May 26 Village Council Meeting

Sharon Daly wrote: let's assume we have more in common than not and while we may disagree on some issues, our intentions are honest. and so, when tellalian wants a council discussion to resolve what he perceives as a problem, that's ok w/me. i may disagree w/him, but i don't question his motives. this action seems very consistent w/how he believes govt should work. as i said two years ago, i'd like more discussion on the council. i want to know how my elected officials think and how they justify their positions.

Lofty principles, Sharon. The problems arise when the people you're dealing with believe:

1. They don't need to explain themselves, or;

2. Their motives are unjustifiable and even illegal, or;

3. They're not bright enough to explain how they arrived at their "conclusions."

We have, unfortunately, good reason to question the motives of some in local government. And they often have, unfortunately, good reason not to want to explain things in open discussion.

That's been the thinking behind public discourse in this village since long before you or I moved here. The Forest Park Thought Process-- the FoPaThoPro for short-- is riddled with so many mental qualifications and hidden agendas, that an honest, open and unlimited discussion has to feel utterly alien.

Sharon Daly wrote: i hope not lofty, but positive and pragmatic. living in a small town should be one of our strengths - accessible and flexible.

One of the reasons I wanted to buy in FP and not Chicago.

citizen wrote: hey, martini. andrew sullivan on keith tonight. that should be wacky :)

Oh you mean Dr. Tiller the Baby Killer?  Jesus Christ surfing on  cracker!  I did see a clip of the guy from Operation Rescue that called Tiller a mass murderer and said that while they didn't condone his murder, they did feel he got what he deserved.

citizen wrote: i just watched the VC meeting in question. i saw the makings of a very important, fundamental discussion of how government works/should work. i say, 'more of this, please!' the discussion was mainly between calderone and tellalian - both, as we know, very different people with very different views as to how decisions are made for the greater good. i also thought the topic, while difficult, was valid. i don't get why this town is so afraid of thorough, sometimes heated, discussion. that's how democracy works. yes?

Late to the party.

Boy oh Boy.

Very early in the Curry flap, I think I heard MATC say that the commissioners are held to a higher standard. What higher standard would that be?

Pissy, pithy and dismissive. This one goes down in the anals(sic) of FoPa

Mr. D wrote: Not to beat a dead horse, but where someone like you or Telallian sees "the makings of a very important, fundamental discussion of how government works/should work," people like Lil MAC sees a bunch of nosey goo-goos probing into things he sees as his personal fiefdom, asking questions he doesn't want raised, let alone answered.

Council approval was required for the Curry Whitewashing. If there was no NEED to take the matter any further, why would it go before the council?
BECAUSE it needed council approval.

The ONLY mention that the work was done without the required permits in the agenda packet was an abridged summary of comments made at the ZAH.

Nowhere was it mentioned that Commissioner Curry is the head of the building department or that in his experience as Dept. Head and Zoning Commission Chair, he understood the requirements to obtain permits BEFORE work commenced and the penalties for non-compliance. And absolutely nowhere is there ANY record of the "higher standard" MATC mentioned.

I'm sure the shed builder of Troost Av is glad the village isn't punitive.
The garage lady up on Washington St., the "rehabber" at Randolph and Brown...Conundrum/Amy who couldn't IMPROVE after the fire, the only owner of 1101 Lathrop, the McConachie's and the rest of the non-friends or even acquaintances of MATC who've been through the wringer...

Back to back oversights by the oversighters? The glaring appearance of special treatment? Right, that's not worthy of Comm. Curry's response. Instead, citizens get a 20 minute lecture from the mayor to mind our own business. And what a shock, ZERO mention of said discussion in the minutes of the May 26th meeting of the village council. So now, the ONLY official record that work was done without permits is in the ZAH summary and that only because 3 people attended the ZAH and questioned the process.

YowZ.A.H. Now a bloop hit looks like a screaming line drive in the box score. Congrats MATC.