Oak Lawn Candidates Make Their Pitch -- Part 2

Trustees Bob Streit (3rd District) and Carol Quinlan (5th District) went toe to toe with their challengers—write-in candidate Dan Sodaro and Pete Quattrocchi, respectively—before an audience of 100 residents in Richards’ Little Theater.

Streit and Quinlan are both business owners; Sodaro is a twice-elected school board member of Ridgeland Dist. 122; and Quattrocchi brings extensive business experience in the private and public sectors.

Here are some more soundbytes from the Oak Lawn Village Board Trustee candidates forum at Richards High School on Wednesday evening:

Do the village board trustees get medical insurance and do you feel this is appropriate for a part-time position?

• Pete Quattrocchi: Not being a trustee, I believe they do have medical insurance. I do not know the cost but I guess it’s between $10,000-$14,000 per year. As a part-time trustee I think it all depends on who you’re working for and if you do have other avenues of insurance. I am currently working so I was elected, I would decline to take health insurance for myself.

• Carol Quinlan: Yes, the trustees are offered medical insurance. Not everyone does take it. I’ll speak for myself as a self-employed person. I do, in fact, take the medical insurance. This job, as trustee is considered part-time but in all honestly, its lot more time than that. We receive a stipend … the reason we do this is because we care about the village and want what’s best. We’re not looking to get paid but the medical insurance for me makes it a lot easier so I can actually afford to do this job.

• Bob Streit: The salary and benefits are the same today as they were 20 years ago when I was first elected. They haven’t increased in 20 years. The salary for a trustee is $7,200 a year. You’ve heard people talk about this being a part-time position and for some it is … every trustee is different. There are trustees who put in full-time (hours) and by law it is considered full time if you put in over 600 hours, and you should put in over 600 hours. I put in far in excess of 600 hours, the salary and benefits haven’t been increased and I don’t think we should be talking about increasing or decreasing the salary and benefits at this time.

• Dan Sodaro: I already receive healthcare benefits through work. Personally, I’d look at the policies and I certainly understand the arguments given what the job entails that it is an option for people. It would seem that in order to make a change in that you’d have to have the entire board vote on changing the policy. I’m honestly not that comfortable speaking about it.

Term limits. Good or bad?

• Bob Streit: Having been elected five times as a trustee, I think the most important form of term limits is that given by the voters. When voters decide it is time for somebody new, they’ll make that choice. When looking at experience gained by someone who serves for many years, I think often outweighs any benefit of new fresh ideas. There’s nothing wrong with new fresh ideas, but one of the things you acquire when serving over a long period is institutional knowledge.

• Dan Sodaro: I do believe there should be some limit to the amount of terms. I think it depends upon the position because I certainly appreciate the fact when you first sit down at the table you don’t walk in with knowledge. If term limits are appropriately set, you should have a good turn over in that board so that there are always people in various stages. The hazards of not having term limits, you do gain vast knowledge of how the system works, but you also lose the basic components of the neighborhood because you’re so engrained in the system.

• Pete Quattrocchi:  I think it depends on the effectiveness of the office and what they’re getting done. At some time, everyone gets stale; look at Mayor Daley serving all his terms. It was time for him to let some new blood come in and take over with some fresh ideas. Not being a politician myself, I don’t have to worry about the term limits because after two or three you’d probably see me in the ground anyway.

• Carol Quinlan: In my opinion, it really is a personal decision. You really have to be honest with yourself and look to how you’re feeling bottom line. If you don’t have the enthusiasm any more, you don’t have any fresh ideas, and you can’t stand talking to residents anymore—it really is time to get out.

What do you think is causing all of the current infighting on the village board and do you believe it is impairing their ability to get things done?

• Carol Quinlan: There has been a lot of infighting. You just have to turn on the government channel or attend a meeting. Quite frankly, there is no excuse. I think the residents of Oak Lawn deserve better. I don’t think we accomplish much by fighting. The only thing I can say is that there are a lot of Type-A personalities and a lot of people think they’re right and try to get their opinion across. It’s not professional… We’re your voice. Your voice isn’t screaming and we shouldn’t be either.

• Bob Streit:  You have to look at the underlying reasons for any debate protracted at board meetings. We have disagreed over the last several years, but first of all this is the democratic process. There are some very serious problems that elected officials have had to confront on behalf of the people of Oak Lawn. In the two recent budget cycles two of our elected officials suggested that we raise property taxes to increase fund balances …  We’re also dealing with a legal investigation that demonstrates overbilling and bad judgment by the former (village) attorneys that may have cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

• Dan Sodaro: In my six years as an elected school board member, I’ve never seen anything like I’ve witnessed watch the public access channel. I don’t see a way why it can’t impair business… I’m all for intellectual debate, but what I witness as a citizen is just fighting and bullying. Whatever the cause is, I don’t think that’s appropriate behavior as an elected official to sit up there, screaming and pointing fingers. As a citizen, I was embarrassed by that board meeting (on Feb. 8). That wasn’t the only one. Its been going on for a year.

• Pete Quattrocchi: I agree with Carol. There are a lot of different personalities and there are some tough issues they’ve been discussing. Is it beneficial? I wouldn’t think so. The couple of times I have watched, it seems like the back-and-forth doesn’t get a lot accomplished. I would like to have a dignified discussion to solve these problems.

Read part 1 of "Oak Lawn Trustee Candidates Make Their Pitch."