Good post. Nobody can afford to “not be into politics” since it — ‘specially the Supremes — hae everything to do with your most intimate life decisions and activities. A democracy — if we can keep it? Starts with what you’ve said here.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Franklin quote was: “A republic, if you can keep it.”

Having grown up in Chicago I saw how ignorance and self interest combined to make “the City that Worked” only for certain special interests while the neighborhoods got nothing. After moving to Park Ridge I expected that people would be more knowledgeable and involved in things. I was wrong.

I pretty much know only what I read in the two newspapers, this blog, in the Spokesman and the D-64 take home. Yet I seem to be more informed than most people I talk to. That is not encouraging.

EDITOR’S NOTE: From our experience, if you read both papers, the Spokesman and the take-homes you most definitely are more informed than most. And, no, it is “not encouraging.”

How funny that the editor of this blog is part of the same Herald Advocate interview as Laura Enright. And Ms. Enright’s Facebook page shows her and the Advocate’s Jennifer Johnson making snide comments about the editor like sorority sisters talking about somebody’s bad date.

EDITOR’S NOTE: No shortage of irony there.

Ms. Enright is wrong (SURPRISE!) about this editor not visiting the Library Saturday (and/or Sunday) afternoons in the winter. But in her defense, his editor confines his non-meeting Library time to the second floor main reading room, working (on his own laptop) or reading magazines. So if Ms. Enright actually was working on any of those Saturdays (or Sundays) anywhere but in the main reading room, she might not have seen him reading magazines and copying articles on those ten-cents-a-page copy machines.

As for the candy comments, the editor is guilty as charged: he regularly indulges in several pieces whenever he comes to those 7:00 p.m. meetings directly from the METRA train without having had dinner – which is virtually always. Sometimes it’s just to tide him over until a late dinner, sometimes the candy IS dinner. Frankly, he’d prefer those peeled baby carrots, celery sticks or sugar snap peas, but he’s not one to complain about superficial things like that.

As for Ms. Johnson’s comments, her hostility toward this editor – and this mayor and certain members of this City Council (in contrast to the previous mayor and his alderpuppets) – is pretty well known to anybody who’s been paying attention; and pretty readily discernible from what she reports (and doesn’t) and how she reports it. We assume some of that hostility stems from the City’s austerity measures and their effects on City expenditures, especially the Public Works Dept. – where we understand a close member of her family works, which would explain why the City’s recent negotiations with the Public Works employees union have been covered and reported by other H-A reporters to avoid a conflict of interest or appearance of impropriety.

Justice in the life and conduct of the State is possible only as first it resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens.–Plato

EDITOR’S NOTE: Exactly!

Whoa, Jennifer Johnson doesn’t like Public Watchdog?

I just want to correct your Editor’s Note in response to Anonymous from May 4th at 8:51 a.m. You referred to “the City’s austerity measures”. Austerity? Really?

The word “austerity” has become a synonym for any slight modicum of fiscal restraint whatsoever. Real austerity would be actual cuts in spending.

Instead, the most restraint we can hope for — at all levels of government — is “cuts” in the amount of spending increases, e.g., we’ll increase spending “only” 3% instead of 8%.

There is no austerity being practiced at any level of government in Illinois, including Park Ridge. But it will hit us like a ton of bricks if we continue to pretend that there’s no problem with public finances.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Good point, FWT. Not accelerating quite as quickly is not the same as slowing down.

The editor of this blog is often a pain, but at least half the time it’s because he’s telling us painful stuff we don’t want to hear. I consider myself his loyal opposition on a bunch of topics but we have literally no one else with his brainpower and willingness to dig; certainly not any of the so-called actual media. You don’t have to accept his analyses, but he does provide the facts on which to make one’s own analysis. Feel free to extract the facts and ignore the spin, but let’s recognize an exceedingly valuable — and unfortunately at this point unique — resource for what he brings to our community. Nothing else comes close.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Thank you: we try. And this editor can only wish he actually had the “brainpower” you attribute to him.

Good to see Mr. Barton can move from one candidate to the next. Birds of a feather. Good choice Mel.

http://desplaines.patch.com/groups/opinion/p/state-rep-candidate-elected-president-of-park-board?fb_action_ids=10201837371520891&fb_action_types=patch-app%3Awrote

EDITOR’S NOTE: Let no opportunity go unexplored.

Don’t look now, PW, but Laura Enright scrubbed JJ’s comments from her Facebook page. I wonder whether somebody at the Herald Advocate got wind of it and took JJ to the woodshed for it?

EDITOR’S NOTE: Imagine that – a comment appears on this blog and a Facebook page magically gets a little whitewash.

How sad for the PRPD. If Mel Thillens as the new president of the board is the face of the organization, what does that tell you about the quality of the fitness programs the PRPD offers? Does he know the PD has fitness programs? Embarrassing on many levels.

And how does Mr. Thillens have the time to fulfill his duties as President of the PRPD board and manage the nearly $22,000,000 of new debt the PRPD is issuing when he is running for state office as a fiscal conservative?

Is this guy serious?

EDITOR’S NOTE: We have many policy-based disagreements with Mr. Thillens, but there never has been any “fitness” requirement for election to the Park Board or any other office; and your comments in that regard are inappropriate, offensive and unfair.

Unfortunately, they detract from the legitimacy of your subsequent comments.

If the library referendum goes to the ballot with the kind of numbers discussed in the HA article-it will be a tough sell.

http://parkridge.suntimes.com/news/librarymeet-PRA-05082014:article

Before knowing much of the cuts to the library operations (which have gone unnoticed until the Library Director Van De Carr decided to play politics with a public asset she is being paid to properly manage) could be avoided by charging a modest fee for DVD/CD usage or internet usage, some taxpayers may have voted “Yes” for the library referendum increasing our taxes. But $4,000,000-$5,000,000 in additional taxes over 5 years should be a NO vote.

It is sad that the various taxing authorities continue to fail to realize that given the make-up of Park Ridge’s tax base, many homeowners are maxed out. Enough is enough. Hopefully the city council and the mayor will continue to prioritize our tax dollars and suggest the library scale back their tax increase request-even one with a sunset provision.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Why should the City Council “scale back” whatever tax increas the Library Board requests? Shouldn’t the Library get to ask the taxpayers for whatever the Library Board thinks it needs, without Council interference – and then accept the consequences of the voters’ decision with no excuses?

4:43:

What you fail to see is that Mel fits in perfectly with his target electorate. See 99% of these folks that scream about spending and claim to be fiscal conservatives are not that way at all.

They have no problem with spending at all so long as you spend on things THEY want. See it’s not the spending per se but rather what you spend the money on. Look to Chicago and see all the school closings and pension cuts coming down the road that most support, and yet tax dollars are funding the new DePaul basketball arena (as if DePaul needs the money).

When ever I hear a politician talk about less spending or fiscal conservatism it usually only takes a second or two to find the hypocrisy. The problem the voting public (at least the small amount you can get to vote) seems to be just as hypocritical. So, like a good politician, Mel is telling them what they want to hear. If I were a betting man I would bet the house that Mel will be heading to Springfield.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Hope you’ve got another house, because your current one’s at risk.

After 26 years here in Park Ridge, this editor has never seen a more fiscally-responsible local government than the current City government, or even close to it. And yet, as another commentator pointed out yesterday, Mayor Schmidt’s and the current Council’s main achievement isn’t true “austerity” but simply reducing the rate of growth of spending. As for the school districts, forget about it. And the Park District has traded a lot of its spending for massive debt. Wait until those debt-service bills start coming due.

And there’s no such thing as a “good politician.”

Anonymous wrote: “How funny that the editor of this blog is part of the same Herald Advocate interview as Laura Enright. And Ms. Enright’s Facebook page shows her and the Advocate’s Jennifer Johnson making snide comments about the editor like sorority sisters talking about somebody’s bad date.”

LLE: I found Mr. T and me being in the same feature funny myself. Of course wouldn’t surprise me if Pioneer set that up on purpose considering our boisterous digital history on social media.

What I find particularly fascinating (and admittedly slightly creepy) however, is the fact that I post a lot of stuff on my FB page yet someone (who apparently prefers to remain anonymous but I’m guessing is a friend of Mr. Trizna) was obsessed enough to troll through my timeline and pick out a one line post that didn’t mention any names. That’s devotion. Dude, if you’re so obsessed with me, buy a book, I’ll autograph it (though you’d have to supply your name then). Of course if you troll further you’d find a lot of snide comments I made about the ridiculous situation with the library. But if I was so worried about people trolling through my FB pages I wouldn’t have my status set up for public view. So knock yourself out. I’m also on Google + but I don’t get on there as often. I’ve tweeted about various things too.

Now, it does make me wonder why a one line post mentioning no names made on a FB page that I doubt anyone on this blog cares about would be spotlighted on this blog. Forgive me if my cynical self suspects there’s more to it then just a casual pointing out of coincidence. Often times comments such as the one made by Anonymous are made for the purpose of intimidation (“ooh, we’re watching you”). After all, that’s what bullies do. But since I don’t seem to intimidate easily (I would think my using my initials or my full name would show that), then I suspect it could have been done to serve other purposes (aside from trying to make it seem as though my range of discourse goes only as far as “a sorority sister” “talking about somebody’s bad date,” cause you know, no one ever makes snide remarks like that on their FB pages).

For example, one reason Anonymous posted could be to open up dialogue in which Mr. Trizna can claim that he actually does use the library (since the question has been raised in the past by me and others. Oh, I did raise it when I posted that “Four Questions” piece from the Advocate on my FB page as well. I’m guessing Anonymous saw that as well and duly reported to Mr. Trizna cause outside of that post on my FB page, I don’t think I ever stated anywhere else my disbelief that the claim Trizna made in the Four Questions feature wasn’t honest so I’m not sure how he would know that I recorded anywhere my cynicism at his claim that the library is a favorite place for him to hang.

As for my friendship with Jennifer, it’s kind of funny too. I actually knew her when she was a little kid. She is the daughter of my sister’s best friend. So our history goes back a little further but we became friendly during the ten years I worked for Pioneer Press (I just thought I’d add that. You seem so interested in my personal life).

To Anonymous, the editor wrote: “Ms. Enright is wrong (SURPRISE!) about this editor not visiting the Library Saturday (and/or Sunday) afternoons in the winter. But in her defense, his editor confines his non-meeting Library time to the second floor main reading room, working (on his own laptop) or reading magazines. So if Ms. Enright actually was working on any of those Saturdays (or Sundays) anywhere but in the main reading room, she might not have seen him reading magazines and copying articles on those ten-cents-a-page copy machines.”

LLE: Oh, thanks but I don’t think I need you to defend me, Mr. Trizna. I stand by my belief that the library is actually not your favorite place to be on a Saturday (which was what was asked in the question in the Advocate) or even Sunday afternoon. It’s based on my observation of never seeing you come through the door (I do also make it upstairs every so often) and the observations of others I’ve asked. (Snd as I told you when you made the accusation in another post that I didn’t care about the library being closed on Sundays, I work three Sundays out of the month, so I’m guessing at some point during the winter I would have seen you). Of course I have no doubt now that you’ll be seen more now that the issue has been raised and you have to back up the statement. Prior to this, I still highly doubt it was your favorite place to hang on a Saturday afternoon. But don’t be a stranger, Mr. T. You’re a member of our board. The least you can do is stop by the service desks and say, “Hi.”

The editor wrote: “As for the candy comments, the editor is guilty as charged: he regularly indulges in several pieces whenever he comes to those 7:00 p.m. meetings directly from the METRA train without having had dinner – which is virtually always. Sometimes it’s just to tide him over until a late dinner, sometimes the candy IS dinner. Frankly, he’d prefer those peeled baby carrots, celery sticks or sugar snap peas, but he’s not one to complain about superficial things like that”

LLE: I feel for you on that, Mr. T (we are talking about you, right? I get confused by your use of the third person to describe yourself). I work 13 hours, every Tuesday and Friday and often times lunch is the best I can do before I have to rush off to the next job. I usually don’t get to dinner till I get home at 10. So I can understand you being a little munchy.

I just can’t help but find it all funny cause again, given that a name wasn’t given, I doubt anyone would have known had you…I mean your friend…I mean had Anonymous not brought up the post buried on my FB timeline (and for that matter, Anonymous didn’t say what the post was about, so you outted yourself with the candy). No one would have even known about that one line post about scarfing candy or that you were the one doing it. But then if it hadn’t been brought up then you wouldn’t have been able to mention the couple of days a month that you need to rush to a board meeting or committee meeting (and apparently are unable to plan ahead and bring a snack) all for the sake of the Park Ridge taxpayers. We doff our hats to you, sir!

The editor wrote: “As for Ms. Johnson’s comments, her hostility toward this editor – and this mayor and certain members of this City Council (in contrast to the previous mayor and his alderpuppets) – is pretty well known to anybody who’s been paying attention; and pretty readily discernible from what she reports (and doesn’t) and how she reports it.”

LLE: Well I can’t address any of that. I haven’t noted any blatant hostility in her articles (though I suspect that you find hostile any article that doesn’t parrot your blog). She’s a reporter reporting stories. You want to turn her into some sort of crusading journalist, that’s your trip. Say…have you…I mean your friend…I mean Anonymous scoped out her FB page? Oh wait, I’m sure you guys already have.

The editor wrote: “We assume some of that hostility stems from the City’s austerity measures and their effects on City expenditures, especially the Public Works Dept. – where we understand a close member of her family works, which would explain why the City’s recent negotiations with the Public Works employees union have been covered and reported by other H-A reporters to avoid a conflict of interest or appearance of impropriety.”

LLE: Who’s “we”? I mean, what pronoun should I use when addressing you? Sometimes you refer to yourself as the editor, sometimes in the first person, sometimes in the third person as you did in describing the candy (which is odd cause everyone reading knows who you are). Now you’re using the royal “we” (Which is adorable, by the way).

Be that as it may: I’m not sure why you feel the need to point out that Jennifer has a relative at public works, especially if, because of this, Pioneer Press has assigned recent negotiations between the city and public works to another reporter. Her relative at PW doesn’t seem to have a bearing on anything then if she’s not writing the stories regarding negotiations.

Oh wait…I keep forgetting, as I mentioned in my letter to the the Advocate, you (or do I say, “the editor”?) like to manufacture scandals and conspiracies that don’t exist.

And by the way, I have to laugh at the term “austerity measures” that you used every time I drive by the sidewalk project that cost half a million dollars of Park Ridge money. But hey…we have those wonderful metal cages on the sidewalk, and a cool cement crosswalk that we tore up a perfectly good road to put in and adds nothing to the aesthetics of the town. I guess “austerity measures” and “saving tax money” is all perspective. If it’s a pet project, the skies the limit when it comes to taxpayers’ money.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some things to post to my FB page. Anonymous, would you like to follow me?

EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome back, Ms. Enright.

Just because you’re paranoid (or narcissistic?) doesn’t mean everybody’s (or anybody’s) watching you…or trying to intimidate or bully you. Frankly, were I as paranoid (or narcissistic) as you sound, I might think it “slightly creepy” that you claim to be monitoring my Library visits.

Now, to try to clear up your confusion:

“Us” represents the blog and the several people who prefer to remain unidentified but whose regular contributions of ideas, information, research (and even, on occasion, some writing) to this blog have been, and continue to be, invaluable to its operation. “We” is the subject equivalent of “us,” the object. “This editor” generally is used when a comment is directed at the editor. And “I” or “me” generally is used in responding to comments directed to a “signed” editorial, or when a comment is expressly addressed to “Mr. Trizna” by name.

Finally, you can presume a general demurrer to all the other points of your monologue. But if you ever feel the need to exercise your prolixity through a guest post, don’t hesitate to let us/this editor/me know.

On May 6, Anonymous wrote: “Don’t look now, PW, but Laura Enright scrubbed JJ’s comments from her Facebook page. I wonder whether somebody at the Herald Advocate got wind of it and took JJ to the woodshed for it?”

“EDITOR’S NOTE: Imagine that – a comment appears on this blog and a Facebook page magically gets a little whitewash.”

I feel I should clarify something. Apparently you know enough about FB to harass people but that’s pretty much all you know about it. I never actually scrubbed those comments. That post was made to my timeline by Jennifer Johnson. She was the one who deleted it and it went off my page. Personally, I would have left it on. I have no problem with that. But having experienced this sort of digital harassment in the past over stories she’s written from your followers, Mr. Trizna, I guess she got nervous. Me, perhaps I’m too stupid to be nervous. To me, you guys are bullies and I like to stand up to bullies. Be assured, when I get a chance later, I will be happy to post all sort of stuff regarding this latest example of weirdness. So stay tuned, Anonymous.

Oh, and by the way, Anonymous, if I were someone who doesn’t have the guts to post his/her real name or even his/her initials, I wouldn’t be commenting on people taking stuff off their Facebook timeline.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ms. Enright, I fail to see how someone’s reading what you voluntarily post on your Facebook page for all the world to see, and who then makes observations about it here or elsewhere, constitutes “digital harassment.” But if playing the victim of imaginary bullying, or standing up to imaginary bullying, helps your self-esteem, we’re all for it.

PubDog, thank you for calling out Anon @4:43’s offensive ad hom attack. That sort of disgustingly personal attack has zero to do with the policy issues at hand or the people we elect into office making them.

Shame shame. I can’t even take the alleged actual policy criticisms that anon made seriously as a result, why would anyone bother if they are going to start out with such playground tactics?

Your right 11:37. Let’s just disregard all obvious hypocrisy and contradiction in Thillen’s current campaign spiel compared to his actions simply because some stupid ignorant poster called him fat.

For anyone interested in an example of actual, and not imagined, bullying and harassment, look no further than local union tactics:

http://parkridge.suntimes.com/news/government/park_ridge_officials_called_to_testify_before_labo-PRA-05072014:article

You can tell it’s harassment because the union’s attorneys admit that “neither the mayor nor the two aldermen were present during official negotiations” but then proceed to subpoena them anyway.

Maybe this will be the final straw that ends these closed session union bargaining fiascos.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Don’t bet on it, Paine.

As we understand the bizarre, anti-taxpayer Illinois public employee labor laws, once the parties establish a custom and practice of closed-session negotiations, those can become implied terms to be included in future contracts that the City cannot unilaterally change.

And as we recall the current D-64 contract that was so boneheadly negotiated by current Board member John “Tax, Borrow and Spend” Heyde and since-departed board member Pat “One and Done” Fioretto, the NEXT negotiations are required to be conducted in closed session – the better to hide the PREA’s ridiculous opening demands and subsequent intractability, as well as the School Board’s ankle-grabbing.

I find it interesting you call out Jennifer Johnson and Laura Enright for acting like school girls for talking about things on their personal Facebook accounts-so I guess you meeting up with Mayor Schmidt at Houlihan’s after a library board meeting would make you…..frat boys?

EDITOR’S NOTE: Not sure where you’re getting your metaphors, Abby, but “sorority sisters” (not “school girls”) is the female counterpart of “frat boys.”

And this editor does not recall ever “meeting up with Mayor Schmidt at Houlihan’s after a library board meeting.” Maybe you’re confusing Library Board meeting night (Tuesdays) with City Council meeting night (Mondays)?

Editor wrote: “EDITOR’S NOTE: Ms. Enright, I fail to see how someone’s reading what you voluntarily post on your Facebook page for all the world to see, and who then makes observations about it here or elsewhere, constitutes “digital harassment.” But if playing the victim of imaginary bullying, or standing up to imaginary bullying, helps your self-esteem, we’re all for it.”

Well this last is particularly rich considering how you’ve accused Jennifer Johnson of hostility toward you because of the articles she’s written as part of her job.

But I guess it’s only hostility (or harassment) when it’s against you.

Oh, and again, let’s get the facts straight here, Mr. T. You like to get the facts straight. I did not post that one line thing post that mentioned no names on my Facebook page. Jennifer Johnson posted it to my timeline. There is a difference (just as I didn’t “scrub” or “whitewash” my page by taking it off, Jennifer took it off hers and it disappeared from mine).

Isn’t continually printing falsehoods (to achieve an affect) a form of digital harassment?

Let’s not be disingenuous Mr. Trizna.

EDITOR’S NOTE: And I’d say “let’s not be paranoid or narcissistic, Ms. Enright,” except it looks like that ship sailed awhile ago.

“Hostility” is not a synonym for “harassment.” And if you read my note to the comment you reference, it does not say that YOU scrubbed or whitewashed your Facebook page.

But don’t let those facts get in your way, either.

The editor wrote: “EDITOR’S NOTE: Ms. Enright, I fail to see how someone’s reading what you voluntarily post on your Facebook page for all the world to see, and who then makes observations about it here or elsewhere, constitutes “digital harassment.””

And as you know, Mr. Trizna, contextualization is very important in life. On the surface it seems very simple. But it is interesting that someone on this blog who doesn’t know me would think to check out Facebook for my page, then scroll through a Timeline looking for something to pick out to put on this blog. The scanning wasn’t done for friendship, the scanning wasn’t done to check out my writing. So why was it done? Why would someone waste that time to scan through my FB page, then take the time to come back to this blog and report to you (thus giving you the chance to answer an issue that really wasn’t an issue on this page)? That’s the big question. Of course the only one who can really answer that is the one too chicken to leave their real name. Talk about paranoid.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Is that you again, Ms. Enright?

Anybody who posts on Facebook, Twitter, etc. without any “friend” or “follower” restrictions has no basis for complaining about who is reading their stuff, why, and what they do with it.