Referendum Petition Ends on a Whimper
Oak Lawn Tax Watch voluntarily withdraws its petition to put a referendum on the April 5 ballot to eliminate the village manager's position amid allegations of fraud.
A referendum petition tainted by allegations of fraud was quietly withdrawn in a Cook County courtroom Tuesday morning.
Oak Lawn Tax Watch filed its petition with more than 1,200 signatures on Jan. 3 to put a referendum on the April ballot asking voters if Oak Lawn should eliminate the village manager’s position.
Since then some village board members have alleged as many as 1,000 signatures may have been forged following their own informal investigation. Trustee Bob Streit likened the alleged fraud to painting Oak Lawn as “another Cicero.”
Keri-Lyn Krafthefer, the attorney for Oak Lawn Tax Watch, said the group decided to withdraw the petition yesterday because the Circuit Court of Cook County missed a deadline for publishing a legal notice about Tuesday’s hearing in a local newspaper, making the referendum petition invalid.
The referendum cannot be refiled during this election cycle.
According to Illinois election law, the court must set a hearing date not less than 10 days and no more than 30 days after the petitions are filed, and publish a legal notice of the hearing.
The court is also required to publish a legal notice as soon as possible after the petition is filed.
“Because the petition was filed on Jan. 3, the last day publication could have occurred was Jan. 17,” Krafthefer said.
Krafthefer told Patch that the withdrawal had nothing to do with the allegations of fraudulent signatures. More than 140 residents signed affidavits attesting that their signatures had been forged on the petition.
“We never investigated the fraud issue. We didn’t get that far,” Krafthefer said, who was not present in court on Tuesday. “The client (Oak Lawn Tax Watch) agreed that they didn’t want to go forward because of the notice issue. The client was disappointed because they wanted their day in court.”
Members of Oak Lawn Tax Watch did not attend Tuesday’s proceedings.
An attorney from Krafthefer’s firm, Tiffany Nelson-Jaworski, told the judge “the client was voluntarily withdrawing the petition and the case.”
Expressing irritation, Judge Susan Fox Gillis snapped, “I wish someone would have told me yesterday before I did all this work.” Monday was a federal holiday.
Oak Lawn Village Clerk Jane Quinlan and trustees Tom Duhig (2nd District) and Streit (3rd District) trouped down to Daley Center on Tuesday, armed with a legal objection that matched in girth Oak Lawn Tax Watch’s 132-page petition.
Duhig called the referedum petition “frivolous and fraudulent.”
“It was put together by a confederacy of dunces,” Duhig said. “The people who legitimately signed it, had they known they were part of a fraud wouldn’t have put their names on it.”
Both trustees have publicly asked for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office to look into the alleged fraud. A prosecutor from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office sat in on the hearing as a “silent observer.”
“It’s very troubling that someone who thinks they’re more important than our form of government would stoop to such treacherous and unscrupulous tactics such as the fraud we’ve seen here,” Streit said.
Rob Gallagher
12:57 pm on Wednesday, January 19, 2011
robzombie
Her wardrobe? Takes one to know one, Streit or is it clerk quinlan?.
QC
6:47 pm on Wednesday, January 19, 2011
"because the Circuit Court of Cook County missed a deadline for publishing a legal notice about Tuesday’s hearing in a local newspaper, making the referendum petition invalid.
The referendum cannot be refiled during this election cycle."
Duhig called the referendum petition “frivolous and fraudulent.” What?? Why frivolous? You think that it's silly to want to have a say in who runs OUR village government? So you think that the residents of Oak Lawn are unable to decide this question on their own. "Dunces" huh? We shouldn't have a choice? Oh... you'll hear our voices loud & clear at the electi0ns Unscrupulous Party members.
“It was put together by a confederacy of dunces,” Duhig said. “The people who legitimately signed it, had they known they were part of a fraud wouldn’t have put their names on it.”
Really Duhig? I'll bet there were a he-l of a lot of legitimate signatures originally.
I also think that when residents, especially seniors, are being bullied, intimidated and lied to they would tend to be frightened into answering with what You want to hear. Examples: The Clerk Quinlan letter. Going door to door during the Holiday season grilling residents on what they did or did not sign.
The "confederacy of dunces" is the actual pet name for the Unscrupulous Party members.(aka The U.P. ---- the "up your's" party)
Hmmmmmmmmm. The long arm of Madigan at work?
Oak Lawn Homegirl
8:59 pm on Wednesday, January 19, 2011
As disappointing as the loss of the referendum is, the comments made by the Trustee are very disturbing. Who the heck is Duhig? I thought they got rid of condescending, pig-headed, insulting trustees when the Unity Party stepped in. Looks like it's back in spades. I never thought I'd say this but I almost wish for the days of the Coalition. I know absence makes the heart grow fonder but it really never seemed as nasty as this regime. Why can't we seem to get it right in Oak Lawn?
iluvqc
10:37 pm on Wednesday, January 19, 2011
QC is Dave writing these blogs for you??? Love the turn on the ole unity party name!!!! Did a 3rd grader come up with that?? Stop being so jealous. Not a fan of Madigan's?? do you think your going to get more votes for Dave and Carol by ripping Mike ??? Oak Lawn is all Democrats keep ripping in madigan and for sure Carol and Dave are through!!
QC
3:57 pm on Thursday, January 20, 2011
Tommy Boy aka iluvqc( too bad. I'm straight, married, and LOYAL to MY wife.
A turn on the unity party name? Don't flatter yourself ego boy. LOL
"unity:
The state or quality of being in accord; harmony."
Nothing could be further from the truth!
"unscrupulous:
Devoid of scruples; oblivious to or contemptuous of what is right or honorable.
Unscrupulous use of one's position to derive profit or advantages; extortion. Money or an advantage gained or yielded by unscrupulous means. To gain by or practice unscrupulous use." Hence The "Unscrupulous Party".
OOOOO...."Mike"???
There seems to be a "man crush" going on with a couple of you trustees.
" Oak Lawn is all Democrats " It may have been at one time, but not anymore. You U.P. (yours) members, especially you Tommy and Streit, took care of that with all of your dirty politics and backroom deals. You Unscrupulous Party members are in Madigan's pockets & vice versa now. You made your bed's......, as the saying goes!
You've sold your souls. Live with it.
OakLawnGuy
6:52 am on Thursday, January 20, 2011
D&D, be careful what you wish for. The Coalition wasn't this publicly nasty because when an indie like Mr. Streit opened his mouth to say anything, he was shouted down. Board meetings were essentially closed, none were televised and very little was written about them. We received edicts from King Kolb and Prince Stancik and pats on the head from Mr. Faber, as they said, "Don't worry, the 13-story condo development/senior center we've shoved down your throats will make your life better. Don't worry about that 7-story building we're putting up at 95th and 52nd either, it's going to bring us A New Oak Lawn!" That regime, as well as the Dumke gang before, was as patronizing as Mr.Duhig's comments about the referendum group.
Oak Lawn Homegirl
10:35 am on Thursday, January 20, 2011
Thanks, OakLawnGuy. I stand corrected. It just highlights the fact that it is politics as usual in OL. Thought it would be different with the Unity Party. Unity Party...that's a joke! Need to change their name to the Angry/Bitter/Backstabbing Party. Maybe this time Streit will join!
lynnnut
3:44 pm on Saturday, January 22, 2011
Where is the State's Attorney on this issue? We have two cases of people lying under oath and we have not heard the real whimpering yet. That will come when the Grand Jury subpoenas the morons involved in both elections.
Joe Wilson
6:51 pm on Monday, January 31, 2011
lynnnut................you, should not be talking about "people lying under oath".
Uh Oh
6:12 pm on Saturday, January 22, 2011
so that would include the hole village board brennan and skoundrianos too hey thats alot of peolple.
lynnnut
8:25 pm on Saturday, January 22, 2011
Well if they subpoena the board, brennan and skoundrianos they will tell them that the petitions filed by the "tax watch of one" and Sodaro and Lynn have forgeries and perjuries.
Since we're all going down memory lane, does anyone remember the name of the woman who flashed the puppies at a District 229 meeting back in the day?
Joe Wilson
7:01 pm on Monday, January 31, 2011
lynnnut.........I do remember trustee 6 and his posse needling 2 fireman @ deja fools.
Wasn't it 4 against 2. I remember that the security tape of the event went missing too.
QC
8:44 pm on Saturday, January 22, 2011
lynnnut
Speaking of memory lane:
Here's some "enlightend reading" for the everyone out there! The Oak Lawn residents will be interested in the unsavory relationship between Streit and Brennan going back to, at least, 2001.
http://www.iardc.org/05CH0094HB.html
They have TOOOOO MUCH ON EACH OTHER NOT to be cozy!
"Brennan apparently paid for distribution of the video in a campaign according to news reports. "apparently(?) paid for distribution"? That's all???? LMAO
#1 Brennan hatched the idea of the smear campaign video
#2 Brennan just happened to have the name of a commercial production company he could get, and used.
#3 Brennan paid for the production of a videotape critical of Hurckes' candidates.
#4 Brennan paid for the distribution of the videotape critical of Hurckes' candidates.
Ernie's Shadow
3:34 pm on Monday, January 24, 2011
Who won that hearing?
QC
12:27 pm on Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The ARDC won against Brennan. Then, his appeal in, 2007, was a joke. He was better than John Lovitz from SNL, and he had Streit there to back him up! I wish there was a tape of that one!!!. lol
Just like Clinton and Monica "it depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is"[12] (i.e., he was not, at the time he made that statement, still having a sexual relationship with Lewinskyt depends on your version of is,is". A lotof double speak .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monica_Lewinsky
goodgrammar
3:36 pm on Saturday, January 29, 2011
Lynn aka QC,
I just looked on the ARDC website and there is no record of the ARDC ever winning against Brennan. There is a case where Brennan won but it doesn't say anything about Clinton. What the opinion does say is:
"For the reasons set out above, we conclude that the charges of misconduct, specifically that the Respondent engaged in dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation in violation of Rule 8.4(a)(4) of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct, and that he engaged in conduct which tends to defeat the administration of justice or to bring the courts or the legal profession into disrepute in violation of Supreme Court Rule 770, were not proved by clear and convincing evidence. Therefore, we recommend that the charges against the Respondent be dismissed."
Please get your attacks right because we all count on you to be the attack dog!
QC
8:55 pm on Saturday, January 22, 2011
One more thing.
A repoter, that was lied to by Brennan and called as a witness, strangely Did Not show up for his hearing before the ARDC.
Guess what???? She's now working for Lisa Madigan!
Ernie's Shadow
3:34 pm on Monday, January 24, 2011
Lynn
ARe you claiming that the reporter was bribed with a job by Lisa Madigan?
QC
12:28 pm on Tuesday, January 25, 2011
LISA Madigan wasn't in office at the time.
enough already
5:26 pm on Tuesday, January 25, 2011
enough already with these 3rd grade school comments you all sound like little kids fighting on the playground!!! I'm not even sure adults write these comments I like the patch for the Oak Lawn stories but these blogs are getting out of hand. Just wild accusations,personal slander, namecalling etc. does not reflect well on the real Oak Lawn residents who read the stories on this site!! You all should be ashamed of yourselves and before you ask why I don't put a real name up is because I don't want to be personally slandered. Please grow up all of you
QC
6:30 pm on Sunday, January 30, 2011
goodgrammar You’re right, I apologize. He did not “lose or win”, as you say, with the ARDC.
It was the Election Board on October 5, 2001 – Brennan = lost
On October 5, 2001, a hearing officer issued a recommended decision, finding that the Respondent willfully committed all the violations charged, and acted "with knowledge that such acts were a violation of Illinois law [and] with the intent to deceive the voters of Oak Lawn High School District 229." The State Board of Elections entered an order adopting the findings of the hearing officer. The Respondent appealed and Appellate Court affirmed on December 26, 2002. Brennan v. Illinois State Board of Elections, 336 Ill. App. 3d 749, 784 N.E.2d 854 (1st Dist.). Brennan =lost
QC
6:47 pm on Sunday, January 30, 2011
cont.
THEM on to the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission [the ARDC]
[more lawyers]
August 31, 2005 - The Administrator filed a one-count Complaint against the Respondent charging that he engaged in dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation; and engaged in conduct which tends to defeat the administration of justice or to bring the courts or the legal profession into disrepute.
Their ruling July 19, 2007: "While respondent's conduct in placing himself in a position where his integrity as a lawyer could be questioned merits criticism, yet we cannot hold that he was thereby guilty of willful professional misconduct."
Supreme Court Rule 770, were not proved by clear and convincing evidence.
Therefore, we recommend that the charges against the Respondent be dismissed.
“Dismissed” because it !!!! lacked “clear and convincing evidence”!!!! is Not a win!
He lied his way through that one.
" Please get your attacks right because we all count on you to be the attack dog!"
"we all" meaning 2,3,4,6, jq & ld! Someone has to keep "you all" on your best behavior.
QC
11:38 am on Monday, January 31, 2011
qccrazy aka goodgrammar, meritt??, meritt???, iluvqc, lynnnut, Ernie's... etc.,
" Ernie's Shadow
3:34pm on Monday, January 24, 2011
Who won that hearing?
Lynn aka QC,
I just looked on the ARDC website and there is no record of the ARDC ever winning against Brennan. There is a case where Brennan won but it doesn't say anything about Clinton."
See REPLY above:
QC
6:30pm on Sunday, January 30, 2011
goodgrammar You’re right, I apologize.
“Dismissed” because it !!!! lacked “clear and convincing evidence”!!!! is Not a win!
"Please get your attacks right because we all count on you to be the attack dog!"
Happy to oblige! Be careful what you ask for if you're not prepared for the truth