CUinFP
A Word from the President
With our first anniversary celebration quickly fading away to memory, we
have already made some serious advances as our second year rolls on. Our
first achievement grew out of the CUinFP ethics workshop we held in June.
Our guest speaker and educator was Terry Pastika of Citizens Advocacy
Center in Elmhurst. Terry gave us a step-by-step analysis of the Forest
Park ethics ordinance, pointing out its strengths and weaknesses while
suggesting changes we should lobby for. She also clarified the role of
our state mandated Ethics Commission and since these positions were yet
unfilled by our mayor, the need for us to push for compliance with the
law.
While working on a revised ethics ordinance is a long term goal, we wasted
no time in pressuring Mayor Calderone into appointing an Ethics
Commission. Low and behold our efforts were rewarded when during the
August 22 village council meeting, the mayor appointed the new
commissioners.
Our second big achievement came during the September 12 council meeting
when pressure from CUinFP and the Forest Park Review forced the council to
pass legislation adopting the Illinois Whistleblower Reward and Protection
Act. This win was a giant first step towards our goal of “total”
whistleblower protection for the employees and citizens of Forest Park
from vindictive and retaliatory behavior by those in a position of power.
Our August meeting focused on a well attended presentation by Forest
Park’s finest concerning the presence of gangs in our community. This ad
hoc team of police professionals headed by Officer Michael O’Connor was
formed to investigate and record gang activity in our community. They
left us with the message that no town is immune to gangs. Our hopes are
that this program will become permanent and that these officers can
continue to learn and protect our community. It is our intention to have
them back in a year with some positive news.
As 2005 drew to a close, CUinFP began to focus on the election process.
Our
first election-related activity took place at our October meeting as we
hosted a
Voter Registrar training seminar where those interested in registering
America’s voters learned to do so. In December, CUinFP received a
Citizen Advocacy award from the Citizen's Advocacy Center for our work
in promoting democracy. Finally, in the new year CUinFP will be
addressing the
issue of “tear downs."
Steven Backman
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Other Contributors
This page allows residents of Forest Park to post their views on important issues
and events that are taking place in Forest Park. Residents can also submit their
visions, values and beliefs for topics such as finance, policies
and ordinances that impact the environment and the lifestyle for the Village
of Forest Park. All submitted materials will be reviewed by the board members
of CUinFP for subject matter that is appropriate to the CUinFP website.
Comments can be submitted by writing to submit@cuinfp.org.
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