OMG, the Cookie Jar Strikes Back

Well, it's Thursday...which means the papers arrive in the driveway and mailbox.

First up is the Triblocal -- an advertising supplement disguised as a newspaper..that featured not one, but two, count 'em -- two front page stories about the Buffalo Grove Village Board. One focused on an alleged 213 missing emails that were to be part of a FOIA request -- that's FOIA, not FOIL. FOIA is Freedom of Information Act.

Triblocal screamed "exclusive" but much of this had been published in the big paper (The Tribune) July 23. At issue is weather emails among board members constitute a violation of the Illinois Open Meetings Act. Trustee Lisa Stone contends it does -- but aside from an advocacy attorney who said she thinks it does, there has not be a clear cut decision. Information about the Illinois Open Meetings Act can be found at the Attorney General's website (http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/. The original intent of the Act is to keep municipal officials from meeting in secret in groups that constitute more than a quorum.

The original act goes back to the days of Neil Hartigan and has gone through revisions. The use of email is just the latest point that needs to be addressed. I'm sure lawmakers will look at chat rooms, blogs and other technology bits as well.

The Illinois Open Meetings Act also keeps everything in the open. The only topics that can be discussed in "executive" or closed session are personnel matters, land acquisition and litigation. School board discuss student issues in executive session.

The second item that graces the front page was that BG resident Adam Moodhe is challenging Stone's filing of her campaign financial information. According to reports, Moodhe is questioning when financial support was made and any pro-bono work that may have been done.

So what's the big story? For who knows how many times, it's Ms. Stone. Since taking her seat on the Board May 4 she has been vocal, let's say rather vocal, in pointing out the short comings of both the village staff and her colleagues on the Board. Many times she has said that she wanted an extension for the now infamous vote on OTB (Off Track Betting) because she needed time to find out how the community felt.

Translation -- she was new and was not prepared. Running for public office is not an easy thing to -- but you need to be prepared. Stone has been meddling in the cookie jar of municipal government before she knew what kind of cookies were there.

So what happens? Someone "catches" her in the act. Ouch.

According to the Triblocal, Stone said the reason someone did this is "they are just trying to aggravate me."

When you are a public official you live be the sword and can die by the sword. This probably won't make Stone die by the sword, but it should be a wake-up call.

You keep your hands in the cookie jar, you're going to get caught.


The Countryside picked up on the fray with blockbuster headlines "Trustees trade heated words" and "Village president defense manager" -- like, so what else is new?

Kudos to Pioneer reporter Kathy Routliffe for trying to keep everything straight. Those meetings can get a big tedious keeping track of who says what to whom, when, why etc. Remember, you can watch the meetings on Ch. 6. Tough choice -- the village board or the Cubs.

And finally, there's Gabbin' in the Grove. No doubt Susan Durbin was annoyed because people were talking during a kids conference at Ravinia. Yes, it's annoying, but hey, Susan, it's a kids concert in the suburbs.

She's right it is annoying, but not as annoying as cell-phone yakking drivers who ignore red lights, almost hit pedestrians, cyclists, etc.

Besides is it really worth 25 inches??? Nah. Pioneer has laid off some many staff members they need something to fill space. Wonder what the Newspaper Guild has to say?

I can almost deal with Durbin's gabbing..keyword almost..what I don't get is amidst discussion about obesity in America -- Pioneer is running a full page on -- Mega Bites -- Eating Big in the Burbs. Yep, a full page complete with pictures of a raw and cooked 72-ounce porterhouse. Think I'll call PETA.

Ad sales talk, folks.