The Election Clean-up
It was only slightly comical when a fellow Cal-Parker asked me in early March if we were having an election this year. I knew we were having one for village trustees and School Board District 132, but no one had really come out of the political closet. Not a peep out of anyone, and then about 3 weeks before the election, flyers began circulating. The circulation of nomination papers began September 21, 2010. The filing period for candidates was between December 13-20.
There has been a controversy about Calumet School, which is well over 100 years old, being torn down and replaced by a new school. The incumbents claimed a grant will pay for it, while the challengers argued that the taxpayers will. The incumbents had yard signs about saving the children and flyers telling us about their accomplishments, but failed to mention anything about a new school. Not everyone knows. The challengers circulated flyers with numerous grammatical errors, but two out of three challengers won.
As for village trustee candidates, remember that fateful October night when a few hundred people showed up to hear about the plasma arc gas plant at the Calumet Township Community Center? Residents were angry, incumbents were nervous. The latter knew this could lead to a political fall-out. It was like a tsunami coursing through the village. Anyone with political aspirations had the opportunity to paddle their surfboard to the top of that wave while it was there, declare new leadership, and ride that baby out. But I guess no one else saw that wave. A few Blue Island aldermanic candidates saw it and included their incinerator stance in their profiles.
There’s nothing quite like announcing your candidacy and starting your campaign 3 weeks before the election. Some felt it was a plot, but challengers have the challenge to get their message known throughout the village. Blue Island candidates were going public in January! I should not have to check the Cook County Clerk’s website to see who is running for office in my village, which is a mere square mile.
The politics in Cal-Park were mild compared to what was transpired in Blue Island at the same time. The dark cloud floated over the 127th Street bridge, hovered over my space, and was following me everywhere I went. I was nauseated and depressed because of media coverage that seemed like an ambush that a local newspaper was spearheading. The timing of the events was uncanny.
The publicity started in early March, with a plan where State Rep. Bob Rita considered the elimination of local school districts and consolidating with the county. It drew a lot of heat, so Rita wisely backed off, but it continued to stay in the news throughout mid-March. Soon after, another headline appeared involving an old court case involving Rita being arrested in Nevada which included nothing abnormal for someone in their early 20’s.
Those two headlines were merely appetizers before the main dish – the pool party which included park district and Calumet Township people, resulting in the drowning death of township trustee, Carlos Salgado. There were two positions open on the park board and the township had a fundraiser which included honoring 3 top officials, one of which was Fred Bilotto, Blue Island Park Board President. That was like opening the oven door and taking out a cooked goose on a silver platter. The heat spread and a local newspaper was just waiting with their plates, knives, and forks.
Meanwhile, Joanne Ring, a longtime aide for Rita was running for one of the seats as Park District Commissioner. Her job involved handling all of the media hype and taming the media circus, while she was also working her campaign. The FORUM newspaper was running political profiles of all the candidates and a call was placed to Joanne about our deadline. She promised to get back to the FORUM, and her last words to us were, that Rita’s office was being swamped by the media. The next local headline read, “Fundraiser aggravates deceased man’s family”. The next night Joanne collapsed in her kitchen and died from a sudden heart attack.
I never met Joanne Ring in person but I spoke with her a few times on the phone. Once a neighbor asked where I got my “We Call Police” window sign. The Calumet Township used to have them but were out of the signs, so I was told to call Joanne. I did, and she wanted to know my address. I was reluctant to say, but relented. Before the week was over, I got 10 signs in the mail. I wasn’t expecting that. She would also return phone calls, which can be rare when dealing with politicians.
The same week that Joanne Ring passed away, James Tyree also passed. He invested in the Sun-Times Media which owns several newspapers, who were in financial trouble. He was like a savior to the newspaper industry and during an interview he is quoted, “Too many folks in the reporting world have their allegiances to people and get twisted and spun, and, frankly, used as pawns in political battles.” He goes on to say, “Once a newspaper becomes the tool of politicians, (you’re) toast.” That being said, perhaps some reporters should try a brand called “Smart Balance” on their toast. It costs a little more, but it’s better than all that saturated fat going to your head.
A couple weeks later, some Blue Island residents called the FORUM because they were receiving a photocopied column titled, “A price should be paid for Blue Island scandal” in their mailboxes. The column was anti-Rita and essentially pushing the public to vote a certain way. Two years ago, I received flyers regarding the Calumet Township race that were anti-Rita containing quotes from the same newspaper, the same columnist. It’s a sad state of journalism when the opposition doesn’t have to come up with any political flyers because they just have to wait until a certain columnist does a story, and their campaign message is done for them.
The day after Joanne Ring’s visitation and funeral service, another headline read, “Can dead candidate beat a write-in?” (And they thought that honoring Bilotto was tacky). This is the second time I’ve asked, “How does this get past the editor?” The editor is responsible for the content that represents a newspaper as a whole. We have the right to free speech, but how do you want to use it? So far, 3 deceased people have been disrespected – Joanne Ring, Carlos Salgado, and James Tyree.
Blue Islanders are well aware of the disgrace that happened last summer at the Memorial Park pool. The legal ramifications of the tragedy are still playing out in court. If Fred Bilotto remains in office, he will be up for re-election and the public can decide if he should go. This issue belongs to Blue Island, not a local newspaper using a tabloid style that continues to disgrace for their own profit.
Bookworms Infected by Border’s Bankruptcy
When the news anchor reported that Borders had filed bankruptcy and the stores in Beverly and Matteson were closing, my heart sunk. It was déjà vu as I recalled the announcement that Crown Books at River Oaks Mall in Calumet City was going bankrupt years ago. I can still see and hear that pencil-thin man dressed in a suit with a big head (who resembled a taffy-apple) in a TV commercial proclaiming, “If you paid full price for it, you didn’t buy it at Crown.”
The first Crown Bookstore in River Oaks was chock full and there were always a bunch of random books marked down in price. You never knew what you might find and could easily spend an hour in the store. Crown Books honored the New York Times Bestseller list, and any book on that list was about 40% off its list price. If they didn’t have a book in stock, they would order it for you and send you a postcard when it arrived at the store.
Crown Books closed that store to re-open as Super Crown Books just around the corner from the first location. It was a much larger store with public bathrooms, luxurious chairs placed in different areas to give a homey feel. For a store so big, they didn’t seem to have as much as when they were smaller, and the place wasn’t as crowded. Was it just that the expansion simply spread things out? It didn’t seem like they were in business long.
The announcement of Border’s Books was a big thrill, and it was even closer to drive to than Crown Books. Although they did not honor the New York Times Best Seller list (they had their own list), and others complained that they would not special order books for customers, it was a holiday tradition to go to Borders the day after Christmas when all of their calendars were 50% off. Calendars were hard to choose from because the selection was so abundant. This last Christmas visit to Borders in Beverly had the writing on the wall.
The first sign of abnormality was when I got a parking space close to the door at the early hour of 11 a.m. The spacious vestibule that was usually full of books and other items on display, was empty. Something was wrong. Once inside, it was not very crowded. After the calendar selection, I went upstairs to search for a basic math book. There was nothing I could use. There was only one customer sitting comfortably in a chair reading, but disturbingly, there was no cashier or anyone else.
In previous year’s visits, there would usually be a line wrapped around the store with 3 cashiers. During the wait, you could always browse Christmas gifts of candy, decorations, stationery, and other trinkets. When I went to pay for my stuff, there was no waiting in line. There was only one cashier, and there were no gifts. As I left the store, I thought about other slight warning signs.
Over the last couple years, I would occasionally call the Beverly Borders and no one would answer the phone. I wondered if they went out of business. I would have to call the Matteson or Orland Park location instead. Then Matteson stopped answering the phone. I asked the Orland Park clerk what was with the Beverly location not answering the phone. I was told that they have received other calls about that and it had been brought to the attention of the regional manager, but it never improved over the last couple of years.
I wondered why Borders Books in Orland Park was staying open when they had a competitor nearby with Barnes & Noble, while the south side will soon have nothing. “They would not close the location that was the most profitable. The other bookstore locations had too many people going in there reading, but not buying, and it was no longer profitable.” Despite the lobbying on Facebook and demonstrations at the closing stores, as of this writing, it doesn’t seem that anything is going to change here.
I then spoke with Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Orland Park and asked what they thought of Border’s situation, and would they consider opening up a store somewhere else in the southland? They concurred that Borders is doing fine in Orland Park. Barnes & Noble also has locations in Joliet and Kankakee, but only the corporate office in New York could answer. We can call them at (800) 843-2665 or (212) 633-3300, or contact them at their website, BarnesandNoble.com because they are open to suggestions. But what other bookstore would consider a place in the south suburbs when Borders couldn’t make it?