Yes, it’s true”the Village of Forest Park did receive a federal subpoena for information relating to Anthony Bruno, the ever-controversial consultant who has also done work for Melrose Park, Cicero, and Proviso High School Dist. 209.
No, the feds did not come to village hall with guns drawn, a full SWAT team, and fists full of indictments. And at this point, the purpose of the subpoenas is just to gather information.
Nobody has been accused of anything, and forecasts of Mayor Calderone’s or anybody else’s imminent downfall are premature to say the least. For now, Anthony Bruno is the only Anthony who needs to worry, though this is just one more layer on his growing pile of legal problems.
Equally naïve, however, is the “another day, another subpoena” position that the village seems to be taking. Though a subpoena might not be all that unusual for any municipality, a subpoena relating to an ongoing federal investigation of a man who some have accused of funneling millions to political cronies is not business as usual, or at least we hope not.
At least three village officials have referred to the subpoena as a “glorified FOIA request,” a catchy little slogan that everyone at village hall seems to have somehow thought up simultaneously. In reality, the most that can come out of a FOIA request is a news article, while the most that can come out of a federal subpoena is … well, as we said, it’s too early to speculate. But the village certainly needs to take this seriously, and they owe it to residents to honest and forthcoming in order to maintain trust and credibility.
So to both sides of Forest Park’s political spectrum, let’s all keep a level head and neither blow this out of proportion or deny that it exists.
Courthouse blues
Despite Dist. 209 Board President Chris Welch’s insistence that an interim superintendent can serve without his endorsement from the state, a legal battle seems certain if newly appointed Interim Superintendent Robert Libka remains in office for long.
Libka, who lived in Maywood for 30 years, seems to be a well-intentioned and well-liked man with a strong devotion to the Proviso community. However, it would be extremely difficult for him to carry out his vision with the district’s money even more tied up than it already is in a court battle.
No matter how confident Welch is in his ability to win such a case, the Review urges Welch and his Students First party to live up to their name by quickly appointing a certified superintendent in compliance with the Illinois School Code”for the students’ sake.
Our condolences
The Forest Park Review would like to join the rest of the village in expressing our condolences to the Calderone family for the loss of the mayor’s mother, Sharon, who died last week at age 75.
Mrs. Calderone was a longtime Forest Park resident and remained highly active in the community into her later years. She was loved by many and will certainly be missed.
