City Council, December 27, 2005
Last meeting of the year, and it ended up being held hostage. More later.
The first voting was done on the Police Union Contract. The police had voted to accept the contract, which, for the first time ever, took things away from the police. I voted for it, along with the 5th and 7th Ward Aldermen. The 4th Ward Alderwoman had to recuse herself since her husband is a police officer. The other 4 Alderpeople voted down the contract saying it was not good enough. Well, when the City workers have a free ride for 30 years, of course, nothing will be good enough. Yet, contracts evolve and you can not get everything you want in one fell swoop. Now, the contract may end up in arbitration and if that happens, the City will lose big time; not just the police contract, but the City Hall workers' contract, the Public Works' contract and the Firepersons' contract.
To park on the Vacin Fairway, it will still cost $75.00, but to park overnight, one will need a Berwyn vehicle sticker and a Vacin Fairway sticker.
The fireworks, sort of, went off during the 8th Ward Alderperson's protest that his expenses were not approved by the Mayor. In that communication, the 8th Ward Alderman libeled me. I defended myself, diplomatically, honestly and with high moral integrity. Two people came up to me after the meeting, two people who I did not know, and asked, "Mark, what is that guy on?" Enough said.
We can not get distracted from moving Berwyn forward because of the antics of certain Alderpeople. The residents expect more of the Alderpeople.
Finally, 27th Street, between Riverside and Home will be a two-way street. Period. There will be signs placed that will notify people that the street is very narrow at certain points. Hopefully, this new configuration will work better than the old.
- posted by Mark @ 9:44 AM