I really can't remember Forest Park having a mayor other than Tony Calderone. Whether or not he deserves all the credit - he will always be remembered for the upscaling of Madison Street. He was an enthusiastic guy who liked to make things happen - though good judgment was often an issue.
Now we have to elect a successor.
Despite his years in city council, I would say that Chris Harris is underqualified. I'm not even sure whether he has ever been gainfully employed. There's no evidence of it on the internet. He seems to be positive and energetic. Perhaps he should serve in the park district.
On the other hand, Rory Hoskins is overqualified. He's currently an attorney in an international corporate law firm -- and also leads the Proviso Township Democratic Party. He narrowly lost an election to the state legislature - and that's where he should be serving. With the ongoing support of Danny Davis, he may eventually replace Davis as representative of the 7th Congressional district.
I worry whether Hoskins will devote much time and energy to improve our small village. I worry whether Harris will be able to handle any kind of management situation at all.
Both of them have served on the village council for many years -- and I wish they both had websites that discussed village issues in some depth.
Neither one of their campaigns is very informative. Apparently, they both believe that voters are idiots who only read fluff.
I don't care whether Harris wants to "Implement 21st Century solutions for flooding" --- since he does not tell us what those might be.
And I don't care, at least in the context of this election, about Hoskins' family, which includes a son who is going to naval flight school.
Hoskins might be ineffectual -- but Harris would likely be an embarrassment.
I'm voting for Hoskins.
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Here's an email I received in support of Claudia Medina, Ned Wagner, and Theresa Kelly for School District 209 Board:
These board members have guided the district in important accomplishments:
Instituted restorative justice practices which has dramatically reduced suspensions
Refinanced expensive loans in order to afford the enhancement of educational spaces at all three schools through the Master Facilities planning process, which took input from the entire community
Continued success at PMSA which is now ranked 8th in the state and has been named a blue ribbon school
Purchased $1 million in new books to replace badly outdated materials
Achieved a 1:1 computer/student ratio to support cutting edge learning opportunities for ALL schools
Adopted a strong anti-nepotism policy
There's nothing here, however, about improved test scores, graduation rates, or college admittance for the students of Proviso East.
A very helpful website for this election can be found here: The Activist Toolkit
2 COMMISSIONER, VILLAGE OF FOREST PARK 4 Year Term, Vote For 4
Ryan C. Nero - safety manager
Joseph H. Byrnes - incumbent
Ryan R. Russ - park district employee
Daniel J. Novak - incumbent
Jessica L. Voogd - slate
Mark R. Boroughf - slate
Jon Robert Kubricht - slate
Julianne M. Bonwit - slate
Martin L. Tellalian - peoples' hero
As a smart, longtime, committed advocate for good government, Marty Tellalian gets my first vote.
As as pro-business, pro-Calderone, experienced commissioner who writes the best self-promotional material -- Dan Novak gets my second vote. The interests he represents also should have a seat on the village council.
Ryan C. Nero appears to have been a prolific volunteer for community projects. So he gets my third vote.
I like the idea of four young people teaming up to begin their political life in the village. It's too bad that they're all white folks -- though they have endorsed Rory Hoskins for mayor on their Facebook page. ( for some reason, however, they have offered no explanation there or on their website).
It's also too bad that none of them have apparently volunteered for any local organizations or projects.
I think I'll vote for Julianne Bonwit because she is a social worker,
I have nothing against the other candidates, however
BOARD MEMBER, FOREST PARK SCHOOL DISTRICT 91 4 Year Term, Vote For 3
Monique Cotton YancyNonpartisan91 African American, no college degree or apparent career Gregory MitchellNonpartisan92 - no response, marketing
Steven RummelNonpartisan93 - IT guy, concerned parent
Daniel E. GasseNonpartisan94 -music school, lots of ideas
Shannon WoodNonpartisan95 - no response, incumbent
John W. Lyons IIINonpartisan96 - small manufacturer
Katherine June ValleauNonpartisan97 - no response, former teacher who opened a brewery
This is a tough one. It's good that so many people have volunteered for this position.
None of them appear to represent any interest other than that of a concerned parent or teacher.
Three of them did not respond to the query from the Activist Toolkit -- and why wouldn't they?
Shouldn't a candidate respond to all serious queries ?
I think I'll vote for Yancy, Gasse, and Lyons
BOARD MEMBER, PROVISO TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 209 4 Year Term, Vote For 3
Laighton H. Scott IIINonpartisan111 PU
Claudia MedinaNonpartisan112 PT
Nathan 'Ned' WagnerNonpartisan113 PT
Beverly RobertsonNonpartisan114 PU
Theresa L. KellyNonpartisan115 PT
Denard WadeNonpartisan116 PU
Sandy L. AguirreNonpartisan117
Apparently, District 209 is about to embark on a major building renovation project -- so a lot of money will be at stake.
And so now we have a slate of under-qualified challengers to represent the interests of State Representative and former school board chairman, Chris Welch and the local Democratic party. All three are public employees -- two firefighters and one athletic coach. Take a look at their website -- it's a joke --- just pictures of themselves smiling and looking good. No discussion of anything.
Hopefully, voters will not be fooled by the name they have chosen, "Proviso United" -- quite similar to "Proviso Together" who are a group of do-gooders who won the last election and are running again.
Sandy Aguirre is running with the support of Ron Serpico, the notorious mayor of Melrose Park. He once told reporters "I didn't take a vow of poverty" after he got the village to make the montly payments on his new Jaguar. She has no website and did not respond to the Activist questionnaire. It's hard to take her seriously.
Which is not to say that the do-gooders have necessarily been competent and effective As of today, March 20, their campaign website does not exist.
Here's what the Forest Park Review had to say about their achievements:
New textbooks. Laptops for all students. A deliberate strategy for including parents in students' school lives through the implementation of parent centers and parent coordinators at East and West. Innovative curricula, such as the pioneering Marzano Academy at Proviso East.
There are more concrete, measurable achievements that have taken place in D209 within the last four years than we have space enough to list.
I'd like to see a more thoughtful analysis. Were the old textbooks all that bad? How many students were lacking laptops? How well have the parent centers worked ? ''
Here's a news blurb about the Marzano academy:
Earlier this year, Proviso East secured a two-year, $200,000 contract with Marzano Academy, a nonprofit that helps schools implement personalized competency-based education, a system that empowers students to study and master skills at their own pace, and turn to peers, the internet, library and other outlets before they lean on teachers for help. In this system, students can show proficiency in a topic through projects, presentations and even activities outside of school, along with traditional testing.
Looks like a good idea to me! Nothing beats self-learning. But for how many students has this program been successful?
I'm going to vote for Proviso Together anyway -- hoping that eventually they will be able to document some real "concrete measurable achievements"
