Monday, May 20, 2013
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 (…
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Bridal store owners say they were about to ink lucrative lease agreement, but village manager steered prospective tenant to another location.
The owner of an Oak Lawn bridal shop is claiming that the village manager interfered with a $5 million lease agreement by steering the prospective tenant to another vacant storefront up the street. The newly inducted village board approved parking and landscape variances for JenCare to open one of its senior neighborhood medical centers in the old Men’s Wearhouse space at 6101 W. 95th St., based on a referral from the Oak Lawn Planning and Development commission. Sign up for the Oak Lawn Patch newsletter and follow us on Facebook. Attorney Michael Balourdos representing the owner of House of Brides was ready to close on a seven-year lease with the senior medical care provider to rent the Oak Lawn bridal store at 5433 W. 95th St. When …
Monday, April 29, 2013
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 …
Friday, April 26, 2013
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. …
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Dave Heilmann signs off on two terms as mayor of Oak Lawn.
The stage was all Dave Heilmann’s Tuesday night, as he bid farewell to the village and lowered the curtain on his eight-year-run as mayor of Oak Lawn. The outgoing mayor, who lost his bid for a third term to Sandra Bury, presided over his last village board meeting before the mayor-elect and three new trustees are sworn in next month. Sign up for the Oak Lawn Patch newsletter and follow us on Facebook. Heilmann was effusive in his pre-meeting banter as he recognized Oak Lawn Community High School’s state drama champions, something he did best helming the village board meetings. As if a hint of what to expect, Trustee Bob Streit (Dist. 3) accused the new village board members of already “flexing their political muscle” by preventing him and…
Monday, April 22, 2013
Bill would make Illinois's gang database accessible to the public, but critics say bill is too vague about who gets entered into system.
State Rep. Kelly Burke (D-36th District) signed on as a co-sponsor to HB 3082, a bill that would open the Illinois State Police’s gang member database to the public. HB 3082, State Police Gang Database, was introduced by Rep. Deborah Mell (D-40th District) of the city’s Northwest Side, and is currently before the state house rules committee. Connect with Patch: Oak Lawn / Beverly-Mt. Greenwood / Evergreen Park Illinois’s Statewide Organized Criminal Gang Database is currently available only to prosecutors, police and other statewide law enforcement agencies. Mell would like to list the names of known and alleged gang members, including their last known address, photos, tattoos, other physical marks and favorite hangouts. The registry is …
Friday, April 12, 2013
A precinct-by-precinct breakdown of votes cast in the 2013 Oak Lawn mayoral election.
With few contested local races and based on the dismal voter turnout in the 2011 consolidated election – Dave Heilmann had everything going for him heading into April 9 in his third mayoral bid over newcomer Sandra Bury. Sign up for the Oak Lawn Patch newsletter and follow us on Facebook. Conventional wisdom says that low voter turnout usually favors the incumbent, putting the burden on the challenger to bring new voters to the polling booth. Overall, voter turnout in suburban Cook County was 19 percent, up two points from 2011’s low turnout of 17 percent, according to the Cook County Clerk's office. Like many south suburbs with contested mayoral races, Oak Lawn’s voter turnout averaged higher than the rest of Cook County, with 30 percent …
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Sandra Bury beats two-term Mayor Dave Heilmann in stunning upset by 754 votes.
Oak Lawn voters made history on Tuesday by electing the first woman to serve as mayor. Challenger Sandra Bury captured 53 percent of the vote to Dave Heilmann’s 46 percent in a stunning upset victory over the two-term mayor. Bury took the lead out of the box by a handful of votes when the first returns came trickling in 45 minutes after the polls closed. She was down by just two votes when the second returns came in, then soared ahead where she remained for the rest of the evening. The atmosphere inside the Stony Creek Golf Complex, where Bury awaited returns with her 93-year-old father, Bruno Bury, was giddy as the 51-year-old optometrist took it all in. “It’s humbling to have this great honor,” Bury said. “I’d gone into it hoping to make…
Mayor Dave Heilmann loses his bid for a third term against Sandra Bury.
After eight years as mayor the Dave Heilmann era in Oak Lawn has come to an end. Heilmann was defeated by challenger Sandra Bury by 754 votes, or just over seven percentage points, according to the Cook County Clerk's unofficial results. All of his slate mates also fell on Tuesday. "We share a wonderful community and I really wish them all the absolute best," Heilmann said Tuesday night. "This is the place we all chose to call home. It's not about individuals, but everyone in the community." While the mood was joyful at Bury's election results party, the near empty ball room at the Oak Lawn Hilton projected a clear contrast of fortunes. Heilmann says he gave his time in office and his most recent campaign effort everything he had. "It'…
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Jane Quinlan holds commanding lead in village clerk race; Desmond and Olejniczak lead Dist. 1 and Dist 2 races, respectively.
With 39 of 41 precincts counted in the Oak Lawn mayoral race, challenger Sandra Bury leads incumbent Dave Heilmann 5,338 to 4,671 or 53.33 percent to 46.67 percent. The uncertified results from the Cook County Clerk include early voting in today’s tallies. A supporter described the mood at the Hilton Oak Lawn, where Heilmann is awaiting election returns, as somber. Incumbent Jane Quinlan has virtually buried challenger Melissa Moran, Heilmann's running mate, in the village clerk. With 39 of 41 precincts counted, Quinlan garnerd 6,635 votes to Moran's 3,322 votes, or 66.64 percent to 33.36 percent. With five of six precincts counted in the Dist. 2 trustee race, incumbent Alex Olejniczak leads challenger Julie Miser 827 to 459 or 64.31 …
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1:11 pm on Monday, May 20, 2013
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