March 6, 2013
THE OLD IS NEW, AND NEW IS OLD, IN NILES' MAYOR'S RACE

ANALYSIS & OPINION BY RUSS STEWART

Remember the timeless Dr. Seuss character Horton, who said, "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant, and an elephant's faithful one hundred percent"?

North suburban Niles, with a population of 29,803, is the "Seusstown" of 2013. The operative rhyme is, "The new is the old, and the old is the new, and Nick Blase is the mayor that nobody wants to admit that they knew."

As the village's mayor from 1961 to 2008, Blase ran Niles with an iron fist. "He had contacts and connections everywhere," said one longtime observer. "He was the boss. Whatever he wanted, he got. He promised low taxes and great services, and he delivered." In the 11 elections from 1965 to 2005, Blase was re-elected with near-unanimity, usually unopposed. The voters loved him.

Unfortunately for Blase, the U.S. attorney didn't, and he was indicted for allegedly taking $421,000 in bribes and insurance kickbacks. He pleaded guilty to one count each of mail fraud and tax evasion, and he got 366 days in federal prison, resigning in August of 2008. A Blase ally, Trustee Bob Callero, replaced him. With Blase and his machine's behind-the-scenes support, Callero won a full term in 2009 with 2,597 votes (48.8 percent of the total), in a turnout of 5,320, topping Trustee Kim Biedermann (with 26.6 percent), anti-Blase independent Chris Hanusiak (with 19.9 percent) and two others.

In that contest, Hanusiak ripped Callero and Biedermann for being "rubber stamps" of Blase, a charge which was irrefutable. "We (the trustees) let him set the agenda," conceded Trustee Andy Przybylo, who was first elected in 1989. "He made the decisions. Election after election, he had an overwhelming mandate from the voters. There wasn't much need or opportunity to disagree, and he governed well," sidestepping the issue of Blase's ethical lapses.

Then onetime-outsider Hanusiak, who owns a kitchen and bath cabinet business, got elected trustee in 2011 on Callero's slate. Hanusiak had led a revolt against Callero's leadership, and he now is running for mayor with the support of four of the sitting onetime pro-Callero trustees. Callero is retiring, and Hanusiak's opponent is none other than Przybylo, a 24-year trustee who has Callero's endorsement and who is running on the Niles New Party ticket.

In short, the old (Przybylo) is the new, and the new (Hanusiak) is backed by the old. Przybylo's fliers and press releases state that "we have lost our way," pledging to "start building a new Niles," to "make it again an All-American city," to "re-establish a business-friendly environment," and, as the clincher, "Niles has changed, but (Niles government) hasn't changed with it." As reinventions go, Przybylo's is positively breathtaking. In effect, he's saying: Don't blame me. I was simply sitting in the back of the bus for a quarter century. Blame the driver.

Przybylo downplays the fact that he has a comfy county job, making $104,000-a year as the secretary of the Cook County Zoning Board of Appeals, which handles zoning and permitting in the county's unincorporated areas, and the fact that he was the Maine Township Democratic committeeman from 1992 to 2003, succeeding Blase.

Since Niles' mayor earns a puny $4,000 annually, Przybylo understandably has no intention of quitting his day job. Blase maintained his lucrative law practice while he was the mayor. Hanusiak, while promising to "spend as much time as it takes" to discharge the mayor's duties, won't shutter his business.

"I am the pro-business, progressive, ethical candidate," said Przybylo, age 61, who is the part owner of the iconic White Eagle Banquets, a Niles mainstay since 1966. Niles' mayor is also the city's liquor commissioner. Until 2011 an Illinois law barred any liquor license holder, such as Przybylo, from serving as mayor. That's been repealed.

As in most suburban municipalities with a village manager, who in Niles earns $160,000 a year, and a part-time mayor, there is there is a constant battle for supremacy. Under Blase's reign, he was supreme. When previous village managers retired, Blase gave them bonuses of $130,000 each, and the outgoing public works director got close to $100,000. "Nick just did it," Przybylo said. "There was no formal board vote. That's the way he did business." All appointees, including the village manager, the police chief and department heads, need four of six trustee votes to be confirmed.

Then along came George Van Geem, a 20-year Niles employee, first as the finance director and then as the village manager. Hanusiak said that he and other trustees investigated and discovered that more than $500,000 in severance bonuses had been paid to eight employees since 1990, that Van Geem, whose contract expired in May of 2012, was getting ready to quit, grab a similar job in Skokie (where he is now the finance director), and prevail on Callero to give him a severance package. In January of 2012, the trustees had met with Callero in executive session. The trustees sought Van Geem's ouster. Van Geem offered to quit, provided he got a $160,000 severance, a year of benefits and a car. Callero and Przybylo sided with Van Geem. Gridlock ensued.

Legal negotiations then commenced. The legal position of the Callero/Przybylo faction was that the mayor appoints and the trustees "affirm," but that the trustees cannot fire anyone, and that if they vote by a majority to terminate someone, the appointee holds over until the mayor names a replacement. The position of the Hanusiak faction, which included Trustees Louella Preston, Joe LoVerde, James Hynes and Rosemary Palicki, was that the board "confirms" appointees, and therefore a majority can fire someone at will, with or without cause. After months of wrangling through November, Van Geem finally resigned. "They foolishly and unnecessarily cost Niles' taxpayers legal fees," Przybylo said of the five trustees.

Au contraire, Hanusiak responded. "It was time to end the old way," he said. "It was time for us to do our job and provide oversight, and demand accountability and transparency. It was time for us to stop being, like Andy, rubber stamps for the mayor."

Hanusiak, age 44, paints clear contrasts. "I voted to remove Blase's name from the municipal building; he (Przybylo) opposed it," he said. "I voted for televising board meetings; he opposed it. I voted for term limits; he opposed them (although Przybylo said that he voted for term limits twice). I voted against reappointing Van Geem; he supported it. I oppose video poker in local bars and he supports it (which Przybylo denies, although he was absent for the board vote), and I support creating an ombudsman to handle complaints of incompetence and corruption and he opposes it." Przybylo said that the $130,000-a-year village attorney, Joe Annunzio, should be responsible for all investigations. "Is he kidding?" Hanusiak responded. "That's a conflict of interest."

Niles' annual budget is $80 million, with 230 full-time employees. Approximately 40 percent of the annual revenue is derived from sales taxes, with Golf Mill shopping center businesses alone providing $2.7 million. Property taxes amount to about 6 percent of owner's tax bills. According to Przybylo, Niles' tax rate is 37.6 cents per $100 of assessed valuation; by comparison, the rates are 75.3 cents in Park Ridge, 60.4 cents in Skokie, $1.089 in Des Plaines and $1.139 in Morton Grove. Clearly, having a commercial tax base, much like Rosemont, is a gold mine for Niles.

Przybylo's platform: Golf Mill is Niles' "crown jewel," but it has serious flooding problems, he said. Przybylo promised to ameliorate zoning and flooding issues, upgrade condominium services, beautify Milwaukee Avenue between Devon Avenue and Golf Road, and create "neighborhoods." He seeks a special tax district for Golf Mill, with 1 percent of the sales tax revenue earmarked for flood prevention. He backs a complete zoning rewrite, pursuant to the village's 2030 land use plan. "He (Hanusiak) voted against (the tax district plan)," Przybylo said. "That's not pro-business." Przybylo subscribes to the "strong mayor" theory, but he said that he would create committees chaired by trustees on safety, building and zoning, and social services. "I want input," he said.

Hanusiak's platform: "Niles needs leadership," he said, deriding Przybylo for "having been a follower for 24 years." "Glenview owes us $22 million for past water sales," Hanusiak said. "Pensions are underfunded. Video poker creates new gamblers, not new jobs. The Niles Free Bus is inefficient. Flooding hasn't been abated or cured."

Niles lies in two townships. There are eight precincts in Niles Township, east of Harlem Avenue, with 5,518 registered voters and a 2009 turnout of 1,856, and there are 24 precincts in Maine Township, west of Harlem, with 14,098 registered voters and a 2009 turnout of 3,945.

Callero got 927 votes in Niles Township and 1,670 in Maine Township. Przybylo, as a trustee candidate on Callero's slate with Preston and George Alpogianis, got 1,258 votes and 2,278 votes, respectively, a total of 3,536, which is 939 more votes than Callero got. Preston got 3,107 votes.  Hanusiak got 1,057 votes for mayor, or 1,479 fewer than Przybylo. Running for trustee in 2011, Hanusiak got 1,267 votes.

Prediction: "I'm much better known now," Hanusiak said. However, "Prince Andy" is a household name. He's ready for the throne. Przybylo will win with 60 percent of the vote, but Preston will score an upset, meaning four of six trustees will be anti-Przybylo.