Radice Contract Re-Do, Red Light Camera, 911 Dispatcher Settlement Top Village Board Agenda

Get out the ear plugs. Tonight’s (Tuesday’s) village board meeting has all the signs of a potential gavel-buster with electrifying speeches shored up from the unusually subdued board summit earlier this month.

Read the Pete Seeger Memorial “If I Had A Hammer” gavel-busting agenda.

So warm up the DVRs. Hopefully some of the hot air generated from tonight's village board meeting will chase away our polar vortex.

Here’s what we’ll be watching:

Now Appearing - An update by Oak Lawn Treasurer Pat O’Donnell on the village’s structural deficit. Bring coffee.

And the winner is … - Oak Lawn trustees will be reviewing the short list of proposals from red- light photo enforcement vendors. The village hopes to generate an additional $200,000 in revenue by adding two red light cameras to the the four already in place at four Oak Lawn intersections. The plan also calls for more aggressive collection of citations issued to red-light runners. The village manager is seeking trustees for their approval to prepare a new contract.

Re-do of the Radice contract - The village board will vote on a motion to approve a new personal services agreement with Steve Radice, target of a steamed Patch op-ed from former mayor Dave Heilmann earlier this month that Radice’s company was awarded an “insider’s contract.” Radice resigned from the Oak Lawn Planning and Development Commission last October when he accepted a part-time position as a village building inspector. He’s also been serving as an economic development wooing potential retailers to come to Oak Lawn. A portion of Radice’s salary was paid to his company, Bring It Inc., so the village wouldn’t have to provide health benefits, he said. Radice will be issued a personal services contract and paid as 1099 contractor. He still isn’t getting health insurance.

Settlement with 911 Dispatchers - Oak Lawn’s emergency telecommunications center was handed over to a private contractor last week after the village board voted 4-2 in November to outsource the 911 call center. Village Manager Larry Deetjen revealed at the last board meeting that it had tentatively settled all disputes and grievances with the dispatchers’ union after a nine-hour meeting with an arbitrator on Jan. 14. In turn, the Metropolitan Alliance of Police is expected to drop its lawsuit against the village. All the details, including a settlement figure are expected to be revealed tonight.

Appointments - Attorney Kevin Cunningham as village prosecutor and Odelson and Sterk Ltd., e.g. Burt Odelson’s law firm, as adjudicator and counsel for the police and fire commission. This should be interesting.

What’s not on the agenda? Expect a mention of Village Manager Larry Deetjen’s latest traffic mishap involving a village-owned vehicle. Deetjen confirmed that he sideswiped another vehicle while out on a snow-related call last Thursday. This time, Deetjen remained with the car and insisted on a Breathalyzer test, reportedly blowing a triple zero (that poor Crown Vic); and a case of cold feet.

The Oak Lawn Village Board meets at 7:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at Village Hall, 9446 S. Raymond Dr. The meetings are free and open to the public.