Leaked List Details Village Commissioners’ Allegiance

Former trustee Tom Phelan claims full responsibility for authoring memo "offering advice and recommendations" on appointed village commissioners loyal to former mayor.

A list containing the names of those serving on various Village of Oak Lawn commissions and committees drafted by a former trustee has emerged on an anonymous blog. The “hit list” was alluded to during the special board meeting last month, in which a quorum of village board members approved 3-0 an ethics ordinance barring the hiring or appointment of ex-elected officials by the village for two years after they leave office. “There are a lot of rumors going around the village about political retribution, against not only me, but also employees, commission members and volunteers. We’ve all heard that hit list has been made and people who supported the losing candidates are going to be replaced,” the ordinance’s sponsor, Trustee Bob Streit (…

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The Blade

THE BLADE: The Large Pepperoni Pizza in the Room

Palermo's on 95th makes an excellent pepperoni pizza. The restaurant's busy main dining room is also a great place to hold a top-secret meeting.

I wish I had a dollar for every time someone has complained to me over the past two-and-a-half years about the “blogs” on Oak Lawn Patch. "Why doesn’t Patch switch to Facebook commenting. That way, people would have to use their real names?” “How come Patch can’t require bloggers to blog under their real names or at least tell them to be civil?” “Patch should ask bloggers to give their phone numbers and/or email addresses so that the editor can verify who is writing the ‘blogs,’ the way newspapers verify letters to the editor?" If I had I dollar for every time someone kvetched about untrue and crazy “blogs” – nine times out of ten by an elected or public official – I’d be taking a year off and backpacking through Europe. So when anonymous…

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Bosley

12:19 pm on Friday, May 17, 2013

Supposed document? Supposed meeting? Proof? Read it for yourself: www.oaklawnleaf.com "I worked for the campaign and never saw any of these supposed hit lists." I can believe that, especially since this was done after the election. "Why would anyone just have a secret meeting at a busy public restaurant?? Then they leave proof of the intentions of the meeting so someone can find it??" Good …   more ›

VIDEO: Special Oak Lawn Village Board Meeting - updated

Discussion and vote on an ethics ordinance from April 26, 2013.

UPDATED -- Per the request of a reader, we have added Mayor Dave Heilmann's entire remarks from the April 26, 2013 meeting. A special meeting of the Oak Lawn Village Board was called for Friday, April 26, after Trustee Bob Streit (Dist. 3) alleged that he was barred from placing an ethics ordinance on the regular board agenda earlier in the week "out of political retribution." The new ethics ordiance would bar the hiring or appointment of former elected officials two years after leaving office. Friday's special meeting was not televised, but Patch and several other audience members were recording the proceedings on video. The meeting lasted approximately nine minutes. Some of Mayor Dave Heilmann's remarks were edited for time, but Trustee …

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Oak Lawn Gal

3:32 am on Saturday, May 11, 2013

Andy it will be interesting to see how this plays out. I agree - if Dr Bury and the board repeal this, it will look bad for her. But honestly, I think it's a good ordinance. If there was a deal with Phelan for any new position in OL government, it would put a wrench in that though.   more ›

Special Village Board Meeting Called To Hear Ethics Ordinance

The Oak Lawn Village Board will meeting at 6 p.m. tonight (Friday) to discuss a proposed ethics ordinance barring the hiring or appointment of former elected officials for two years after their term ends.

Claiming that their proposed ethics ordinance was barred from Tuesday’s village board agenda out of political retribution, Oak Lawn Trustees Bob Streit (Dist. 3) and Carol Quinlan (Dist. 5) have called for a special board meeting at 6 p.m. tonight (Friday) at village hall. The proposed ethics ordinance would prohibit the hiring or appointment of former elected officials for a period of two years after official’s term of office ends, pursuant to state law. Sign up for the Oak Lawn Patch newsletter and follow us on Facebook. Village Manager Larry Deetjen told Patch that the oridinance missed last week's Tuesday cutoff date for placement on the agenda. Items that come in after the regular deadline are considered on a case-by-case basis. …

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Trustees Vote To Divide Remaining Build America Bonds

Each district to receive about $750,000 each for summer infrastructure repair projects as Build American bonds come to an end.

Oak Lawn trustees voted to divide remaining funds for infrastructure improvements equally among the village’s six districts, delaying the traffic signalization project at Central Avenue and Southwest Highway indefinitely. Sign up for Oak Lawn Patch breaking news alerts. Following an appearance by Cook County Commissioner John Daley (11th District) at Tuesday’s village board meeting to clarify remarks made by another Oak Lawn trustee that the county no longer considered the project a priority, the village board postponed voting on the project until it could discuss allocating the remaining Build America bonds. The village has until 2016 to utilize the available funds through Cook County, which would pick up 50 percent of the costs for …

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Commissioner Daley Pays Surprise Visit to Village Board

Cook County still considers traffic signalization project at Southwest Highway and Central Avenue a priority, Commissioner John Daley says.

Cook County Commission John Daley (11th District) made a surprise visit at Tuesday’s village board meeting to clarify remarks made by an Oak Lawn trustee that the county no longer considered the traffic signalization project at Central Avenue and Southwest Highway “a priority.” Sign up for Oak Lawn Patch breaking news alerts. Daley said he had received several calls after the Jan. 22 village board meeting that the county was no longer committed to installing a left turn lane at Central Avenue and Southwest Highway. The village has about $7 million left in Build America bonds, part of which was to be used for building a left turn lane northbound on Central Avenue turning west on to Southwest Highway. Oak Lawn trustees previously passed a …

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Traffic Signal Held Hostage by Politics, Larvicide Top Village Board Agenda

Is the traffic signal project at Southwest Highway and Central Avenue being purposely stalled until after the April 9 election? We’ll find out at tonight’s village board meeting.

It’s a light and lively agenda when the Oak Lawn Village Board takes the dais tonight at 7:30 p.m. With the upcoming election, we’re sure that all the politics will be left at the door as board members hunker down and work together in a calm and cooperative manner for the betterment of Oak Lawn. Read the light and lively village board agenda. Here’s what we’ll be watching: Southwest Highway/Central Traffic Signalization: Is the left turn lane/signalization project at Southwest Highway and Central Avenue being held hostage until after the April 9th election? Trustee Alex Olejniczak (Dist. 2) noted that after reading the last public works committee minutes from Dec. 12 that Cook County supposedly no longer ranks the project as a priority. …

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'On A Street Named Philbin Way'

Long-time Oak Lawn family boasting six generations is honored by renaming section of Cook name 'Philbin Way.'

The Philbin Way: Family Honored with Street Renaming

Long-time Oak Lawn family boasting six generations are honored by renaming portion of Cook Avenue "Philbin Way."

At one point there were 240 extended members of the County Cork Philbins living in Oak Lawn. They laid track for the Wabash Railroad, served as the first church organist for St. Gerald's, fought fires and drove ambulances for the Oak Lawn Fire Department, and helped dig out survivors of the 1967 Oak Lawn Tornado bare-handed, six days after arriving home from the Vietnam War. Sign up for the Oak Lawn Patch newsletter and breaking news alerts. Six generations of the Philbin Family were remembered last Saturday when Mayor Dave Heilmann and Trustee Bob Streit (Dist. 3) dedicated a portion of Cook Avenue between 97th and 98th Streets that will now forever be known as Philbin Way. "When I think of St. Gerald’s, thanks to your family there’s a …

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