Last week, both local newspapers published a letter of Fifth Ward Alderpuppet Robert Ryan. The Journal printed an unabridged version, the Herald-Advocate a shorter one.
Proclaiming that he would “not sink to the depths of name-calling or misrepresentation,” Ryan – in the lengthier Journal version [pdf] – promptly condemned fellow alderman and mayoral candidate Dave Schmidt (1st Ward) as “the biggest obstacle to moving our community forward.”
Well, so much for Ryan not engaging in name-calling.
We could rebut or question – with documentation – many of Ryan’s assertions, but we’ll leave that to Schmidt and others in the course of the mayoral campaign. We do feel obligated, however, to address two of Ryan’s points which sure seem like misrepresentations to us.
The first is Ryan’s contention that Frimark “is worthy of our trust.” We could write paragraphs explaining why that statement distorts the meaning of both “worthy” and “trust,” but we already have: “You Can’t Tell The Players Without A Scorecard – Part 1”, “Dumb And Dumber”, “Shameless”, “Why Are We Bidding Against Ourselves?” and “Friends For Frimark”, to name just a few.
But where Ryan goes beyond the pale is with his contention that Schmidt did something “illegal” by “disclosing closed session minutes to the public on personnel issues.”
First of all, accusing an elected official of “illegal” conduct is not just simple political disagreement. It’s a charge that should be taken with utmost seriousness by the accuser, the accused, and the people of the community they serve. So a vague and conclusory accusation like Ryan’s is problematic for a number of reasons, starting with its lack of detail.
It’s time to put up or shut up, Mr. Ryan.
What specific “personnel” information did Schmidt disclose, Mr. Ryan? And how, specifically, was that disclosure “illegal”? And if it was “illegal,” Mr. Ryan, why didn’t you and your fellow Alderpuppets file a complaint about it with the proper authorities?
As we have previously written ( in “Witch Hunt” and “Frimark’s Secret Land Deals No Bargain For Taxpayers,” for example), the Illinois Open Meetings Act (“IOMA”) – which governs under what circumstances a public body can conduct its otherwise “public” meeting in closed session – does not require that any Council discussion or debate be held in closed session, nor does it require that whatever discussion or debate goes on in closed session be treated as confidential or secret. So Ryan’s saying that Schmidt’s disclosure of some unidentified information related to a closed session meeting was “illegal” – without explanation – isn’t just irresponsible and vile, it’s just plain wrong.
But having followed Mr. Ryan’s career in public office – both on the District 64 Board and on the City Council – “just plain wrong” is often about as good as he gets.
14 comments so far
Ryan’s letter “roughly” translated……
“I just wrote what I was told to write”
Good one, C&PD!
I had the same specific question about Ryan’s letter — WHAT personnel issues? It’s not like someone’s personnel file was exposed to the public? Am I missing something?
…that letter probably went down more like the following hypothetical voicemail message left at Ryan’s home:
“Hey Bob. Linda Ski here. I wanted to let you know I just wrote and sent in a letter to the papers and put your name on it, just like I did for Jimbo and Donny. Howie appreciates your support and will continue to take care of you…talk with you later.”
C’mon Dave – you can’t let Ryan lie to the papers and the public about you and take it sitting down. I know you’re a gentleman and will probably take the high road here, focusing on the issues – but you do need to set the record straight about such accusations.
Pubdog – Kudos to you for always having the facts and documentation to support what you state.
Since Frimark enticed a majority of Park Ridge voters to sign onto his ridiculous cut-the-council referendum and then packed what was left of the council with his stooges, I have tried to follow city government a lot closer. That’s why I can make the following comments about Robert Ryan’s letter.
1. Schmidt didn’t vote “against the welfare of our senior citizens” on Executive Plaza, he voted against a variance to put 8 extra units there. It was the DEVELOPER (assisted by Frimark alderclowns Ryan, Allegretti, Carey and DiPietro) who cynically held “the welfare of our senior citizens” hostage in order to squeeze 8 more units out of the project.
2. Schmidt gets the credit or blame for having “scared away PADS” only if Ryan claims that Schmidt controls not only the Planning & Zoning Commission (which voted 7-2 to recommend regulating homeless shelters) but also the City Council which voted 7-0 (including Ryan) to endorse the P&Z recommedation.
3. While the new O’Hare runways may have been approved while Ron Wietecha was still the mayor, construction on the newest one didn’t start until Frimark was elected mayor. So why did do nothing until it was built and operating before deciding to begin “a new dialogue with the O’Hare Modernization Program”?
4. “Mayor Frimark has served our community unselfishly for over 30 years”? There is no bigger self-promoter in all of Park Ridge than Howard Frimark, which is why the next unselfish thing Frimark does will be his first.
One thing is clear to me. Another four hears of Frimark and his stooges and our very own version of “Bedford Falls” will become “Potterville.”
Kudos Watchdog. I agree with Hoover above too. I am so sick of the politicians and them making their sweetheart deals behind closed doors.
God forbid a representative comes along who really knows what that means and throws the doors open on the dealers. Then the fangs come out from these people who have long pretended to be pillars of the community.
Robert Ryan is a fake and a phony and he should be ashamed of his letter but he probably doesn’t have enough sense to know that.
Can someone please answer my question about personnel issues? What if anything did Schmidt supposedly expose to the light that was in someone’s personnel file?
AWT3:30,
I think yours in an excellent question. I also think it’s a question you will have to ask directly of Alderman Ryan, as it is highly unlikely Alderman Ryan will answer your question here; this being an open, public forum and not much the sort of thing Alderman Ryan appears to prefer.
Personally, I cannot imagine which voices in his head Mr. Ryan was hearing when he either wrote and/or signed his letter, because I am unaware of any disclosure of closed session discussions that could be said to have violated any trust or privacy issues that relate to personnel. And I am entirely unaware of anything that could even be construed as illegal conduct on the part of Alderman Schmidt.
Are you wondering right now if Robert is saying to himself “what the hell was I thinking?” when I signed my name to that.
Hmmm…….Naaaaaa. He doesn’t think.
If he didn’t have that British accent (that seems to impress the more superficial listeners), nobody would give him the time of day because he’s a real lightweight when it comes to anything of substance. He’s always looking to pawn off the tough decisions on experts or committees or anybody.
That’s it!! The entire ward was duped by the british accent!!
Nah, probably just you were, anon.
Last night at City Hall Ryan pulled his typical stunt of asking what other communities do about capping their debt. Far be it from Ryan to actually have studied the issue and come up with his own thoughts on the matter, he seemed to have no ideas of his own and was just looking for an easy way out.
Anonymous 02.23.09 5:14 pm called it right: “Lightweight.”
Thanks for those links back to your previous posts. I had forgotten about Frimark’s deal with the EOP variance, the 720 Garden situation, the Napleton deal, etc. With Howard as mayor, everything’s for sale.
Has anyone been in the fifth ward? Schmidt signs are everywhere. Maybe Ryan could write letters for each of the other Alderman too.
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