Heads should roll whether or not law enforcement authorities discover that a crime was committed on the city's awarding of billboard rights to a connected company in 2003.

The billboard fiasco is a clear example of how city government can lose its focus when a few candy-like crumbs are thrown their way. As one Des Plaines resident aptly said it Monday night, "We got chump change, others made millions."

In early 2003, Des Plaines officials kicked-off discussions on a proposal to allow a company that had never done business with the city the right to erect 10 billboards. The large outdoor advertising signs were to be located along the Northwest and Tri-State tollways. Suggestions had been made where those signs could be located. Those suggestions, however, were best guess ideas. Very little if anything was specific.

With that arrangement in mind, officials were swayed by an offer from Premere Outdoor, Inc. to give the city $25,000 for each of three years to fund local fireworks displays. Other money was offered by Premere to pay for impact and inspection fees. Ignorant council members took the bait and approved the deal. The vote was 4 to 3 in favor. Aldermen Pat Beauvais (1st), Carla Brookman (5th) and Don Smith (7th) voted against the agreement sensing that the proposal lacked something. Ald. Tom Becker (6th) was absent.

Whether or not any Des Plaines alderman knew what they were getting the city into is uncertain. That uncertainty included how much money the billboard rights allocated to Premere were worth, and who were the investors and officers of Premere Outdoor, Inc.

What we now know is that the rights to those 10 billboards are worth an enormous amount of money. Millions to be exact. One double-sided billboard alone could fetch as much as $20,000 to $40,000 a month. What we also know now is that whoever possessed these billboard rights had an indefinite amount of time to apply for and receive city permits to erect them. What we also know now is that Premere's apparent intention from the beginning was to use its powers of persuasion on a group of agreeable Des Plaines officials to not only obtain the rights but then shortly after that sell them off to a deep-pocketed billboard behemoth willing to pay more than $10 million for the entire package.

Also what we now know is that some of the principals of Premere were known felons, including James Dvorak, the notorious former Cook County undersheriff who spent time in prison several years ago for bribery and income tax evasion. Dvorak, it was learned earlier this year, is a friend and frequent lunch partner with Bill Schneider, Des Plaines' acting city manager until May of this year. Schneider resigned his top administrative job with the city after he admitted to Mayor Tony Arredia that he was convicted of mail fraud in the mid-1990s. Schneider's responsibilities included charting a course for redevelopment in Des Plaines and how local property is used.

At this point in time, dumbfounded and suspicious city officials have agreed that law enforcement agencies outside the city need to be called in to get to the bottom of this quagmire. Monday night, aldermen were informed that a formal request will be made of the Illinois Attorney General and Cook County State's Attorney's offices to conduct a formal investigation. City officials have already taken some of their concerns to the U.S. Attorney's Chicago office. So far, federal authorities have not responded.

At the very least, what we have here is a case of elected city officials not minding the store and appointed city officials giving mediocre advice. At the worst, something criminal has taken place. What is certain is that most elected city officials failed to ask the tough questions. They failed to insist that appointed administrators do their jobs in a right way. They failed to make sure that city staff members check out what the city was getting itself in to, instead relying on the hope that a few bucks for fireworks was a great deal.