McCarthyism comes to the Board

Several people have asked me why I have equated Lisa Stone's method of operation, to be polite, to that used by the late Joseph McCarthy, the republican senator from Wisconsin.

I've given it some thought and by gosh, they are right -- Stone is practicing McCarthyism.

But it's a different McCarthy.

Granted, it seems as thought Liza acts like Sen. McCarthy, immortalized by his wanton attacks on people he didn't like without cause.

But after attending a vast number of Village Board meetings the past 14 months, it's become clear to me that Miz Stoney is practicing the McCarthyism made famous not by Joseph McCarthy -- but Charlie McCarthy.
Far fetched? Any time you're talking about Lisa Stone anything can be far fetched.

But why Charlie and not Gene? All you need to do is watch the board meetings. Stone seems to have her own special causes that she takes up valuable board time and village money ranting about.

Stone specifically is wrapped up in a five-year old meeting involving the now infamous Land and Lakes Landfill, which came as a result of alleged complaints about odors from the compost transfer station. Oh my gosh, it smells. Hmm, no one came to the Village Board and no one seemed to complain except to Miz Stone.

All of a sudden it has become a major environmental issue. Why hasn't Stone expressed concern about the environmental impact of the Pekara Avenue Sewage Treatment Plant? Or how about the environmental impact of Chicago Executive Airport?

Because no one has their hands, figuratively mind your, under her short to control her mouth the way Edgar Bergen controlled Charlie McCarthy's

And where did Stoney get the background on filing Freedom or Information Act requests?

She does not have the educational background nor the professional background in municipal or government affairs. Her village-posted background lists involvement in school-based organizations and also says she is a retired legal research consultant and a retired Precinct Committeewoman. I'm not sure if retired mean she is actually retired, or a clever way of saying not retained. That, however, is inmaterial.

What is not, however, is the fact that Stone does not appear to be her own person. As a reader posted in a previous blog, Stone pays little attention to Board business that is not focused on her agenda. It is not unusual for her to arrive at Board meetings with prewritten comments that, to no surprise rip another board member or village staff member.

Stone's knee-jerk reaction to Board issues after they have been discussed leads me to believe that her Edgar Bergen has gotten in touch with her as if to say "what were you thinking -- here's what you should gave said.."

It often appears that Stone takes cues from an individual or individuals in the audience and it's widely known that she has received text messages during the meetings.

If Stone is going to represent the entire village, then she needs to be her own person and not some puppet for someone who does not have fortitude to speak their mind.

Otherwise people will see that Stone really is McCarthy, but not Joseph McCarthy, Charlie McCarthy.

And the village can't afford that.

A lesson from the Stanley Cup

I love hockey. One of the things I enjoy about it the most is the tradition and, for the most part, the class displayed by the teams.

Especially when a playoff series is over.

The teams line up and congratulate each other on the series. The winners celebrate and the losers say job well done.

If only village politics could be the same.

They're not. And in Buffalo Grove they're getting worse.

The revelation in recent Daily Herald accounts that Lisa Stone continues to email retired Village Manager Bill Brimm exemplifies exactly what's wrong in Buffalo Grove.

Brimm is finishing his stint as Village Manager by using the last of his vacation -- get it -- he's on vacation.

That doesn't matter to Stone. She wants her name in the news anyway she can.

She got it -- thanks to Brimm who called her delusional. That's being polite.

In her now infamous campaign, people called Stone tenacious in her pursuit of things -- like mean dogs and drugs. That's fine.

But it's gone to her arrogant head and her tenacity has turned into arrogant attempts at character assassinations.

It's no longer getting old, it's getting repulsive.

Stone's lack of respect for village staff and her colleagues on the Board is unprecedented. Whether it's Village Clerk Jan Sirabian or Village Attorney William Raysa, Stone's arrogant "I know everything attitude" is an insult to the village and to the men and women who serve, and have served the village before her.

Stone's smug look when Sirabian admitted to losing the keys to the cabinet that held the infamous tapes was so arrogant it was unreal. It was as if she was saying "ha, see you are not qualified." Ms. Stone, there's a reason Sirabian has served 32 years on the Board. You may be luck to serve 32 months.

Granted, it's unfortunate that the keys were lost and I am concerned that village officials and staff (Sirabian is not the only one) who keep village keys with them outside 50 Raupp.

But there is a proper and professional manner to handle these situations. Stone just doesn't do it right. She comes across as an arrogant know-it-all and things need to be done her way or else.

Her ridicule of how the village pays its bills is a joke. Remember, Lisa approved those bills until this last board meeting.

And remember Lisa approved the budget when it was being formed.

So where was she? Why is it that Lisa only speaks on a couple of issues a meeting?

Because she does not know better.

Her continued harassment of Brimm is a classic example of that.

And oh yes, Miz Stone who is concerned about village expenses doesn't realize how much money she is costing the village by using staff time for her campaign.

Stoney acts as if she is Village Manager or Village Board President.

She's not.

What she is delusional.

What's not delusional is the need for a change.

Who's yo mama?

Some things just happen by chance.

During the last Village Board meeting I was having trouble connecting to the village web site for information about the citizens fire academy.

Undaunted, I decided to do a search on Google. To my surprise, one of the prompts that came up was for Lisa Stone's campaign web page (electlisastone.com) from last year's election -- I have no idea what I entered to get that site.

So I figured, what the heck, I'd take a look.

No surprises. The page features the usual propaganda you'd expect to find at a campaign site -- but we're talking Lisa Stone here. To no surprise, she vows to do everything or has done everything. But remember, this is a campaign page.

What struck me odd was the state that she had on her page, which said "We need a mother on the Village Board, who has raised, and is raising, her children in the community. Lisa Stone is that woman!

Huh?

If you are familiar with the history of the Buffalo Grove Village Board, you will know that Miz Stone is not the first woman on the board, not the first mother on the Board and not the first mom, let alone board member whose children has raised her children in the community.

So what's the point?

You could call it campaign misrepresentation because Stone tried to position herself as a first, which she is not.

You could call it an effort discredit current and previous women who have served on the Board -- which it seems like it is.

Aside from Stone, there are three women on the Board, DeAnn Glover, Jan Sirabian and Beverly Sussman. All are moms -- and even grandmother.

Let's take Sussman (whom, by the way, I anointed as Board Bubbe months ago) as she was elected at the same time as Stoney.

So that leaves Sirabian and Glover -- both women, both moms. Hellllo, Liza aren't you paying attention to your colleagues on the Board? Guess not.

Sirabian has two kids -- both of whom were born and raised in Buffalo Grove and attended BG High School.

Glover has two children and three grandchildren.

So where is Miz Stoney coming from? As we've seen, she tends to ignore, or does not understand the facts -- had she done her homework, she would have known that former Village President Verna Clayton has two children and former trustee Bobbie O'Reilly has two sons, both raised in Buffalo Grove.

So Stoney likes to flaunt herself as a leader in the women's movement. Hardly. More like a follower -- a distant follower.

If she wants to wave the flag of feminism, she needs to look at the total picture, a novel idea I know.

It goes back to doing your homework.

I've mentioned the moms who have served on the Board -- but if you're into feminist issue, let's take it a step further.

Sirabian, Glover and Sussman (OK, now I'll bring her in) are not only moms -- they are working moms who work in the village. And for the record, Sussman is a female business owner in the village.

And Clayton, by the way, served several terms as a state representative (R-51), so she obviously had professional roots tied to the village.

So Stone tried to, as she continues to do, Stonewall the voters and people of Buffalo Grove.

Don't believe me? Let's go back to Liza's claim that "We need a mother on the Village Board, who has raised, and is raising, her children in the community."

If you check her bio on the village web site, you will find that Lisa has two children -- one of whom is in college. Stone has lived in the village since 1994 -- 16 years. Before that, she lived in unincorporated Deerfield.

Unless her older son is an academic prodigy (and this is not a criticism of him), he's more than 16 years old, which means the Stones did not live in the village when he was born, unlike children of other Board members.

Raising children is a never ending proposition. So for Stone to give the perception that her family has been born and bred in Buffalo Grove is, quite simply -- wrong.

And to portray herself as a hero because she's a mom in the village is (duhh) misleading. But so what else is new?

Look around Mis Stone -- there are plenty of women who have served, and are serving the village long before you arrived.

They're moms, they're grandmothers, they're business owners in the village and they work at village owned businesses -- and they don't brag about it.

In essence, their actions have spoken, and do speak, louder than words.

Which is more than can be said for Stone.

Change? Don't count on it...

So the Village Board meets this Monday (June 21..circle it on your calendar now) and it will mark the start of the post Bill Brimm era.

But don't expect things to change. The village will continue to flourish thanks to the staff that is in place.

And what about the Village Board? Don't expect any changes. The village is a microcosm of Board actions -- it gets recommendations, it discussed them when needed and it makes decisions. Not all of them are popular, but nothing in municipal, county, state or national government is popular all the time.

Something that appears to remain the same will be the continued acrid attacks by trustee Lisa Stone. That was evident at the last meeting when she took exception to the minutes because, in her mind, the fact that trustee Jeff Berman's wife works for Chapman & Cutler, which, I am told, is one of, if not the preeminent municipal bond counsel firms in the City, if not the country.

Chapman and Cutler have been handling the village's bonds since 1981. If you're keeping tabs on such things, Berman was in his first year at college and my guess is that like most college freshmen, was thinking of other things besides one day being a village trustee in Buffalo Grove. In fact, my sources tell me that Chapman and Cutler (oh, please, don't let it be Jay Cutler) have been around long before 1981.

The point? Miss Quixote is trying to show that Berman has some sort of conflict of interest because his wife works for the firm.

By the way, she worked part time for the firm. According to Berman, his wife was hired by the firm in 2001. She is not a partner and has no ownership interest in the firm. Jane Berman has nothing whatsoever to do with services provided by the firm for the Village. She is a patent and intellectual property lawyer, and she receives no financial benefit from it (the association with the village).

Jeff Berman was elected to the Village Board in 1999 and has refrained from votes that involved Chapman and Cutler. And, for the record, he was doing this long before Miss Quixote arrived on the scene.

The mere fact that Stoney is trying to make this a big deal is little more than a way of her continuing to try and discredit people in public. And, golly gee, Jeff Berman's term ends next May. She showed disrespect to Village Clerk Jan Sirabian but ridiculing her performance by choosing not to indicate that Jeff Berman refrained from a vote involving Chapman and Cutler at the previous Board meeting.

Stoney needs to address the facts and the business at hand. Remember -- under Chapman and Cutler's tutelage, the village has AAA bond ratings from both Moody's and Standard and Poor's. My guess is that when you mention bonds to Liza, she thinks of Barry, Bobby or James.

It's another example of Stoney grand standing and trying to tell everyone she's right and they're wrong.

Just as she did toward the end of the meeting during new business. Stone raised the question about how the Board approves warrants (pays its bills). As near as I can tell, Stone was raising a question as to why some bills were paid without board approval.

Hello..can someone call Com Ed and hook up the porch light. All trustees approve bills which are itemized -- and this includes Miz Stone. It appears as though she does not understand what she is approving.

In typical Stone fashion, she brought up how Vernon Hills pays its bills. Huh? Her comments clearly indicated that she is not a financial expert. I checked the village web site and it did not indicate a degree in finances. In fact, she does not list a college degree in any are of concentration.

So where's the expertise come from? From her comments it appears she was flaunting her role in the village to get information from Vernon Hills. Is she concerned about how they pay their bills or how they bid jobs out. In Buffalo Grove, expenditures over $15,000 require a competitive bid, which trustees see. This includes Miz Stone.

It's a procedure followed by most, if not all, governing agencies.

Stone alleged that "we have rules we're not following." Such as? She did not know. She tried to invoke the Chapman and Cutler issue again, and when she did, Jeff Berman left because, as he has said repeatedly, when they are discussed, he will refrain from the discussion and any ensuing vote -- which is what he did.

He's following the rules. But wait, she wanted to introduce a motion in new business which can't be done by the rules. But she kept trying and ignored Village President Elliott Hartstein's time limits and requests to follow order.

That does not matter to Stone -- she thinks she is entitled to do what she accuses others of doing.

As noted, it's just another case of her trying to position herself as always being right while everyone else is always wrong.

Actually, it's another case of arrogance, ignorance and disrespect.

The Boss Bows Out....

There's no doubt retiring Village Manager Bill Brimm had Monday, June 7th circled on his calendar, highlighted on his Blackberry and embedded in his mind.

Bill Brimm is saluted by Village President Elliott Hartstein

It was his last Village Board meeting.

And it was a nice send off for a village official who worked relentlessly on behalf of the village for 32 years.

As written here and said by so many people from not only throughout the village, but throughout the entire Chicago area, it marks the end of an era of not just professionalism, but classy professionalism.

The board room was filled with residents, village employees and well wishers in general who paid tribute to Brimm and the accomplishments he brought to the village. Granted, many were there for the citizens' fire academy recognition, but that did not preclude everyone from giving Brimm a standing ovation after Village Board President read a resolution citing Brimm's many accomplishments.

A capacity crowd at Monday's Board meeting.

Despite what the uninformed and arrogant may say, the village is in outstanding financial shape because of Brimm, whose village career started as finance director, and the work he did.

Yes, it is unfortunate that there are some detractors whose ignorance and arrogance was directed at Brimm -- but that's for another blog.

This one focuses on one of the good guys in municipal government. As the search continues and presumably heads toward its final stages, Brimm's career will mark a continuance of excellence in the Village Manager's office and no one can take that away from him or the village.

It was Brimm's day. It was his day to be recognized and honored for his accomplishments on behalf of Buffalo Grove.

Perfect? I'd say so. Not only was Brimm honored and recognized -- but his beloved Cubs won.

A perfect day indeed.

So how do you say thanks to someone who put he "CL" in class? More thank yous? More reflections.

How about quoting the late Edward R. Morrow would say -- Good Night and Good Luck.

And once again, thanks.