Rules, we don't need no stinkin' rules...

One of the things that makes Buffalo Grove - along with many other north and northwest suburban communities so appealing is the fact that are so well regulated.

Yes, Buffalo Grove has some "stringent rules" about a lot of things.

But they seem to work. Take a look at the appearance of the village -- its commercial areas, its retail and residential areas.

If you think rules don't work, drive down Milwaukee Avenue and take a look at some neighboring communities.

But now it seems rules don't matter. And shouldn't.

Just ask Lisa Stone. While she waves Robert's Rule of Order around, she doesn't think twice about not following them.

So when there was a question about use of Rotary Green by the group looking to recall Stone, she wants to everyone to follow the rules.

At issue her is the need for a permit to use Rotary Green -- A student group from Stevenson High School wanted to use the facility a year ago, but were told they needed a certificate of insurance, and thus did not have their event at the Green.

Stone voiced (do 'ya think) her opinion that the recall group should have had permits as well.

It's interesting that she did not raise a concern about the permit policy for Rotary Green until it affect her.

The permit policy is under review by the village and hopefully future requests will be handled without any issue. Period. Done.

At least you would think.

Now I can understand Stone's displeasure with the recall group -- heck, they want her gone.

What I don't understand is her rationale.

Stone's idea, however, is to have the village forget the fines. Be serious.

Just watch the last Village Board meeting -- rules? She was miffed that her five-minutes of speaking time allotted all trustees during the Trustee Reports portion of the meeting ran out.

Instead, she tried to talk over Trustee Jeff Braiman. Stone may have been able to finish her comments in the designated time had she not filled her comments with caustic comments toward Village Board President Elliott Hartstein.

She does not seem to realize that to every action there's a reaction, which may be why Hartstein has become a bit more direct and blunt in response to her.

The village's rules are the very fabric of the community. Yes, they are tough. To suggest that we have too many rules and they pose a problem for the residents.

This seems to be an annoying trend. Let's do away with rules. During board meetings, in the community -- let's just have everyone do what they want.

Trustee Stone needs to look at the community and how it looks. She may also want to check other communities to see how well rules work.

There's a reason property values are strong and residents and business owners appreciate Buffalo Grove -- yes, the rules are stringent, but they work.

Anarchy does not.

All The News That Fits...

The onslaught of articles in the Daily Herald should not come as a surprise.

Newspapers, as PBS' Jim Lehrer describes it, have become "fourth responders" and are providing more analysis. It has become known as "Watchdog Journalism."

It's not unique to the Herald. Look at the Chicago Tribune or any other major market newspaper.

Added to the fray, the handful of newspapers that are making money are those that focus on local news.

So when you get someone like Lisa Stone, it's a way to promote some degree of local news. Not necessarily watchdog journalism.

The Herald's accounts were, in many ways, a rehash of Stone's whining about what she would like the world to think is a critical health issue. The IEPA and EPA don't seem to think it is critical, but none the less, to Stone all the meetings a stage.

What is bothersome about the accounts in the Herald is the lack of sources, especially from the village. Granted, they did include the EPA and IEPA -- they had to -- but most of the sources appeared to be skewed toward Stone.

Environmental attorney Shawn Collins is based in Naperville (in the Herald's circulation area) and while I'm sure he has a solid background, his background in law and accounting. He was, according to his firm's web site " honored as a finalist for the Daily Herald newspaper’s “person of the year” award for his work on behalf of the families in Lisle, Illinois to secure a safe source of drinking water after learning their groundwater had been contaminated with trichloretheylene (TCE) from a local manufacturing plant."

Again, I am not questioning Collins' background, but it does surprise me that aside from a brief comment from Krishna Reddy, director of the Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who told the Herald that "more investigation is needed to find out exactly what is happening in the landfill," no other strong rationale was presented as to why L & L may be a serious problem.

I am also surprised that the Herald did not contact other communities where landfills have been closed -- specifically Highland Park and Northbrook. Landfills were closed in those communities and became recreational, commercial and residential developments.

It's also surprising that more was not said about the emails Stone had, but opted not to share. Maybe it was because the contents of those email diluted her argument.

As for the infamous Shaw report -- it's still a mystery to me what the issue is -- the report, like all reports done for the village, are available to the public. The report has never been hidden, nor has anyone been denied access to the report.

Village Board President Elliott Hartstein recommended that not only Shaw Report be available via the village's web site, but the updated information as well.

If this is such a hot issue and major problem, then all sides need to be presented -- weather by the media or, and especially, Stone.

How big of a problem? Part 1

The extensive coverage by The Daily Herald comes as no surprise. For whatever reason, there are members of the Herald's editorial staff who cover the antics of Lisa Stone to great extent.

There are, at least based on today's (July 26) coverage, two ways to look at the alleged crisis surrounding Land and Lakes.

One is to look at the coverage, the second is to look at what may have motivated Lisa Stone to be obsessed with the L & L facility.

For starters, what is, or was, Lisa Stone's motivation for going after L & L? If you check the Facebook page for her campaign and her campaign web pages, there is no indication of concern for health issues in Buffalo Grove. There is no mention of ground water contamination, nor is there mention of perceived irregularities in the handling of the annexation of the site to the village.

So all of a sudden, she becomes obsessed with digging up dirt about the site.

Granted, she was allegedly contacted by a physician who claimed the noxious smell was so foul, it affected his practice. This was in January.

A couple of interesting things come to mind:

1. It is rare, although not unheard of, for compost to have a rancid smell during cold weather. The odor is generally emitted during excessive heat because if composted material is not turned or, if I am not mistaken, there is not enough nitrogen included (often through a mix of materials) it can smell. In January, it was thought to be due to an excess of discarded holiday trees.

2. Public records indicate that Stone and her family lived in unincorporated Vernon Township just prior to moving into the village of Buffalo Grove. Stone and her family lived less than an a mile-and-a-half from L &L. If Stone was so concerned, why didn't she voice concerns then?

3. In addition to L & L, the area with proximity to that location includes the Pekra Avenue Sewage Treatment facility, which emits more foul odors than the L & L facility. The boundaries of Pekara adjoin the development Stone and her family lived in -- but yet she did not smell those odors?

4. It seems that most of the complaints came to Stone. Why didn't people contact the village directly? If they did, how did the village respond?

5. If Stone is so concerned about air quality, will she next challenge the FAA for its flight patterns that parallel Milwaukee Avenue? Before the airport (then Milwaukee) changed ownership from the Preister Family to join operation by Wheeling and Prospect Heights, an environmental impact study was done.

6. If, in fact, L & L is such a serious hazard, have there been similar problem at former landfills in Highland Park and Northbrook?

7. What impact do other composting operations, including one across from L & L, have on the environment.

8, Have concerns, now or in the past, by adjoining communities, been submitted to the Village Buffalo Grove?

Stone is insistent that the infamous Shaw report be on the village's web site. She contends that if it's not, the village must be hiding something.

Not really. The Shaw report is available -- by hard or electronic copy. Residents who are interested can just call or stop by and receive a copy. You don't even need a FOIA request to get it. Those who make a point about saying they got it through the FOIA, are doing little more than grandstanding.

Stone continues to rip folks on the Board, as well as recently retired Village Manager Bill Brimm, for their actions related to L & L. Stone has not, however, sited former members of the village staff or board who were involved in the L & L discussions.

Why not? Could it be that there's no glory in ripping people who have retired? Or could it be an arrangement that maybe Stone has made with some folks?

The discussions and ensuing coverage about L & L may yield more than alleged mishandling on the village's part.

Like the old saying goes, people who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

Or should that be Stones?

(c) 2010

399,999 - 1

To quote the late George Carlin -- I love words.

As the late comedian said there were 400,000 words in the English language, and only seven you could not say on television -- that was 399,993 - 7.

I'm not sure if there there are still 400,000 words in the English Language, but there was only one that really caught my eye when I read Pioneer Press' coverage of the recall petitions being filed.

In their coverage, the paper quoted embattled trustee Lisa Stone "... called the effort "an attempt at a political assassination."

So what word caught my eye? Assassination.

Check it out -- As a verb, it means to murder (a prominent person) by surprise attack for political reasons, so if Stone really thinks it's a political assassination, she's telling us people are out to murder her for political reasons. Nonsense.

If her retort is that it's really character assassination, then she better, once again, look in the mirror. Records show that she is the one who did a Freedom of Information Act request to expose former Bill Brimm's personnel records and she is the one who filed a police report claiming her safety was endangered by a resident who had the audacity to yell at her during a village board meeting.

Oh look, the shoe is on the other foot.

If she is trying to make herself a martyr by crying assassination, she is once again off base.

When I think of political assassinations, I think of the amazing people who were murdered because they sought to make things better. John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert F, Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, Julius Caesar, Mohandas Gandhi, James Garfield and Yitzhak Rabin just to name a few.

If Stone is trying to feign fear to get the sympathy vote, it probably will not work.

If Stone is using assassination to achieve martyrdom by associating herself with famous assassination victims, it surely won't work. Those people worked with people for their causes, those people listened to people and respected people, even those with opposite viewpoints.

Stone contends that the movement to oust her began before she was elected. That appears to be speculation, and there are more rumors about the last village election then there are excuses why the Cubs haven't won a World Series in 102 years.

The reality is the election in the past and the effort to put the recall of Stone on the November ballot is due to her performance as a trustee.

Stone continues to bring up the past, whether from her own insights, or at the urging of others.

The reality is this. According to that eminent philosopher, Mike Ditka -- the only people who live in the past are losers and cowards. You can decide which label fits Stone better.

All I know is she needs to work on her vocabulary.

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young had it right...

I'm always amazed how some of my students show up wearing T-shirts from rock bands that were popular when I was in high school.

Not too long ago a young man showed up wearing a Jimi Hendrix T-shirt. I told him I saw Hendrix in concert.

"Dude, no way..."

Dude? Whatever. But yes, there was a way.

There was a way that we also listened to Crosby, Still & Nash -- later adding Young and many of their songs -- including "Teach Your Children."

Part of the lyrics are:

"You who are on the road
Must have a code that you can live by
And so become yourself
Because the past is just a good bye."

My guess is that many parents teach their children to take responsibility for their actions. We must practice what we preach.

Even village officials.

In many ways, the filing of petition containing more than 2,000 signatures to put a recall vote for a public official on a ballot is a sad day -- not for the public official, but for the fact that all the good that has been done, and not everything has been perfect -- it never is -- is over shadowed by, in the case, one person, who wants to yell fire in a crowded theater just to get attention.

The fact that Lisa Stone, as reported in The Daily Herald and Des Plaines Journal and Topics, reportedly said "“Trustee (Jeff) Berman executed the recall ordinance and now it is being carried out...” is yet another indication that Trustee Stone wants to blame everyone else for what has transpired in the past 15 months.

Now the heat is turned up a notch and her best defense is to blame someone else. Whether Trustee Jeff Berman's introduction of the recall ordinance was intended for Stone is immaterial.

The fact remains that it's there and being used. What Stone seems to have missed is that to every action there's a reaction. People are reacting to her -- maybe not to what she is saying, but how.

My dad used to tell me not to burn any bridges. Good advice. Stone has leveled so many bridges it will a long time to rebuild and redirect the village.

No more can Buffalo Grove afford to be the laughing stock. No more can the focus be on the special interests of one trustee. No more can insults, accusations and disrespect for the parliamentary procedure be the focus of our municipal government.

"..Must have a code that you can live by

And so become yourself ..."

Stone has her own code and she became "herself" after the election. And now, so it seems, she may pay the price.

But she cannot blame Jeff Berman -- or anyone else at 50 Raupp.

My dad had another saying -- it's your bed, you sleep in it -- which is another way of saying you need to take responsibility for your actions.

If it's what we teach our children, it should not be so hard to do.

Especially for an elected official.

There's no biz, like show biz....

I've said several times before in this space that it's comical, if not darn right annoying, how Buffalo Grove Trustee Lisa Stone says one thing and turns around does another.

Her latest crusade is how much the village spends. She would want folks to think that this was her original crusade. But wait, Miz Quixote must have missed the village manager's reports, or maybe even Village President Elliott Hartstein's report that the village has not, one, but two, AAA bond ratings -- one from Standard and Poors and another from Moody's.

Nice job. Now no one can fault anyone for keeping an eye on the piggy bank, but Stoney is so busy worried about everyone else (the village attorney, the village manager etc. etc.) that she has forgotten one person.

Herself.

Her incessant use of staff time is a drain on the productivity of various village departments. Let's see, we'll her more comments that she need to get background and she needs to know what her constituency thinks.

Yo, Liza, you should have done that before you ran for office. It's interesting that she runs around like the Caped Crusader -- or should that be the Joker -- claiming she's working in the interest of the residents, but yet says she needs time to learn what they want.

Who was her speech writer? Yogi Berra?

I have begun a review of hundreds of emails I received through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). My intent was, and remains, to get more information about the Land and Lakes situation. I was also interested in other issues related to the village, including but not limited to financial policies.

My preliminary review has been intriguing, Stone does not hesitate to email a wide myriad of village staffers. Some questions are valid. However, there appears to be excessive follow-up and directions or edicts.

Imagine the staff time lost because of her birage of requests, some of which will be detailed in future blogs.

One email struck me funny -- Ch. 6 was not working. So Stoney contacted the village and indicated that she also contacted the police. I'm at a loss why our award-winning police department needs to handle calls about Ch. 6.

I know -- it's in case there's an emergency, we all run to Ch. 6.

Actually, I think Ms. Quixote is worried that someone will not be able to watch a Village Board meeting and see her in action.

Stone likes to showcase for the throngs at home who are, no doubt, glued to the TV. In fact, at the last meeting she held up a copy of the now infamous Shaw report and asked the videographers to focus in on it.

For the record, the report is available from the village in hard copy or as a .pdf. Just request it.

Stoney knows that -- but see, that's too easy. Instead it becomes part of her continuing dog-and -pony -- which, by the way is done at taxpayer's expense.

It's a good thing the community access channel is just called "Ch. 6."

It wouldn't surprise me if she's want to have it called WLS -- not Ch. 7 -- which stands for World's Largest Store.

She's want it to stand for Watch Lisa Stone.

I'd rather watch the Cubs.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

As I witnessed yet another Village Board meeting and another less-than-stellar performance by Mrs. Quixote, I was at a loss as to who can help get things on track.

I'm not sure when or where it was, but at some point, the sounds of the Queen of Soul came out of a speaker and permeated my cranial cavity.

Aretha Franklin to the rescue.

And all it took was one word.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

That's it.

Why? Because Monday night's meeting demonstrated the ultimate in lack of respect.

And don't blame Village Board President Elliott Hartstein. Yes, he was uncharacteristically
blunt, but as I tell people -- to every action, there is a reaction.

His responses to the behavior and allegations of Trustee Lisa Stone may have been spontaneous, but his message was clear -- Enough is enough.

I'm sure cynics will say the rest of the Board doesn't give Stone respect. Ask yourself -- has she earned it. The answer is, quite simply, no.

Stone's behavior Monday reached a new low. She admitted at the end of the meeting, and this is on the video, that she was not following the rules.

Stone felt it was her part to do and say what she wanted, when she wanted, and about whomever she wanted.

Stone, who see herself as the Messiah who will save the village from evil and corruption, is using village time and money to showcase whatever it is she's trying to do.

The tirade about the minutes and yet another attack on village clerk Jan Sirabian started the evening.

Stone votes against the minutes for reasons she has yet to explain. My guess is is that they do not provide a record of her ramblings. At Monday's meeting she called the minutes the "history of the village."

No they're note. They are little more that a recording of actions taken by the board. Votes. Decisions. Period.

Stone bellowed that it was a state law -- but did not say what was a state law. Yes, the state requires that minutes documenting corporate authority actions be taken, but they do not stipulate that a narrative of every mundane remark be made.

Stone wanted the discussion about the missing tape from an executive session in 1985 when Land and Lakes was discussed be entered into the minutes. It was not, however, an agenda item.

Enter the R word. If only Stoney knew it. Stone's antics during the discussion were, as is now the norm, disrespectful, accusatory and served as little more than an effort to try and showcase herself as Madame Quixote, here to save Buffalo Grove from the evils that plague the village.

Yawn. Been there, heard that, and still not impressed.

Liza wants undivided attention when she speaks, but when someone else has the floor, especially Hartstein, she look as interested as meeting of the Rod Blagojevich fan club. This was evident when Hartstein was giving his report and citing the positive things going on in the village.

You know, things that probably aren't important to some people, things like:

• Special recognition from the Northwest Municipal Conference for the village's clean-air campaign.
• A successful start to the Farmer's market
• Several awards for the Police Department
• The annual Buffalo Grove Invitational Art Festival

Nope, Liza doesn't react to those -- see, there's no glory in those accomplishments, probably because they have been ongoing and were the result of previous village boards -- you know the good old boys -- the same ones who also crafted a village staff that provides great services and has lead the village to not one, but two AAA bond ratings.

Yeah, if you listen to Liza, life sure stinks around here.

It's not perfect -- nothing is, no one is. But you need to respect the efforts of those who have dedicated themselves to making things happen.

But when you try to build things by swinging the hammer and crowbar, nothing gets done.

What it takes is what the village generally has and what Stone needs to practice.

Sing it, Aretha -- R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T / Find out what it means to me / R-E-S-P-E-C-T

A little bit can go a long way. But it seems like we'll never know.

The baton has been passed

It's official. Buffalo Grove has a new Village Manager.

Dane Bragg (pictured below), currently City Manager of Galesburg, Illinois, takes over the reigns as Buffalo Grove's top administrator.

According to the village's official release, Bragg will be introduced at the July 12 Board meeting and is expected to start on the job Sept. 7.

So let's all admit it, the most pressing question on everyone's mind is how will he get along, handle, and cope with Trustee Lisa Stone.

Wrong question. Using every cheesy cliche around, it's a new era, a new beginning, a new tradition for the Board (all of those cliches by the way have been used in connection with the Chicago Cubs, so let's hope the village fares better.)

If anyone sees the appointment of village administrator -- in any department -- as an opportunity for personal gain or advantage, then they should not be serving the village.

Issues that may have been connected in some way, shape or form to Bill Brimm, or even his predecessor, Bill Balling, are history. (Has anyone noticed that Bragg is the third consecutive Village Manager whose name begins with "B"?)

It's important that the Board not try to persuade him that a specific point is right or there's a problem because it's their own special interest.

Bragg's background includes a three-year stint as City Manager in Galesburg (home of the Silverstreaks) and assistant CM in Decatur where he was also in charge of Economic and Urban Development.

The release from the village cites the difference in the size of population. It's not the size of the town that makes the person, it's the quality of the person.

Apparently the Board has come to some sort of agreement (we can only hope) on Bragg's appointment.

The key thing now is to let him do his job. This will take the patience of everyone. We've heard a lot about learning curves -- and coming from Galesburg, Bragg will have a learning curve. He appears to have the background -- so let him do his job. Don't camp out in his office for hours on end, don't challenge him in the media or in public and don't call him at home at all hours.

The decision has been made and the Board needs to stand pat behind its decision.

With all that has been going on in the council chambers, the last thing you want is for Village Hall to be known as is Fort Bragg.