Orland Fire Protection District Board President James Hickey and friends are hosting a fundraiser July 28 at , with proceeds going toward Hickey’s campaign fund.
An electronic flier for the event calls upon all red-white-and-blue-blooded locals to join “in Honoring The New President of the Board.”
Hickey said this will be the second fundraiser he has held in his name. Public records show that Orland Professional Firefighters Local 2754 donated $1,600 to his campaign in 1999 and another $1,600 in 2009. Other contributors over the years include Coach's Corner in Orland Park and Office Max in Orland Hills.
Tickets for this fundraiser are $50 individually and $75 per couple. Sponsorships for the event, ranging from $500 to $3,000, can be purchased ahead of time. They carry with them such patriot-themed titles as “Son’s of Liberty” and “Stars and Stripes."
More than once, Hickey has compared his actions to those of this nation’s forebears. He and trustees Christopher Evoy and Blair Rhode have declared financial transparency and budget cuts their mandate, often at the entreaty of other board members.
“I see us as rebuilding the fire district just like how America reinvented itself,” Hickey said.
His seat expires in 2015.
“If I’m still needed to make changes at that time, I will stay on board,” Hickey said. Otherwise, he would consider running for a higher office, he said, though it's too early to decide on which.
“A lot depends on if I prove myself and prove to taxpayers that I can get the job done that they want to have done,” he continued. “But you never close any doors, and you take one day at a time.”
http://mokena.patch.com/articles/guess-the-score-of-the-blue-vs-red-charity-softball-game-win-free-gas Oh...and it's FREE admission, so you can bring your entire family or all the off-duty members of the OPFD & OPPD too!
The April 2011 election WAS the lowest voter turnout in COOK COUNTY history ... but NOT in Orland Park and NOT in the Orland Fire Protection District. Do I have to do all the work (like when Spike and Zinedine, in their racist campaign against me, falsely alleged that no two members of the OFPD board can meet together to discuss legislation -- really the dumbest comments I have ever read)? Here are some FACTS folks: In the April 2007 election Blair Rhode received 3,347 votes and Chris Evoy received 3,483 votes. "Bob" received 2,350 votes. More than 6,200 votes were cast for five candidates. In the Village trustee race (non-mayoral race) that same election, Schussler got the highest vote with 2,616 votes cast in a field of 9 candidates and about 6,000 votes cast. NOW, compare that to four years earlier (off-year equivalent election), in the OFPD District the winning candidates Marty McGill got 2,603 votes and Glenn Mihalek got 2,695 votes, which were almost 1,000 votes less than Rhode and Evoy got. About 4,700 votes were cast in that election. In the village election (again, non-mayoral race) Bernie Murphy got 3,492 votes of a total of 4,120 votes cast. Seriously, people should be wary of anything "Spike" or Zinedine or any of their cronies claim on this board because they can't get their facts right.
Ray Hanania is a POOR use of taxpayer dollars...as usual
"against the wishes of." you identify your bias. The majority of the people in orland park do not agree with the mandates of James Hickey, Dr. Rhodes and Evoy. 86% of the Praire readers voted against the actions of these three men who have dominated the board. We are against the hiring of all their realestate friends and Liz Gormans personal connections. I for one do not agree with the hiring of you Mr. Hanania. I believe that you were hired to slant and cover up the on goings of your friends, Evoy-n-Rhaodes-n-Hickey.
Wow, here we go, the "PR" firm playing the race card. What an ebarassment to our city.
Hickey is a grandiose fool. I thought the fund raiser was going to be for some charity, not HIMSELF! But this is all about himself.
As an official of the District, you SHOULD NOT be doing ANY OF THIS on this website or on yours. It's a conflict of interest and it's using inappropriate channels to communicate. If you have something to announce to the community, make a press release. Whatever Spike says, or whoever, as a spokesman you CANNOT call them liars. You are a public servant and you are to RESPECT the opinions of the public, anonymous or otherwise. Your job is to speak for the District on its policies and practices, in a NON-PARTISAN manner. Your job is not to defend the past election. By doing so, you raise the specter that you are politically appointed. Public servants are supposed to be non-partisan and professional. You have acted entirely unprofessional.
Ikhras has been attacking me by publishing false quotes, taking sentences out of context and accusing me of being "anti-Muslim" even though I have spent my life defending Muslims because most Americans believe I am Muslim. They have made up false claims, few are creative or imaginative but driven by racist hatred. They have launched this hate campaign because they can't handle the issues I address, so instead of addressing the issues, they attack me. It is typical of racist hate sites that can't deal with issues so they have to attack the individual. They ARE racist and I won't even put that in quotes it is so obvious. The Tea Party movement has many members who are driven by racial hatred, stereotyping and extremism and the Tea Party has done little to denounce it. Sound familiar anyone?
You didn’t misread anything. It’s the same question because Hollywood is the capitol of Western racism and bigotry. Even in many Third World countries, Hollywood films are allowed to reinforce stereotypes, forcing victims to accept the racism in the world around them. Opposition to Muslims and mosques grow in US racist caldron By Ray Hanania Americans have always opposed Muslims, but the opposition started to increase in the 1990s as Muslim immigration to the country began to increase. It came out of the closet after Sept. 11, 2001, when Americans blamed Muslims for the terrorist attacks (ray it was Muslims who declared war on AMERICA on September 11, 2001, It was not caused by any other religion.) Too many Americans on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites are using the bin Laden killing as an excuse to vent their racist hatred of Muslims and Arabs. You see everything he writes against is a racist. When he is fired from the fire district it will be racism. This man is a horrible person and I am embarrassed by what he writes. For the record don't ever call me a racist again without proof.
On November 1 Hanania was called in by Dennis Britton, editor of the Sun-Times, and Steve Huntley, the metro editor. They questioned his relationship with city treasurer Miriam Santos, a relationship once torrid and even now disconcertingly chummy. Hanania was a political reporter, assigned to the county beat; Hanania has a reputation, he has sued others.... why is he working for OUR ORLAND PARK FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT???????
1 - The assertion that the last election was the lowest turnout is wrong. So the new board DOES have a clear mandate from the voters 2 - The false claim that the board members violate the Il Open Meetings Act. Wrong again on their part. 3 - That the only thing Spike and his minions can do is call me names, which reflects the real lack of ethics on their part and the weak foundation of their arguments. All they can do is grab a sentence here, or there and take things out of context to justify their racist attacks. And of course, they can only do it anonymously because their lies have no foundation in truth. No wonder they are so angry and hateful. I don't mind them trying to make me the issue because it shows that what the new board led by Hickey, Evoy and Rhode are doing has hit the nail on the head.
Ray you need to resign this blog just proves your racist hatred to people that are different than you or disagree with you.
I keep seeing these charges of racism pertaining to comments about the Fire District. If I'm not mistaken, the chief is white. The former chief and assistant were also white. All five members of the Board of Trustees are white. Most, if not all of the officers are white. Most of the firefighters are white. The commenters appear to be white. White people can't be racist against other whites, can they?
I am not being racist or rude when I say that you are the only one who has a problem with ryour ace. You are the only one on this blog who is focusing on your ethnic background abd you throw out the race card whenever you can't answer a question or need to take the focus off this flawed fire district board. Seriously, no one cares about your race What we care about is honest, factual and unbiased reporting and we are not getting that from you. You have turned this conversation about the fire district into an extension of your Orland Parker blog site and only talk about how the bloggers are being prejudice against you because of your Christian Palestinian background. Honestly, no one but you cares about what race your are. We care about the fire district and the way it is being mismanaged. Is it your job to keep the residents of Orland Park focused on your racial issues instead of what's happpening in the district? If that's not what your up to and you're sincerely paranoid that people are after you because of your race than maybe you should seek professional help.
You all have the ability to express your feelings and opinions without resorting to petty insults and thin accusations, and I've seen this from both sides. You all can and should do better.