Two items in today’s Park Ridge Journal could be Exhibits A and A-1 for why Park Ridge voters deserve at least the 8 mayoral debates Ald. Dave Schmidt (1st Ward) proposed, instead of the maximum 4 that Mayor Howard “The Coward” Frimark prefers. 

Exhibit A is a Page 5 article about the candidates’ views on all things O’Hare, including its expansion, new runway 9L27R, the O’Hare Residents for Environmental Safety & Trust (“ORD-REST”), the O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission (“ONCC”), and whether either or both of them could have done more to help address the problems posed by the new runway. (“Mayor Shoots Back After Schmidt Allegations”) 

You should read the article and judge for yourself who makes the most honest, reasoned and plausible arguments – and whether Schmidt is unfairly casting blame or Frimark is merely shirking responsibility.  We note, however, that Frimark does not dispute Schmidt’s contention that he (Frimark) didn’t attend but one ONCC meeting from the time he became mayor until after the new runway opened in November.  And Frimark’s excuse that he “was not allowed to be on that group [the ONCC]” by the former City Council rings hollow in light of the fact that, after the Council was cut in half by the Frimark-initiated referendum that put the Council in the hands of a majority of Frimark alderpuppets in May 2007, he appointed Don “Air Marshall” Bach as ONCC liaison instead of going to any of those meetings himself. 

One thing that article makes clear, however, is that the issue of how Park Ridge should have dealt with O’Hare Airport, and how it should deal with O’Hare going forward, could and should be the topic of an entire mayoral debate all by itself.  But don’t expect that to happen with no more than four debates on the horizon. 

Exhibit A-1 is a close to full-page letter to the editor from Alderpuppet Jim “Chicken Little” Allegretti, which reads like a paid political advertisement for Mayor Frimark.  That’s not surprising given the fact that Allegretti contributed $300 to Frimark’s campaign fund a few months before Frimark appointed him as his replacement 4th Ward alderman back in June 2005 – without either of them bothering to mention such an interesting and relevant fact at his Council confirmation hearing, before that contribution had been publicly reported and could have been discovered by the Council members.  Curiously, Allegretti tossed another $200 contribution into Frimark’s fund about a month after his appointment.  

Already this election cycle Allegretti has upped the ante with a $1,000 contribution to the Frimark campaign, so it’s no surprise Allegretti is one of Frimark’s attack dogs (a Chihuahua?) nipping at Schmidt’s ankles. So with his and “Air Marshall” Bach’s letters already having been published, we can assume that Alderpuppets Carey’s, DiPietro’s and Ryan’s can’t be far behind – all of them raising questions about Schmidt’s character and candidacy. And we’re sure a number of “ordinary” citizens will write letters questioning Frimark’s character and candidacy.  

But the voters and taxpayers of Park Ridge would be far better served by the candidates’ debating their qualifications and their positions on the issues in person, face to face, instead of in print via dueling press releases and letters from surrogates.  Unfortunately, Howard “The Coward” Frimark has already shown that he’s not about to let that happen any more than he absolutely has to, and then only in “structured” formats. 

Our December 8, 2008, post, “While Park Ridge Slept,” criticized Mayor Frimark and the rest of our City officials for being asleep at the wheel for the past several years while the City of Chicago, the FAA, and the airlines moved forward with the construction of $500 million-plus runway 9L/27R. 

Today we address another example of City government sleep-walking past another issue that could have a significant impact on our community: The casino that likely will be built at the northwest corner of River Road and Devon, in Des Plaines but on the Park Ridge border near Maine South High School.

When the State of Illinois announced in late December that Midwest Gaming had won the State’s 10th license for a casino in Des Plaines, Frimark gave a basic ho-hum.  “I don’t see it having a real negative effect,” he stated.  Back then, he even sounded like the casino might be a good thing, talking about how it might create jobs and help the local economy. 

To the extent that a few residents had expressed concerns about the planned casino’s proximity to Maine South and its potential for increasing traffic congestion and criminal activity, however, Frimark casually indicated that he would sit down with both the Illinois Gaming Board and Des Plaines Mayor Tony Arredia to discuss those concerns, making it sound like Park Ridge could still have some effect on the project.

Wrong!

As Sleeping Howard and the City Council somnambulists discovered last Monday night (Jan. 26), the Des Plaines casino for all intents and purposes is a done deal.  And, according to Illinois Gaming Board Chief Legal Counsel Michael Fries, it became a done deal on December 22, following a series of at least 11 public meetings and hearings since December 2007 at which Des Plaines’ pursuit of the last casino license was discussed.  Fries also reported that the City of Park Ridge was not represented at any Gaming Board meetings, nor did the City or any of its residents even submit any correspondence to the Gaming Board raising questions or objections to the casino.    

What was our City government doing during that time?

It appears that Frimark and 1st Ward Ald. Dave Schmidt were in the process of commencing their campaigns for mayor during the tail end of that time period.  And, as well chronicled on this site, Frimark was preoccupied with: trying to cut sweetheart deals for campaign contributors; trying to buy up private land for a $16.5 million-and-counting new police station that he was hoping to build without an advisory referendum; struggling to help the Park Ridge Ministerial Association open a PADS homeless shelter free from City regulation; and dodging responsibility for being MIA on the new O’Hare runway.  

As for the rest of our City Council members?  To hear Frimark Alderpuppet (and Frimark nominating petition signature gatherer and Frimark campaign contributor [pdf]) Don “Air Marshall” Bach tell it, they never saw the casino coming. 

The Air Marshall seemed to be caught as unaware of the casino as he previously seemed to be of the possibility that the airlines might actually start flying a lot of planes in and out of O’Hare on the newly-completed $500 million-plus runway, despite his having spent the past year or so going to the monthly meetings of the O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission as the City’s designated alternate (to Frimark) ONCC representative:

“Even though this was discussed, there was no inkling for citizens in Park Ridge to know that it would end up in Des Plaines until October,” Bach complained about the casino to Fries last Monday night.

Frankly, folks, we’re more than a little tired of how City government under Mayor Frimark and the Alderpuppets ignores things that could greatly affect our property values and our quality of life while paying rapt attention to much smaller matters where some “special interest” or another is involved. 

Since the number of Park Ridge residents expressing reservations about the casino has increased, however, Frimark has been busy trying to close the barn door after the horse has departed – telling the Park Ridge Journal in pseudo-Biblical terms that he had “convey[ed] unto” Mayor Arredia that “the casino really has no benefit to us,” even as Frimark began lowering citizen expectations of any kind of quick deal with Des Plaines over financial concessions by pointing out that Arredia is leaving office in May and that he (Frimark) doesn’t know whether the new mayor is “going to be pro casino or against it.”

Hey, Howard…we’ll give you 10 to 1 odds and take “pro.”  How much can we put you down for?