Journal Editor

An attempt was recently thwarted that would have required all eight Des Plaines aldermen to sign affidavits swearing that they did not leak information to the local media concerning the ownership of stock by a billboard company.

According to one City Council member, Mayor Tony Arredia and some aldermen demanded at a recent closed to the public executive session that all eight City Council members sign the affidavits stating that they did not leak the information. Arredia said it was not a demand but a suggestion. Objections expressed by three or four aldermen forced the withdrawal of the proposal.

"I feel that what they were demanding was wrong," said Ald. Carla Brookman (5th). She added that aldermen were also warned during the same executive session not to leak any information about the affidavit issue. Making that information public would be illegal, council members were told, Brookman said.

In mid-September, the Journal published a front page story about a confidential memo sent to aldermen on Sept. 9 in which it revealed that convicted felon James Dvorak has a connection to billboard company Premere Outdoor, Inc. In that memo, council members were instructed by City Attorney Dave Wiltse not to "comment or speculate privately or publicly" on who owns stock in Premere. He said that Premere's attorney "has threatened litigation if its stock ownership is made public by the city." What Wiltse referred to in his letter was Dvorak's "possible involvement or partial ownership interest in Premere." In a subsequent story published in the Journal, it was revealed that the stockholders of Premere Outdoor had sold their interest in the billboard company to Lamar Outdoor Advertising on July 1, 2003. The city was informed of this in June of this year. The Premere stockholders listed in the sale agreement with Lamar were Dvorak, Leonora Nicosia and Heather Loss. Mrs. Loss is the wife of Premere's attorney and project manager Joseph Loss. Mrs. Nicosia is the wife of Joseph Nicosia, an Oak Brook businessman who is awaiting sentencing in an insurance fraud scheme.

Mayor Arredia told the Journal last week that no demand was made at the executive session.

"It was a suggestion," said Arredia. He explained that a lawyer from the U.S. Attorney's office told city officials during a recent visit with the law enforcement agency to stop the leak.

Arredia explained that when Dvorak's connection to Premere was discovered, the city took what information it had to the U.S. Attorney. That meeting took place on Friday, Sept. 17 in downtown Chicago. On or around Sept. 8, top city officials agreed to contact the U.S. Attorney's office to request the meeting. Arredia said at about that time, it was agreed to send the memo to aldermen mentioning the Dvorak connection and asking aldermen not to say anything publicly about the matter.

"The fact that someone gave you the letter violated what we were trying to do," said Arredia to a reporter for the Journal. "We wanted the affidavits signed to see if anyone had leaked the information. You're not suppose to talk about things that are discussed in executive session."

"Aldermen were told to keep quiet on this subject," said one council member who asked not to be identified. The alderman said that Arredia, Ald. Tom Becker (6th) and Ald. Dick Sayad (4th) were the main proponents of the affidavit idea.

According to a spokesperson for the Illinois Press Assn., no law exists that gives a public body, such as a city council, the authority to legally prohibit a member from making public information discussed at an executive session. The spokesperson cited a 1991 opinion issued by the Illinois Attorney General's office that says "public bodies do not have the power to sanction their members for disclosing the substance of deliberations conducted or actions taken at a closed meeting." The opinion also states, "In some circumstances, it would be difficult to enforce these provisions of the Act (Open Meetings Act) without the disclosure of violations by a member of the public body; the possibility of imposing sanctions against a member of a public body for disclosing what has occurred at a closed meeting would only serve as an obstacle to the effective enforcement of the Act, and a shield behind which opponents of open government could hide."

Ald. Becker told the Journal last week that he would have signed the affidavit if asked to.

Meanwhile, Ald. Brookman said that she recently told Mayor Arredia and City Manager Dave Niemeyer that if council members were told to sign the affidavit as it relates to the billboard memo issue, then why not require affidavits on who recently leaked information about Caterpillar Logistics, Inc. opening a facility in Des Plaines. Brookman said that information was deliberately withheld from her when she asked Niemeyer about it.

"I asked Niemeyer 'who was coming in,' " said Brookman. "He said I'll find out at the press conference." The press conference announcing that Caterpillar had agreed to move into a 200,000 sq. ft. facility on Wille Road was held a day or two after Brookman talked with Niemeyer. The Journal published an article about Caterpillar's decision the day of the press conference before it was held.

Brookman said she reminded Niemeyer that she was a member of the corporate body of Des Plaines and that she should have been given the information when she asked for it. She also said that it was obvious that several other council members were aware that Caterpillar was opening a facility in Des Plaines before she even asked.

"I guess there are two City Councils," said Brookman.

Niemeyer said Monday that he told Mrs. Brookman that he could not identify the name of the company coming to Des Plaines until the day of the press conference. He said he did not tell any aldermen with the exception of Ald. Tom Becker (6th), who is chairman of the city's Community Development Committee which deals with land use issues. Niemeyer said Caterpillar asked the city not to release its name until the press conference, which he called typical of companies moving to the city.

"They asked us to hold off and I gave them my word that I would," said Niemeyer. "I told the City Council everything I could except the company name. If someone found out before hand they didn't find out from me."