Late December we published three posts (12.05.12, 12.13.12 and 12.19.12) critical of the Park Ridge Park District’s arrogant approach to spending over $7 million – of which over $6 million was borrowed through the issuance of non-referendum bonds that depleted the District’s non-referendum bonding power – on the new Centennial water park, a facility that can be used only about 3 months a year.

That’s about as dumb an idea as building an outdoor ice rink in Orlando.

Our main beef about that facility, however, wasn’t its stupidity.  Or its cost.  Or the way it was being financed.  Or the substantial change it works on Centennial Park.

It was that the Park Board, while insisting that the project had overwhelming support from the entire community, refused to hold an advisory referendum to let the community prove its support for spending that kind of money, and undertaking that kind of debt, on that kind of project – especially while another $13 million of bonded debt for the Youth Campus park project was already on the horizon.

That’s almost $20 million of bonded debt on projects for which the District’s version of “business plans” look like they started with a “break even” result followed by revenue and expense numbers pulled out of thin air to reverse-engineer themselves into that “break even” result.

And there was no bigger cheerleader for both projects than Park Commissioner and Board member Mel Thillens.  Not only was he 100% behind the no-referendum water park, but he was a leader of the Our Parks Legacy campaign – which, by the way, he was legally entitled to be, notwithstanding his position on the Park Board.

But that was then.

Now Thillens is running as the Republican candidate for state representative against Democrat Marty Moylan.  And suddenly Candidate Thillens has found religion, talking that fiscally-responsible talk expected from Republican candidates…even the fake ones – that he never talked as Park Commissioner Thillens.

So when you go to his “About Mel” campaign web page you’ll find him touting himself as the candidate whose parents taught him “[t]o not spend what we don’t have” – despite his whole-hearted support for spending almost $20 million of bonded debt (a/k/a, money “we don’t have”) that will burden the District’s taxpayers for the next 15 years.

Ironically, borrowing money for unnecessary, frivolous and even wasteful reasons is a hallmark of our General Assembly in Springfield, so Mel could fit right in.

As an ally and tool of Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan.

Candidate Thlllens also brags on his web page about how he “respect[s] the taxpayers…[and] the people of our community too much to fall so short on promises while bleeding them dry.”  Just last December, however, Commissioner Thillens didn’t respect those taxpayers enough to give them even an advisory vote on the Centennial water park – nor did he seem to think too much about them before sticking them with a 5%-plus tax increase to help cover the debt service on those non-referendum bonds.

But that was then.

Now Candidate Thillens is saying he regrets that tax increase vote, and he is balking at the District’s proposed 2.8% tax hike Park District Superintendent Gayle Mountcastle is pushing because, according to her, “[t]here’s so many things out there that we’re hearing the public wants, but we’re not able to give it to them because we’re not building up the capital” in the District’s slush fund.  Mountcastle would like to add a few more achievements to her resume and see what bigger, higher paying park district might come a-courting.

After having supported the borrowing of almost $20 million in just one year for two non-essential (and one downright foolish) amenities that are unlikely to even pay the cost of their own operations, and having voted to increase taxes by over 5%, Candidate Thillens is now questioning a $15,000 electric gate at the District’s garage, according to a story in this week’s Herald-Advocate (“Park Ridge Park District proposes 2.8 percent tax-levy hike,” 10.22.13).

Now that Commissioner Thillens has become Candidate Thillens, expect to hear a lot more double talk from him as he tries to sound fiscally responsible while still pandering to the special interests who want whatever Park District facilities and programs they can get other people to pay for.  And there’s still more than a year left before Candidate Thillens can go back to being plain old Commissioner Thillens.

Or state representative Thillens.

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