Trustees Accuse Pro-Streit Political Blog of 'Malicious and Dishonest' Claims: OPINION

Caption: Everything old is new again as Oak Lawn Village Board members battle at their last meeting on Nov. 11. | Morgan Searles

At our Village Board meeting on Nov 11 our fellow Trustee Tim Desmond discussed a flyer that was being circulated in Oak Lawn that contained several lies about the Village’s 9-1-1 Dispatch Center. A resident told Trustee Desmond the people handing out the flyer said it was created by the Oak Lawn Leaf.

For those not familiar the Oak Lawn Leaf is a political website created in 2013 devoted to tearing down the Village of Oak Lawn and slandering and criticizing its leadership and management.

Trustee Desmond talked about the malicious and dishonest claims the flyer made about our 9-1-1 Dispatch Center, and he pointed out that the flyer had no author, just like ALL the “stories” on the Oak Lawn Leaf. Trustee Desmond said he wanted to remind residents that the Oak Lawn Leaf was created and maintained by Oak Lawn Trustee Bob Streit and his political ally, former Mayor Dave Heilmann.

Before Trustee Desmond could finish his statement he was interrupted and attacked by Trustee Carol Quinlan who demanded proof of his claims. Trustee Quinlan is also a political ally of Streit and Heilmann, and when Trustee Desmond responded with his proof he was shouted down and talked over by Trustee Quinlan. Trustee Quinlan’s outburst was so disruptive that our Mayor intervened and called for order, only to be attacked by Trustee Quinlan who criticized her handling of meetings and called her “a piece of work.”

In news accounts written after our meeting and about this issue, Trustee Streit was quoted as saying he has “no connection” to the Oak Lawn Leaf.

Now there’s nothing newsworthy about politicians making dishonest or absurd claims, especially here in Illinois, but it is unusual, in this case, because the dishonesty is so easy to expose:

On May 3, 2013, Dave Heilmann and Bob Streit created the Oak Lawn Leaf, with both men acting as registrants, and Heilmann and his downtown law firm Clausen Miller acting as the administrator.

In late May 2013, the Oak Lawn Patch “outed” Heilmann as an owner of the website, and on May 28, 2013 Heilmann admitted: “Yes, I secured the website Oak Lawn Leaf, (and) I like it (and) I do hope to contribute articles.”

Yet later, on February 1, 2014, Heilmann and Streit attempted to again disguise their ownership, and paid a service to change the registrants’ names from their own names to “contact@myprivateregistartion.com”.

And on April 4, 2014, Mayor Sandra Bury addressed this issue with Oak Lawn residents by saying: “Willful deception is always wrong, but it is especially vulgar when it is served to unsuspecting residents by individuals who now hold, or formerly held, elected office.”

We couldn’t agree more with our Mayor, and it’s even more vulgar when the lies and deceit deal with life and death issues, as they do in this case with our 9-1-1 Dispatch Center.

As liaisons to our Police and Fire Departments, and also as former servicemen in our country’s armed forces, we are committed to making sure that our citizens are not only served and protected, but also that they are not lied to and frightened, which is why we are SOURCING our letter with the several links below.

Unlike Bob Streit, Carol Quinlan and Dave Heilmann, who prefer to operate in a world of anonymity, lies, and deception.

Alex Olejniczak

2nd District Trustee

& Fire Department Liaison

Terry Vorderer

4th District Trustee

& Police Department Liaison

Sources:

Register.com screenshot showing Oak Lawn Leaf registration by Dave Heilmann and Bob Streit (MayorBury.com, May 3, 2013)

“Private Email Turned Into Mass Mailing on Heilmann Founded Anonymous Blog” (Oak Lawn Patch, May 28, 2013)

“Heilmann Details His Reasons For Founding the ‘Oak Lawn Leaf’” (Oak Lawn Patch, May 28, 2013)

Register.com screenshot showing Heilmann and Streit’s attempts to disguise ownership (MayorBury.com, Feb. 1, 2014)

Mayor Sandra Bury Exposes Efforts by Heilmann and Streit to Disguise their Ownership (MayorBury.com, April 14, 2014)

“Kadner: A Political Web War In Oak Lawn” (SouthtownStar, April 16, 2014)

“Streit a lightning rod on Oak Lawn Village Board?” (SouthtownStar, Nov. 14, 2014)