Monday, March 28, 2011
Three of the seven candidates for park board list their priorities for the park district.
- ELECTIONS
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Monday, March 28, 2011
Park district ripe with potential Last spring, while I was out walking with my son, he noticed some litter on the ground. He looked at me unhappily and said, “Dad, this is terrible. Someone should do something about this.” Sensing that this was a “parenting moment,” I responded, “Evan, when you see a problem that you can solve, don’t wait for someone else to do it. Take the initiative and do it yourself.” The next thing I knew, I was following my son with a wagon through our neighborhood collecting and sorting refuse. Later that summer, the pension scandal broke, and my family was sitting around the kitchen table when I said, “This is terrible. Someone should do something about this.” Evan looked at me, and with a wry smile, repeated back …
Friday, March 25, 2011
Crusader for the agency to lower its taxes is now seeking four-year term on board.
- ELECTIONS
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Friday, March 25, 2011
Highland Park Patch: How long have you lived in Highland Park? Leo Vilker: Since 2007. HP Patch: What was your first experience with the Park District board? Vilker: Unfortunately, my first experience with the Park District of Highland Park (PDHP) Board was in August of last year during the pension scandal. HP Patch: What do you think the Park District's strongest program or facility is? Vilker: I’m sure the PDHP has a number of strong programs. The only one my family has used is the Hidden Creek Aqua Park, and we were happy. HP Patch: What do you think is its weakest? Vilker: The weakest “program” is transparency. At the last two board meetings, I noticed that the amounts of two vendor payouts were omitted. Previously, such amounts were …
Learn where the 7 contenders stand on such issues as pension reform, Rosewood Beach and the Fort Sheridan preserves.
- ELECTIONS
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Friday, March 25, 2011
With the April 5 balloting quickly approaching and early voting already under way, Highland Park Patch brings you Q&A's with all seven Park District candidates vying for three seats: one six-year term and two four-year terms. The candidates were asked 11 questions on topics that ranged from last summer's pension scandal to what should be done with Rosewood Beach. Click on a name below to see how the hopeful responded, or click on "View Gallery" to the right to watch video of each candidate speaking at a recent candidate forum. Six-year term candidates: Forest Barbieri Scott Meyers Four-year term candidates: Brian Kaplan Ben Kutscheid Leo Vilker Lori Flores Weisskopf Lorry Werhane
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
A former board president is among the 7 contenders making up the interesting field.
- OPINION
- Ed Brill
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Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Election Day is now less than two weeks away, which means it is time to finish deciding on which candidates to vote for in the five Highland Park citywide races. One contest I've paid little attention to is the Park District of Highland Park Board, where voters will fill two four-year-term vacancies and one six-year term. Today I sat down to find out more about these candidates and their positions, and I liked a lot of what I learned. There are five candidates for the four-year terms and two candidates for the six-year term. Some are incumbents of sorts, having been appointed as commissioners last fall, months after the pension spiking issues came to light. Others are simply passionate community members who want to help steer the Park …
In vying for 3 seats, the 7 hopefuls give their views on issues at League of Women Voters forum.
Speaking in the shadow of the Park District pension spiking scandal that broke last summer, all seven candidates for three park commissioner seats said that preventing a repeat would be their highest priority during a League of Women Voters forum. All contenders for the openings spoke forcefully against the sweetheart contracts given to former Executive Director Ralph Volpe and former Finance Director Ken Swan to substantially increase their retirement packages. The hopefuls mentioned how they would prevent a similar situation from happening in the future during the March 6 meeting at the Highland Park Country Club. “I think what we have to remember is that something bad happened and we can’t let it happen again,” said Brian Kaplan. “It’s…
Monday, December 20, 2010
After resigning amid the pension spiking scandal, the former park district president has decided to run again.
Just before Lorry Werhane Jr. resigned as president of the park board in October, he said he was considering running again for one of the three board seats that will be elected in April. Now, it's official: Werhane is one of seven candidates for the park district board of Highland Park. The 59-year-old served on the park board for 20 years until this summer, when it was revealed that the board had signed off on huge bonuses to park district employees that nearly doubled some of their salaries and spiked their pensions five years ago. The news broke at the end of July; Werhane, who was on the board when the contracts were approved, resigned in October. Werhane joins four other candidates vying for the two available four-year term seats. …
forest barbieri
11:23 am on Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Nice to see some candidates finally addressing some of the issues, albeit 1 week before the election:). I have been attending the Park Board Meetings as well as different advisory meetings such as Hidden Creek, Waterfront, Golf, Rec Center et al since early December 2010. That is about the time the last interim Park Commissioner was appointed. It has allowed me a real insight as to the community … more ›