Story posted Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Park District Had Fix In Against Lake, Others
Off The Record by TODD WESSELL | In a six-week time span, Des Plaines resident Mike Lake lost not only once but twice in quests to serve his community. The first time he couldn't muster enough votes. The second time he couldn't get a fair shake.
In early April, Lake, who ran a credible campaign for mayor, placed last in a field of four candidates running for the city's top elected post. Marty Moylan was elected besting not only Lake, but former alderman Dick Sayad and former Maine Township Supervisor Mark Thompson. Undaunted, Lake was one of four individuals who a month later applied for a vacant spot on the Des Plaines Park Board. The vacancy was created when longtime park commissioner Jim Brookman resigned after his election as 5th ward aldermen on Apr. 7.
Lake, an active military veteran whose wife, Noreen, is president of the Des Plaines Library Board, thought he had a fair chance at being appointed to the park board to fill out Brookman's term. But now he's absolutely convinced he never had a fair chance.
"Sure, it was an exercise in futility," said Lake when contacted by Off The Record this week. "You were right," he added referring to a May 8 story in the Journal & Topics Newspapers, which questioned whether the fix was in to appoint outgoing commissioner Jana Haas to Brookman's spot.
"The question I have is 'why?' Why not appoint someone with some fresh ideas?" Haas had served on the park board the preceding six years.
Lake said he's not necessarily angry about his belief that the deck was stacked not only against him, but Noreen Newton and Mike Van Slambrouck, who also submitted applications to serve.
But he is sure that no one really had a chance to snare the position except for Haas. For one thing, said Lake, the park board took only about 10 minutes to deliberate in closed session on the appointment before publicly announcing its preference for Haas. For another thing, the park district did practically nothing to solicit names of people interested in serving. They only responded to inquiries when asked.
Another piece of evidence that the fix was in, said Lake, was that the night he, Newton and Van Slambrouck appeared before commissioners to explain their qualifications, Mrs. Haas flipped over her name plate on the board table when the time came to officially step down. That was the moment when Joe Weber, the candidate who was victorious in the Apr. 7 election, was about to be sworn in to office. Following the 10 minutes of park board deliberation and announcement, Haas returned to the park board seat she had left moments earlier and flipped the nameplate back into position.
"The chair she was in hardly had time to get cold," Lake said.
For his part, park district Executive Director John Hecker said in our May 8 article that there was no done deal to get Haas back on the board. He took full blame for a "mistake" in the most recent issue of the park magazine, the Spectrum, in which it lists Haas as a member of the board along with Weber. That issue of the Spectrum was printed after Weber was elected.
His name should have been listed. Haas' name should not have been listed because she was not successful in her reelection bid. The decision to name a replacement for Brookman had not been made by that time. No one knew---at least publicly---who would be appointed. No one's name should have been listed for that spot.
If the contention is accurate that the fix was in to appoint Mrs. Haas to the park board, then the meeting held on May 19 to hear Newton, Van Slambrouck and Lake tell of their qualifications was a charade and a mockery of the election and appointment process.
Is this the kind of government we should stand for?
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