Orland Park's District 135 issued a telephone alert on Sunday at 10:50 am to inform parents that a suspected case of the H1N1 Influenza Virus, more commonly called the Swine Flu Virus, has been detected at Orland Junior High School, 14855 West Avenue, which serves 6th through 8th grade children ages 11 to 14.
"The Board recommends we do not close Orland Junior High for two reasons: the student has not been in the building since last Wednesday and attendance at the school remains high. Parents who have called their children in absent for sickness have not reported flu like symptoms. Therefore, we will follow the County Health Department's recommendation and keep Orland Junior High open. Our maintenance crew is doing additional disinfection work at Orland Junior High today Sunday May 3 to insure the safest possible environment for school on Monday."
The situation at Orland Junior High school did not meet the criteria the District 135 set last week for possible closure of schools.
The District sent home a letter with all students on April 29, saying:
"In the event we have a confirmed case of the Swine influenza at any of our schools, we will close that school. In addition, if our attendance rate drops at any of our schools due to children with flu-like symptoms, we will also close that school."
The district urged residents to visit their web at http://www.orland135.org/ or call the district at 708-364-3370 with concerns or questions. (See info below)
Precautions being taken throughout Orland Park:
Christ Lutheran Church in Orland Park is making hand sanitizers available and parishioners are being urged to use them. "One hand sanitizer will be strategically placed to be used by clergy before Communion, and assistants and elders will be instructed to use it," said the Rev. Ray Rohlfs, senior administrative pastor, told the Daily Southtown. "Our Communion is distributed using individual cups, and we will take care to handle this in a very sanitary way."
Rohlfs also said worshippers will be asked to "omit hand contact" and replace it with a verbal "Peace ne with you" gesture during the "Sharing of Peace segment" of the church services.
Here is the information that the District has posted on its web site:
Have there been any cases of Swine Flu in the District? Have there been a lot of students absent?
As of May 3rd, 2009, there have been no confirmed cases of Swine Flu with any Orland School District 135 students or staff members. However, after a conversation with the Cook County Board of Health, the District learned that a student at Orland Jr. High does have a very probable Swine Flu infection.
District Administration has been charting student attendance, and all ten schools have maintained the typical attendance rate in the 90th percentile.
What are symptoms of swine flu?
Symptoms of swine flu are like regular flu symptoms and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with swine flu. A lab test is required to tell whether a person has swine flu or some other condition.
What is the District doing to prevent the spread of swine flu in the schools?
The District’s procedures to help prevent the spread of the virus in the school buildings are:
cleaning and disinfecting washrooms;
cleaning and disinfecting locker rooms;
cleaning and disinfecting computer keyboards;
cleaning and disinfecting desktops;
cleaning and disinfecting door handles;
cleaning and disinfecting shared gym equipment; and
Continuing installation of special air cleaners which prevent the spread of 99.9% of flu viruses in the buildings.
As an additional precaution, the District has made hand wipes/sanitizing solution available at all schools for lunch and upon the children’s return to the classroom.
What can parents do to help their children avoid getting swine flu or spreading it?
Remind their children about proper hygiene.
Keep their children home from school if they have flu-like symptoms.
State if the child has flu-like symptoms when calling the student in absent to allow for the most accurate track of attendance patterns. If the parent does not state the reason for reporting the child's absence, the parent will receive a call from the school. The District is implementing the same procedures for staff members who call in to request a substitute teacher due to illness.
What is the District doing about children who have flu-like symptoms?
For parents who do report their child has flu-like symptoms, the maintenance staff has used the student’s schedule to do additional cleaning and disinfecting in the classrooms that student has visited. The staff is also doing special cleaning of common areas of Orland Jr. High.
What happens if there is a confirmed case of swine flu? Will the school close? Will the whole District close? How will parents be notified?
In the event the District has a confirmed case of the swine influenza at any of the schools, the school will be closed. However, following the Cook County Board of Health’s recommendation, the District is not closing Orland Jr. High for two reasons: the student has not been in the building since Wednesday, April 29th and attendance at the school has been at the normal 96% rate. Parents who have called their children in absent for sickness have not reported flu-like symptoms. If there are new confirmed cases of swine flu, or if the attendance rate drops at any of the schools due to children with flu-like symptoms, the school will be closed. The District does not intend to close all schools if the virus affects only certain buildings.
If a closing does occur, the District will use the automated calling system Voice Reach to notify parents. The same message will also be played on the District Information Hotline (708-364-3370). Letters may continue to be sent home, and also information will be posted on the District website www.orland135.org and sent to e-news subscribers.
Who do I call for questions about swine flu?
· Parents who have questions about swine flu should contact the school nurse. Community members with questions about the District’s response should contact Community Relations Coordinator Bridget McGuiggan at 708/364-3335 or via email at bmcguiggan@orland135.org.
· For more information about swine flu, visit the Center for Disease Control at www.cdc.gov.
Showing posts with label letters to the Orland Parker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label letters to the Orland Parker. Show all posts
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Traffic cameras intended for pedestrian security and egregious violators, Chief McCarthy explains
Orland Park Police Chief Tim McCarthy said he is fully behind the idea of placing cameras at 151st and Harlem and Lagrange Roads, not to concentrate on soft-right turn drivers but mainly to insure there is security for pedestrians and to nail motorists who frequently blow through the red lights. (Click here to read the previous story?)
Another target includes motorists on 151st and LaGrange Road who are making left hand turns and who try to sneak through the red light after it changes behind cars that are waiting for the light to change. It's caused a lot of accidents.
McCarthy also said that Orland Park is supporting the lights at 159th and Harlem which were placed there by Tinley Park and are monitoring those. But no plans are in place for other traffic cameras. Yet.
McCarthy emphasized that making a soft right turn on the red light is illegal, "but that's not our main reason for putting in the cameras." In Bolingbrook and other communities, the majority of the citations have been given to cars making the right turn at lights that didn't fully stop. McCarthy hopes the cameras will help drive home the need for drivers to be more cautious. To obey the laws -- all the laws. And be more observant of pedestrians.
There is no need to rush folks.
-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com
Another target includes motorists on 151st and LaGrange Road who are making left hand turns and who try to sneak through the red light after it changes behind cars that are waiting for the light to change. It's caused a lot of accidents.
McCarthy also said that Orland Park is supporting the lights at 159th and Harlem which were placed there by Tinley Park and are monitoring those. But no plans are in place for other traffic cameras. Yet.
McCarthy emphasized that making a soft right turn on the red light is illegal, "but that's not our main reason for putting in the cameras." In Bolingbrook and other communities, the majority of the citations have been given to cars making the right turn at lights that didn't fully stop. McCarthy hopes the cameras will help drive home the need for drivers to be more cautious. To obey the laws -- all the laws. And be more observant of pedestrians.
There is no need to rush folks.
-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com
Friday, March 6, 2009
Low vote turnout in 5th District foreboding for Orland Park?
The low voter turnout in the 5th Congressional District was really shocking. Literally, 10 percent of the registered voters in the district turned out to vote this past week on Tuesday March 3 to select a candidate to lead their parties in the April 7 election for congress.
Some might say the primary election is always low and the April 7 election will have a higher voter turnout. The voters are merely waiting to let the Democrats, Republicans and Independents fight it out amongst themselves first. And, they will then go to the polls April 7 to select from that final round.
If that is true, it only shows how naive voters really are. The primary election pretty much sealed the fate on that district. Fortunately, Cook County Board Mike Quigley, who won the Democratic nomination, will almost certainly become the congressman in the seat once held by Rahm Emanuel, a very controversial former congressman who is now President Barack Obama's Chief of Staff.
What does it mean for Orland Park. This week, candidates in the village elections and township elections will be able to start putting up their campaign election signs.
The key contests are between Village President (Mayor) Dan McLaughlin and his slate versus Gerald Maher and his slate, and on the Township level between Township Supervisor Robert Maher and his slate and his challenger Paul O'Grady and his slate. And, there is an important contest to fill one trustee seat on the Orland Park Fire District. There are four candidates and one known name, Cindy Katsenes along with a young candidate Chris Ciciora.
In the past, Orland's mayoral contests have drawn strong voter participation, more than 10,000 voters (our town only edged towards 60,000 population this past year so that's a great turnout). Will it last? It takes community interest in the issues, not the fluff, and it takes money to reach the voters.
I'll get into all three elections in the coming weeks.
-- Ray Hanania
http://www.radiochicagoland.com/
Some might say the primary election is always low and the April 7 election will have a higher voter turnout. The voters are merely waiting to let the Democrats, Republicans and Independents fight it out amongst themselves first. And, they will then go to the polls April 7 to select from that final round.
If that is true, it only shows how naive voters really are. The primary election pretty much sealed the fate on that district. Fortunately, Cook County Board Mike Quigley, who won the Democratic nomination, will almost certainly become the congressman in the seat once held by Rahm Emanuel, a very controversial former congressman who is now President Barack Obama's Chief of Staff.
What does it mean for Orland Park. This week, candidates in the village elections and township elections will be able to start putting up their campaign election signs.
The key contests are between Village President (Mayor) Dan McLaughlin and his slate versus Gerald Maher and his slate, and on the Township level between Township Supervisor Robert Maher and his slate and his challenger Paul O'Grady and his slate. And, there is an important contest to fill one trustee seat on the Orland Park Fire District. There are four candidates and one known name, Cindy Katsenes along with a young candidate Chris Ciciora.
In the past, Orland's mayoral contests have drawn strong voter participation, more than 10,000 voters (our town only edged towards 60,000 population this past year so that's a great turnout). Will it last? It takes community interest in the issues, not the fluff, and it takes money to reach the voters.
I'll get into all three elections in the coming weeks.
-- Ray Hanania
http://www.radiochicagoland.com/
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Names drive many races in Orland Park and Township
Names mean a lot. It's a fact that if you have an Irish name, for example, you have a better chance of winning a spot as a judge, if you are not already appointed to one by the Chicago Democratic machine.
If you have an Arab name, chances are even before Sept. 11, 2001 in Orland Park, you couldn’t get elected to any office, not even to a racist school district board.
But the ethnicity of names is one factor in elections. The similarity of names is another.
For example, there are four people named "Maher" either in office or seeking office in Orland Park.
There is Robert Maher, the highly praised incumbent Supervisor of Orland Township. Robert Maher blew the doors off of Thomas Mahoney and ousted him from the supervisor's office in 2005. Mahoney barely beat his own predecessor Michael Brennan in 2001 – winning by only 207 votes out of more than 13,000 township votes cast. Mahoney was plagued by criticism of his performance, and is engaged in a lengthy lawsuit against Maher that I think is purely political.
Robert Maher’s brother, Gerald Maher, is running a second time against the unaccountable Village of Orland Park President (Mayor) Dan McLaughlin. Gerald Maher ran against McLaughlin in April 2001, and nearly took 30 percent of the vote at a time when McLaughlin was riding high on a great economy and high public hopes for the village.
This time things will be different for McLaughlin. The economy tanked and the Mayor has been forced to break all of his promises. But instead of standing up and forthrightly explaining his new property tax increases, fee increases, new fees for formerly free programs, the trimming of programs and his failure to better protect the village from the economic fallout of a crash in the retail market, he prefers to run government by “Happy Talk” press releases which ignore all he problems and paint a fairy tale image of the village.
Wasted money at the Bermuda Triangle development near 143rd Street and LaGrange Road, the gutting of the property tax rebate plan he implemented and promised would off-set the burden of his .75 percent sales take hike in the village make him the perfect target for ouster.
Then there is McLaughlin’s running mate. I’m not talking about the unaccountable trustees who share in McLaughlin’s arrogance. I’m talking about David Maher, the village clerk. Although David Maher and I had a brief dispute over the issue of the Open Meetings Act – which I believe he violated, but is slowly correcting without admitting a mistake – David Maher has done a good job.
His one duty is to make the village’s public records public and he hasn’t hesitated to do that. And that makes David Maher accountable, which is the only thing the public can demand from their elected officials besides honesty and doing the best job they can.
McLaughlin and his Chicago Machine cohorts from the Chicago 19th Ward – who over the years have transformed Orland Park into a satellite Chicago ward (we don’t even get garbage can lids here like they do in Chicago in exchange for votes!) – could learn from David Maher’s record.
But then, it’s not always like father and like son. David Maher’s son is Patrick Maher, the controversial and politically driven head of the Orland Park Fire Protection District, who recently decided to force senior citizens to pay when the Orland Fire Department ambulance comes to pick them up in emergencies. And he has been involved in some controversial law suits that have entangled the Village.
Who is paying for the 8 or more attorneys representing all of the defendants in the Orland Fire Protection District law suit? You should see the list of the lawyers squeezing money out of that one!
The Maher name is not unfamiliar to village residents who have lived here for a while. There was William F Mahar – slightly different spelling, the former Illinois State Senator and his father who served before him. (I should note that Bill’s brother, Tom, was my fraternity brother at Northern Illinois University and we were best friends, although we lost contact during the political years after.)
Then there are the "trickster" names that play on popular names to draw away votes.
For example, in the Orland Township elections, Donald Yunker, who I have criticized in the past but have come to like after more carefully examining his record and talking to constituents, is being challenged by “Brian Younker,” a colleague of the Orland Hills police attorney Paul O’Grady who is challenging Robert Maher for Township supervisor.
Paul O’Grady is an interesting chap, although I always look at anything carefully when dealing with controversy plague Orland Hills.
The word on the "street" is that O’Grady was picked to succeed Mayor McLaughlin, who everyone expected would retire this year. I’ve emailed O’Grady (there’s a familiar name in politics) to get his response to the widely held rumors that he was to be Orland Park’s new mayor and his response to some who believe he is too closely tied to 19th Ward politicians like the Sheehans, Joyces, and Hynes.
Regardless, this election in April is going to be a hopper.
The voter turnout in the village of Orland Park has been around 9,000 or so. And in the township, the numbers will be about 13,000. Those are the numbers to watch. We’ll help keep tabs on the campaign financing and where the money is coming from and being spent by the candidates.
And we’ll be talking about the Orland races on upcoming segments of my morning radio show on WJJG 1530 AM Radio (Monday – Friday, 8-9:30 am.) It’s broadcast live on radio and simulcast on the Internet, too, at www.RadioChicagoland.com.
(Check out this Southtown/Star story for a good rundown of the Orland area contests.)
-- Ray Hanania
http://www.orlandparker.com/
If you have an Arab name, chances are even before Sept. 11, 2001 in Orland Park, you couldn’t get elected to any office, not even to a racist school district board.
But the ethnicity of names is one factor in elections. The similarity of names is another.
For example, there are four people named "Maher" either in office or seeking office in Orland Park.
There is Robert Maher, the highly praised incumbent Supervisor of Orland Township. Robert Maher blew the doors off of Thomas Mahoney and ousted him from the supervisor's office in 2005. Mahoney barely beat his own predecessor Michael Brennan in 2001 – winning by only 207 votes out of more than 13,000 township votes cast. Mahoney was plagued by criticism of his performance, and is engaged in a lengthy lawsuit against Maher that I think is purely political.
Robert Maher’s brother, Gerald Maher, is running a second time against the unaccountable Village of Orland Park President (Mayor) Dan McLaughlin. Gerald Maher ran against McLaughlin in April 2001, and nearly took 30 percent of the vote at a time when McLaughlin was riding high on a great economy and high public hopes for the village.
This time things will be different for McLaughlin. The economy tanked and the Mayor has been forced to break all of his promises. But instead of standing up and forthrightly explaining his new property tax increases, fee increases, new fees for formerly free programs, the trimming of programs and his failure to better protect the village from the economic fallout of a crash in the retail market, he prefers to run government by “Happy Talk” press releases which ignore all he problems and paint a fairy tale image of the village.
Wasted money at the Bermuda Triangle development near 143rd Street and LaGrange Road, the gutting of the property tax rebate plan he implemented and promised would off-set the burden of his .75 percent sales take hike in the village make him the perfect target for ouster.
Then there is McLaughlin’s running mate. I’m not talking about the unaccountable trustees who share in McLaughlin’s arrogance. I’m talking about David Maher, the village clerk. Although David Maher and I had a brief dispute over the issue of the Open Meetings Act – which I believe he violated, but is slowly correcting without admitting a mistake – David Maher has done a good job.
His one duty is to make the village’s public records public and he hasn’t hesitated to do that. And that makes David Maher accountable, which is the only thing the public can demand from their elected officials besides honesty and doing the best job they can.
McLaughlin and his Chicago Machine cohorts from the Chicago 19th Ward – who over the years have transformed Orland Park into a satellite Chicago ward (we don’t even get garbage can lids here like they do in Chicago in exchange for votes!) – could learn from David Maher’s record.
But then, it’s not always like father and like son. David Maher’s son is Patrick Maher, the controversial and politically driven head of the Orland Park Fire Protection District, who recently decided to force senior citizens to pay when the Orland Fire Department ambulance comes to pick them up in emergencies. And he has been involved in some controversial law suits that have entangled the Village.
Who is paying for the 8 or more attorneys representing all of the defendants in the Orland Fire Protection District law suit? You should see the list of the lawyers squeezing money out of that one!
The Maher name is not unfamiliar to village residents who have lived here for a while. There was William F Mahar – slightly different spelling, the former Illinois State Senator and his father who served before him. (I should note that Bill’s brother, Tom, was my fraternity brother at Northern Illinois University and we were best friends, although we lost contact during the political years after.)
Then there are the "trickster" names that play on popular names to draw away votes.
For example, in the Orland Township elections, Donald Yunker, who I have criticized in the past but have come to like after more carefully examining his record and talking to constituents, is being challenged by “Brian Younker,” a colleague of the Orland Hills police attorney Paul O’Grady who is challenging Robert Maher for Township supervisor.
Paul O’Grady is an interesting chap, although I always look at anything carefully when dealing with controversy plague Orland Hills.
The word on the "street" is that O’Grady was picked to succeed Mayor McLaughlin, who everyone expected would retire this year. I’ve emailed O’Grady (there’s a familiar name in politics) to get his response to the widely held rumors that he was to be Orland Park’s new mayor and his response to some who believe he is too closely tied to 19th Ward politicians like the Sheehans, Joyces, and Hynes.
Regardless, this election in April is going to be a hopper.
The voter turnout in the village of Orland Park has been around 9,000 or so. And in the township, the numbers will be about 13,000. Those are the numbers to watch. We’ll help keep tabs on the campaign financing and where the money is coming from and being spent by the candidates.
And we’ll be talking about the Orland races on upcoming segments of my morning radio show on WJJG 1530 AM Radio (Monday – Friday, 8-9:30 am.) It’s broadcast live on radio and simulcast on the Internet, too, at www.RadioChicagoland.com.
(Check out this Southtown/Star story for a good rundown of the Orland area contests.)
-- Ray Hanania
http://www.orlandparker.com/
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Village backs down from Vehicle Sticker hike as they head towards election
Well, you can thank this column for helping to force a delay in the Village plans to increase at least one more fee, the cost of a vehicle sticker.
A little birdie in the village told me that they had hoped to push this through, but the Finance Committee decided to "vote it down" in the face of growing anger with Mayor Dan McLaughlin, and Trustee Brad O'Halloran's strategy to raise new-money by raising taxes and fees in Orland Park to make up for their poor planning in the face of the current economic crisis.
Orland Park is one of the communities hit hardest by the recession because the village has put all of its revenue eggs in one big retail-driven basket driving more and more retail stores into the community hoping to reap revenue from sales taxes. It was a great strategy as long as the economy played along. But as soon as it tanked, it turned out to be a bad policy with more and more retails tores closing all over town. As retails sales revenues tank, McLaughlin and his 19th Ward -driven pals on the village board have been forced to find new ways to raise money and they haven't hesitated to raise property taxes, fees, make residents pay for services that have long been free, and cut many other programs.
The vehicle sticker increase was a minor one but a symbolic one. O'Halloran reportedly told the Finance Committee Monday that now was not the time because of the situation with so many residents feeling the economic pinch.
A day late and a dollar short, Precinct Captain Brad!
These guys have never delivered on one major promise. And now they are facing a challenge in the April 7 election from independent Gerald Maher, no relation to the village clerk David Maher or the village clerk's son in the Fire Protection District Patrick Maher. Gerald Maher, the mayoral candidate, promises better fiscal management and longterm planning so the village doesn't find itself in this horrific financial crisis again.
"They none too happy that you were tipped off about the increase and all they have been hearing from your column were complaints about the taxes, fees and now this," a little birdie tweeted.
People. When you have some independent voices on the village board and we end this Chicago Machine Style (19th Ward) political oppression we have in orland Park and on the board, maybe we will see some balance and better policies and an improved direction.
The biggest problem with McLaughlin is not that he is a bad person. It's not the arrogance of the village trustees, who think they are "Gods" instead of lowly little suburban trustees. It's that they are NOT ACCOUNTABLE and have no reason to be accountable.
Having voices on the village board is good for the people of Orland Park. If the officials won't be accountable voluntarily, you have the chance to force them to be accountable and force them to improve their leadership.
Don't believe all the PR spin that passes for "journalism" around here. Fluff is fun but when it comes to your homes, it is unhelpful. Someone needs to keep their feet to the fire and make then answer the tough questions instead of pretending everything is so great.
These are tough times. It's nice that someone finally admitted it. Maybe even possibly acknowledge they could have taken other actions to protect our town?
Besides accountability, transparency is also a necessity in Orland Park.
Here's my prediction. If they win handsdown with the help of 19th Ward precinct captains from Chicago -- you might want to be kind and help them because there will be a lot of lost people wandering around Orland Park in the next few weeks looking for streets and addresses in our spaghetti-loop road map -- they will come back and hammer Orland Park with the biggest, largest, unprecedented tax and fee increases this village has ever seen. And, they will completely eliminate the property tax rebate, instead of gutting it down to nothing as they have.
Just my prediction!
-- Ray Hanania
www.OrlandParker.com
A little birdie in the village told me that they had hoped to push this through, but the Finance Committee decided to "vote it down" in the face of growing anger with Mayor Dan McLaughlin, and Trustee Brad O'Halloran's strategy to raise new-money by raising taxes and fees in Orland Park to make up for their poor planning in the face of the current economic crisis.
Orland Park is one of the communities hit hardest by the recession because the village has put all of its revenue eggs in one big retail-driven basket driving more and more retail stores into the community hoping to reap revenue from sales taxes. It was a great strategy as long as the economy played along. But as soon as it tanked, it turned out to be a bad policy with more and more retails tores closing all over town. As retails sales revenues tank, McLaughlin and his 19th Ward -driven pals on the village board have been forced to find new ways to raise money and they haven't hesitated to raise property taxes, fees, make residents pay for services that have long been free, and cut many other programs.
The vehicle sticker increase was a minor one but a symbolic one. O'Halloran reportedly told the Finance Committee Monday that now was not the time because of the situation with so many residents feeling the economic pinch.
A day late and a dollar short, Precinct Captain Brad!
These guys have never delivered on one major promise. And now they are facing a challenge in the April 7 election from independent Gerald Maher, no relation to the village clerk David Maher or the village clerk's son in the Fire Protection District Patrick Maher. Gerald Maher, the mayoral candidate, promises better fiscal management and longterm planning so the village doesn't find itself in this horrific financial crisis again.
"They none too happy that you were tipped off about the increase and all they have been hearing from your column were complaints about the taxes, fees and now this," a little birdie tweeted.
People. When you have some independent voices on the village board and we end this Chicago Machine Style (19th Ward) political oppression we have in orland Park and on the board, maybe we will see some balance and better policies and an improved direction.
The biggest problem with McLaughlin is not that he is a bad person. It's not the arrogance of the village trustees, who think they are "Gods" instead of lowly little suburban trustees. It's that they are NOT ACCOUNTABLE and have no reason to be accountable.
Having voices on the village board is good for the people of Orland Park. If the officials won't be accountable voluntarily, you have the chance to force them to be accountable and force them to improve their leadership.
Don't believe all the PR spin that passes for "journalism" around here. Fluff is fun but when it comes to your homes, it is unhelpful. Someone needs to keep their feet to the fire and make then answer the tough questions instead of pretending everything is so great.
These are tough times. It's nice that someone finally admitted it. Maybe even possibly acknowledge they could have taken other actions to protect our town?
Besides accountability, transparency is also a necessity in Orland Park.
Here's my prediction. If they win handsdown with the help of 19th Ward precinct captains from Chicago -- you might want to be kind and help them because there will be a lot of lost people wandering around Orland Park in the next few weeks looking for streets and addresses in our spaghetti-loop road map -- they will come back and hammer Orland Park with the biggest, largest, unprecedented tax and fee increases this village has ever seen. And, they will completely eliminate the property tax rebate, instead of gutting it down to nothing as they have.
Just my prediction!
-- Ray Hanania
www.OrlandParker.com
Thursday, December 18, 2008
I'll take the mayor's word he did not ask for any special treatment
By the time Mayor McLaughlin returned home from work on Tuesday night, after a nearly 5 hour drive and in one of the worst snow storms we'ved had in a while, it was close to 10 pm, he explained in an email. He said he shoveled his driveway, the way everyone did, and he said the street in front of his house looked like it was NOT yet plowed.
He insisted that he does not ask for special treatment, and I believe him.
Still, when I drove by his house (maybe around 7:45 after shoveling my driveway and trudging through my street that wasn't plowed until very late, too), I saw his side of the street WAS plowed. I also drove past the home of the village manager, but his street wasn't plowed, although, like I wrote, a plow DID go by and do an unusual thing, plowing down the intersecting street and then turning left instead of right onto his street -- who knows, maybe they don't know where the village manager lives yet.
But, like I said, it could very well be some overzealous village employee -- I've run into a few, and by the way they are very rude (I'd use another adjective but this is a family-read blog) -- or who knows, a neighbor with a huge street plow.
I had wished I could have checked out the streets in front of the homes of all the trustees, too, because while I focused on McLaughlin, it's the trustees who I really don't "trust." They refuse to be accountable, are always contentious, can't deal with any form of criticism whatsoever, and think that their (here's another spot for a bad adjective) doesn't stink.
Well, it does stink. They're not doing enough to explain things to the public. They're happy with the "happy talk" coverage. (I can see them posing with their index fingers pointing into their cheeks with big cheshire cat grins). Meanwhile, property taxes HAVE gone up. Village fees HAVE gone up. Attendance at village board meetings -- according to the dozens of people who reach out to me -- HAS gone down. (I'm not interested in hanging out there and taking their attitudes, either.) And the accountability on the village HAS gone down, too.
Politicians always think it is personal. It's not. I just want answers. I want explanations. I also want the village board meetings broadcast live on Comcast Cable instead of that junk that is now broadcast (and I'll skip over one of the biggest attitude employees in the village for now) on the village's channel.
I love the Village Web Site. (Although the email address for the village manager doesn't work. But knowing the MIS staff there, they will get on it right away because that's how they have always been, one team the mayor, the trustees and the village CAN count on -- of course, I say something nice about someone, and suddenly their careers take a dive. I criticize some goof who think's she is a "big shot" and she gets a career promotion.)
We're not stupid, just because we village residents don't hang out at the little restaurant parties and the fatcat contributors. Most of us in Orland Park are working families who are worried about how to pay the bills. A few are even struggling with their mortgages. We know what's going on and just because the "unTRUSTees" don't feel an obligation to give us real answers instead of the blah, blah, blah they write in the village newsletter, doesn't mean we, the citizens in Orland Park, don't see what's happening. We see it.
I'll give McLaughlin the benefit of the doubt on this one, but if I were mayor I heard that anyone plowed my street before the rest of the streets, I'd be hopping mad. And I would call in the uncle of the brother of the 19th ward resident whose cousin probably leaned on a pal who probably works in the village or the neighbor with a plow to clean the street, and I would read them the riot act!
Because people do what they THINK the government officials want them to do. If employees think they are supposed to suck up, they will suck up. But if they think the government wants them to do a great job -- and there are MANY employees at the Village who do a GREAT JOB, a few even reach out) -- then everyone who works for the village will do a great job, too.
-- Ray Hanania
http://www.orlandparker.com/
By the way, many residents in Orland Park like this blog, even if Jim Dodge and a few of the other trustees do not -- maybe he wants to get a local reporter from a now crippled dommunity newspaper that is slowly doing a vanishing act to unfairly attack me in print (without even calling me for a comment) the way he did the last time I authored an Orland Park blog ...
He insisted that he does not ask for special treatment, and I believe him.
Still, when I drove by his house (maybe around 7:45 after shoveling my driveway and trudging through my street that wasn't plowed until very late, too), I saw his side of the street WAS plowed. I also drove past the home of the village manager, but his street wasn't plowed, although, like I wrote, a plow DID go by and do an unusual thing, plowing down the intersecting street and then turning left instead of right onto his street -- who knows, maybe they don't know where the village manager lives yet.
But, like I said, it could very well be some overzealous village employee -- I've run into a few, and by the way they are very rude (I'd use another adjective but this is a family-read blog) -- or who knows, a neighbor with a huge street plow.
I had wished I could have checked out the streets in front of the homes of all the trustees, too, because while I focused on McLaughlin, it's the trustees who I really don't "trust." They refuse to be accountable, are always contentious, can't deal with any form of criticism whatsoever, and think that their (here's another spot for a bad adjective) doesn't stink.
Well, it does stink. They're not doing enough to explain things to the public. They're happy with the "happy talk" coverage. (I can see them posing with their index fingers pointing into their cheeks with big cheshire cat grins). Meanwhile, property taxes HAVE gone up. Village fees HAVE gone up. Attendance at village board meetings -- according to the dozens of people who reach out to me -- HAS gone down. (I'm not interested in hanging out there and taking their attitudes, either.) And the accountability on the village HAS gone down, too.
Politicians always think it is personal. It's not. I just want answers. I want explanations. I also want the village board meetings broadcast live on Comcast Cable instead of that junk that is now broadcast (and I'll skip over one of the biggest attitude employees in the village for now) on the village's channel.
I love the Village Web Site. (Although the email address for the village manager doesn't work. But knowing the MIS staff there, they will get on it right away because that's how they have always been, one team the mayor, the trustees and the village CAN count on -- of course, I say something nice about someone, and suddenly their careers take a dive. I criticize some goof who think's she is a "big shot" and she gets a career promotion.)
We're not stupid, just because we village residents don't hang out at the little restaurant parties and the fatcat contributors. Most of us in Orland Park are working families who are worried about how to pay the bills. A few are even struggling with their mortgages. We know what's going on and just because the "unTRUSTees" don't feel an obligation to give us real answers instead of the blah, blah, blah they write in the village newsletter, doesn't mean we, the citizens in Orland Park, don't see what's happening. We see it.
I'll give McLaughlin the benefit of the doubt on this one, but if I were mayor I heard that anyone plowed my street before the rest of the streets, I'd be hopping mad. And I would call in the uncle of the brother of the 19th ward resident whose cousin probably leaned on a pal who probably works in the village or the neighbor with a plow to clean the street, and I would read them the riot act!
Because people do what they THINK the government officials want them to do. If employees think they are supposed to suck up, they will suck up. But if they think the government wants them to do a great job -- and there are MANY employees at the Village who do a GREAT JOB, a few even reach out) -- then everyone who works for the village will do a great job, too.
-- Ray Hanania
http://www.orlandparker.com/
By the way, many residents in Orland Park like this blog, even if Jim Dodge and a few of the other trustees do not -- maybe he wants to get a local reporter from a now crippled dommunity newspaper that is slowly doing a vanishing act to unfairly attack me in print (without even calling me for a comment) the way he did the last time I authored an Orland Park blog ...
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Hey, McLaughlin is the mayor I guess -- when it comes to getting your street plowed in Orland Park
(I'll be talking about this one on my radio show this morning. WJJG 1530 AM Radio, and on the Internet ... click HERE to listen ... 8 - 9:30 am this morning)
I guess when you are the mayor, people tend to do favors for you. Like, when you are an employee of the Public Works Department and you are a) told to plow the mayor's street or b) you do it because, hey, he's "da mayor."
You know where I am going with this, right?
I came home last night around 6:45 pm and saw that my street wasn't plowed. (It was plowed later on that night, one side, across from my side.)
So I figured, I'd go check some of the other streets in town, like the one in front of Village Manager Paul Grimes' house, and also the street in front of the mayor's house. Well, a plow went past Grimes block, but not in front of his house. (Grimes is new, so maybe the drivers don't know where he lives.)
But Mayor McLaughlin has been around for a while, on Oakley Street, and they know where he lives. And so do his neighbors. I drove down 143rd and when I got to Oakley I turned and saw it wasn't plowed. Neither side. I kept driving to 144th street. Same thing. In fact, those two blocks were much like the rest of the village. Very few streets were plowed at all.
And I then I got to 145th Street, the start of the mayor's block. Wow. I couldn't believe it. I looked and saw that his side of the street -- let me repeat that -- his side of the street was plowed clean. The person who plowed the street didn't do the whole street, but started at 146th street and plowed north on the right (east side). You could see the clumps of snow that form when plowed snow splashes on the curb side. The street was smooth, easy to drive on.
(My street when I went to check on McLaughlin's street.)
Whomever plowed continued to the end of the street to 145th, and then crossed but then stopped plowing right at the beginning of the corner of the block.
Now, in fairness to the mayor, his driveway wasn't plowed. And I didn't see the plow truck, although a neighbor who tipped me, did. Big. Red. Village property.
Did the mayor order his street plowed? Or, was it just an enthusiastic employee trying to suck up. It's an election year, after all.
But you would think that a good mayor would want to make sure that before his street is plowed, maybe you might try plowing at least half of the rest of the side streets in Orland Park, which were a real mess.
Keep in mind that 159th and 143rd are plowed by orange Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) trucks, not red Village of Orland Park (VOP) trucks.
"Usually, they plow the whole street, both sides," one neighbor near the mayor said as he snowplowed his own driveway. "Yep. That's the mayor's house. Right there. Two stories. Beautiful, huh?"
Just my thoughts exactly. Beautiful!
(I emailed the mayor asking for his comments. If I get a response, I'll post it, in fairness, after all. Until then, I have to go out and finish cleaning the street in front of my house. Although who knows, after I'm done cleaning the driveway, a plow will come by and pack it back full of snow.)
(McLaughlin's street.)
-- Ray Hanania
http://www.radiochicagoland.com/
I guess when you are the mayor, people tend to do favors for you. Like, when you are an employee of the Public Works Department and you are a) told to plow the mayor's street or b) you do it because, hey, he's "da mayor."
You know where I am going with this, right?
I came home last night around 6:45 pm and saw that my street wasn't plowed. (It was plowed later on that night, one side, across from my side.)
So I figured, I'd go check some of the other streets in town, like the one in front of Village Manager Paul Grimes' house, and also the street in front of the mayor's house. Well, a plow went past Grimes block, but not in front of his house. (Grimes is new, so maybe the drivers don't know where he lives.)
But Mayor McLaughlin has been around for a while, on Oakley Street, and they know where he lives. And so do his neighbors. I drove down 143rd and when I got to Oakley I turned and saw it wasn't plowed. Neither side. I kept driving to 144th street. Same thing. In fact, those two blocks were much like the rest of the village. Very few streets were plowed at all.
And I then I got to 145th Street, the start of the mayor's block. Wow. I couldn't believe it. I looked and saw that his side of the street -- let me repeat that -- his side of the street was plowed clean. The person who plowed the street didn't do the whole street, but started at 146th street and plowed north on the right (east side). You could see the clumps of snow that form when plowed snow splashes on the curb side. The street was smooth, easy to drive on.
(My street when I went to check on McLaughlin's street.)
Whomever plowed continued to the end of the street to 145th, and then crossed but then stopped plowing right at the beginning of the corner of the block.
Now, in fairness to the mayor, his driveway wasn't plowed. And I didn't see the plow truck, although a neighbor who tipped me, did. Big. Red. Village property.
Did the mayor order his street plowed? Or, was it just an enthusiastic employee trying to suck up. It's an election year, after all.
But you would think that a good mayor would want to make sure that before his street is plowed, maybe you might try plowing at least half of the rest of the side streets in Orland Park, which were a real mess.
Keep in mind that 159th and 143rd are plowed by orange Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) trucks, not red Village of Orland Park (VOP) trucks.
"Usually, they plow the whole street, both sides," one neighbor near the mayor said as he snowplowed his own driveway. "Yep. That's the mayor's house. Right there. Two stories. Beautiful, huh?"
Just my thoughts exactly. Beautiful!
(I emailed the mayor asking for his comments. If I get a response, I'll post it, in fairness, after all. Until then, I have to go out and finish cleaning the street in front of my house. Although who knows, after I'm done cleaning the driveway, a plow will come by and pack it back full of snow.)
(McLaughlin's street.)
-- Ray Hanania
http://www.radiochicagoland.com/
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Orland Park has one of the region's best web sites
Although Orland Park may suffer from Elected Official arrogance and lack of accountability, it does have one of the best and most informed web sites in the region.
The web site is: http://www.orland-park.il.us/
The latest service among much of the information available on the site includes a new feature that allows you to sign up for notices from very specific village agencies and interests. I went there, signed up, and immediately got confirmation that I was now subscribed to 25 services -- notified by 25 emails, which might be much.
Yet, the web site offers comprehensive menu of information. It's well designed. Efficient. Full of information.
Of course, the web site can only offer what the village officials want it to offer, and th efact is the village is not vewry good about being honest or forthright about issues and controversies int he village, like the property tax hike that will soon take effect because most residents don't seem to really care about the rising property taxes, and rising village service fees across-the-board.
Still, you can't blame the web site managers or the MIS department for that. They do what they can with what they have and they are doing a great job.
If you need information, visit the web site.
Someday soon, hopefully, the Village Clerk David P. Maher will do a better job of providing public information through the web site. Right now you can get the agendas of meetings online. But, the minutes of meetings seem scant, and run about a month behind the actual meeting. And, in truth, as a journalist for 32 years, I have found that village officials always skewer what they report about controversial public meetings, always making themselves look better than they are.
Hey, maybe instead of the excessively repeated self-promotion ont he village Comcast Channel that we get over and over an dover again, maybe we could have a live broadcast and repeat broadcast uncensored or our village board meetings. So few people attend now, why would they? It might open doors to all kinds of problems if you watched how our Mayor Dan McLaughlin conducts his meetings. It might push citizens to want to get involved, and I don't think that is really what our elected officials want.
(Most of the trustees are so arrogant and unresponsive. They only respond to those who support them and like them, not to those who question their actions. Why should they, right? They are working for themselves, not the best interests of the village or its citizens.)
You can't trust your elected officials to be honest. You have to force them to be honest by vigilant monitoring of what they do. And for most of us who work for a living, also policing our politicall unscrupulous elected officials can be a fulltime and unwanted job.
-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com
The web site is: http://www.orland-park.il.us/
The latest service among much of the information available on the site includes a new feature that allows you to sign up for notices from very specific village agencies and interests. I went there, signed up, and immediately got confirmation that I was now subscribed to 25 services -- notified by 25 emails, which might be much.
Yet, the web site offers comprehensive menu of information. It's well designed. Efficient. Full of information.
Of course, the web site can only offer what the village officials want it to offer, and th efact is the village is not vewry good about being honest or forthright about issues and controversies int he village, like the property tax hike that will soon take effect because most residents don't seem to really care about the rising property taxes, and rising village service fees across-the-board.
Still, you can't blame the web site managers or the MIS department for that. They do what they can with what they have and they are doing a great job.
If you need information, visit the web site.
Someday soon, hopefully, the Village Clerk David P. Maher will do a better job of providing public information through the web site. Right now you can get the agendas of meetings online. But, the minutes of meetings seem scant, and run about a month behind the actual meeting. And, in truth, as a journalist for 32 years, I have found that village officials always skewer what they report about controversial public meetings, always making themselves look better than they are.
Hey, maybe instead of the excessively repeated self-promotion ont he village Comcast Channel that we get over and over an dover again, maybe we could have a live broadcast and repeat broadcast uncensored or our village board meetings. So few people attend now, why would they? It might open doors to all kinds of problems if you watched how our Mayor Dan McLaughlin conducts his meetings. It might push citizens to want to get involved, and I don't think that is really what our elected officials want.
(Most of the trustees are so arrogant and unresponsive. They only respond to those who support them and like them, not to those who question their actions. Why should they, right? They are working for themselves, not the best interests of the village or its citizens.)
You can't trust your elected officials to be honest. You have to force them to be honest by vigilant monitoring of what they do. And for most of us who work for a living, also policing our politicall unscrupulous elected officials can be a fulltime and unwanted job.
-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com
Monday, November 10, 2008
Inundated with letters and thanks ...
I am humbled by how many people now read this blog in Orland Park and by all the email letters I am receiving. Thank you.
I try to reply to every email. I know that Orland Park is run by a vindictive dictator so I am careful when I do post a letter I will not post your name to protect you from Mayor McLaughlin's wrath. The guy is just mean.
But clearly, from the emails from within the and from the employees, there is a LOT of dissastifaction in Camelot.
Residents are upset about the rising fees, and the taxes, and the mayor's broken promise on the tax rebate. You should be. You deserve better.
If Orland Park is going to be the great town all the fluff and PR claims it already is, the mayor will have to do a better job of managing the excess waste in government and trim the fat, starting with his office.
It is amazing how the Mayor is responding directly to this little blog by pushing fluff press releases in the local newspapers that talk about how great he is and how great his programs are and how great everything he does is.
Congratulations Your Greatness!
-- Ray Hanania
http://www.orlandparker.com/
Also, sign up for my new newsletter for my radio show, columns and blogs. Go to
http://www.TheMediaOasis.com/tv/Newsletter.htm
I try to reply to every email. I know that Orland Park is run by a vindictive dictator so I am careful when I do post a letter I will not post your name to protect you from Mayor McLaughlin's wrath. The guy is just mean.
But clearly, from the emails from within the and from the employees, there is a LOT of dissastifaction in Camelot.
Residents are upset about the rising fees, and the taxes, and the mayor's broken promise on the tax rebate. You should be. You deserve better.
If Orland Park is going to be the great town all the fluff and PR claims it already is, the mayor will have to do a better job of managing the excess waste in government and trim the fat, starting with his office.
It is amazing how the Mayor is responding directly to this little blog by pushing fluff press releases in the local newspapers that talk about how great he is and how great his programs are and how great everything he does is.
Congratulations Your Greatness!
-- Ray Hanania
http://www.orlandparker.com/
Also, sign up for my new newsletter for my radio show, columns and blogs. Go to
http://www.TheMediaOasis.com/tv/Newsletter.htm
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Orland Park quietly scores another achievement -- Borders Book Store rated among top 10 in the World
This is a breaking news story, of the sorts we're used to reading in Orland Park, but it is surprising considering that clearly Orland Park's elected officials don't know how to count. And if they don't know how to count, then obviously, they probably don't read much, unless they are reading their own press releases.
But it is official, at least from the mouths of the store clerks at the Orland Park Borders Book Store at 15260 S. LaGrange Road is in fact one of the TOP 10 book stores in the World. That's it. THE WORLD.
That's way "huge-er" (that's not a word, but village officials can't read anyway so who cares?) than the village slipping from 45 to 92 in the ranking of the Best Places to Live in America from "Money Magazine," which costs a lot of money to buy, by the way.
One reason is they nearly set a record for the number of copies of the Harry Potter sales. The other reason is that people in Orland Park are far smarter than village officials take them to be. We read. We read a lot. We read through the PR crap thown at us from the village officials.
(I know. You're asking. How did I turn a story about Borders Book Stores into a commentary on the sad state of affairs in Orland Park politics? Well, they're both important!)
So congratulations Borders of Orland Park -- where I hang out a lot when I am not eating that Bestever Steak Skillet breakfast at the soon to be relocated (hopefully) Plaza Cafe ... and which also carries my book "Arabs of Chicagoland."
You deserve it.
But it is official, at least from the mouths of the store clerks at the Orland Park Borders Book Store at 15260 S. LaGrange Road is in fact one of the TOP 10 book stores in the World. That's it. THE WORLD.
That's way "huge-er" (that's not a word, but village officials can't read anyway so who cares?) than the village slipping from 45 to 92 in the ranking of the Best Places to Live in America from "Money Magazine," which costs a lot of money to buy, by the way.
One reason is they nearly set a record for the number of copies of the Harry Potter sales. The other reason is that people in Orland Park are far smarter than village officials take them to be. We read. We read a lot. We read through the PR crap thown at us from the village officials.
(I know. You're asking. How did I turn a story about Borders Book Stores into a commentary on the sad state of affairs in Orland Park politics? Well, they're both important!)
So congratulations Borders of Orland Park -- where I hang out a lot when I am not eating that Bestever Steak Skillet breakfast at the soon to be relocated (hopefully) Plaza Cafe ... and which also carries my book "Arabs of Chicagoland."
You deserve it.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Grass gets attention in Orland Park, even when it's not officially "Tall Grass"
The amount of email letters and even some calls on the Orland Park Police Department's unruly lawn problem (Some language has been cleaned up to keep this site PG):
- Great web site. I love the local news. The other papers just do not tackle any controversy. It's good to see your site. The OPPD center is an eyesore. I drive by it everyday wondering the same thing. Keep it up. TJ West Avenue
- As a police officer, I know there is much talk at the station about your blog reference. The most interesting gossip is speculation that Chief Tim plans to run for Mayor. Forget about the senate, but Mayor is possible. Anonymous. PO
- Tim McCarthy for mayor? Yes!
- Cut the damn grass! I see the mayor's lawn is always cut nice and neat. Check that work out sometimes. LB, Glenlake Dr
- I thought it was an English Garden, but that doesn't sit well with our Irish Mayor. Debbie, Mallard Drive
- I love the site! Shake-em up Ray. RD
- Whatever happened between you and Mayor Dan? You were pals once and you served on the Civic Center Commission. Was it the Mike Brennan battle for the Orland Township? Will you be writing about that topic?
We love email here at the OrlandParker.com ... send it directly to me, if you don't want to post or subscribe to the Blogger.com system at rayhanania@comcast.net. We'll keep it all anonymous but you can identify your street name if you want it published.
BY THE WAY ... I saw two workers digging through the weeds in front of the Orland Park Police Department site this morning. The OrlandParker.com is read ... even better than the former site we ran several years ago when we were attacked by McLaughlin and Dodge. They workers didn't look too happy sloshing around in the drizzle and pulling the large plants out and putting them in a wheel barrel.
But, the McCarthy rumors are swirling around the community. I've heard them from a dozen residents and a few friends in City Hall. McLaughlin "retiring?" I don't think so, but that rumor is prompting the McCarthy for public office rumors and to be honest, McCarthy would make the town's BEST Mayor. I hope that either he does it or, if McLaughlin clings to office (as all mayors-for-life do) that Chief McCarthy will run for the U.S. Senate seat. No one is more recognizable than McCarthy, who is considered a heor for his act of saving the life of a president.
Ray Hanania
www.TheOrlandParker.com
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