Like Nothing Else....

I have worked in the media, media relations and have taught journalism over the span of 30-plus years.

As a reporter I covered local, county, state and national issues.

I've covered the famous (Richard J. Daley, Walter Mondale, Phil Crane) and the not so famous.

As a teacher, I instruct my young journalists to go with the item that will grab the reader's attention, something that as reporter I never had trouble doing.

Not until Monday night at the Aug. 3 Buffalo Grove Village Board meeting.

It was, for the most part, as Yogi Berra would say, Deja Vu all over again.

Almost.

By now the scenario is predictable, trustee reports become soap box derby for some trustees who insist on making it show and tell time. It's getting old, it's getting annoying, it's getting distracting, it's taking away from village business.

None the less, Village Board member Lisa Stone continues to throw vociferous comments to plead her case that she is a reformer and that her point of view is right and everyone else is incompetent.

This time, however, I think Ms. Quixote fell of her horse and was dragged through the very excrement that she herself spewed along the bridal path.

It seems as though Ms. Quixote can charge her windmills, but if the windmills moves, she can't take it.

Enter Board Member Jeffrey Braiman.

Mr. Braiman saw fit to present a carefully throughout, detailed statement in response to Ms. Stone's constant allegations of wrong doing by just about everyone on the Board and village staff.

At issue is Ms. Stone's contention that the approval of the Offtrack Betting came as the result of a violation of the Illinois Open Meetings Act. Ms. Stone, who by her own admission, wanted the original vote delayed so she can learn more about how the community felt. To bolster her cause, she kept trying to drag fellow newcomer Beverly Sussman into the fray. Sussman remained quiet despite Stone's attempt to lure her in.

At issue here is the fact that Ms. Stone has admitted she was not prepared to become a village trustee, was not informed of how the community felt and once elected, expected things to stop and wait for her.

Public service does not work that way. Do your homework, be prepared and join the Board. Don't whine because the Board wanted to move ahead.

At issue is her contention that a series of emails between board members that she claims violated the Open Meetings Act. Ms. Stone has, directly or indirectly, contacted the Chicago Tribune in an effort to prove her point. She claims that a legal advocacy group out of Elmhurst agrees with her. What she has not said is what information was provided.

There has not been a clear-cut decision as to what impact emails have on the Open Meeting Act. Other opinions read by Village Attorney William Raysa indicated it could be violation, but the key word is could.

Ms. Stone prided herself on "coaxing" Mr. Raysa into reviewing the comment from the Elmhurst group.

Oh look, she's beaming. She likes to embarrass and publicly ridicule people. Hmm, guess she's right because Bill Raysa lacks experience. I mean he's only one of the more respected municipal attorneys in the Chicago area and besides, he's been the village attorney for nearly 30 years. But what does he know?

Ms. Stone, of course, is well versed, have dusted off her trusty little vocal dagger in the three months she's been on the board. Knowledge before hand? Remember, she didn't know how the community felt until she took office.

Ms. Quixote then proceeded to challenge Village Manager Bill Brimm and his skills. I've met Bill Brimm only a few times. I did, however, know his predecessor, Bill Balling and know the kind of operation he established, one which Mr. Brimm has done an excellent job in maintaining the integrity of the village of Buffalo Grove.

But obviously, Ms. Quixote knows better -- she's been tossing excrement around for three months.

I've covered a variety of municipalities and worked with a number of village managers, many of whom reflect Brimm's professionalism and expertise. So it caught me, and many others, by surprise when she decided to try and tear into Brimm's professionalism.

I said try. Village Board President Elliot Hartstein, who was more than generous with his time for Stone's rebuttal made it clear that no one was going to use a village board meeting to challenge the integrity of the village staff.

This came shortly after Stone made a comment, one which elicited audible gasps from some residents, that sums up her arrogance lack of respect for the village staff and Board.

The comment?

"This Board has been together so long it doesn't know when it's done something wrong."

Ah, I see, so in three months. Ms. Quixote, who said she "won't stop going for truth and honesty -- I really won't" has emerged as an expert. Mind you, this is the same woman who said she took a spot on the Board not knowing how the community felt.

You'd think she would at least have some respect for those people who have served the community for a number of years. The keyword here is think, something that does not appear to be listed as a verb in the cranial cavity of some village board members.

Hopefully she heard Hartstein's comments when he told the board to move forward and not keep dwelling in the past, and to work together.

Novel idea. It just seems as though it has fallen on deaf ears -- ears that hear only selective comments.

If Ms. Quixote is going to be effective as a village board member, she better understand everything that is going on in the village. It's apparent she lacks a comprehensive understanding as to how the village operates. It shows, too. Because outside of her personal tirades, she says nothing.

As for not living in the past, Hartstein is right. So too is the great philosopher of the 20th and 21st century -- Mike Ditka -- who said there are only two kinds of people who live in the past -- losers and cowards.

And some village board members.