Let's not forget that the incumbent is the one who started the whole Melanie Walsh (we haven't forgotten) fiasco.

And we should know that Nathan's paperwork was turned in by Ann-- A vote for nathan is a vote for Ann! Someone's trying to stack the board!

@John Paul - let's not forget all the issues you were responsible for when you were board president. I can't figure out which board is more messed up - the one now or the one when you were president with Sutherland, Bragg, and Teshke and Linda Anast May as the super.

LOL, Thunderstorm... Linda Anast-May. The Supt that D135 paid some consulting firm $35,000 to find. What a gem of a find...not! And please don't bring up that Sutherland woman. Although, in a way, when you speak of Ann Gentile, I think of Sutherland.

Thunderstorm, what issues are you refering to? The balanced budget? The construction projects that came in on time and under budget? The hiring of Dennis Soustek as Superintendent? The hiring of John Reniech as Business Manager? Or was it the fact that we hit our AYP goals under No Child left behind? Or was it the fact that we never hired someone and then demoted her because a fellow board member's friend wanted the job? Was it the fact that we didn't have to hire an interim superintendent for a year?

Just reading this again JP -- how about when Linda Anast May resigned and you wouldn't accept it? What a joke that was! Or when you wouldn't let the teachers at Prairie, Liberty, or Jerling have an extra week to get their classrooms back in order before school started after the construction? Or you violating the Open Meetings act when Cachey and Svabek left the closed session meeting and the Attorney General was called? I am sure you forgot about those times. Or when a school board member received letters in the mail that indicated that she she be quiet or else ....? Yeah those were the fun times, weren't they? Or when you would not let Cachey or Svabek speak in open session? Or when a school board member wanted a copy of the superintendents's contract and you wouldn't give it to the member? She had to request it throught a FOIA? Too bad you didn't run a second time, it would have been nice to see you be a sore loser!

Did you know that Cathy Morrissey-Lebert, a long time Orland resident, is a busy mother raising two children in addition to working full time as a labor and delivery R.N.? in fact, that's why she wasn't available to file her own papers --she was at work, helping to deliver babies. Yet with all of that, she still has found time to VOLUNTEER her services to the OPPL board of trustees for the past six years. Cathy is a strong voice on the library board advocating fiscal responsibility, and it is because of her efforts and those of the other members of the library board that funding for our wonderful library, with all of its exciting programming, accounts for only three one-hundredths of one percent of your annual tax bill. We serve the community without recompense, and would like to hear from some Patch contributors who appreciate those efforts. Diane Jennings

That's the plan Stan. I checked with the offices on Thursday and as of then, this is it.

I also have done a few interviews with candidates, which also will be posted later in the week.

Ben, I've got way too much info on the stuff in the closet in 230 that on which we should be questioning the candidates.

Give me a call when you're putting together your candidates' questionnaire. I've got a few civil but "inconvenient" questions you may want to ask!

BTW, would the Patch be willing to be involved with a 230 candidates forum? We could get public access on cable and provide a public service while we're at it.

We could have journalists and activists pose the questions instead of the "filtering" (and steering) of the League of Women's voters!

In short order we'll be able to find out if the candidates actually understand what's going on in the district, and whether or not they're getting involved for ego, patronage opportunities (The 230 Board will decide how over a HALF BILLION dollars will be spent over the next 4 years!), and who's there for the students, the taxpayers or the bureaucracy and their political friends!

I'm going to talk to a few more candidates and probably break it up to publish by race, so stay tuned on that. I'll update when I have run date set.

I didn't realize Gorman was the Godfather of the Village and her blessing was needed to file papers?

Godmother... not Godfather...lol... and Liz Gorman is not the Godmother of the village, except, perhaps in her own mind. How SHE keeps getting re-elected is beyond me. But she is not the subject of the 2013 election, just part of the overall problem of the system.

Based on my past experience with Orland campaigns/elections, I too wouldn't be suprised at all if the Godfather of Orland made a deal with Ms Gorman to keep out of the mayoral election. It does seem very odd considering all the uproar after the unethical eminent domain proceedings, that out of all the potential candiates promising to run, that not one person who could get enough signatures or backing from Gorman's or any other independent party. Perhaps, Gorman is just tired of fighting the Godfather and all his Chicago Dem & union connections every election. Course, no matter what....Orland is pretty much a lost cause now. It will never be the great peaceful and safe family town it was originally. I can only hope now that Mayor stops focusing on retail development and goes after all the gangs taking over Orland, making it unsafe for residents and non-residents with all the roberies and drug dealing going on in town.

I am sure that McLaughlin made a deal with the devil (Gorman) for no one to run against him. However, that being said, I would vote for McLaughlin over Gorman any day. At least he didn't file bankruptcy a few days after winning the election.

C'mon, don't give Bragg a hard time! Where would the district find another teachers' union member on the Board to negotiate the next 135 union contract, supposedly on behalf of the children and taxpayers?LOL

Can you say, "the foxes in 135 are guarding the henhouse?"LOL

Bob- If they don't have Bragg as a former union member, they have two more choices: Sandy Kulak, former President, Orland Council of Educators or Michael Maratea, former President for d140 teacher's union.
I really hope I'm not the only one bothered by that huge conflict of interest!

Oh, dear Lord, Jennilin... is that really true?

Googled and verified... alas... it is all true, Jennilin. Can we get some write-in candidates, please? Cuz D135 ain't looking so good, AGAIN!

Orland School District 135 (4 open seats)

Michael Carroll YES
Michael Maratea probably not
Laura Berry ??
Sandra Kulak probably not
Nathan Jaisingh Friend of Ann Gentile's supposedly, so NO WAY
Ann Gentile (incumbent) NEVER
Mary Bragg (incumbent) No
Tom Cunningham (incumbent) NEVER EVER

I served with both Cunningham and Bragg when I was on the D-135 Board. I can tell you that mary Bragg was a good board member. She was a good advocate for the taxpayers in the district and I never saw her as a shrill for the union. Ol' Cunningham...As a slick politician, I give him a B+, as a board member, well that's another story.

As far as the 2 candidates with union ties; what I would like to know is how active they still are with thier unions. The reason I say that that is our former Business Manager, Rich Lesniak was a former union president, but was an excellent business manager and definitely looked out for the district and its taxpayers when negotiating. Also, when Jim Lieb was a principal, he served on the district's negotiating team. Although he also once served as a union president, he was a very good negotiator for the district.

John, by what measure are you saying that these people were "good negotiators for the district?" I honestly don't know the recent results, but I'd like to know when they negotiated contracts that had district salaries and benefits that either resulted in costs to the district per affected employee, including longevity increases, being less than or equal to the rate of inflation? I would argue that anyone "negotiating" to give more than this didn't do such a great job, especially since 2007. I DO recall the board agreeing to double digit salary increases a few years ago, JUST BEFORE THEY PASSED A TAX INCREASE "FOR THE CHILDREN" BECAUSE THERE WASN'T ENOUGH MONEY TO MAINTAIN QUALITY PROGRAMS!

BTW, is 135 still raising taxes by selling working cash and life safety bonds using "backdoor referenda"?

I also believe that Laura Berry was an administrator in 135 also? Sandy Kulak was an administrator and then when Linda Anast May came in, her position was eliminated so was became a teacher. She would be BAD for the district. Bragg is like Baker, they want everything for the teachers/staff/administrators. Cunningham is, well, a typical politician. He needs to go.

Who is running for library and fire? Don't know much about that. I went to the library the other day to renew my card and got hassled. When we asked a question, the lady said she didn't know becuase she was new and only had been there since July. JULY??? Don't know your job after 4 months? Plus the library has to get up to speed with the new technology. Anyone affiliated with Hastings in 230 must go.

PAUL CERVENKA: http://orlandparklibrary.org/documents/financial/tcr2013.pdf Most of the salaries are not too terribly out-of-line, except for that of director...really? She makes over $100k? And of course the finance director and the asst director make a boat-load, too. But, I am sure they are degreed. But given the times, did the director REALLY deserve a $3k raise from 2012 to 2013, when people are being foreclosed on, and are trying to find work?
More links to payments.... D135 & D230 should be easy to find, too. love online transparencies

Had you taken the time to do a study of the subject (as the OPPL Board does in setting salaries), you would have found that salaries at the Orland Park Public Library, including that of the director, assistant director, etc., are in line with the salaries of comparable positions in neighboring library districts. In fact, they probably make less than some of the people in other areas with libraries that are not nearly as well run, or as highly regarded, as OPPL. Further, did you note that, although modest raises were given this year, employees were also required to pay more towards their insurance coverage, wiping out much of the "gain" they saw. The OPPL Board is well aware of the economic times; that's why raises were small, employee insurance costs went up, and the library has consistently come in under budget for the past several years. Diane Jennings

Oh boo hoo Diane. I pay more each year for my insurance too. Cry me a river!

Is this firsthand knowledge, Bob, or how do you know this to be true? Well, if it IS true, then that leaves me 3 more seats and 4 people to choose from. What does anyone else know about the other candidates. Personal feelings aside. I do know, as I said prior that susan dalton is a great choice and she is guaranteed my vote.

Carol Baker (incumbent) NO
Laura Murphy (incumbent) NO
Ben Twietmeyer ?
Kathleen Murphy-Peterson ?
Melissa Gracias ?
Tony Serratore NO
Susan Dalton YES
Anthony Catalano ?

This is first hand. I've attended more district 230 committee meetings than most committee members, especially for B&F and Ed. I used to care. I've had kids in the attending district schools for the last 8 years, so I have a pretty good idea who the "good guys" are.

I personally know Melissa Gracias, and while she can be swayed by social and political peer pressure to support some poor and and unnecessary spending and programs, I believe she's a smart and honest person at her core.

I believe her husband is a very successful doctor, so I don't think she's in this for the patronage payoff.

I don't know what Laura Murphy is all about. She offers very few ideas or opinions at meetings, and I think she just wants to be there for the clout, networking, and status. I can't recall one "signature" idea or program she's led and promoted since she's been there. She acts like someone who's being "operated", but I'm not quite sure by whom.

She ran with Orland Trustee Dodge's wife four years ago, and they reported spending about $12K on the campaign. Why would someone spend that kind of money for an unpaid office?

I attended a lot of meetings when Ms Murphy-Peterson was on the Board, and it seems she rarely understood what was going on or had an agenda for improving things in the district. Her husband was in charge of the police at MVCC some years ago and was VERY politically juiced in, so who knows why she was on the board.

What can you tell me about Sue Dalton?

Bob is just bitter because he has never won an election for D118 or D230. He is jack of all trades and master of none. He is also bitter that Tony S. was picked to be on the building and finance committee and he wasn't. Not sure what exactly life safety consists of, but if something isn't safe at the schools, it should be fixed so it is safe for the students. From what I have seen/heard, Laura Murphy and Carol Baker are in Hasting's pocket. I heard he made a speech at the last school board meeting about resigning but it is not official since he never put it in writing. I think he didn't want to vote for something that came up or is coming up. I agree with PYT about Sue Dalton. She is good. The other "Murphy" as in Murphy-Peterson is good. She was on the board before losing to Baker by less than 50 votes.

Thunderstorm, you fill this blog with your ignorance! First, District 230 appoints "community members" to the committees based upon the school district they live in. Serratore is from Andrew. I'm not, so there was never a choice between the two of us, unless he was one of the booster club or union members on the committee who told the board they wouldn't participate if they allowed any engineer or architect professionals on the board who would challenge some really stupid ideas or promote hurting families and taxpayers to enrich their buddies getting district paychecks.

I'm in no way bitter. In district 230, you need a political organization backing you (or an Irish sounding name), and $8-15K to spend on mailings to have a shot.

When I ran for school boards, I did so not because I could beat, "the machine", but to be able to educate the parents and taxpayers about what's really going on there and put out an agenda for reform and accountability.

District 118 and 230 beat me there by either scheduling the "forum" after the last news cycle before the election and refusing us the ability to televise it on cable, or by killing any forum entireley as the pols did in 230.

They are REALLY good at clever politics. It's a shame they haven't been as good at improving student outcomes and efficiently managing the district.

Baker is a high ranking administrator for science curriculum in district 218. She's smart, but she also knows how to play big money politics.

From a performance perspective, 218 is one of the most underachieving, and most expensive, around. Since she's been on the Board, ACT scores have been stagnant in 230. Curiously enough, when she ran the last time the teachers union didn't endorse her. I don't know if that's a good thing or bad.

She's the chair of the Education committee in 230.They spend about $2 million per year on "instructional improvement" but student outcomes aren't proving much return on that "investment". Is she postioning herself for a consulting job with 230 after she early retires from 218 as many politically connected educrats do? Can't say for sure, but if she were she'd be behaving on the Board the same way she has for the last 4 years.

What you'll hear about Serratore is that he's been very involved on spending other peoples money on his kids athletic programs at Andrew. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but the guy would fit in well with Pelosi and Reid regarding tax policy and fee burdens on families; no burden is too large for families to bear, and no spending too frivelous to demand higher taxes.

I used to know Kathy very well when our kids played on the church soccer teams together. She's certainly a strong advocate for special ed students, and I certainly can't fault her for that. The problem is that she's not really very big on holding the administration accountable. Remeber when we built the FB fields because they were "safer" I asked her and her committee several times to give us the data from injury history since the new surface was added.My daughter was severely injured playing soccer 3 years ago on one of the fields, and if they ARE safer we should either play more games on the surfaced fields, or perhaps put more surfaces on fields.
Perhaps the reason she won't give out injury data is if the $4 million spent on the new fields DIDN'T reduce the number or severity of injuries, it could mean that the project was more about a small group wanting privileges rather than student safety. That wouldn't reflect well on the Board, and may raise other questions about priorities for wasteful capital work approved by the Board.

Bob, sorry about your daughter's injuries, I hope she is better. :) As for Kathy, I believe in her whole-heartedly, and the safer issue was not the the entire part, from what I was told. I was told for drainage, too, but not by Kathy Quilty, so we get that out there.
Here is my thinking at this point, and I need to make more phone calls over the next several months for D230:
Carol Baker (incumbent) NO WAY --->Ben Twietmeyer's boss at D218?
Laura Murphy (incumbent) NO WAY
Ben Twietmeyer NO WAY ---> Verified, he is a science teacher at D218 w/Carol Baker

Kathleen Murphy-Peterson ? need more info
Melissa Gracias ? need more info
Tony Serratore ? need more info
Susan Dalton YES - ABSOLUTELY
Anthony Catalano ? need more info WHO IS THIS GUY?

PYT, I'm a licensed professional Civil engineer, and the drainage problems could've, and perhaps should've, been fixed outside this project. When they rebuilt the stadia, they were subject to additional code requirements to install detention basins to hold stormwater. Had they not added to the impermeable area of the site with the renovations, a few million in costs may have been saved. They also were REALLY stupid in their planning for unnecessarily digging up and replacing the parking lots at Stagg and Sandburg. Costs doubled when they made some horrible mistakes in their soils evaluations. We're talking over a million dollars in excessive costs here.

Before they got into the details of these projects, they expelled all professional engineers from the Building and grounds committee, preventing tough questions from being asked and scrutinizing some really bad ideas by the administration.

I understand the 230 board is also excluding all engineers and design professionals from the committee again this year.

This isn't just carelessness. Avoiding knowledgeable oversight on committees is Board and adminstration political policy in 230.

Thank you, Local politics. I was not aware of this. O'Halloran is the one I think that I want out the most of the village trustees. What do you all think?? Fire and library trustees can all be replaced since there are enough candidates.

Amen about Carmody. As for Gorman, what did you expect? Seriously. And what about the other committeeman, his name escaped me, so I had to look it up, Matt Ogean.

I must agree with you, Paul Cervenka. Joe seems to really get it.

Maher will not be receiving a pension from the village. More details regarding mayor and trustee positions are forthcoming.

And how do we know your real name is Jeff Fitzwell? I just looked you up and you have never commented on anything before. Maybe it is a made up name to accuse others of just what you are doing?

I just heard that Tom Cunningham filed petitions to run for Community College Dist. 524(Moraine Valley) Board of Trustees. I believe that if he were elected to both boards he would have to step down from one or the other which would create a situation where his replacement would be appointed. The voting public deserves to know that this would circumvent their ability to elect a person of their choosing.

Jennilin, here's the situation when a candidate files for incompatible offices (taken from the 2013 Candidates Guide):

"May a candidate file for more than one office?
Yes, however, he must withdraw from all but one office within five business days following the last day of petition filing, if the offices are incompatible. If he does not withdraw from all but one incompatible office, his name will not be certified for any office.[10 ILCS 5/7-12]"

This means that if he filed for both, he should not be certified and and appear on the ballot for ANY of the two offices.

If you want to get him off both ballots, contact the school boards prior to candidate certification and he should be off both.

Ben, do you want ot dig into this?

Here's my article from yesterday on the challenge to Cunningham's petitions.

http://orlandpark.patch.com/articles/cunningham-s-d135-election-petitions-challenged

Bob, April is still a little while away. Have some patience. What you've mentioned isn't falling on deaf ears.

But try not to assume that because you don't immediately see an article on something you mention within the next day (though you'll notice less than 24 hrs. elapsed since mention of Cunningham running for Moraine and my story), that we're not working on it. Thanks.

Also, thank you for the quality discourse in this thread, folks. The criticism has been rather constructive and I just wanted you to know I appreciate that.