We’ve been trying to figure out Ald. Joe Sweeney (1st) since he took his seat on the City Council as newly-elected Mayor Dave Schmidt’s appointee to fill the Council seat Schmidt was vacating for the big chair at The Horseshoe.
Sweeney has called himself a “conservative.” That term has become relatively meaningless over the years but, had it not, Sweeney’s brand of conservatism would have rendered it so – as his votes on various issues over the past three years seem about as “conservative” as…oh…a drunken Secret Service agent in a Colombian brothel?
For example, Sweeney seems to favor virtually unfettered spending on anything that smacks of “public safety,” whether it be raises and benefits for police and fire employees, an enlargement and renovation to the current police station, the latest railroad Crossing Cam, or everything in between. He also has supported raises for non-safety, non-union City employees – perhaps because they provide handy in-house “comparables” that the collective bargaining agents for his favorite unionized public safety employees can use to leverage the same or higher raises from the City or an arbitrator.
So when it came time Monday night (04/16/12) for the vote to sustain Schmidt’s veto of approx. $6,000 worth of firefighters contract amendments that were ostensibly entered into in order to settle a grievance over paid holidays provided by their new contract, we counted Sweeney as a sure vote – along with Ald. Rich DiPietro (2nd), who rarely has seen tax dollars he can’t find a way to spend – to over-ride that veto. True to form, Sweeney blubbered about how the vetoed settlement would end up going to “no-win” arbitration and cost the City money.
But then Sweeney kicked it up a notch with a petty political announcement that he would vote to sustain Schmidt’s veto…if Schmidt would agree to personally reimburse the City for any and all expenses the City incurs if it were to lose the arbitration.
Understandably, Schmidt declined.
But when Sweeney’s name was called first on the sustain/over-ride vote, he oddly invoked Roberts Rules of Order and passed on his vote. DiPietro predictably voted to over-ride before Ald. Jim Smith (3rd) also passed, explaining later that he “just did it to annoy Joe.” For reasons neither of them explained, Alds. Sal Raspanti (4th) and Marty Maloney (7th) also voted to over-ride, while Ald. Dan Knight (5th) predictably voted to sustain.
That made it 3-1 for over-ride when Sweeney cast his over-ride vote.
When Smith voted to sustain, however, the over-ride effort failed to get the necessary 5-vote super-majority because Ald Tom Bernick (6th), a certain over-ride vote, was…wait for it…absent yet again.
By our unofficial count, Bernick has been MIA from Council meetings significantly more in his first year in office than the previous record holder, former Ald. Robert Ryan (5th), had been when he was cited for excessive absenteeism by the Park Ridge Herald-Advocate in both an article and an editorial in its June 19, 2008, edition. Bernick’s absences may leave the Sixth Ward unrepresented, but we happen to think that MIA Tommy contributes more by his absence than by his presence, as Schmidt’s sustained veto demonstrates.
But Sweeney’s crass political grandstanding was not just the mindless buffoonery it appeared at casual glance.
His comments and his vote sent an unmistakable message to the City’s unionized employees that Sweeney will readily grab his ankles and vote to give those employees whatever they want, rather than risk going to arbitration. And if Monday night’s veto vote and/or their prior support of a 2% across-the-board salary increase line-item in the new budget are any indication, so will DiPietro, Raspanti and Maloney.
Earlier Monday evening, Schmidt read his budget veto message that properly recognized this year’s budgetary accomplishments while wisely noting the many financial perils which remain. That’s why, despite the new budget’s projection of the largest “real” surplus in at least a decade, $462,000, Schmidt felt compelled to line-item veto another $480,000 of non-essential spending, and then warned about that still not being enough.
Finance Director Allison Stutts, the diligent architect of this new budget (along with Council Finance & Budget Chair Knight), echoed Schmidt’s concerns, pointing out to TribLocal reporter Jon Davis that Schmidt’s vetoes will only help with one year and “won’t solve…any of the problems we have with the Uptown TIF.”
None of those discouraging words phased DiPietro, however. After years of irresponsibly rubber-stamping deficits as both an alderman and the previous Finance & Budget chair, he promptly voiced his disagreement with all of Schmidt’s line-item vetoes, singling out that line item belonging to DiPietro’s favorite private charity, Center of Concern: “I think there is a legitimate responsibility for the community to help human-needs services like Center of Concern.”
So do we, Richie D. Which is why it’s well past time you and your current and former politician buddies who fill the ranks of CofC’s board of directors and advisory board (including the newest addition, former 5th Ward ald. Rich Whalen) started running some real fundraisers instead of putting yet another involuntary and arbitrary CofC “donation” on the taxpayers’ tab.
As for Sweeney odd, we suggest he stop advertising his willingness to give away the store to the City’s employees. While he’s at it, he should come up with some ways to save the taxpayers’ money instead of more ways to spend it. And if he wants to prove how serious he was with his idea that City officials guarantee the adverse financial consequences of their erroneous decisions, he should put his own “John Hancock” behind each of the mayor’s line-item budget vetoes Sweeney intends to over-ride on May 7.
Or, if that’s too rich for starters, he can instead guarantee what should have been the City’s half of the first $20,000 of this year’s Taste of Park Ridge profits.
How about it, Sweens?
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13 comments so far
The election to throw out some of these guys can’t come soon enough.
EDITOR’S NOTE: April 2, 2013.
I can’t begin to understand Ald. Sweeney. One week he is for something. The next week he is against without explanation. To be honest, he reminds me of Jeff Dunham’s “Walter.”
http://www.orble.com/jeff-dunham-and-walter-vids-included/
EDITOR’S NOTE: Walter’s more consistent. And he tends to make more sense.
From our perspective, it gets back to what, if any, “principles” drive these individuals. In the case of Sweeney (and others), we frankly can’t discern them because there appears to be no consistency in the positions they take.
4:16am… that presumes there are candidates that will run against “some of these guys” you want to throw out.
One might suggest that if you feel so strongly that you consider a run or encourage someone capable of doing so.
And, unfortunately, if “one of those guys” is Sweeney… I think you will need to wait until April 2015. I think the April 2013 local ballot will elect a Mayor and the Aldermen of the 2nd, 4th and 6th Wards (Rich DiPietro, Sal Rispanti and Tom Bernick).
EDITOR’S NOTE: Good and correct points, all.
News broke this week that the Youth Campus in Sweeney’s ward will close its doors. This could set off one of the greatest scrambles for local real estate since Uptown. What will be Sweeney’s role?
EDITOR’S NOTE: We think Sweeney’s already got more on his plate with ordinary City governance than he can handle, so why should he have any special “role” on the Youth Campus redevelopment? Do you want PR to become Chicago, where each alderman gets to wet his/her “beak” for approving the deals that go down in his/her ward?
We understand that the Park District might be interested in turning the Youth Campus into a companion park for Northeast, if the Park District can afford it. Otherwise, we suspect there will be no dearth of prospective developer; and probably also no dearth of cockamamie ideas.
Bernick may have missed Monday’s meeting, but I hear he blew into the P and Z and especially the O’Hare Commission meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday like the Tasmanian Devil. To paraphrase Dean Wormer: “being childish, arrogant and insulting is no way to go through life.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Bernick is proving to be a small-scale force of nature. However, exactly what he’s trying to accomplish, and why, remains to be seen.
PW, re: Sweeney Odd and the Youth Campus, no, I wasn’t suggesting he have a role, I was expressing fear that he would have one. In your response you mentioned “cockamamie ideas” and that’s exactly what scares me. In any case we need to keep an eye on that one.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We suspect that, as in most cases where incompetent public officials don’t interfere with market forces, private developers will have a variety of ideas for the Youth Campus property. Whether those ideas are good for the community and/or comport with its character can be judged if/when they are presented.
I applaud Ald. Sweeney for supporting our first rsponders in the police and fire departments. The negativity of this blog is the kind of thing that discourages people from serving in those departments. Who wants to risk their life when they are constantly vilified by this blog and many of its commentators.
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you consider it “negativity” to demand fiscal responsibility in the management of the police and fire departments, then we admit to being guilty as charged. And, as we understand it, there is always a large number of applicants for every vacancy in the Park Ridge police and fire departments who clearly aren’t being discouraged by anything this blog has been publishing.
Yo, PubPup — do you think the best interests of Park Ridge residents would be best served by having the Park District buy this large parcel of land, raze the many old buildings on it (except for the protected Historical Society building)and turn it into what you call “a companion park for Northeast” (Park), thereby protecting one of the last big parcels of potentially open land in the City? Or let the developers build houses similar to the McMansions already in the neighborhood and keep that property on the tax rolls, to improve the City’s bottom line? Do you know if the Youth Campus even paid property taxes?
EDITOR’S NOTE: We don’t believe the Youth Campus pays taxes, but we do not claim to know with certainty.
Until we see the Park District’s and any developers’ plans for the Youth Campus, we’re not about to speculate on what’s best for the community. We believe sound arguments can be made for both open space/park land and for additional homes and the taxes they generate. But neither one, in the abstract, carries the day for us at this time.
7:18am… c’mon, you are kidding right?
“The negativity of this blog is the kind of thing that discourages people from serving in those departments.”
Introduce us to one… just one police or fire candidate that was so discouraged by “this blog” that they refused to serve in one of those departments.
That statement is a kin to the one we hear so often about the Taste of Park Ridge and how it is a “signature event” and “defines the character of the community”.
Where do people come up with this crap?
EDITOR’S NOTE: From the folks who derive personal advantage from spreading this manure. Which just toes to show that the “Big Lie” strategy retains its vitality at all levels of government and politics.
4:16 a.m. wants some of the current aldermen thrown out. These aldermen replaced others that you and others were very critical of, now these aren’t good enough either. I think the current aldermen are a big improvement over the old ones, but some people are never satisfied I guess.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Count us among those that aren’t “satisfied” with the current crop, although you can also count us among those who think the new crop is a significant improvement over the old – as two straight General Fund surpluses after several years of million dollar deficits demonstrates.
Mayor Schmidt has made a solid case for being the best mayor since Marty Butler. Sweeney’s no improvement over…himself, or over his recent predecessors. DiPietro remains the tax-borrow-and-spender he’s been since 1995. Smith might be an improvement over Bach, but that depends on which Smitty shows up on any given day. Raspanti gets the solid nod over Allegretti, but we’d sure like to see him turn it up a couple of notches to where he could/should be. Knight, big, over Ryan…and Baldi, Anderson, Disher, and Huening before him. Bernick makes us appreciate Tom Carey. And Maloney, a lot like Raspanti, gets the nod over Wsol but hopefully will also realize more of the potential we see in him.
So, all told, the new guys are better than the old – but there’s no reason for anybody who cares about this City and its future to be anything close to “satisfied.”
I didn’t live here when Butler was mayor, but Mayor Schmidt has been the first mayor since then to try to make government more efficient and less expensive. And it sounds like Ms. Stutts is the best finance director the city has had. Keep up the good work, people.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We agree on both counts.
What use for the “youth campus”?? And how can we do without breaking the bank? Let’s see: Niles has a better police station than we do… so we want to out-do them by building a new one at staggering expense. Niles has a better library building than we do… so we want to out-do them with a bigger, more expensive one. Our Niles envy runs high in this burg. Well, I’ve known a few youngsters who go East to the Niles pool facilities because they find PR’s less than fulfilling. Heck: with the Caddy dealership property empty, and the “youth campus” empty, I’ve got a great idea to put Niles in the shade and make us some Big Bucks: water parks! Imagine two GREAT water parks, complete with amusement rides and steam calliopes honking out happy tunes. Put one at the “youth campus” and the other on the Caddy property at Hinkley Field and I’ll bet folks from Niles will be green with envy when their kids come racing over to PR for the fun! It won’t cost us a dime to build these facilities, because I’ll bet we can get some corporation from Baraboo, WI, to set up these parks (no TIF needed, I’ll bet) and share the revenue with PR (that is, if we can get someone to write up a decent contract for the deal. Good luck with that.)Let’s start a contest to see who can come up with the best theme and name for these facilities.
EDITOR’S NOTE: If that’s not farce you’re a very sick individual.
Carey set the bat pretty low. And you appreciate him over Bernick?
And Smith with a nod over Bach? Bach was no Winston Churchill but Smith is a little kooky and is sometimes observed sleeping (or concentrating really hatd) at meetings.
I am not sure I understand your scoring system.
EDITOR’S NOTE: We don’t know about where Carey set the “bat,” but we’ll agree he set the bar pretty low. Unfortunately, Bernick – when he actually shows up – almost always finds ways to limbo under that bar, usually accompanied by silly explanations that make his mantra “I’m a businessman” sound almost profound.
Smith most certainly IS “a little kooky.” But when he’s awake and not discombobulated by sunspot activity or slight fluctuations in the earth’s magnetic field, he can occasionally get something right – even for what may be the wrong reason.
Bach wasn’t even a Winston cigarette. The quintessential Bach was demonstrated by his telling Bill Napleton that he would not buy another Cadillac from him because of Napleton’s disrespect for the Council back in January 2008, but then almost immmediately voting to give Napleton $2.4 Million of tax dollars for environmental clean-up money and sales-tax sharing for his since-shuttered dealership. As we wrote in our 01.30.08 post: “In other words, Bach won’t give Napleton $40 grand of his own money, but he gladly gave Napleton a whopping $2.4 Million of our money!”
Smith hasn’t done anything nearly that boneheaded or disrespectful to the taxpayer…so far.
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