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 (…
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Dr. Sandra Bury gets sworn in as Oak Lawn Mayor, passes ordinance creating an ethics and legislative committee.
Taking the oath of office in a resolute voice, Dr. Sandra Bury was sworn in as the new village president of Oak Lawn, bringing a bitter end to the Unity Party-years that often resembled a bad reality TV show instead with board members constant bickering. Sign up for the Oak Lawn Patch newsletter and follow us on Facebook. The new village elected officials took their oaths after sweeping into office last month, beating a two-term mayor and his slate of unknowns. Former Mayor Dave Heilmann was a no-show for the transfer of power to his successor and four new trustees. Trustee Carol Quinlan (Dist. 5) had mentioned at the last village board meeting that she would be out of town on business for Tuesday’s swearing in. No explanation was offered …
Families and supporters pack Oak Lawn Village Hall to watch the changing of the guard.
There was a lot of swearing at Tuesday's meeting of the Oak Lawn Village Board -- swearing in that is. New trustees were seated after being administered their oaths of office by fellow Oak Lawn resident and Cook County Judge Denise K. Filan. Jane Quinlan held her mother's hand as she was sworn into her third term as the village clerk. Sign up for Oak Lawn Patch breaking news alerts and follow us on Facebook. Terry Vorderer said becoming the fourth district trustee and sitting on the dais was the "culimination of a dream" after his many years of watching village board meetings as an Oak Lawn police officer. During one of the oaths, Alex Olejniczak, had to correct Filan when she attempted to swear him in as the Dist. 1 trustee. "You mean …
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Out with the old, in with the new, village board members will change seats and get down to business.
A new era in Oak Lawn begins as the village’s first woman to be elected mayor takes her oath of office at tonight’s (Tuesday’s) regular village board meeting. Cook County Judge Denise K. Filan will administer the oath of office to the new village board members, including political novice Dr. Sandra Bury, who beat two-term incumbent Mayor Dave Heilmann last month. Sign up for the Oak Lawn Patch newsletter and follow us on Facebook. In their last action together as a village board, the Heilmann and outgoing trustees Cindy Trautsch (Dist. 1), Tom Duhig (Dist. 4) and Tom Phelan (Dist. 6) will approve the minutes from last month’s regular and special village board meetings. Room has been left on tonight’s agenda for remarks from the outgoing …
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
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…
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…
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
It's the last Oak Lawn Village Board meeting that Mayor Heilmann and Trustees Trautsch, Duhig and Phelan have to suffer gladly.
It’s the last dance and last chance for romance and love for the outgoing Oak Lawn Village Board. Tuesday (April 23) is the final village board meeting for outgoing Mayor Dave Heilmann and trustees Cynthia Trautsch (Dist. 1), Tom Duhig (Dist 4.) and Tom Phelan (Dist. 6). The mayor and trustees lost their re-election bids earlier this month; Phelan is leaving office. Read the Donna Summer tribute village board agenda for April 23. The new village board—including mayor-elect Sandra Bury, plus trustee elects Tim Desmond (Dist. 1), Terry Vorderer (Dist 4) and Mike Carberry (Dist. 6) – will be sworn in on May 14. The retained Village Clerk Jane Quinlan and Trustee Alex Olejniczak (Dist. 2) will also be sworn in that evening. Here’s what we’ll …
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Monday, April 15, 2013
A precinct-by-precinct breakdown of Oak Lawn's Dist. 1, Dist. 2, Dist. 4 and Dist. 6 races, April 9, 2013.
CAJ
3:39 pm on Saturday, May 25, 2013
If what's alleged in Werner's mailing is true, should anyone be surprised? Why is Werner acting surprised? She’s on a political committee. She doesn’t know how the game is played? Every candidate has to make deals in order to gain money and support. And when they assume power, of course they have a political hit list with folks to eliminate or replace. Politics is about cutting-throats and … more ›