Excellent job folks. Democracy at its best!!!!!

Great! Now Janet Hughes and the referendum people will fix the village the same way they fixed 113A! At least we will know the village is run down because the people want it run down!

Does anyone else find it funny that one of the main reasons they think this project shouldn't go through is because the schools need the money more, but every time a referendum gets brought up to better fund the schools it gets turned down?

Thank you Janet, Hank Olenick and about 10 other people – including Rick Lighthart, Pam Mikrut, Arlene Bergman, Ron Boehm, Donna Brown and Jim Ladas for your service to the Village and putting yourselves out there even in the crappy weather. You are owed our gratitude.

So when the objection to referendum inevitably goes through, in simpler terms, what typically happens? Will this end up having to go to a circuit judge since the LEB seems to be populated by the very people spearheading this project?

John,

I've said it several times over the course of this controversy, but it would be actually very easy to verify whether Todd/JR/Dwayne is actually the same person as well as a village official.

First, to check if they are the same person, a Patch admin would simply need to look at the IPs of their submitted comments. This is a common feature in commenting systems as it is used to prevent abuse.

Second, to check to see if any of the "people" are village officials, if any of these IPs match the first three octets of the following IP, then they are coming from Village of Lemont network resources.

209.90.188.233

If one wanted to further verify this, one could look at the headers from any email sent by any Lemont official. If the first three octets (209.90.188) of the IP in the header matched any IP by Todd/JR/Dwayne, one would know these "people" are using Village network resources to both send email and to comment on Patch.

(I deleted my comment as a reply to Todd, because I did not want him to pull his shenanigan where he deletes his comment, thereby deleting all child comments)

They, are the very people here, whose names are very familiar to anyone who has paid attention to anything happening in the village for the last few years, particularly 113a. They are known colloquially as the party of NO.
You see what they did at 113A in the name of saving money.

But what if they are someone using a smartphone? Or maybe the office connection from their other job? What if they hacked someone's wifi connection or are using an unsecured broadband connection? What if they are at the library using their connection?

These are valid points. I've noticed that a number of your replies were seemingly sent by smartphone (as you are not as prone to grievous typos and grammatical errors all of the time). Essentially, your replies have shown a consistent pattern of obvious smartphone typos and conversely, regularly typed replies.

First, I very much doubt that anyone from local government would take the chance of "hacking" someone's wifi signal and it is not as easy as it sounds anyway. Second, there are no open signals within range of city hall. Third, you reply far too often to be a layabout bum at the library.

At any rate, it is worth a check. Especially with the email headers matchup suggestion I gave.

Why is it worth a check? What would it actually prove? I'm interested in another Spencer conspiracy theory.

It would prove several things. First, it would be easy to find out if you are, in fact, posting under different pseudonyms.

Second, it could easily prove that these pseudonyms were used under Village of Lemont network resources.

Really, I was already clear about this. I'm not sure why I am being made to repeat myself. I'm not sure why you would get so defensive at the mere mention of the checks.

I'm trying to understand why any if that means anything to you. Either I am 3 people with 3 names, or 1 Person with 3 names...why would you think that somebody with a seat at the table, someone that has one of the 6 votes that actually decide village matters that do come up for a vote, why would a person in that position come here at all?

I agree to some extent. I think they should come to Patch to get a pulse of what the community is thinking and what is in the news. However, unless they are replying in an official capacity, I think it would disingenuous to reply as someone other than themselves.

Dear Linda Ozbolt,
Your predecessor followed a rule to only let people using their real full names participate in these community quorrums.....what ever happened to that? I think that you should go back to that and delete any comments that are posted otherwise. If a person can not stand up and express their own convictions, using their own real name, then they should remain silent and not post at all!

For the record you also thought they should cruise the downtown bars until they found someone that looks like your picture, and then explain the date and square foot questions you had on the feasibility report. That was your response when you were asked what happened when you asked those questions...... The ugly side of democracy is when people like yourself want to weigh in on issues that you believe you are expert on, but the fact is you don't even have a basic understanding of how and why a village government works!

For what record? Yours?

At no time did I ever say local officials should "cruise the downtown bars." It is really creepy that you keep bring up my picture as well, given I am not ashamed of being known publicly and you obviously are. I think what you've done is twist a previous comment around where I stated that unlike you, I am not ashamed to illustrate who I am via my name, my picture, and places I frequent in downtown Lemont. Of note, I invited you to meet me for tacos at Front Street Cantina in this comment as well.

I do know how village government works by the way. I know that local officials should not be passing a 21 million dollar venture off without citizen input on the "fast track." This is why the petition started. This is why there will be a referendum vote. Obviously, you will be voting Yes on this proposition.

It's interesting/disturbing that whenever a question is posed to you that you simply cannot come up with a real answer for, you move into personal and fabricated personal attacks.

Again, as both myself and others have pointed out to you/JR/Dwayne/etc in the past, it's both immature and antagonistic. You're likely not winning anyone over to your side with the types of remarks you make against your very own neighbors.

Better check your logs Lil buddy!

You think this is bad, wait until this thing moves forward if 113A is any measure. Outsider involvement, false charges leveled using baseless accusations. its only just begun.

What's so bad about the democratic process anyway? A project was announced without citizen input on a "fast track." According to the rules of our local government, the citizens retain the right to gather enough signatures to petition for a referendum vote on it. The rules have been followed to the letter. It's kind of a moot issue to be upset about at this point. Cast your vote like everyone else.

I come here just to watch you two argue... It's great! Team Spencer all the way!

Spencer, you must be new around here. I certainly don't fear one day of voters going to the booth to make their selection. The problems are the days leading up to the elections. Wait until people start "saving you taxpayer money" by leveling frivolous charges that your tax dollars now must defend. Just google the names above with 113A

I will give you credit for volunteering to help the youth of our village. I am very sincere and wish it would have worked for all of you. To say 113a is complicated would the biggest understatement possible.

Did you google the names in the article with 113A yet? You might want to know what kind of cost savings you signed up for!

Great read on Janet Hughes, http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/2009/12/18/board-members-conduct-embarrassing-to-lemont/z994mtk/

Another good one on Janet, http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/2010/10/21/school-board-member-accused-of-misconduct-in-s-d-113a/zxhzofs/?page=1

Janet wasting taxpayer dollars and taking money out of the classrooms http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/2013/01/31/former-board-member-janet-hughes-lawsuit-against-district-113a-dismissed/akv5gwb/

Janet being Janet, http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/2009/09/30/editorial-board-member-must-take-time-to-get-proper-training/z2bnhre/

Six year old articles taken out of context from a poorly written paper have absolutely nothing so do with the subject at hand...When JR and Todd , both posting under aliases reveal their real names, possibly a few articles exist in the archives on them. Of course we will never know as they are both cowards hiding behind mommy's skirt.

I strongly encourage all commenters to read and respect our Terms of Use, which can be found at the bottom of this page. Please pay special attention to the comment guidelines under “Acceptable Use,” which states, in part, “While we encourage people to be honest and post what’s on their mind, communities thrive when people care about each other, and as such, Patch expects all of its users to be respectful of others. This means that whether you are being complimentary or critical, whether you are agreeing or disagreeing with the subject of an article or another user’s comment, you should act in a civil manner and refrain from personal attacks – after all, these are your neighbors.”
Above all, let's exhibit kindness and respect for each other, which reflects the true spirit of a community as wonderful as Lemont.

Well Linda may I suggest that those who are to weak or scared to state their full real names while subjecting those of that are be advised to stay on topic or be deleted . They are NOT my neighbors they are phonies hiding behind a pseudonym. Maybe if they where forced to reveal their identities they would conduct themselves in a more respectful manner. I strongly suggest to all that read this to consider the source and if the source is a nickname or initials it is truly.....nobody.

Here is what matters - 1,675 signed petitions in 2 weeks time!!!! And I would bet if time allowed, they number would have doubled again. People did not care whether it was Hank, Janet, etc. who was leading the charge. They signed because they wanted a voice on whether or not this project should be built when taxpayers are the risk takers in all of this. JR/Todd/WHOEVER can post as many articles as they want, bash Janet and Hank relentlessly, quite honestly, they are making themselves look foolish. Don't engage. It is no fun fighting yourself. Have a good night folks and head over to IBG or George's for breakfast tomorrow.

Might be a long expensive 13 months...

Consider the source....NOBODY.

Well, I am just A HOME OWNER here, but I see a lot of bickering back and forth and nothing getting done! Are you People of the elite to chat! I've seen Lemont do alot of stupid things in the name of money. I've lived here for 32 years and I have seen a lot! Also during this time working and shopping in our town. Oh, I remember, think about it....

.No one ever asked me to sign a petition, I'm always in town, where were your people?

This sports complex project needs to be "slow tracked" for many reasons. There are just too many unanswered questions. One question I have is why pay MWRD 25% of revenues to use their toxic waste land when Lemont already owns Bambrick Park. It has more than enough space for the sports complex and all the parking you could want. It is easier to get to since it is close to the I355 interchange. And did I mention that Lemont OWNS the land. So we can keep the 25% that would have been paid to MWRD.
So why did the Lemont Trustees decide on the smaller parcel that would cause parking and traffic problems for down town Lemont. And do we really need more sports fields? Don't we have about 2 dozen parks?

Deborah,
The ability to get things done is being held held hostage by the party of NO. THEY are the ones that prevent things from happening in town! And we have seen their work before. You can expect a lot of taxpayer money to be wasted in defending frivolous lawsuits, inane freedom of information act requests, and constant accusations for 13 more months! Just look up Hank and Janet on the Patch and draw your own conclusion. They have plenty of history! You won't find them building anything, nor saved any money for the village, or 113A. What they do is hold the real democratic process hostage by preventing the government from governing. Look it up.

Mr. Todd, JR,
Are you telling us that with present federal budget cuts, the possibility of increased unemployment the people of Lemont should not have a voice in spending 21 million. I for one am glad that I participate in the signing of the petitions for I find it hard to believe that this facility can generate a minimum of $71,000 per month to support the sport complex. My gustimate of $71,000 per month may be low when you consider the original monthly payment plus interest, insurance, salaries, maintenance, utilities (several thousand per month), extra police when needed, and anything else that may come into play. The money has to come from someplace. Yes the Mayor said no tax increase. Should we have to use sales tax or other allocated monies, then annual maintenance projects for sewer, water, roads, etc. will suffer. All we, yes i said we, want is a voice as should Lemont take on a project of this size now. And this has nothing to do with 113, especially when we find out that money was being shifted around that should not have been.

Todd,
With lines like that there is a career for you in sales. But you wouldn't need that since you are a career politician.

Victor, that's about 10% of the take of a decent McDonald's restaurant. The traffic count is 1/2 of the traffic count of the CORE complex. Don't let the big numbers scare you, that's 21st century business.

Thanks for the compliment spencer, as I'm not a politician and have absolutely no political aspirations. I simply prefer the official leaders to lead. If hank and Janet want to lead the village, run against them.

I thought you'd say disingenuous again...

Todd,
Based on your comments about the sports complex and the many negative comments you've made about the people who want to consider it further and have the right to vote at a referendum, I think it is fair to say that you have some personal stake in the project being built on MWRD's land. I will go one step further and ask the question. Todd, are you a Lemont Village Trustee or do you work for the village in some capacity?

No

John,
Bambrick Park is not owned by Lemont, as in village of Lemont, it is owned by the Lemont Park district, a different government body. Funny you have issues with MWRD, as they are yet another governmental body that taxes you too.
I will state I have no position with ANY government body of any kind. Any information I have given about this project was gleaned from public sources available to everyone, mostly through web pages, some through a total of 2 public meetings that almost no one attended.

By "almost no one" do you mean "standing room only?"

http://lemont.patch.com/articles/standing-room-only-crowd-packs-public-hearing-on-sports-complex

Given that the village hall holds about 100 people, and over 1500 want to weigh in on an issue, I'd say almost no one is really apprised of the facts of the situation.

No Linda herself advised that there is no way she can capture all of the data given in a 2.5 hours meeting.
You might have done better watching the Comcast broadcast. Reading the press is different than being at the meeting or even reading the full transcript.

Why would anyone have a problem with the people of this town having a say on how OUR money is spent? It's beyond belief.

I have no problem with that, the concern is the willingness to weigh in on an important and expensively yet without taking any time to do any due diligence.
Spencer is a perfect example, he claims to be an expert in this, but hasn't even attended a meeting, hasn't directed any of the many questions he has to the project team for a response, and has displayed a complete lack of background of how the process even works, but insists that he's better able to make a "business decision" than those that are. Despite his position that he "always researches and asks questions about things", his research is shoddy at best, and he hasn't asked a single question of the people that would have the answer!

At no time have I claimed to be an expert in this. Far from it given the information available. Frankly, I'm not sure how anyone could weigh in as an "expert" in any of this, including those spearheading the project.

Additionally, never have I claimed to be able to a "better business decision" than anyone involved.

Are you really going to just make things up at this point Todd/JR/Dwayne? You realize other people read these comments and know that you are just flat-out lying at this point, right?

Here's a question for you Jim Small,
How much time will you devote to keeping yourself updated on the facts of this issue? How much time have you already spent researching the facts of this project?
Have you read the reports viewed the maps, listened to the presentations that have occurred yet?
Seriously now.... An hour a week? 10 hours a month? 10 minutes following Spencer's links? How much time are you willing to invest in this complex and expensive project? Will it be more than 5 minutes in the voting booth? How will you manage the hundreds of pages of documents in hand right now, and the thousands it will grow into?
What investment are you willing to make into this project you want to vote on?

Spencer,
You claim to have better numbers than the project leaders. You claimed to have researched this completely and want to share your links, you have branded the official reports with "offness", you have branded official reference documents as "out of date" and non specific....if these aren't claims to expertise in the matter, what is?

Never, not once, have I claimed to have better "numbers" than any "project leader."

I have never said I "researched this completely" either.

The Impact study IS off. The square footage of the study is off by 30 THOUSAND feet. 30,000 feet of difference is simply a different facility.

The official reference document you speak of is the 2002 Comprehensive Plan which you called the 2006 Comprehensive Plan and a "living document." It's from 2002 and has not been revised since. It's over a decade old. It's kind of tough to dispute the fact that is, in fact, out of date.

Your opinion on my expertise is noted, but in light of your immature, antagonistic, dramatic outbursts, I'm betting there's no one taking you seriously at this point.

Again, you are your own and this project's worst enemy.

Todd,
I will spend as much time as I deem necessary to make an informed decision as it is my right as a citizen of Lemont to do so. What if we were talking about 50 mil or 100 mil would you want a say then? What is you issue with the democratic process of checks and balances? I believe it is our duty to question how OUR money is spent.

I believe it is your DUTY to question how your money is spent. It is my opinion that most of you will continue to shirk that DUTY and 13 days or 13 months, you won't fulfill your DUTY to ask it.

It's nice to be able to express your opinion. What a great democracy!!!!!!

So 10% of the Lemont population feel that their views are what the village wants....seems to me that 90% think that our elected representatives should be allowed to represent us

I remember when the previous editor would rebuke and delete comments from people who didn't use their real and complete name. Now she has moved on, and Jorg Maetano moved in. Since pretty much nonsense. Can we have Mike Bloomberg and Michele Obama pick the concession menu? You would have to offer Greek level yields to attract any money. P.C. vs reality.

There are places where the politicians make all the decisions,
North Korea, China,Cuba. I bet the people there would love the chance to have a say in their communities.

If the politicians decided to let the public in on their plans, the referendum could of took place this year.

GOOD NEWS EVERYBODY!

The Lemont Park District has just mailed out a comprehensive community survey, a genuine effort to find out what the people think. If you want more playing fields for the children of Lemont, send in the survey. If you think program fees need to be increased (ha-ha), send in the survey. It is time for all concerned citizens to mobilize, and especially parents, teams and leagues. Surveys are due back by March 15th, so don't sit on your hands. If you don't act now, don't complain later. You know, it's almost like getting to vote.

"At the conclusion of the hearing, after all matters are resolved, the LEB will issue a final written decision."

So am I reading this correctly, that the Mayor who started this "fast track" plan is on the Local Electoral Board (LEB), is also "charged with issuing a decision on the objections"? Besides 2 others members from the village are on the LEB too.

Does anyone else see the insanity of this political process?

Is less expected from Lemont politics? By the Way, the contractors they use are the same companies they use every project (are any from Lemont) and their is no transparency in the Village of Faith.

The air on the whole project can be cleared if the village board will do a "business Pro-Forma" of the project. It will show the cost of construction,the cost of maintenance,and commitments from all these communities and letters of intent or contracts that show the teams and communities,schools etc. that are willing to pay to use the facilities. The cost benefit will then be clear. Oh,to answer Rita,
Jewel is not doing well financially. The market place rumor is that Jewel is up for sale.(no takers yet)

The posts on this article have been most interesting reading. One thing I can clearly say about all the posts is that there is defiantly a concern for the future of Lemont. Perhaps in stead of quibbling over this proposal we should all get together find some solutions that we can all get behind. Anyone? 113A and the declining downtown may not fix themselves without public support.

It's been pretty quiet out there regarding the villages proposed sports complex. Does anyone know the current status? Is the Village letting the citizens know what they are doing at this point in time?