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SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE: High school and college football season preview

REPORTER Out & About section: Focus on senior health and fitnes

THE Volume LVII, No. 23

Serving Chicago Ridge, Evergreen Park, Hickory Hills, Oak Lawn, Palos Hills and Worth

USPS 118-690

$1 Newstand 3 SECTIONS 28 PAGES

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Court favors Oak Lawn in union dispute Ruling vs. firefighters union will save taxpayers more than $3 million: village By Dermot Connolly

Photo by Kelly White

John Basile, founder of Big Run Wolf Ranch out of Lockport, talks to students, parents and faculty at Southwest Chicago Christian School in Oak Lawn about animals such as the coyote at left. The discussion and chance for kids and their parents to observe animals took place on Friday during Family Fun Night.

Kids go wild over animal encounters By Kelly White

O

See ANIMALS, Page 10

See OAK LAWN, Page 10

Chicago Ridge firefighters agree on contract with village

ne local school tied together family fun with wild animals, including the feared coyote. The staff at Southwest Chicago Christian School, 10110 S. Central Ave. in Oak Lawn, hosted a Family Fun Night on Friday night at the school. The event was open to the public and was free except a minor charge for a bounce house, hot dogs and chips. The night was highlighted with an educational animal program presented by Big Run Wolf Ranch. The non-profit, based in Lockport, is a federally licensed educational facility that specializes in the education and conservation of North American wildlife. The facility has been run since July 1986 by John Basile, president and founder. Basile led Friday’s presentation, introducing animals with not the best reputations to children and their families. Basile wanted to show the public that wild animals do not have to be feared. “I love animals and I’m hoping there is a giraffe with (them) tonight,” said Timothy Steward, 4, of Oak Lawn. No giraffes made an appearance. However, several other animals did, including an 11-week-old black British Columbian timber wolf, a skunk, a groundhog, a porcupine and a 5-year-old coyote. “All of the animals that travel with me are very tame and safe,” Basile said. “They have been appearing before the public since they were only a couple weeks old. These animals I have with me today are my regular crew of animals that always travel for live shows with me.” During his presentation, Basile let children meet and mingle

The Cook County Appellate Court sided with the village of Oak Lawn in a ruling issued Aug. 12 against the local firefighters union that village officials say will save taxpayers $3.2 million. The union has the right to ask the Illinois Supreme Court to review the decision, but union President Lt. Vince Griffin said this week that the union will abide by the ruling. This decision effectively settles a dispute over staffing levels dating back to 2008, when the firefighters union filed a grievance against Oak Lawn after the village started staffing engines with three people instead of four. A grievance arbitrator sided with the union and ordered the village to maintain a minimum

of 21 people per shift and provide $286,000 in back pay for the nine months that staffing fell below that. The village complied with that and paid the amount ordered. But the latest judgment stems from a subsequent compliance petition filed by the union arguing that that the village should actually be staffing 22 people per shift. The Illinois Labor Relations Board initially found in favor of the union and awarded it $3.2 million in back pay and accrued interest last year. But the Labor Relations Board reversed its own ruling on appeal, and the Appellate Court’s decision upholds that decision that Oak Lawn was not liable for the back pay and interest. “We are, of course, thrilled that

By Dermot Connolly

Photo by Kelly White

A groundhog enjoys a snack after making an appearance at the Southwest Chicago Christian School in Oak Lawn Family Fun Night on Friday as part of the presentation by Big Run Wolf Ranch.

by labor and management, and without attorneys. This alone, saved the Chicago Ridge taxpayers thousands of dollars,” said Sheets. International Association of Firefighters Local 3098 Union President Chris Schmelzer, who has held that position since 2000, said in a prepared statement that “this negotiation was the most amicable, most productive, and least stressful I have ever been a part of.” Schmelzer couldn’t be at the meeting because he was representing the village at an IAFF convention, but Senior Lt. Chris Bennett read his statement to the board. “Traditionally, the union had always come in asking for more than we thought we could get, and the village was always looking for concessions the union felt were unfair. I can assure you that this more recent ‘interest-based bargaining’ is much less taxing

While labor negotiations are so often fraught with arguments and accusations, Chicago Ridge officials seem to have found a way to agree on a firefighter contract without even involving lawyers. The village board voted unanimously to approve the three-year contract on Aug. 15 to the applause from scores of people in the audience, including a contingent of firefighters. The firefighters were also there for a presentation of a watch to the recently retired Deputy Chief Scott Durling, who had been with the department for close to 30 years. Police Chief George Sheets noted that the current contract doesn’t expire for another year. “Because of the very positive labor/management relationship, we were able to negotiate a three-year extension of the current contract,” said Sheets. So the new agreement will be in effect through 2020. “This contract was negotiated See CHICAGO RIDGE, Page 10

On the go at MVCC

Palos Hills would like to see former health club site developed By Michael Gilbert Palos Hills officials are hoping to meet with the new owner of the site that formerly housed the Palos Olympic Health & Racquetball Club to get a better grasp of what is in store for the vacant 1.8-acre property. Palos Hills Building Commissioner Paul Hardison told the city council on Aug. 18 that the property at 11050 S. Roberts Road was sold within the last 30 days but attempts to contact the new owner have so far proved futile.

“We’ve sent him letters and I phoned him and left voicemail messages but we haven’t been able to contact him,” Hardison told the council. “We have no idea what his intentions are (with the property).” The property has been unoccupied by a business since the racquetball club closed approximately nine years ago, Palos Hills Mayor Gerald Bennett said. City Attorney George Pappas told Hardison he will also reach out to the new owner in an attempt to find out what he has planned for the property. The building that once housed

the racquetball club remains on the site although Bennett said it is in poor condition and would almost certainly need to be demolished when redevelopment of the property occurs. “The biggest problem over there is that we believe the only way that property is going to be developed is that the building has to come down,” Bennett said. “It’s obsolete and because of the size of the building there is no way you are going to try to rehab it.” The property is best suited for residential as it does not appear to

be large enough to support commercial, Bennett said. “The end goal is to have somebody come in, purchase the property and come to us with a proposal,” Bennett said. “More than likely we are leaning toward residential like multi-family homes or townhouses because we don’t think it is big enough for a commercial development. “Until that happens we are sitting there with people flipping that property back and forth. Hopefully

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