BURGESS PERSON OF THE YEAR 2017

Steve LaRock, Editor-in-Chief

SAUK VILLAGE PERSON OF THE YEAR!  This award has been established to honor a person who has made a significant impact on our Village this year.  This year the choice was crystal clear, we chose Mayor Derrick Burgess as the Sauk Villager’s 2017- Person of the Year!  Derrick Burgess, hands down, has been the one who had the biggest impact on Sauk Village and its future.

Derrick Burgess had been a member of the Village Board of Trustees since 2006 before being elected this past April as Mayor of Sauk Village.  Burgess’s tenacity, drive and determination proved that the “third time is a charm”; winning by a massive 3 to 1 ratio to become Sauk Village’s 8^th Mayor.

Burgess was sworn in by Judge Adrienne Davis on May 9, 2017 with virtually no transition, inheriting a Village in financial chaos.  The General Fund Deficit was over $1.8 million, with over $2 million owed to the water fund and $1 million in unpaid bills which was far worse than his predecessor inherited.  The Village’s previous day to day operational dysfunctions quickly become glaringly apparent.  Since Day 1, Burgess has strategically and methodically changed the “business as usual” practices.  Burgess has performed a number of comprehensive assessments and has made the necessary changes that will protect and ensure better services for the residents of Sauk Village.  Burgess’ hands-on approach on day to day operations as well as the Village’s finances are welcome changes. 

Burgess has surrounded himself with proven industry professionals, both on his Board of Trustees and administrative staff and in just seven months his Administration has:

·        Made significant gains in bringing future economic development to Sauk Village (more to come)

·        Applied for and received approval for grants to update the Village’s outdated 1999 Comprehensive Plan

·        Implemented procedural changes to end the “past practices’ which truly hurt the Village and cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in litigation.

·       Appointed capable and well qualified individuals to manage the Village’s finances, Human Resources and Economic Development

·         Worked collaboratively with State and County officials to:

o   Remove dead trees on Sauk Trail

o   Tear down the old Hometown Gyros (Pizza Hut) eyesore in Surreybrook Plaza

o   Tear down a burned out house on Peterson Avenue

·         Created and presented to the Village Board for adoption of the very first Strategic Plan for Progress

In order to achieve these accomplishments, Burgess has committed himself to working full-time hours as Mayor even though the position has a part-time salary.  That is the mark of a person that truly is determined to work for the people instead of looking for self-gratification.

Mayor Derrick Burgess, you have truly earned the honor of being named the Sauk Villager’s Person of the Year for 2017.   Keep up the good work of getting us on a Pathway to Progress! 

Past Honorees:

Click the links below to read those stories

2016 – David Hanks, Mayor

2015 - Senior Pastor Rev Melody Seaton, Grace UCC

2014 - Dr. Donna Leak Superintendent 168

2013 - Derrick Burgess, Village Trustee

2012 - Alan Stoffregen, Fire Chief

2011 - Robert Chavez, Sr., Village Trustee

BURGESS NAMES ZUPON TRUSTEE

SAUK VILLAGE |  Elizabeth "Beth" Zupon was appointed Tuesday night to the Trustee's seat left vacant by Mayor Derrick Burgess becoming mayor.  Burgess had two years remaining on his term as Trustee and Zupon will now serve the remainder of that term.

Zupon came up only about 18 votes short of winning a seat in the April, 2017 election.  Zupon served as Village Clerk from 2007 until 2009.

Zupon is a Vice President at Northern Trust and has extensive banking experience among her many other attributes.  She has volunteered on many committees including the Beautification Committee, Zoning Board among many other things she has done.

With the appointment of Zupon, the Village Board is now up to its full compliment of six members.

Burgess also named the chairman of the Village Board's committees Tuesday night.  Trustee Linda Todd will chair the Ordinance Review Committee and the Beautification Committee;  Trustee Bernice Brewer will serve as chair of the Public Services Committee and Senior Citizen Committee; Trustee Cecial Tates will chair the Housing and Intergovernmental Relations Committee;  Trustee Kelvin Jones will retain his chairmanship of the Parks, Recreation and Youth Services Committee; Trustee Zupon will serve as chair of the Public Safety Committee and Trustee Rodrick Grant will serve as chair of the Budget and Finance Committee.

VOTERS WANT CHANGE

Mayor-Elect Derrick Burgess and Clerk-Elect

Marva Campbell-Pruitt of Sauk Village

SAUK VILLAGE |  Voters wanted change and spoke loudly at the polls Tuesday.  With 100% of the polls reporting, Village Trustee Derrick Burgess won with 55.5% of all votes cast over Village Trustee Rosie Williams-Baig and Village Trustee Lynda Washington-House.  Burgess's decisive victory was a demand for change by the voters and an end to the status quo.

Both Williams-Baig, who completed her third term on the Village Board and Washington-House did not seek re-election to the Village Board and will now be out of their Trustees seats come May 9th.  Burgess, whose seat is up in 2019 will get to appoint his successor once he vacates his seat upon taking the oath as Mayor.

Burgess ran a very positive campaign and his message of a New Direction and a Pathway to Progress resonated with the residents.  Voter turnout was light, with about 1074 voters turning out at the polls to choose the next Mayor.

Burgess was surrounded by a crowd at his campaign headquarters Tuesday night when results began coming in showing an overwhelming majority and mandate.  Official results from Cook County Clerk's office with 100% of all precincts report was as follows:

FOR MAYOR:
Burgess:                      595*
Williams-Baig:            295
Washington-House:     182

*-indicates winner

Voters also made history Tuesday night with the election of the first African-American Village Clerk.  Marva Campbell-Pruitt beat out two-term incumbent Debbie Williams whose most recent term was riddled with scandals since 2013.  Campbell-Pruitt ran a very positive campaign and according to the official results from Cook County Clerk David Orr's office showed:

Campbell-Pruitt           546*
Williams                        502

*-indicates winner

Villagers also turned away two-term incumbent Trustee Edward Myers, who was the only incumbent Trustee who was on the ballot.  27 year old Rodrick Grant was the top vote-getter followed by Bernice Brewer-Houston and Linda Todd each won seats on the Village Board.  Beth Zupon, former Village Clerk came up just short of winning a seat.  Burgess praised Grant, Brewer-Houston and Zupon for a positive and well fought campaign.  According to official results in the Trustee's race the following reported:

Grant                       504*

Brewer-Houston     487*

Zupon                       466

Todd                         496*

Myers                        394
Garrett                       394
*-indicates winner

Current Mayor David Hanks who endorsed Williams-Baig for Mayor and wrote a scathing article on his personal blog as to why he decided not to vote for Burgess, did not call or attend Burgess's victory party.  Williams-Baig did not call to concede, however, Washington-House did turn-up at Burgess's campaign office to concede in person.

In School District 168 results the following:

• Branard Barrett      326*
• Kanika Johnson     227
• Brandie Jackson    296
• Marva Campbell-Pruitt   467*
• Tawanda Henry     148
• Rachel Eastman     235
• Sene Garrett           400*
• Jimo Kasali            224
• RaDonna Brown    178
• Mary Howard        329*

A NOTE TO SAUK VILLAGE RESIDENTS

DEAR SAUK VILLAGE RESIDENTS | Nearly 200 Sauk Villagers have already voted for Mayor in early voting.  If you have not yet early voted, this coming Tuesday, April 4th Sauk Villagers will head to the polls to elect your new Mayor, new Village Clerk and new Village Trustees. David Hanks sent out a missive to his minions asking them to rally behind his chosen candidates, which are no less than a bunch of Bobble Heads!

Hanks says "much has been accomplished without placing future generations further in debt over the last four years..." Well first of all, let's tell the residents the facts!  $10.2 million is owed to the Pension Funds, $32 million is owed in General Obligation Bonds which Hanks himself voted for during his tenure in office, Hanks's administration took over $2 million from the water fund which must be repaid!  The Village has not had a bond rating since 2011 due to the financial mismanagement which he has continued over the last four years!  If he could have, he would have plunged the Village deeper into debt!  Thank goodness he was not able to do so!  So as Hanks leaves and according to the Village's 2015-16 Audit Report the Village is some $50 million in debt!  Let's not even talk about the property tax increases Hanks himself voted for during his 18 year tenure in office!  THANKS HANKS and THANK GOD you're leaving!   

Personally, we cannot wait until he fades off "into non-political retirement" on May 9th, it will truly be a moment to celebrate!  We do agree that Sauk Village residents have a choice either to continue his legacy of failure - taking a giant leap backwards or the Village can actually vote for a New Direction and a Pathway to Progress!

Hanks points out there are three candidates running for Mayor and only one has the vision which is clearly DERRICK BURGESS and yet two other that will continue Hanks's brand of "progress", the lack of transparency and the overall failed past practices that Sauk Village has experienced the last few years. The other two candidates based on their propaganda and comments at the recent board meetings and forum want to pick up where the current administration left off and plunge the village futher into failure!

Based on Hanks's two preferred candidates' campaign promises, if either is elected they will take Sauk Village further in debt placing the additional costs on you and future generations through stealing money from the water fund, taking out high interest loans and raising resident’s fees to record highs………Everything this current administration has done to the residents over the course of the last four years!

There is no way these candidates can keep their promises without selling out the residents of Sauk Village.

Many residents have been asking us who is best to do the job!  Let me make this perfectly clear!

Next Tuesday, you, your family, your friends and neighbors should vote for the following independent candidates, who truly do care, who own homes, who all have had successful jobs, who do not need to steal your money because they have earned their own, who do not have to shake down village vendors for personal trips- they can pay their own way!  Here are the only candidates you can trust with your money:

FOR MAYOR:   DERRICK BURGESS                  Punch #1

FOR CLERK:   MARVA CAMPBELL-PRUITT   Punch #5

FOR TRUSTEE (VOTE FOR 3):

• RODRICK GRANT                              Punch #6
• BERNICE BREWER-HOUSTON      Punch #7
• BETH ZUPON                                      Punch #8

Sauk Village, if you do not want to continue the failure and continue down the Highway to Hell that the current administration has been heading with years of: disrespecting residents, excessive legal expenses caused by David Hanks and Debbie Williams, fear, bullying, shake downs, extortion, FAKE CRIME STATISTICS, unanswered Audit Findings, Criminal Indictments of Village Officials (ie Village Treasurer)!   Then join the majority of Village residents and cast your vote for CHANGE, a NEW DIRECTION and a PATHWAY TO PROGRESS and real Independent Candidates and not a bunch of BOBBLE HEADS! 

VILLAGE OFFICIALS FILE FALSE TREASURER'S REPORT

SAUK VILLAGE |  Village officials may have falsified the Village's Treasurer's Report according to official Village records.  Village Clerk Debbie Williams certified the Village's Treasurer's Report which apparently was void of two individuals who have been on the Village's payroll since 2015.

JW Fairman and his assistant former Northlake Mayor Reid Paxson are nowhere on the most current year's Treasurer's Reports.  Fairman and his consultant company JW Fairman LLC or perhaps JW Fairman LTD were hired by Mayor David Hanks in the wake of the Village election in 2015 during the lame-duck session.  Fairman or his consultant company are reported earning $100,000 per year while his part-time "assistant" is paid $25,000 per year.  Fairman, his company and Paxson are not found on the most recent Treasurer's Report.  "All employees and vendors" earning over $25,000 are required to be listed on the report according to Illinois law.

 

Fairman receives a state and Cook County pension, and it is unclear if his "full-time" employment with Sauk Village would impact those pensions and if the omission was intentional.  Fairman was a prison administrator for Cook County jail and retired.  What is clear is that village officials did not list Fairman and Paxson on the Treasurer's report, yet all other Village employees, contractors and vendors are listed out on the report (***CLICK HERE TO VIEW REPORT***)

Both Hanks and Williams have been criticized by residents and three of the six Village Trustees for the lack of transparency and in 2016 both were admonished with a petition of No Confidence signed by 652 residents.  Williams most recently had her petitions challenged for Village Clerk among many other reasons, because she accepted a check from a village vendor for her so-called "personal trip" to Washington DC in 2013.  Williams said on July 23, 2013 at a Village Board meeting that she paid for the trip with her own money, however, a Freedom of Information Act request clearly showed she did not.  The Electoral Board in January of this year, which included Hanks and her daughter Rosie Williams, voted 2 to 1 to keep Williams on the ballot. 

Williams may still face charges from the Cook County States Attorney for failing to report money she received on her Statement of Economic Interest which is required under Illinois law.

"I do not understand how they keep getting things so wrong" a long-time resident said.  "The Village Treasurer gets indicted and pled guilty to Federal charges and these guys keep getting away with crap like this" they said.

The Village Treasurer, James Griegel appointed by Hanks in May, 2013 was arrested in January, 2016 and later Federal charges were filed against Griegel for embezzlement of Police Pension Funds.  The Village has not had a Treasurer in place doing the job since January, 2016 when Hanks put Griegel on "paid" administrative leave.

***UPDATE*** March 28, 2017:  At Tuesday's meeting JW Fairman's advised the public that we were correct that there was an omission was corrected and the Village has filed an amended Treasurer's Report!  We applaud their effort at Financial transparency in government!  

MEET RaDONNA BROWN- Candidate for District 168 School Board

RaDonna Brown is running for School Board in Sauk Village's School District 168.   This information was provided by the candidate for this profile. This is not an endorsement for RaDonna, but we want to take this opportunity to showcase a series of candidates running in School District 168 to help educate residents of Sauk Village.  School Board members serve without compensation and are supposed to be the watchdogs for your tax dollars and for the success of Sauk Village's Schools!  We hope you familiarize yourself with these candidates showcased in this 4 part series.  GOOD LUCK RaDONNA:

RaDonna Brown, MS an 11 year resident of Sauk Village, Illinois and mother of 2 children of District 168. For the past 10 years, RaDonna has owned and operated a state licensed home daycare.  She provides a fun, safe, reliable, and nurturing environment for children of working families of the community.  By night RaDonna provides home care services through Ingalls Private Duty for children with disabilities. If anyone knows RaDonna, they will undeniably know that she has a passion for children.

RaDonna recognizes the importance of education and often encourages others.  She received her undergraduate degree in 2006 (BOG/Early Childhood Education) from Chicago State University and her graduate degree in 2014 (Human Behavior) from Capella University.  Throughout the years RaDonna has earned many credentials and certifications from the Illinois Department of Human Services which includes Infant and Toddler Specialist LV2 and Early Childhood Educator LV2.  She actively pursue new trainings, and learning opportunities, as a result, RaDonna, serves as a great resource for others.

As a candidate, RaDonna has a personal interest in preserving and improving the quality of Community Consolidated School District 168. Her efforts as a board member would center on serving all of the children in the community; one child is no more important than another. We are a diverse community and have to celebrate that diversity. Our schools are here to serve the educational needs of all the children of the community. With that being said RaDonna seek to engage the community and allocate resources according to the needs. She kindly request your support in her efforts to become the new voice on the Community Consolidated School District 168 School Board.  RaDONNA BROWN Punch #179.

MEET BRANDIE JACKSON- School Board Candidate April 4th

BRANDIE JACKSON is running for School Board in Sauk Village's School District 168.   This information was provided by the candidate for this profile. This is not an endorsement for Brandie, but we want to take this opportunity to showcase a series of candidates running in School District 168 to help educate residents of Sauk Village.  School Board members serve without compensation and are supposed to be the watchdogs for your tax dollars and for the success of Sauk Village's Schools!  We hope you familiarize yourself with these candidates showcased in this 4 part series.  GOOD LUCK BRANDIE:

The fabric of every community is created from the stories of its struggles and coming together during hardships that lead to triumph.

My name is Brandie Jackson-Williams and I am running for School Board to help change those stories of destruction and pain into Sauk Village return to prominence and progress through public education.

Being a mom with children in the district, I want to be an advocate that fights to make sure every student at every school has access to the best education possible.

My work as a health consultant and in the transportation industry gives me valuable experience working with public and private sector organizations that allows me to align priorities with strategic outcomes. I have demonstrated the ability to be an effective communicator allowing me to bring people and ideas together in a collaborative manner that reaches the best results for everyone. I believe this experience makes me an excellent candidate for the CCSD 168 School Board.

I will be accountable for the education of our students by making financial decisions that are deliberate, measured and with district goals in mind. Strong communication skills will allow me to work successfully with the Administration, staff and parents so that educational priorities are met, technology advancements are made and the progress of every student at every school is realized.

I have volunteered for many school district events as well as events throughout the community. I am a dedicated sports mom and will bring that same energy and excitement to the School District. I am here to serve students and schools not politicians and politics. Students and educators become empowered when you lead with integrity and have the will to place education first. This is my goal.

I am happily married and the mother of three students at Bloom Trail High School and two children in School District 168. I am currently employed with the Chicago Transit Authority, a team mom for my son basketball AAU team and a soon to be member of the School Board with your support.

On April 4^th, vote for Brandie Jackson-Williams for School Board Member on the Community Consolidated School District 168 School Board. Because Integrity and Honesty should matter