Odelson calls Orland Park candidate's challenge "meritless"

Election law attorney Burton S. Odelson said that although he knows Michael Davies, the Chicago Ridge trustee appointed by Circuit Court Chief Justice Tim Evans, he insisted they don't socialize and it had nothing to do with the ruling by the Orland Park Election Commission Friday night.

"Davies had nothing to do with the ruling," Odelson said. "Davies is an acquantince -- we don't socialize!!!"

The slate headed by Orland Park Mayor Dan McLaughlin, called the "Orland Park First Party," was challenge by Gerald Maher, his challenger and head of the Concerned Citizens of Orland Park. McLaughlin and village clerk David Maher, who would have sat on the election petition review committee for the village, were replaced by their colleagues, Trustees Bernard Murphy and Ed Schussler. Evans appointed Davies as a third member of the hearing held Friday night at 5:30.

As for the challenge, Odelson stressed, "The objection was BS. It was stupid, frivolous and a waste of time. The lawyer [representing the challengers] quoted from two cases in the appellate court -- which were both my cases from the 1980's. I dont care who sat on Board, there was no legal merit, plain and simple."

Maher's camp indicated Friday they did not plan to challenge the ruling in the Circuit Court, where some challenges thrown out by local election officials often end up.

"We plan to win the election," a Maher aid said.

Meanwhile, Odelson is representing challenges in other villages in elections around the region.

-- Ray Hanania
www.OrlandParker.com

Remove Todd Stroger's name from home mortgage protection bill

Todd Stroger doesn't deserve to be in office let alone defending the rights of beleaugured homeowners being hammered by the corrupt banking industry and who are facing foreclosure. Part of the problem is Stroger's fault as Cook County Board President.

Stroger has made living in Cook County so impossible by raising the sales tax rate repressively in Cook County and failing to cracxk down ont he government waste right in his own administration that he is a part of the problem. Now Stroger wants to pretend he cares about people and is going to propose legislation to House Speaker Michael J. Madigan to impose a moratorium on foreclosers in Illinois.

Does this strategy of selfish political gamesmanship sound familiar? Using a just cause to cover your unjust ass?

Former Gov. George Ryan, a convicted felon now serving tiem in jail for ripping off taxpayers, did the same thing. Faced with certain indictment for his corruption, Ryan decided to try an Ed Vrdolyak Strategy, to counter the negative corrupt image by doing something for the public good. Vrdolyak loves to advise his "clients" to do good in the face of indictment, an act that will be weighable towards public sympathy if manipulating the court system doesn't work. Vrdolyak did that in Cicero. Ryan did it in the year before his corruption pulled the rug out from under his corrupt administration when he called for a moratorium on the state Death Penalty.

While a moratorium on the death penalty is justified, Ryan didn't deserve the public praise. It was a ruse. He never cared about anyone when he was ripping everyone office as secretary of state and then as governor.

And Todd Stroger is no different. Here is a a guy who doesn't care about anyone except himself, exploiting the suffering of the people of have their homes facing foreclosure in order to remediate his own pathetic record in office.

We can see through your lousy leadership Todd. We're just not sure if we should blame you or your advisor, attorney Burton S. Odelson. We've tried to talk to odelson, but like you, he prefers to work in the dark.

Madigan should take "Stroger's" proposal and rename it the public defense of home mortgage foreclosures and approve a moratorium. It's a good idea. But the person proposing it is a loser who doesn't deserve to be in office.

-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com