Journal Editor

The Illinois Crime Commission will conduct a public hearing on Des Plaines' billboard controversy and other local government issues on Wednesday, Dec. 1 at the Doubletree Club Hotel, Touhy Avenue and Mannheim/Lee streets in Des Plaines. The hearing will begin at 7 p.m.

The hearing will be open to the public. Anyone who has information about the issue is invited to speak.

"We will listen," said Art Hannus, lead investigator. "There are ways to do fact finding and to verify the truth. We are asking people to step forward. Anyone who has a concern we will listen to them and we'll listen to people on both sides."

The Lisle-based crime commission is an independent organization that conducts inquiries into crime-related issues throughout the state and Chicago area. It's membership consists of local citizens and members of law enforcement agencies. Hannus is a retired Chicago police detective.

At center stage is the city's controversial awarding of billboard rights to Premere Outdoor, Inc.. One of Premere's shareholders was James Dvorak, a convicted felon who once served as Cook County undersheriff and chairman of the Cook County Republican Party. Premere Outdoor, not long after securing from Des Plaines aldermen the right to erect 10 billboards along the Northwest and Tri-State tollways in Des Plaines, sold those rights to a large outdoor advertising company for $10.5 million. A close friend of Dvorak's is Bill Schneider, former Des Plaines acting city manager and head of the city's Community Development and Economic Development departments. Schneider resigned from his city job after his friendship with Dvorak and criminal conviction for mail fraud became publicly known earlier this year.

Hannus said a special blue ribbon committee of the crime commission will not only investigate the circumstances that led to the city's awarding of the billboard rights to Premere, but any other related matters involving Des Plaines city government.

"We won't draw any conclusions until we hear all the facts," said Hannus.

Besides Hannus, other committee members are, former State Sen. and unsuccessful Illinois governor candidate Patrick O'Malley, former DuPage County Board President Aldo Botti, Mike Prueter, president of the Illinois Crime Commission, Mario Vescovi, former vice president of the DuPage County Crime Stoppers, and Peter Baroni, an attorney based in DuPage County.

In early September, Des Plaines aldermen ordered that no more permits to erect billboards be issued until further checking of Premere and its relationship with Dvorak could be investigated.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s the City of Des Plaines fought allowing more billboards to be erected in the city primarily because they are considered by many to be an eyesore. The city went so far as to take its arguments to the Illinois Supreme Court. However, in early 2003, aldermen altered that policy to allow Premere the right to erect 10 new billboards. Outdoor signs located along tollways and near O'Hare Airport can fetch large sums of advertising dollars for the owners.

Just 42 days after Des Plaines agreed to allowing Premere the right to erect 10 billboards, the company was sold to Lamar Outdoor Advertising, one of the largest billboard companies in the nation. Lamar and Premere contend the sale included the Des Plaines billboard rights. As it turned out, Lamar chose to keep the rights of only five of the billboards. The remaining five were sold to media giant Viacom, which has informed the city that it intends to vigorously defend what it believes is its right to erect five billboards in Des Plaines. Some city officials have said that Premere cannot sell or transfer its billboard rights.

Des Plaines City Council members are scheduled to discuss the billboard matter next on Monday, Nov. 29 in City Hall at 7 p.m.