10-20-16 Orland Park mayoral hike needs referendum

This is Ray Hanania’s column commentary Podcast … Hanania’s columns are published each week in newspapers throughout the United States and in the Middle East.

Topic: Orland Park trustees voted to give Mayor Dan McLaughlin a new salary that is 375 percent of his former salary, a huge increase of 275 percent. Additionally, the podcast discusses the race for the Cook County Board of Review with Marty Stack, the Cubs and the Orland Township referendum to break from Cook County and join Will County. Oct. 20, 2016

He writes on American politics and life in Chicagoland every week in the Des Plaines Valley News, Southwest News-Herald, The Regional News, the Reporter Newspapers, NewsAmericaNetwork.com, and IllinoisNewsNetwork.com.

Hanania also writes a weekly column every Thursday for the Arab News at www.ArabNews.com. And, writes news and features for his website at TheArabDailyNews.com.

An award winning former Chicago City Hall reporter named Best Ethnic Columnist by the New America Media, and recipient of the Sigma Delta Chi award for writing, Hanania is of Palestinian Arab heritage.  

You can reach him and share your opinions and thoughts by emailing him at rghanania@gmail.com. All his columns are archived at RayHanania.com.

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(An American Palestinian Arab, Hanania writes a weekly column for the Arab News at www.ArabNews.com. He also writes each week for several mainstream American newspapers on American politics and life in Chicagoland. Reach him at rghanania@gmail.com.)

Orland Park sidesteps the will of the people

The Orland Park Board approved a plan to significantly increase Mayor McLaughlins salary 375 percent from what it was (a 275 percent increase). But the board action ignores the rights of the village's taxpayers and voters.

Oct. 20, 2016 Des Plaines Valley News, The Regional, The Reporter

By Ray Hanania

I joined the Oct. 4 village-wide teleconference when Orland Park Mayor Dan McLaughlin and Trustee Jim Dodge announced the Board is planning to make the job of mayor full-time rather than part-time.

I broke that story that this was coming in this column last September.

The mayor’s salary will increase to $150,000 a year -- from $43,000 a year (which also includes $3,000 a year as liquor commissioner). That doesn’t include a 2nd pension McLaughlin will get from the Building Trade Association that he now heads as Executive Director.

This all came about following the vacancy created when the very competent Paul Grimes left as village manager. The board named Tim McCarthy, the village’s highly regarded police chief, as temporary successor. The village website lists two assistant Village Managers, Joe La Margo and Ellen Baer, though Baer reportedly resigned last year.

Sadly, I don’t think the Village has been totally honest with residents. Sure, they can raise the mayor’s salary anytime. But can they simply dump the Village Manager system without going directly to the people?

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