Remember when Sandra Bury was campaigning for her first term as OL Mayor? See this link: https://patch.com/illinois/oak... When she said "I am not seeking office for financial gain or power, but because I love this community and you deserve better leadership. Oak Lawn's Mayor should put Oak Lawn First. Plain and simple." She sure had some great sound bites. "I'm not a politician." I'll put the "service" back in public service." "I am not the only one to be frustrated with the lack of transparency, lack of leadership and lack of connection to the values that residents hold dear."
Let's face it - she really has no power other than to break a tie vote on the Board. She doesn't lead, she follows, and she's following the wrong people. She's a doormat and she's letting the wrong people step over her and on to Oak Lawn residents and taxpayers. "Her" administration is not transparent, and she certainly does not connect to any values I hold dear - like honesty, compassion, kindness, loyalty, trustworthiness, or even authenticity. Where's our 'better leadership'? Where's our 'service' in public service? What we've gotten is lack of leadership, a mayor that stands by while her administration tries their best to get rid of the homeless by shutting down shelters, suing their own fire department, mobile home park owners, former employees, bullying hospitals to squeeze million dollar payments in lieu of taxes, bullying the Archdiocese of Chicago to try to land grab a corner of a cemetery, building shopping centers while ignoring decades long flooding issues, and making sweetheart deals with energy companies that do not benefit the residents in ANY way, but nets the Village a kickback of $150,000. This is leadership? This is transparency? This is love of community? This is compassion for humanity, for your fellow man, your neighbors? God help us.
In an article in the Oak Lawn Reporter newspaper dated October 11, 2018, Trustee Alex Olejniczak is quoted as saying "If it (energy aggregation program) is approved, we can decide, as a board, what to do with the $150,000 in taxpayers' money that would be returned to us." Well, I have a suggestion for the board on what to do with that money - donate it to BedsPlus to at least partially mitigate the problems you, as a board, have brought to this organization by passing the heavy-handed ordinance that regulates temporary overnight shelters in Oak Lawn. The ordinance that forced two shelter hosts to drop out of the program and is forcing BedsPlus to try to raise funds to retro fit other hosts with sprinkler systems. Yes, donate it. I dare you, as a board, to do the right thing.
