Opinion
City Hall continues to provoke the bear. “They don’t give council options they don’t support.”
The debate over masking is exposing city hall administration’s narcissistic attitude.
The administration did not offer city council any options they did not support. The administration is now provoking the bear. I predict that many candidates, especially incumbents, will campaign in the next municipal election (Oct. 2021) on shaking up city hall.
Perhaps our city councilors will take back the reins, and take control of the agenda. They give direction to the Mayor and administration not the other way around.
Remember a past blog;
The recent debate over the Molly Banister could be seen as democracy at work and possibly an expose of city hall dysfunction.
At first reading of the bylaw to remove the road alignment it seemed supported by the Mayor, by the council and by the administration. Comments from some elected officials about campaign promises made it appear inevitable.
The public reacted and it appeared that city hall was out of sync with today’s reality.
The local newspaper did an editorial on September 29, declaring in bold headline that the “Road extension must be kept”. Writing ;”It’s surprising that public workers paid to plan for the city’s growth would do the opposite; not plan for the responsible development of the region.” “ What is portrayed as an environmental concern is really just an interest in keeping neighbourhood traffic down to a minimum,”
Former city manager, Craig Curtis, waded into the debate, questioning the recommendation and reminding us of past decisions that were essential to our development that were similar.
Legal opinions on historical commitments and legal obligations.
Knowledgeable residents debunked many of the environmental issues.
The local church came out in favour of the extension.
The Mayor who championed removal, declared herself in conflict, as she lives in the area, removed herself from voting before each reading.
Councillor Wong started off questioning, after the public hearing, why the administration would bring up a 250 foot bridge when an old man like himself could hop the creek?
Councillor Lee questioned why the city would emphasize the road would cause several instances of ecological damage when the other option of building houses on the creek would have the same effect? Councillor Lee admitted that the majority wanted the extension and voted against the removal.
Councillor Hendley, questioned the city about the future changes. How, when the city administration repeated that there is no current connection to Springfield Avenue, countered, that when the neighbourhood plan is presented it could then be connected, initiating another public hearing. She didn’t claim to know what the future would bring and wanted to leave all options opened.
Councillor Buchanan mentioned that in his non-councillor life he has witnessed the short-cutting of drivers that were of concern to neighbouring communities.
Councillor Higham, took note of the less than complete information on traffic. Bringing her own detailed analyses of traffic to the table.
Together they formed the majority that paralleled the wishes of the majority.
On the face of it, democracy won, a fragile democracy but still a democracy.
2 of the opposition councillors credited the support of the administration in buoying their determined support to remove the alignment, another one used the “Green” umbrella to support her opposition to keeping the alignment.
Poll after poll showed majority support for the extension, so why did we need to go through this stressful and expensive process? Why did the same traffic study get 2 extremely different interpretations?
City hall has been put on notice. Do their jobs, leave the politics and biases out of the equation. You get paid the big bucks to give your political masters the untarnished truth, so do it.
Someone said; “The bear has been poked, do not provoke”.
The next municipal election is on the horizon, provocation could mean great change. Not just at the ballot box.
Is it time for a shake-up and renewal at city hall? Just asking.
Will city administration heed the people duly elected to represent the people?
Will city hall administration be the ballot box question? Just asking.
Quick Hit:
Village officials in Dolton, Illinois, have purchased the boyhood home of Pope Leo XIV, calling it a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to bring pride, attention, and tourism to the community. The historic acquisition comes just weeks after Robert Prevost was elected pope.
Key Details:
- The three-bedroom, 1,050-square-foot home was purchased by the Pope’s parents in 1949 and remained in the family for nearly 50 years.
- Initially listed for $245,957, the home was removed from the market after Prevost’s election and later sold directly to the Dolton Village Board at a “significantly lower” price.
- Dolton Mayor Jason House called the deal a major win for the community, with board members and residents already seeing increased interest and tour bus traffic.
Diving Deeper:
The childhood home of Pope Leo XIV has officially been purchased by the village of Dolton, Illinois, after a unanimous vote by the Village Board on Monday night. Local officials are celebrating the move as a historic acquisition that could serve as a source of civic pride and new economic opportunity.
As reported by the New York Post, the modest 1,050-square-foot home—located just south of Chicago—was originally purchased by the Pope’s parents in 1949 for a $49 monthly mortgage. It stayed in the Prevost family for nearly half a century.
After Robert Prevost was elected pope, the home—initially listed on May 5 for $245,957—was pulled from the market and briefly entered into an auction process. That plan was ultimately scrapped in favor of a direct sale to the village. While the final purchase price hasn’t been disclosed, attorney Burt Odelson, who handled the deal, said it was “significantly lower than what they thought they would get.”
Mayor Jason House praised the acquisition as a unique chance to put Dolton on the map. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” House said. “We can either seize this moment and move it forward, or we can let that moment go to an investor. I would like our community to get the benefits of this opportunity.”
Tourism has already begun. Within hours of Pope Leo XIV’s election, visitors started arriving at the home. Officials say that momentum has only grown. Trustee Edward Steave said the traffic in the area speaks for itself: “If you ever see the traffic over there, the constant busloads in and out of our town, this is a great opportunity for us. This is a historical thing.”
Peter Doocy asked directly, “What happened to the Epstein client list that the Attorney General said she had on her desk?” Here’s how Leavitt tried to explain it.
The Epstein client list was supposed to be SITTING on Pam Bondi’s desk for review.
But months later, the DOJ says no such list even exists.
Karoline Leavitt was just asked why there was such a reversal in so little time.
Her responses today are raising eyebrows.
On February 21st, Pam Bondi told the world the Epstein client list was “sitting on [her] desk right now to review,” explaining it was part of a directive ordered by President Trump.
Shortly afterward, she and Kash Patel pledged to end the Epstein cover-up, promising to fully disclose the Epstein files to the public, hold accountable any government officials who withheld key evidence, and investigate why critical documents had been hidden in the first place.
But ever since late February, it seems the cover-up wasn’t exposed but buried even deeper by those who promised transparency.
First, they handed out the so-called “Epstein files” to influencers like golden Willy Wanka tickets, only for everyone to discover that almost all of the contents inside were already public and contained no new revelations.
Fast-forward to May, and suddenly Kash Patel and Dan Bongino are declaring firmly that Epstein killed himself.
“I’ve seen the whole file. He killed himself,” Bongino stated bluntly to Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo.
Today, the Trump-appointed DOJ and FBI released a new report that’s turning heads and raising plenty of questions.
They concluded that Epstein had no clients, didn’t blackmail anyone, and definitely killed himself.
FBI Concludes Epstein Had No Clients, Didn’t Blackmail Anyone, and Definitely Killed Himself
This article originally appeared on Infowars and was republished with permission.
They also released surveillance footage and claimed it showed no one entered Epstein’s cell area, supporting the suicide ruling.
But people aren’t convinced. Some allege the video cuts off, with a minute of footage missing between 11:59 PM and midnight.
Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to questions about the Epstein client list in light of these new DOJ and FBI statements.
A reporter asked, “Karoline, the DOJ and FBI have now concluded there was no Jeffrey Epstein client list. What do you tell MAGA supporters who say they want anyone involved in Epstein’s alleged crimes held accountable?”
Leavitt replied, “This administration wants anyone who has ever committed a crime to be accountable, and I would argue this administration has done more to lock up bad guys than certainly the previous administration.”
She continued, “The Trump administration is committed to truth and transparency. That’s why the Attorney General and the FBI Director pledged, at the president’s direction, to do an exhaustive review of all the files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and his death. They put out a memo in conclusion of that review.”
“There was material they did not release because frankly it was incredibly graphic and contained child pornography, which is not something that is appropriate for public consumption,” she added.
“But they committed to an exhaustive investigation. That’s what they did and they provided the results of that.”
“That’s transparency,” Leavitt said.
Leavitt was also pressed about Attorney General Pam Bondi’s comments in February when she claimed she had the Epstein list “on [her] desk.”
Peter Doocy asked, “Okay, so the FBI looks at the circumstances surrounding the death of Jeffrey Epstein. According to the report, this systematic review revealed no incriminating client list. So what happened to the Epstein client list that the Attorney General said she had on her desk?”
Leavitt responded, “I think if you go back and look at what the Attorney General said in that interview, which was on your network, on Fox News—”
Doocy pushed back, “I have the quote. John Roberts said: ‘DOJ may release the list of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients, will that really happen?’ And she said, ‘It’s sitting on my desk right now to review.’”
Leavitt explained, “Yes. She was saying the entirety of all of the paperwork, all of the paper in relation to Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, that’s what the Attorney General was referring to. And I will let her speak for that.”
“But when it comes to the FBI and the Department of Justice, they are more than committed to ensuring that bad people are put behind bars.”
So, after months of patiently waiting, the American people get a nothing burger that simply repeats the same old claims we heard under Bill Barr.
Even worse, it’s purported that this is what “transparency” and “accountability” look like.
The story went from saying the Epstein client list was “on my desk” to “actually, there is no client list.”
And the newly released video footage raises questions and, in the age of AI, proves nothing.
If there’s really nothing to hide, why does it still feel like they’re hiding everything?
And most importantly—who’s still being protected?
Thanks for reading to the end. I hope you found this timeline of events and recap helpful.
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