official Election Night gatherings were held, partly because of the belief it may have taken too long to determine the final results. As a matter of fact, a glitch in the county's computerized vote tally equipment or software caused just that to occur.
Long before the results were known Tuesday, pro-referendum activist Kate Brogan said it was such an odd ballot question in the first place.
"A 'no' vote (is) not going to stop anything," she said, speculating the La Grange Road and Ogden Avenue property would be redeveloped one way or the other and perhaps with a big-box retail giant instead. "In my mind, (ARP) made a wise business decision."
Brogan's group had the same color signs as the opposition -- one green on white, the other white on green. Over the weekend, vandals stuck duct tape over the word 'yes' on many of the pro-referendum signs, according to police.
The next step? The closing on the land deal and property exchange and final approval of the agreement by the village, which still is finalizing redevelopment plans before it issues demolition or building permits for the project.
According to unofficial results released late Tuesday night by the Cook County Clerk's Election Department, the referendum question was approved by a 54.73 to 45.27 percent margin. With all 16 precincts reporting, there were 4,164 yes votes and 3,444 no votes.
Although the proposed sale of public green space quickly gained opposition more than a year ago and spurred a lawsuit from resident Orlando Coryell (the president of the Citizens' Council of La Grange) and a vitriolic Internet blogging campaign by other opponents (with a little help from the Citizens Advocacy Center in Elmhurst), a pro-referendum group -- Citizens for a Great Gordon Park -- organized late in the game, with a $30,000 startup donation from Atlantic Realty Partners.
ARP is the proposed developer of the former Rich Port YMCA site, which will include the controversial 2.82-acre site in question based on an auction bid already negotiated with the Park District. Park officials believe the amount will be significantly higher than any other bid when the land is put on the auction block, as required by law. The development, to be called La Grange Place, is a mixed-use apartment and townhome complex with more than 30,000 square feet of retail space.
The land for sale is on the northwestern edge of the park, according to the Park District, just east of La Grange Towers and south of the Plymouth Place retirement community, comprised of two parcels. The larger parcel is on a hill and not used for many activities, the district maintained, and the smaller, 1.1-acre piece, has an empty maintenance shed -- the contents of which are now located in the new community center on East Avenue.
In a separate deal, the Park District has already agreed to swap a vacated .7-acre Shawmut Avenue (which splits the 2.82 acres) with the village. Shawmut will become a street and in exchange the village will give the district the east side of the Locust Avenue parking lot between the Y building and the park, which will become green space in a new 14.7-acre Gordon Park. That project will be heavily financed with proceeds from the land sale.
No official Election Night gatherings were held, partly because of the belief it may have taken too long to determine the final results. As a matter of fact, a glitch in the county's computerized vote tally equipment or software caused just that to occur.
Long before the results were known Tuesday, pro-referendum activist Kate Brogan said it was such an odd ballot question in the first place.
"A 'no' vote (is) not going to stop anything," she said, speculating the La Grange Road and Ogden Avenue property would be redeveloped one way or the other and perhaps with a big-box retail giant instead. "In my mind, (ARP) made a wise business decision."
Brogan's group had the same color signs as the opposition -- one green on white, the other white on green. Over the weekend, vandals stuck duct tape over the word 'yes' on many of the pro-referendum signs, according to police.
The next step? The closing on the land deal and property exchange and final approval of the agreement by the village, which still is finalizing redevelopment plans before it issues demolition or building permits for the project.
Monday, November 3, 2008
BATTERIES NEEDED FOR SECRET SANTA
Santa is headed to La Grange and needs loads of batteries to power the toys that fill his sleigh. The Community Nurse Secret Santa program needs the community to “power up” for the nearly 900 children whose Christmas stockings will be stuffed with battery operated games and educational toys. Books for all ages are also needed.
All battery sizes are needed including AA, AAA, C, D, 9 volt and button cell.
Books for all ages are also a high need to fill the empty stockings hanging in the workshop. Every child receives an age-appropriate book including soft books for infants, board books for toddlers and early and teen readers.
Also needed:
Community Nurse serves more than 2,750 low income and uninsured families from Brookfield, Burr Ridge, Clarendon Hills, Countryside, Hinsdale, Hodgkins, Indian Head Park, LaGrange, LaGrange Highlands, LaGrange Park, Lyons, Oak Brook, Western Springs, Willowbrook and Willow Springs.
Donations of new items can be brought to CNHA’s clinic at 110 Calendar Ave. in La Grange. Office hours are Mondays-Friday 9am to 5pm. Monetary donations can be mailed to Community Nurse, 23 Calendar Ave., La Grange, IL 60525. For more information, call 708.352.0081.
All battery sizes are needed including AA, AAA, C, D, 9 volt and button cell.
Books for all ages are also a high need to fill the empty stockings hanging in the workshop. Every child receives an age-appropriate book including soft books for infants, board books for toddlers and early and teen readers.
Also needed:
- Underwear (panties or boxers) in children’s’ sizes 4 thru 20
- long sleeved tops, jeans, sweaters/fleece in children’s’ sizes 4 to 18, especially sizes 14, 16 and 18
- warm pajamas/sleep pants in sizes 4 to 14, adult size S, M, L
- hats, gloves (warm and waterproof)
- action figures & characters (i.e. Dora)
- building toys (Lego’s, K’nex)
- books
- art sets
- craft sets
- sport balls/ all types and sizes: volleyball, soccer, football, baseball
Community Nurse serves more than 2,750 low income and uninsured families from Brookfield, Burr Ridge, Clarendon Hills, Countryside, Hinsdale, Hodgkins, Indian Head Park, LaGrange, LaGrange Highlands, LaGrange Park, Lyons, Oak Brook, Western Springs, Willowbrook and Willow Springs.
Donations of new items can be brought to CNHA’s clinic at 110 Calendar Ave. in La Grange. Office hours are Mondays-Friday 9am to 5pm. Monetary donations can be mailed to Community Nurse, 23 Calendar Ave., La Grange, IL 60525. For more information, call 708.352.0081.
Friday, October 31, 2008
METRA RUNS EXTRA LINES TODAY!!!
Downtown commuters who want to skip out of work early to meet and greet the trick-or-treaters and take their own children out in costume around town (taking advantage of a beautiful Friday afternoon while they're at it) can take advantage of a special Metra schedule today on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad.
So if Dad or Mom has already left for the day by the time you read this, call 'em up or email 'em and let them know: Metra is running extra early and mid-afternoon trains home to the suburbs for Halloween!
For details, call (312) 322-6777 or 836-7000 from any area code, or log on to www.metrarail.com.
So if Dad or Mom has already left for the day by the time you read this, call 'em up or email 'em and let them know: Metra is running extra early and mid-afternoon trains home to the suburbs for Halloween!
For details, call (312) 322-6777 or 836-7000 from any area code, or log on to www.metrarail.com.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
ELECTION DAY IS ALMOST HERE
A host of municipal and township clerks from across Cook County and Lyons Township
recently gathered at Town Hall in Countryside for a primer on the two upcoming election cycles.
The workshop was presented by Cook County Elections Director Jan Kralovec and Illinois State Board of Elections counsel Kenneth Menzel.
The group was hosted by Township Supervisor Pat Rogers, Trustee Russ Hartigan and Clerk Mary Jo Noonan, all of Western Springs.
Hartigan, a Democrat, has made it clear he intends to run for supervisor in April 2009, but only if also-Dem Rogers is elected to a judgeship in Cook County's 4th Subcircuit on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Kralovec, who works under County Clerk David Orr, said the Nov. 4 ballot will feature a statewide advisory referenda calling for a Constitutional Convention for the first time since 1970, federal, state, county and judicial races ... a grand a total of 312 "ballot swipes" in all.
In La Grange, Park District voters will be casting a yes or no on an advisory referenda question asking whether the Park Board should sell 2.82 acres of land in Gordon Park to a private developer, Atlantic Realty Partners, for a mixed use residential/retail development at La Grange Road and Ogden Avenue -- site of the still-standing former Rich Port YMCA,
In addition to seven presidential candidates -- from the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, New, Constitution, Independent and Green parties -- there will be a U.S. Senate race between incumbent Rep. Richard Durbin, D-Il. and four opponents; one-third of state Senate seats; all state representatives; the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District as well as the County state's attorney, circuit court clerk, recorder and Board of Review.
There will also be a countywide referenda proposing a right to recall five state constitutional officers and 71 retention judgeships on two full pages of the ballot.
This fall and next year voters can choose between the optical scan or paper ballot, or the touch screen machine to cast their votes.
A recent survey commissioned by the county showed 61 percent of suburban voters overwhelmingly preferred the touch screen method.
"The big word for November is numbers, or volume," said Kralovec, noting this is the sixth election using the new equipment. "The big challenge is that any voters who haven't voted since the last presidential election are going to be surprised they won't be able to vote unless they've re-registered."
This year, Cook County is not in short supply of election judges.
It is employing some 20,000 high school students this fall and there are even some judges they cannot place who will be used as backups in the case of no-shows.
Judges are paid a generous $170 or more for the day.
Menzel said access state election rules and ballot information is available online and in print.
For instance, the Green Party is now an established party "at every level of government" just like the two major parties, in Illinois.
The standard filing deadline for April township and municipal races (listen La Grange Citzens' Council) and referenda will be from Jan. 19 to 26, 2009, with the objection period to follow.
So stay tuned, people, the silly season is not over yet.
recently gathered at Town Hall in Countryside for a primer on the two upcoming election cycles.
The workshop was presented by Cook County Elections Director Jan Kralovec and Illinois State Board of Elections counsel Kenneth Menzel.
The group was hosted by Township Supervisor Pat Rogers, Trustee Russ Hartigan and Clerk Mary Jo Noonan, all of Western Springs.
Hartigan, a Democrat, has made it clear he intends to run for supervisor in April 2009, but only if also-Dem Rogers is elected to a judgeship in Cook County's 4th Subcircuit on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Kralovec, who works under County Clerk David Orr, said the Nov. 4 ballot will feature a statewide advisory referenda calling for a Constitutional Convention for the first time since 1970, federal, state, county and judicial races ... a grand a total of 312 "ballot swipes" in all.
In La Grange, Park District voters will be casting a yes or no on an advisory referenda question asking whether the Park Board should sell 2.82 acres of land in Gordon Park to a private developer, Atlantic Realty Partners, for a mixed use residential/retail development at La Grange Road and Ogden Avenue -- site of the still-standing former Rich Port YMCA,
In addition to seven presidential candidates -- from the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, New, Constitution, Independent and Green parties -- there will be a U.S. Senate race between incumbent Rep. Richard Durbin, D-Il. and four opponents; one-third of state Senate seats; all state representatives; the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District as well as the County state's attorney, circuit court clerk, recorder and Board of Review.
There will also be a countywide referenda proposing a right to recall five state constitutional officers and 71 retention judgeships on two full pages of the ballot.
This fall and next year voters can choose between the optical scan or paper ballot, or the touch screen machine to cast their votes.
A recent survey commissioned by the county showed 61 percent of suburban voters overwhelmingly preferred the touch screen method.
"The big word for November is numbers, or volume," said Kralovec, noting this is the sixth election using the new equipment. "The big challenge is that any voters who haven't voted since the last presidential election are going to be surprised they won't be able to vote unless they've re-registered."
This year, Cook County is not in short supply of election judges.
It is employing some 20,000 high school students this fall and there are even some judges they cannot place who will be used as backups in the case of no-shows.
Judges are paid a generous $170 or more for the day.
Menzel said access state election rules and ballot information is available online and in print.
For instance, the Green Party is now an established party "at every level of government" just like the two major parties, in Illinois.
The standard filing deadline for April township and municipal races (listen La Grange Citzens' Council) and referenda will be from Jan. 19 to 26, 2009, with the objection period to follow.
So stay tuned, people, the silly season is not over yet.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
CLOSE CALL, BUT THEATRE TO GET TIF $$$
After much debate Oct. 13, the La Grange Village Board has formally decided to grant $1 million in Tax Increment Financing funds to the owners of the historic downtown theater.
The 4-2 decision, opposed by Trustees Mike Horvath and James Palermo, will be realized by the purchase of a facade easement and an operating agreement attesting the movie house remains until the village's investment has been repaid, regardless of ownership.
The action, supported by Trustees Mark Kuchler, Mark Langan, Thomas Livingston and Village President Liz Asperger in the absence of Trustee Barb Wolf, directs staff to proceed with the drafting of a final agreement for the public/private partnership with La Grange Theatre owners John Rot and David Rizner. Wolf was clearly against TIF funding for the theater, she expressed in an email read by Asperger.
And although Asperger calmly said the board "obviously (has) different opinions" which were "hashed ... out quite thoroughly," Horvath vehemently suggested it was "reckless to move ahead without construction estimates" for the revised $2.7 million project.
Kuchler, who voted for the plan which he actually came up with as a compromise two weeks earlier even though he was not in favor of using TIF money, said having all of the theater owner's financial data is vital to making sure the village is not overspending.
"I don't think we should be spending surplus funds," he said. "I do think saving the theater is a worthy cause, but we have to be careful with taxpayer dollars."
Before the vote was taken, Asperger observed that there were three trustees who did not support using TIF funds but those who did decided to replace the theater subsidy with $1 million in planned improvements to the La Grange Road and Ogden Avenue intersection.
The board, which delayed action on another $350,000 initially considered part of the request, agreed to reserve that discussion for the future.
The 4-2 decision, opposed by Trustees Mike Horvath and James Palermo, will be realized by the purchase of a facade easement and an operating agreement attesting the movie house remains until the village's investment has been repaid, regardless of ownership.
The action, supported by Trustees Mark Kuchler, Mark Langan, Thomas Livingston and Village President Liz Asperger in the absence of Trustee Barb Wolf, directs staff to proceed with the drafting of a final agreement for the public/private partnership with La Grange Theatre owners John Rot and David Rizner. Wolf was clearly against TIF funding for the theater, she expressed in an email read by Asperger.
And although Asperger calmly said the board "obviously (has) different opinions" which were "hashed ... out quite thoroughly," Horvath vehemently suggested it was "reckless to move ahead without construction estimates" for the revised $2.7 million project.
Kuchler, who voted for the plan which he actually came up with as a compromise two weeks earlier even though he was not in favor of using TIF money, said having all of the theater owner's financial data is vital to making sure the village is not overspending.
"I don't think we should be spending surplus funds," he said. "I do think saving the theater is a worthy cause, but we have to be careful with taxpayer dollars."
Before the vote was taken, Asperger observed that there were three trustees who did not support using TIF funds but those who did decided to replace the theater subsidy with $1 million in planned improvements to the La Grange Road and Ogden Avenue intersection.
The board, which delayed action on another $350,000 initially considered part of the request, agreed to reserve that discussion for the future.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
CITIZENS' COUNCIL DEBATES PURPOSE
It appears the Citizens' Council of La Grange may have reached a crossroads.
In a lively debate that took up most of the group's latest session Oct. 8, its members -- just two weeks shy of the first application deadline for April 2009 candidate hopefuls -- expressed vastly different opinions over whether their biennial role is to simply recruit, evaluate and recommend the most qualified groups of candidates in the village's three major races as the bylaws portend or whether they also should campaign for and assure the election of those very residents.
Circulating and filing candidate petitions and state-required ethics statements as a unified party, which some privately argued is the start of the political process even more than endorsements themselves -- or "recommendations" as some members maintained is the actual terminology -- assures fewer signatures need to be collected than if they all ran and filed independently and, above all, that the "party" slate secures top ballot placement in every contest.
So said Council President Orlando Coryell, who, while chairing the more than three-hour meeting of slightly more than 50 members, got the debate rolling -- and quite boisterously -- by seeking any input he could muster on the public "perception that the Council secures the election of the candidates it endorses."
And that may be an understatement, since the topic generated almost as much discourse during and after the meeting as a petition filed on behalf of the husband of another surname as District 5 delegate Kathleen Deane to seek the appointment of a ninth member to that district's full eight-member composition -- and not that only six of 12 incumbent officeholders had expressed an interest in running to date.
Moments after the Council unanimously approved District 1 delegate Steve Palmer's suggestion that the first set of interviews and endorsements with either Park or Library applicants be conducted a half-hour earlier, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, to give the body more time to complete the often-exhaustive process, Coryell kicked off the debate over the Council's purpose by stressing that once the endorsement process is done, few delegates show up in January and frequently not until the fall of the next election cycle.
"In the past, we haven't disclosed to candidates that (the recommendation) is the end of our legal responsibility, so do we tell the candidate that?" he asked, noting while Council members do not have to actively campaign for them they routinely do as a technically separate body.
One vocal delegate quickly replied the bylaws are clear campaigning for candidates "is not the function of the Council." And if and when it happens, as some seasoned veterans of the system pointed out has always been the case in years past, suggested, "now we are extremely biased ... exactly the opposite of what we want to be to the community. Our work should stop there."
That same man, who stressed the candidate slating was a recommendation and not something candidates should be allowed to call an endorsement, later reiterated if his purpose is just to interview and recommend candidates as the bylaws state, then he serves "no useful purpose" from January to May.
Coryell clarified the Council "is not formally involved in the election process" -- a fact corroborated by District 10 delegate Vera Catuara in that, after slating, some of the same members "as a group, not as the Citizens' Council" then "form a new political party to help slated candidates" for every election before disbanding until the next election.
However, while it was not disclosed what happens in those January to May meetings of the Council in a time when Coryell said the Council typically diminishes to some 15 members or as few as five or eight -- except, perhaps, party business -- former 8-year Village Board trustee, District 1 delegate and unsuccessful but endorsed 2005 mayoral candidate Ted Hadley defended the body's role and what he said was the reality of its existence.
"We didn't want a party system in this village," he said, noting the Council is there to pick a broad, diverse slate of candidates to build strong boards and then help them get elected. "On the whole, this system has put a pretty good government in place ... (but) if you just sit here (and endorse) and then walk away, then what's the point of endorsing?"
He contended once the Council endorsements are set, it is the Council's duty to make sure the slate(s) it recommends are successful, like it or not.
"That's what happened, that's just the history, that's how it's been," he added.
But Coryell said if that's what some members want, then the volunteers involved now must then "maintain a viable Council" from January to May and beyond -- because "morphing" into a party is clearly not its purpose -- and spend the non-election period "changing the bylaws.
"Instead of having a duty to the citizens of La Grange," he said although did not necessarily advocate, the group can have "a duty to the selected members" instead.
And although membership chairman and District 7 delegate Rob Pierson said "if there's a political party formed (post-slating), it's not us," Catuara also said "since this organization organized, the same group does (the party work) after the Citizens' Council disbands.
"It has been a part of the Citizens' Council (role) since it was formed," she said, noting once slating occurs "we do the paperwork" to get them on the ballot to be elected because many times candidates have no idea how to file petitions. "We make sure what has to be done and we hope they will be elected."
She added if all everyone wants to do is vote, the process is not going to work for the candidates.
"This is almost a necessity," she said. "If we're going to recommend and not (help) ... it seems useless."
District 4 delegate Nancy Weiler said "20 years ago you were told you would support the candidates" after slating occurred.
"I remember putting a sign in my yard for a candidate," she said. "Historically, the Council was expected to go to lengths (to help the slate get elected)."
And though there was disagreement as to what the future should hold, Coryell agreed with Catuara to an extent.
"At our meeting in January, we (typically have) adjourned and the meeting for the party started and we moved into party business -- same room, same people," he said, adding "anyone could then show up" and join although such an announcement has never been made publicly.
"We have lost two-thirds of the time, so we have a one-third success rate with competition races," he noted.
While Council-slated candidacies have routinely spurned independents in the past, few opponents have won. That dynamic changed in 2005, when Hadley was endorsed but resoundingly lost to then-trustee Liz Asperger. Confusion also reigned in 2007, when a candidate falsely ran as an endorsee when he clearly was not.
The petition to add a ninth member to District 5, containing the signatures of 80 registered voters in the district -- as allowed for in the bylaws for anyone who is "dissatisfied" with any district makeup -- was opposed by some delegates who said it appeared there might be a move to "stack the deck" in that district, perhaps for one or more desired candidates.
Catuara, a nearly 20-year delegate whose geographical area in one of the village's furthest corners boasts only herself, said she wondered why District 5 should deserve an additional member when every one of the other 10 districts were lacking a maximum of eight per district and why the petitioner's dissatisfaction was not described.
District 5 includes such notables as Orlando Coryell -- who is also the husband of Library Board member Caroline Coryell and a resident who sued the Park District over its controversial decision to sell public park land for private development -- as well as longtime Park District activist Kate Brogan, Council officer Joan Vander Linde, whose husband is Village Board Trustee James Palermo, and new delegate and Council Qualificatons Committee Co-Chair Katie Justak.
Delegates in other districts include, in District 1, the wife of Village Trustee Mark Kuchler, Deann Kuchler, former Park Board Commissioner and park land sale opponent Kevin Shields; in District 2, former park land sale opponent and La Grange Towers resident Bill Dobias and Qualifications Committee co-chair Ken Levinson; longtime civic activist Jeanine McLaughlin and Pierson's wife, Nancy and in District 11, the wife of former trustee candidate Nicholas Pann, Carolyn Pann.
Spouses, under the bylaws, are allowed to vote for each other at slating time, as was the case with Palermo two years ago.
The only ones expressing an interest in slating for re-election to date are Village Trustees Mike Horvath and Barb Wolfe, Village President Liz Asperger, Library Trustees Becky Spratford and Mary Nelson and Park Commissioner Tim Kelpsas.
Park and Library hopefuls vying for four and three seats, respectively, have until Wednesday, Oct. 22 to submit applications, with slating taking place Nov. 12 and possibly one other night that month. Village candidates vying for five seats including three trustee seats, clerk and president have until Monday, Nov. 3 and will be slated Wednesday, Dec. 10.
It was agreed when interviews take place, each candidate will be given five minutes to speak five minutes to answer structured questions and 10 minutes to answer Council inquiries. The voting of recommended candidates takes place in privately and is announced publicly.
In a lively debate that took up most of the group's latest session Oct. 8, its members -- just two weeks shy of the first application deadline for April 2009 candidate hopefuls -- expressed vastly different opinions over whether their biennial role is to simply recruit, evaluate and recommend the most qualified groups of candidates in the village's three major races as the bylaws portend or whether they also should campaign for and assure the election of those very residents.
Circulating and filing candidate petitions and state-required ethics statements as a unified party, which some privately argued is the start of the political process even more than endorsements themselves -- or "recommendations" as some members maintained is the actual terminology -- assures fewer signatures need to be collected than if they all ran and filed independently and, above all, that the "party" slate secures top ballot placement in every contest.
So said Council President Orlando Coryell, who, while chairing the more than three-hour meeting of slightly more than 50 members, got the debate rolling -- and quite boisterously -- by seeking any input he could muster on the public "perception that the Council secures the election of the candidates it endorses."
And that may be an understatement, since the topic generated almost as much discourse during and after the meeting as a petition filed on behalf of the husband of another surname as District 5 delegate Kathleen Deane to seek the appointment of a ninth member to that district's full eight-member composition -- and not that only six of 12 incumbent officeholders had expressed an interest in running to date.
Moments after the Council unanimously approved District 1 delegate Steve Palmer's suggestion that the first set of interviews and endorsements with either Park or Library applicants be conducted a half-hour earlier, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, to give the body more time to complete the often-exhaustive process, Coryell kicked off the debate over the Council's purpose by stressing that once the endorsement process is done, few delegates show up in January and frequently not until the fall of the next election cycle.
"In the past, we haven't disclosed to candidates that (the recommendation) is the end of our legal responsibility, so do we tell the candidate that?" he asked, noting while Council members do not have to actively campaign for them they routinely do as a technically separate body.
One vocal delegate quickly replied the bylaws are clear campaigning for candidates "is not the function of the Council." And if and when it happens, as some seasoned veterans of the system pointed out has always been the case in years past, suggested, "now we are extremely biased ... exactly the opposite of what we want to be to the community. Our work should stop there."
That same man, who stressed the candidate slating was a recommendation and not something candidates should be allowed to call an endorsement, later reiterated if his purpose is just to interview and recommend candidates as the bylaws state, then he serves "no useful purpose" from January to May.
Coryell clarified the Council "is not formally involved in the election process" -- a fact corroborated by District 10 delegate Vera Catuara in that, after slating, some of the same members "as a group, not as the Citizens' Council" then "form a new political party to help slated candidates" for every election before disbanding until the next election.
However, while it was not disclosed what happens in those January to May meetings of the Council in a time when Coryell said the Council typically diminishes to some 15 members or as few as five or eight -- except, perhaps, party business -- former 8-year Village Board trustee, District 1 delegate and unsuccessful but endorsed 2005 mayoral candidate Ted Hadley defended the body's role and what he said was the reality of its existence.
"We didn't want a party system in this village," he said, noting the Council is there to pick a broad, diverse slate of candidates to build strong boards and then help them get elected. "On the whole, this system has put a pretty good government in place ... (but) if you just sit here (and endorse) and then walk away, then what's the point of endorsing?"
He contended once the Council endorsements are set, it is the Council's duty to make sure the slate(s) it recommends are successful, like it or not.
"That's what happened, that's just the history, that's how it's been," he added.
But Coryell said if that's what some members want, then the volunteers involved now must then "maintain a viable Council" from January to May and beyond -- because "morphing" into a party is clearly not its purpose -- and spend the non-election period "changing the bylaws.
"Instead of having a duty to the citizens of La Grange," he said although did not necessarily advocate, the group can have "a duty to the selected members" instead.
And although membership chairman and District 7 delegate Rob Pierson said "if there's a political party formed (post-slating), it's not us," Catuara also said "since this organization organized, the same group does (the party work) after the Citizens' Council disbands.
"It has been a part of the Citizens' Council (role) since it was formed," she said, noting once slating occurs "we do the paperwork" to get them on the ballot to be elected because many times candidates have no idea how to file petitions. "We make sure what has to be done and we hope they will be elected."
She added if all everyone wants to do is vote, the process is not going to work for the candidates.
"This is almost a necessity," she said. "If we're going to recommend and not (help) ... it seems useless."
District 4 delegate Nancy Weiler said "20 years ago you were told you would support the candidates" after slating occurred.
"I remember putting a sign in my yard for a candidate," she said. "Historically, the Council was expected to go to lengths (to help the slate get elected)."
And though there was disagreement as to what the future should hold, Coryell agreed with Catuara to an extent.
"At our meeting in January, we (typically have) adjourned and the meeting for the party started and we moved into party business -- same room, same people," he said, adding "anyone could then show up" and join although such an announcement has never been made publicly.
"We have lost two-thirds of the time, so we have a one-third success rate with competition races," he noted.
While Council-slated candidacies have routinely spurned independents in the past, few opponents have won. That dynamic changed in 2005, when Hadley was endorsed but resoundingly lost to then-trustee Liz Asperger. Confusion also reigned in 2007, when a candidate falsely ran as an endorsee when he clearly was not.
The petition to add a ninth member to District 5, containing the signatures of 80 registered voters in the district -- as allowed for in the bylaws for anyone who is "dissatisfied" with any district makeup -- was opposed by some delegates who said it appeared there might be a move to "stack the deck" in that district, perhaps for one or more desired candidates.
Catuara, a nearly 20-year delegate whose geographical area in one of the village's furthest corners boasts only herself, said she wondered why District 5 should deserve an additional member when every one of the other 10 districts were lacking a maximum of eight per district and why the petitioner's dissatisfaction was not described.
District 5 includes such notables as Orlando Coryell -- who is also the husband of Library Board member Caroline Coryell and a resident who sued the Park District over its controversial decision to sell public park land for private development -- as well as longtime Park District activist Kate Brogan, Council officer Joan Vander Linde, whose husband is Village Board Trustee James Palermo, and new delegate and Council Qualificatons Committee Co-Chair Katie Justak.
Delegates in other districts include, in District 1, the wife of Village Trustee Mark Kuchler, Deann Kuchler, former Park Board Commissioner and park land sale opponent Kevin Shields; in District 2, former park land sale opponent and La Grange Towers resident Bill Dobias and Qualifications Committee co-chair Ken Levinson; longtime civic activist Jeanine McLaughlin and Pierson's wife, Nancy and in District 11, the wife of former trustee candidate Nicholas Pann, Carolyn Pann.
Spouses, under the bylaws, are allowed to vote for each other at slating time, as was the case with Palermo two years ago.
The only ones expressing an interest in slating for re-election to date are Village Trustees Mike Horvath and Barb Wolfe, Village President Liz Asperger, Library Trustees Becky Spratford and Mary Nelson and Park Commissioner Tim Kelpsas.
Park and Library hopefuls vying for four and three seats, respectively, have until Wednesday, Oct. 22 to submit applications, with slating taking place Nov. 12 and possibly one other night that month. Village candidates vying for five seats including three trustee seats, clerk and president have until Monday, Nov. 3 and will be slated Wednesday, Dec. 10.
It was agreed when interviews take place, each candidate will be given five minutes to speak five minutes to answer structured questions and 10 minutes to answer Council inquiries. The voting of recommended candidates takes place in privately and is announced publicly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)