by:  Diane Benjamin

About the cancelled City Council retreat:

Mayor Renner had every intention of holding an illegal meeting, until he got caught.  The Pantagraph has an article on-line that will be in tomorrow’s paper.  Alderwoman Stearns, who the Pantagraph obviously contacted for a comment, is ridiculed by Mayor Renner.  He just wants to sweep bad news away and pretend nothing happened.    City Clerk Tracy Covert were blamed by David Hales for the fiasco.  If course the guy making the huge bucks isn’t responsible!

I have worked with Tracy Covert, all my Freedom of Information Act requests go through her.  I seriously doubt she “forgot” to post the meeting.  This retreat has been planned for at least weeks if not months.  The agenda that was finally posted today for the Saturday session had no details.  But we know the drill, Renner and Hales were going to talk, the Council was supposed to fall in line.  We saw the same show last year.

Mayor Renner, who claims over and over to be transparent,  didn’t want the public at his indoctrination session.  The Open Meetings Act is meant to protect citizens from tyrants, today it did!

What about the Council members who had to take off work or rearrange their schedules?  What about the Chicago consultant you hired?  If I remember right, last year she was paid $20,000 to facilitate the indoctrination.  How much is the penalty for cancelling?  What about the weeks of planning?  What about the staff at the Den?  Did they set up the room just for the meeting, then have to change it?  For you to pretend cancelling the retreat isn’t a BIG deal is insulting Mayor.

Evidently the Pantagraph didn’t realize you did post an agenda for Saturday before cancelling the whole retreat.  Nice job covering that up Mayor.  The retreat was cancelled when you found out the meeting was still illegal.

Alderwoman Schmidt showed in the article why she needs to be replaced.  She wants a 2 day indoctrination and is happy it will be rescheduled.

Who is really responsible?

The City Council is.  They are David Hales boss.  Mayor Renner isn’t the boss of the Council, he just thinks he is.  Renner and Hales treat the Council like they work for them.  The potted plants gladly comply.  The aldermen represent the people who elected them, at least that’s what citizens expect.  Most don’t.  The majority of the Council approves everything put before them regardless of the cost to the people in their wards.  Remember those 3 tax increases?

Evidently the potted plants are only on the Council for the prestige.  The only way to rein Renner in is to replace his minions.

Are you ready to replace a few next year?

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