Tinley Park, IL. (ECWd) –
In a stunning development out of Tinley Park, the 9-member Tinley Park Planning Commission had 7 of its members suddenly resign this month, all after citizens of Tinley Park started attending Board and Planning Commission meetings to voice public anger at the low income housing project that many believe Village employees snuck around zoning codes against the community’s wishes.
Resignations received by the Village were:
1.) Rita Walker (resigned 2/19/16)
2.) Art Pierce (resigned 2/18/16)
3.) Robert C. McClellan (resigned 2/15/16)
4.) Jeff Ficaro (resigned 2/4/16)
5.) Tom Mahoney (resigned 2/5/16)
6.) Gina Miller (resigned 2/16/16)
7.) William Reidy (resigned 2/10/16)
All of the Planning Commission members resigned either for “family or health reasons”, according to their resignation letters emailed to the Village Mayor David Seaman.
The public first became aware of the Buckeye Hope Community Foundation’s scheme to slip the low income housing into Tinley Park in late January 2016. The first Board meeting where the public appeared to criticize the Village and Planning Commission was on 2/2/16. The resignations started at that point, and really picked up speed after the Village Planning Commission held its meeting on 2/4/16 and the Commission members heard an earful in person that night.
Read our previous articles here. You can watch an ongoing real time documentary of these Village meetings here, as the citizens of Tinley Park forcefully called for an independent investigation into what Village employees and the Planning Commission had been doing that created this mess with Buckeye.
It is interesting to wonder why 7 Planning Commission members all had the sudden urge to resign just as the public became aware of the Buckeye housing project mess and questions started being asked. Since none of them said they are resigning in protest because of the way that the Commission had been running (and instead told stories about needing to spend time with family or having health problems), many in Tinley Park looking at this sudden explosion of resignations can’t help but speculate that these Commission Members didn’t want to face another public meeting where they would be grilled by the public.
The Planning Commission meetings that were supposed to be held in recent weeks were all canceled, as well as the March 3rd scheduled meeting being canceled. The Planning Commission has not met since February 4th, when it was chewed out by angry citizens for two solid hours.
It’s likely that these 7 Commission members had enough of that and being on the Planning Commission didn’t seem like a fun idea anymore. There is also the suspicion that at least some of these people don’t want to be listed as current sitting Commission members as the investigation into wrongdoing in the Village Planning ranks gets underway.
It is a rare occurrence, even in Illinois, for almost the entire membership of a Commission to resign almost all at once like this.
Check back for further developments from Tinley Park.
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21 Comments
Dave
Posted at 17:45h, 27 FebruaryAre the rats jumping ship? Or do they have an allergy to the push back by the voters
Meg
Posted at 14:05h, 28 FebruaryAll these low income people are going to bring him crime and drugs. I’ve seen it before look at the Edgewater Walk Apartments which are section 8. Police get called there all the time for drugs, fights, and gang activity. There’s no need for any more section 8 apartments in Tinley Park. There’s no if ands or buts about it they don’t need to be there. Find another place. In a place that doesn’t have to pay a crapload in taxes to live there and then have section 8, its BS
Colleen
Posted at 18:54h, 27 FebruaryWhat coincidence! They all suddenly decide they want to spend more time with their families or they have health problems. Funny how they all independently came to these decisions all at the same time starting right after people started asking questions at board meetings. Imagine that.
Blount
Posted at 09:16h, 28 FebruaryHere you have a volunteer board of Tinley Park residents, many who have served for years to better their community, who have been subject to ugly calls on social media that have sullied their reputations. They chose to walk away. Is it any wonder? Who needs this grief. In the name of free speech and freedom of the press, the former board members have been called corrupt and and evil and all sorts of trashy things. If any of these social media mavins over the course of the previous years had bothered to attend any of the monthly planning meetings, they would have learned how zoning works. I’d be interested to see how many of the new found activists that have rallied against this project will actually stick around after this eventually blows over. Its easy to make judgements on people and while it might seem hilarious to put their names and faces on social media sights and make ugly juxtapositions of their faces and insinuate criminal deeds, there is little you can do to fight back so you might as well walk away. What a loss for a great town.
Jennifer
Posted at 11:29h, 28 FebruaryBlount – you seem to be just spouting off generalities and baseless accusations. This is the Planning Commission that has resigned. I am not aware of anyone doing any of the things to the planning commission that you claim people did. Can you cite some specific examples with URLs? I would like to see examples of the “ugly juxtapositions of their faces and insinuate criminal deeds”. Can you back that up please? You do not seem to be a resident of Tinley and you don’t seem to have followed this story. You seem to just attack the public for having a voice against its government and you seem to weigh in on the side of the government having supremacy over people. You seem to be against free speech and you malign members of the public who participate in government criticism. Why is that?
Blount
Posted at 13:08h, 28 FebruaryWell Jennifer, I listenened to the first five minutes of Kevin and Megans most recent you tube broadcast and had to shut it off. Right off the bat they talked about indictments coming down. There’s been no allegations of criminality except by uninformed internet bloggers and face book posters. I listened as far as when they insinuated a commissioner resigned and could be a liar because he’s chosen to support his young college age son. The two, with no proof insinuate the planning commisioners are getting business deals on the side with the village.
Do they have any proof or is it just baseless speculation.
What decent human being wants to live their lives being harrassed by stalkers willing to turn their good names into mud on the internet. Kevin decries Alinsky tactics, but finds them pretty useful tools if he can smear people with them. I’m all for an investigation into this matter. But heavy handed judgements in the form of internet smear does not serve anyone well.
Jennifer
Posted at 14:39h, 28 FebruaryBlount — So, what you are saying is the stuff you said originally is not true (since you could not cite any examples of the pictures or whatever you are talking about). Then you rambled about some radio show you listened to just five minutes of. Seems to me that you have an axe to grind against two people and you are just here to further that grudge you have. Because you aren’t really adding anything to the discussion of this Tinley Park matter and are just lobbing out whatever you feel like hurling at the objects of your obsession today. Thanks for proving my point that you could not back up the things you are saying. You had your chance, but couldn’t cite any supporting evidence, so you switched to a new attack and revealed your true colors. Appreciate that.
BeeLady
Posted at 21:15h, 28 Februaryi heard that podcast. I didn’t hear none of what you’re claiming. I heard them read the letters and comment on how unlikely it is that all 7 suddenly had illnesses or family matters to attend to. pretty coincidental, dontcha think? I didn’t hear no accusations or nothing.
richard
Posted at 13:20h, 28 FebruaryRocko, yes it is a shame to raise our kids away from lower income and the crime that usually follows with it. I say that from experience.
Blount , it is a shame that the board members put themselves into a poor position and our society reacts that way. they also made poor decisions.
Lets face this fact that no one wants their property devalued and the same would be true if this were to be built in any upstanding town.
Rocko
Posted at 10:02h, 28 FebruaryTinley Park should change it’s name to Trump Park and build a wall around it, be afraid, be very afraid of other Americans who have a lower income. So sad that people raise their children with this attitude.
jmkraft
Posted at 11:22h, 28 FebruaryOnce again, you missed the actual issue presented.
Mike
Posted at 22:39h, 28 FebruaryPlease educate yourself about Buckeye Community Hope Foundation and the crooked maneuvering used by our local government to get this project through the door. That’s the issue. We already have all levels of income here in Tinley Park.
Blount
Posted at 15:42h, 28 FebruaryRainbow hair. That’s mature.
BeeLady
Posted at 21:17h, 28 Februarycause you ain’t never heard of jokes and satire right? in your world everybody is all mature and serious all the time. lord have mercy, somebody told a joke! my eyes are burning! my eyes are burning!
Blount
Posted at 07:25h, 29 FebruaryI alway like it when people have their internet slime pointed out to them, suddenly it becomes a joke. Passive aggressive or Alinsky tactics. I guess you’ve made your choice.
Jennifer
Posted at 09:14h, 29 FebruaryI am really trying to understand what your issue and beef is Blount. I really am. Again, I asked you to please cite where you claim someone “made ugly juxtapositions of (the planning commission members’) faces and insinuate criminal deeds.” You never did do that. Instead you just pivoting into other punches. From what I can understand (because you write rather cryptically) you do not seem to like humor, parody, or satire. I believe you are using a tactic where you clutch pearls and retire to your fainting couch and you try to insinuate or imply that someone out there is doing something terrible and out of bounds, but you don’t cite what that is. You leave it to people’s imaginations, since you know that what someone would imagine would be worse than whatever thing you are complaining about. I don’t know if you reside in the States or if you are originally from here, but you seem to not understand freedom of speech in this country especially as it pertains to criticism and ridicule of public officials. You seem to want to censor people and stop satire and ridicule of public officials, which is a monarchist attitude at odds with life in a republic. You seem to spend a lot of your time obsessing over how other people express their freedom of speech or participate in government. To me that seems unhealthy. And sad.
robertmpozdol
Posted at 17:00h, 28 FebruaryInteresting, somethings wrong here in Tinley Park. https://t.co/X16y2WSZHK
Mike
Posted at 22:36h, 28 FebruaryThank you ECWD- great article. This whole saga here in Tinley Park has definitely had some twists and turns, but 7 people resigning? Mind blowing. Keep up the good work- the Citizens of Tinley Park appreciate your articles.
Jason
Posted at 08:16h, 01 MarchDont do it Tinley Park!!!! Bring back Zabrocki.
Concerned
Posted at 13:18h, 01 MarchSeems like a cowardly thing for these people to do. No balls.
Mary
Posted at 13:25h, 01 MarchSeems like a cowardly thing for these people to do.