Chicken Little living in fear...

It’s always a difficult time of year for Chicken Little.

                “You know,” he says, “in the fall, there’s just one holiday dinner; but this time of year, there are two seders.”

                Not realizing he was so observant, I asked why that concerned him.

                “You fool, that means twice as much chicken soup!  And this year there’s an added stress besides the holiday.”

                Which is?

                “I keep hearing voices and seeing images in my head.  Franklin Roosevelt, Jimmy Piersall Dale Carnegie – even Napoleon!”

                Whoa, I said, where did this come from?

                “They all talk about fear and how we need to overcome it,” he said.

                So you’re living in fear of chicken soup?

                “Hey, that’s normal,” he said.  “But what has me more concerned is the fear being generated during this campaign.”

                You fear signs, I asked?

                “No, it’s the fear being disseminated by some candidates and their supporters. You know the inference -- if we don’t elect them, the village will turn into a concrete slab.”

                Ah, campaign rhetoric, I said. 

                “That may be, but it scares me to death.  I need space for my coop and what if they build a mega mall and I have to flee the coop, so to speak.”

                I told him told him to take a deep breath and relax.  Unfortunately, campaigns do that to people and the result is an onslaught of, for lack of a better term, inaccuracies.

                Much of the discussion in this campaign has been brought on by the now defunct proposal for “downtown Buffalo Grove.”  It was, to say the least, an albatross that was going to fit into Buffalo Grove as, a professor of Middle East studies would say, an Arab in a Kibbutz.

                It was, however, an idea.  But it’s gone.

                And despite what at least one resident said in a letter to the editor to The Daily Herald, the Village Board did not pull the plug on the project when Beverly Sussman announced her candidacy.  It was withdrawn when village officials decided that a plan calling for the village to provide between $100 and $120 million in finances in one way shape or form was not going to fly.  Period.

                “So you mean fear of the evil empire from Deerfield return is unfounded?” Chicken Little asked.

                Big time.  CRM officials have made it quite clear that they are not going to submit another proposal and that, as the spokesperson said “I will not develop in Buffalo Grove.”

                “So what’s the big yehuda?” C.L. asked.

                As the old journalism adage goes, sex sells.  Or in this case, fear sells.

                That could be why some folks are waving the panic flag.

                “Ah, I see.  It’s like if you don’t vote for them the ensuing impact will infect you mind, curve your spine and cause the allies to lose the war.”

                At this point it became clear to me that Chicken Little was finally getting it, or listening to vintage George Carlin – or both.

                “What do the newspapers say?” he asked.  I told him that those newspapers that did endorsements raised the same question – what’s the problem?

                When there is no real problem there seems to be a need to drudge up an issue.

                That’s not to say things are perfect, because they never are.  And that’s not to say that all incumbents are perfect, because they are not.

                What is important to note, however, is that despite who you are supporting, you need to look at the global situation.  In a nutshell, the village is doing fine.  Could things have been done differently?  Absolutely.  But don’t preach fear.

                “So maybe that’s why I’m hearing voices,” Chicken Little said.  Possibly, I told him.

                “You know, for a while there, I thought Rahm Emanuel and Jesus “Chuy” Garcia were running for were running in Buffalo Grove.”  Hardly, but I can see your connection.

                In general terms, Garcia has one issue, brought on by a single group.  Rahmbo, the incumbent, is getting beat up for the things he’s done and is trying to do.  Welcome to elections.

                “But what other issues are there?” C.L. asked.

                We’ve heard about transparency in government.  A good one.  It’s always amazing to me that people who have problems with this show up once every two years to complain.  Again, there is probably room for improvement, but information from the village is available online, from staff and through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).  The FOIA has tight regulations as to when and how an organization needs to respond, difficulties getting information are most likely due to ‘user error’, which is not an uncommon occurrence.

                In terms of citizen input, I do not know of another village, school board, or any other public body that gives residents as much time to present their views as Buffalo Grove does.  Ten minutes at the end of each meeting and five minutes on specific topics.

                “Darn, the meetings must go forever,” C.L. said.  That depends on what is being discussed, but in general they don’t because not many residents attend.

                “Ah, but I bet all of the candidates show up,” Outside of the incumbents (for obvious reasons), they don’t.  Merely stating a fact without serving as an endorsement, candidate Adam Moodhe is one of the few regulars at Village Board meetings.

                “Other issues?” he asked? 

                Economic development, which is incessantly referred to as ED.  When I saw that I thought I had to see Alice in Village Hall.  Seriously, however, it is a pressing issue and the village is taking steps to address it. As a matter of clarity, it should be retail economic development.  The village is doing extremely well with office and industrial square footage – in fact, there is nearly 8 million square feet of occupied industrial and office space in the village.

                The village continues to work with companies to locate in Buffalo Grove.

                “Do you think companies will leave,” C.L. asked? Some have, I noted, even though they maintain facilities outside the village.  “So why didn’t they stay in the village?”  Good question, I told him; maybe someone on the Board can investigate that.

                “Geez, I guess I need to read the campaign signs a bit more,” he said.

                Let’s not even go there.  The sign issue has become an annoyance at the very least.  So much so, I told him, that at least one candidate’s spouse filed a police report claiming vandalism because of damage to her campaign signs even though they weren’t on their property.

                “Wow,” C.L. said, “I’m not sure what to do.”

                The best advice, I told him, comes from the late Fidel Ghini, who was mayor Highwood for 24 years.

                “And that is?” he asked.

                Do your homework.

A sign of the times?

I’m not a fan of campaign signs.

            I know they’re essential to campaigns because how else will people get to know the candidates?

            There’s so much information on a campaign sign that there’s no need to research a candidate or slate.

            You can find out that some is experienced, dedicated and that the candidate cares.

            And it seems that the more signs a candidate or slate has, the more qualified they are.

            Right.

            So as the campaign for Village Board winds down, the focus appears to be on signs.

            Issues?  We don’t need no stinking issues, we have signs.

            Signs address everything – the issues, transparency, civic responsibility.

            It’s a sad state when those running for public office focus on image rather than substance. It’s especially critical – yes critical – in today’s world of quick-info.  News consumers don’t take time to understand the news about the world around them – whether it global or local.

            It’s no wonder that the Illinois State Board of Education has a task force that is calling for a mandatory civics class for Illinois students.

            Perhaps they want to start in Buffalo Grove.  Not because Stevenson or Buffalo Grove high schools need it – their students get it – just watch them in action at the village’s annual civics forum coordinated by Village Clerk Jan Sirabian.

Signs for the Save Buffalo Grove slate were at Town Center,
but we removed by management on Tuesday

            Strong civics involves weighing all sides of an issue from multiple, independent and non-bias sources while sticking to the facts and not mere opinion.  A novel idea.

            But in our little town (thank you Simon and Garfunkel) it seems like the superficial is what’s beneficial.

            Like signs.

            Signs in parkways, on lawns, fences and just about anywhere you can put them.

            It’s to the point that the signs have seemingly become a campaign issue.  Most recently “signgate” as one social media poster put it, involved campaign signs touting the re-election of Village Board President Jeff Braiman and Beverly Sussman who is running against him

                It seems as though both Sussman and Braiman placed signs on and in front of the fence that belongs to The Villas at Hidden Lake development at the corner of Deefield Parkway and Buffalo Grove Road. Sussman had one of her large banners on the fence along with several standard lawn signs.  Braiman supporters, seeking equal space, placed a couple of lawn signs there as well, a move that should not be seen as unexpected. At issue is who allegedly had permission to place the signs there.

            The drama unfolds when it was discovered the other day that someone placed

Signs for Beverley Sussman are placed in front of those for
 Incumbent Village Board President Jeff Braiman.
These signs are at Deerfield Parkway and Buffalo Grove Road

additional Sussman signs in front of the Braiman signs.

            Now this is a classy campaign.

            Those signs, however, are not then only ones at the center of signgate.  During a stop at Town Center a couple of Saturdays ago, I was amazed, if not a bit taken back, by the number of campaign signs for the Save Buffalo Grove slate. I understand that individual stores may want to display a sign, but it appeared that the entire center was supporting the slate.

            During a return trip I found that there were 32 signs at Town Center; 28 in the common areas and four by entrances on Lake-Cook Road and Illinois Rt. 83.

            A few things come into play here.  If you are trying to lease vacant retail space, do you permit a litany of campaign signs haphazardly placed throughout the property? There seems to be a bit of irony here since the beleaguered Town Center has been a focus of downtown redevelopment efforts touted by the Save the Buffalo Grove slate.

            Tim Donohue, property manager for CTK Asset Services, which manages Town Center, said Monday that he was unaware of the signs (he was on vacation the week before) and that “We’re not supporting any slate of campaigns.  Someone from the group may have put them there.”

            He added that tenants may be allowed to have “certain temporary signs,” they need to follow village and property guidelines.  “I have never come across this before.”  He did a site visit on Tuesday to assess the situation and seemed more than a little surprise at what he found.  “There were a lot of signs out there,” he said. He added that when checking with tenants, “nobody was able to tell me that they put the signs out, so I took them down.” All 32 of them.

            As for granting permission, Donohue was adamant that “nobody asked me permission; I did not give permission to anyone to put signs like that out.”

            In a telephone interview last Wednesday, Sussman said that she goes to Town Center once a week, but had not seen the signs and was “not aware of them.”

            In the meantime, sources tell me that signgate found its way to the Village Manager’s office where both Village Manager Dane Bragg and Deputy Village Manager Jennifer Maltas have reportedly been in touch with all candidates about placement of signs and the fact that village inspectors will remove campaign signs that are on village right of way.  Among the signs reportedly removed were those placed near the Vernon Township Hall where early voting is taking place.  Maltas did, however, say the problem is not unique to this election.  “Every election season we tell the candidates that they (signs) can’t be on village right of way.  They can be on private property with the owner’s permission.

            In regard to Town Center, Maltas was emphatic that the village did not remove any campaign signs because the development is private property.  She added that campaign sign regulations are handled by the Community Develop Department.  Maltas said that when a violation is spotted, photos are taken to document the infraction

            After that, “We contact them and they can pick their signs up,” Maltas said.  Signs that are not claimed are discarded.

            Hello, WoodStein?

            You would think that as the election gets closer, candidates, especially those who are not happy with the incumbents, would be addressing issues.  Things like economic development, the pending hatchet job by the Rauner administration, and maintaining the village’s financial situation.

            But no -- it’s all about signs.  Voters need to look past the signs and research the candidates.  As for the candidates, as noted, they need to address issues, offer solutions to things they see as problematic, and get past the sign issue.

            The late Will Rogers once said “All I know is just what I read in the papers, and that's an alibi for my ignorance.”

            When it comes to effective voting, if all you know about a candidate is what you read on a campaign sign, then it’s more than an alibi for your ignorance; it’s a lack civic responsibility.

This blog was updated at 4:40 p.m. on April to include comments by Deputy Village Manager Jennifer Maltas.