City manager attacks Furstenau

Pack your bags Dick....It's time to go.

As an avid watcher of televised Naperville city council meetings over the years, I have witnessed many instances of the type of behavior documented by Mr. Burchard regarding Councilman Furstenau. Frankly, I was surprised he won reelection after watching some of his antics, but perhaps many voters did not see Furstenau in action. I have heard his accusations of inappropriate conduct by council and staff that cast doubt upon their integrity even if unfounded. Although he may make a good point at times, he appears to have an agenda to dominate, and disrupt the council meetings. His statements are often contrary, and argumentative without regard to the process of our local government on behalf of the public good. I find it hypocritical that over the years Furstenau has taken much time, and argumentative passion at meetings to pinch the taxpayers penny to avoid funding for projects that benefit the city and residents of Naperville, and now he is willing to demand large sums of taxpayer money be given to him, and his lawyers by proceeding with this nuisance law suit. It will just fill the pockets of lawyers, win or lose, and take millions of taxpayer’s pennies that could be used for projects that benefit us. How quickly his penny pinching stops when the money will benefit Furstenau's own financial self interest. Furstenau should just drop the "bully" suit, and try to salvage some credibility for himself with taxpayers, if that is possible under the circumstances. Does he really think he might have had a chance to win that state election, with or without the police incident? Get real, Dick. I don't feel he can objectively continue his duties to serve Naperville as councilman while legal proceedings continue. His lawsuit against the City of Naperville is against us, the taxpayers of Naperville, and does not in any way benefit the city or residents, as he is charged to do as councilman. As your editorial staff has suggested in the past, he should just step down until it is resolved.

Mr. Burchard, I congratulate you on speaking out and finally exposing Dick for what he really is. What I find interesting is the council members that say they had no clue this was going on (how could they not?) or those that did and chose to do nothing. They should all feel very ashamed and do what they can to repair their relationship with city employees. It is just unfortunate that they allowed this to get so bad that it became a factor in your decision to leave. Maybe they need back surgery ... to get some spines!

In my opinion, the behavior that Mr. Burchard has outlined in his letter warrants investigation for possible ethics violations on the part of the councilman. The council needs to take this letter very seriously. If the accusations in this letter prove true the city council must, at the very least, formally censure Mr. Furstenau. The type of behavior outlined by in Mr Burchard's letter is not the behavior I expect of my elected officials. If the behavior in this letter is proved to be ture it is clear to me that Mr. Furstenau is no longer a representative of the people of Naperville, just his friends. These types of strongarm tactics do not reflect my values.

I find it very interesting that City Manager Peter Burchard waits until he's leaving the city for another job to bring up his issues concerning City Councilman Dick Furstenau. If there were all these problems with Dick Furstenau wouldn't a good city manager address the issues when they arose? Why did Peter do nothing for so long if Dick was such a problem? I think it's very cowardly to write this letter and run. Sounds to me like Peter Burchard has a personal vendetta against Councilman Dick Furstenau. Could it be because the councilman is exercising his civil rights to sue the city? I say good riddance to Peter Burchard.

Birds of a feather stick together. Like two peas in pod, well you get the idea.It appears alot of top city officials are getting quite upset now that the honest citizens are organizing for action to expose some problems that have festered in Naperville for a long,long time.Let all those citizens come to this blog and repeat the accusations of criminal activity by sworn officers and cover-ups by elected official and city workers.Did you think you could cover-up a Sgt's DUI with more officers participating.Much mentioned about Mr. Fursteneau's federal lawsuit,but NOBODY talks about the other FEDERAL civil rights violation lawsuit against NPD,filed by a veteran NPD officer.If the police dept. had attempted any type of remediation with the agrieved parties maybe the federal lawsuits would not have materialized.I dealt with NPD for nearly a year, the unprofessionalism and ridiculus behavior by several employees was well beyond the realm of a truely "untarnished" dept.Let's support the citizens lawsuits,then when LARGE settlements are awarded maybe DOJ/FBI will take our complaints seriously about corruption in the NPD.Hey pete, how about a public discussion on police corruption sound good to you? I bet you could chair the event.What say you Blake,Naperman and other residents.

Hey Mr. Quigley, why dont you AND Tricky Dick both move to Utah!!! If you think it is SO bad here...MOVE!!!! My god.. you and the Trickster are are quite a pair!!

to the last poster,why don't you answer the question asked of you on the Nov. 1 blog. I do not run and hide from crooked cops and the bosses who pull the strings. I'll return to the west after a complete investigation by unbiased federal police authorities.Speaking of a pair,why don't you grow some and sign your name,is it because your the source of the many unsigned postings from Nov 1 and 21st.People are sick and tired of the conduct of NPD.

it seems the police dept. argument is a red herring. what the real problem here is d. furstenau is a loose cannon and must be stopped ! he has has questioned the integrity of the naperville police department, and now do we allow him to get away these latest accusations ? do we now question mr. burchard ? a man i have read nothing but glowing accolades and praise. mr. furstenau will no doubt soon be writing a letter to the naperville sun explaining why everyone is out to get him. " i am a self proclaimed watchdog, i am a man of the people, i, i, i , i in my opinion he is a psychopathic, megalomaniac who will never step down, and will deny until the bitter end. i suggest the good people of this town, descend upon the next city council and rain down a chorus of boos and demand the ouster of this zealot.

Hey Mr. Quigley, you big MORON, people are tired of YOUR idiotic postings. Give it a rest...And quit hiding behind the name "Mr Quigley", we all know you are "DICK FURSTENAU"!!!!

Thanks for asking my opinion, Mr. Mac. You inspired me to write a letter. I agree with your comments and especially with those of Jim Deschaine who blogged right before you. Mr. Deschaine's comments were so good I could not had said them better if I tried to write them all day. Let me repeat them:

"I find it very interesting that City Manager Peter Burchard waits until he's leaving the city for another job to bring up his issues concerning City Councilman Dick Furstenau. If there were all these problems with Dick Furstenau wouldn't a good city manager address the issues when they arose? Why did Peter do nothing for so long if Dick was such a problem? I think it's very cowardly to write this letter and run. Sounds to me like Peter Burchard has a personal vendetta against Councilman Dick Furstenau. Could it be because the councilman is exercising his civil rights to sue the city? I say good riddance to Peter Burchard."

Thanks for allowing me to repeat those remarkable remarks! Dick Furstenau is the only person who keeps us from becoming a Stepford's Wives Town. We once had Mr.NAPERGATE telling us the truth especially for the entire 1990s and early 2000s with full page after full page ads until the Illinois Appellant Court ruled in his favor against the city and he won his case. How soon we forget that the city attempted a character assassination on Mr. NAPERGATE for years and in the end he exposed them and let them have it! He exposed the injustices and unfairness in City Hall twice a week for us with his well written ads documented with proof. All the city could come up with is innuendo to counter him and in the end, the city got some big time EGG in its face.

At one point his credibility was so high, he endorsed 4 city councilman of whom all 4 won. I believe one of them was Mr.Furstenau so his legacy continues thru Mr.Furstenau. That is what life is about. Leaving a legacy that someone can continue. Thanks Mr.NAPERGATE, for starting all this exposure into wrong doings.

Mr. Furstenau is the new breath of fresh air. If you will he is Mr. NAPERGATE II. Soon there will be many more Mr. and Ms. NAPERGATES. Just wait and see!!! Mark my words!!!

Mr. Furstenau makes sure the city works properly and fights for its citizen. He watches the budget like a hawk. This morning I was reading an editorial in the Sun-Times about Chicago having 3 men on each garbage truck with the writer outraged. It made me think of Fustenau immediately. When you have a Furstenau in government such things as 3 employees on one garbage truck never occur. It is a breath of fresh air to see one young man every Tuesday morning picking up my bag of garbage.

It there were no checks and balances in our system, City Manager Burchard would have 4 men picking up the garbage on each truck. The only check we have is Mr. Furstenau. The rest of the City Council when pressured will rubber stamp anything except for Mayor Pradel who does have a conscience of sorts and is a decent man. But nice men finish last, and can be pressured on occassion. Not a Dick Furstenau, though!!! Yes, I know him and think he is very, very NICE for all those who are bashing him without even knowing HIM!!!

Mr. Furstenau was elected because the residents love him. He and no one could ever win an election against Mayor Pradel. That is a fact!!! But when Mayor Pradel finally retires, the next Mayor with great certainty will be Councilman Furstenau. When that happens, I would advise the police department to watch out!!! The police dept.is simply out of control. Chief David Dial is not a bad person but he has really lost control of his troops in the last several years and they are acting recklessly on the streets of Naperville. If he does not regain control soon, the next crazy incident is going to bring the National Media here and it will be over for the NPD as it is pretty much over for the reputation of the BPD which is currently being run by a former NPD policeman.

It is really time to look a little south and learn from what happened in Bolingbrook. They covered for their own until the bubble burst...until they could cover no more...until the cover-ups bought such extreme shame that it became unbearable.

Naperville needs to decide what path it wants to take for the future. Let us have an open society that allows debate and criticism.

Thanks Mr. Mac. for asking my opinion. I would like to ask Mr. Napergate to come out of retirement and express his opinion. To remind people that what is going on is not new. It is Naperville recycling its rubbish over and over again on it citizens.

Blake...

My name really is Mr. Quigley and I have it stitched into my clothes so I do no't forget.Do you have a response to the other federal civil rights lawsuit filed by a NPD officer. The police officers who terrorized me for more than a year know my name.After speaking once with Dick,I tend to believe the dozen or so bloggers who totally support the lawsuit and defend Mr. F.,personally.Almost all his vocal detractors work for naperville gov's. If you knew Dick,he would NEVER hide behind a false name,but I think Napervillians will be waking up as the national news moves in. Hey mrsquigley, do you know who killed Kathy Savio??? BPD and mr. mcgury need all the help they can get.

Mr. Quigley, you ask the people of Naperville to join you for a meeting at Quigley's Irish Pub to discuss your conspiracy theory. While you are at it, maybe you can solve the Kennedy assassination and possibly find Steve Fossett while your at it!!! HINT #1: Nancy Quigley doesnt want a bunch of losers like you and Tricky Dick (same person I bet) taking up space in her bar while sipping ice water!! She likes people who spend money and dont speak psychobabble!!

you have all lost site of the problem here. it is DICK ! has he not been accused by a sworn police officer ? has he not been accused by one of the most esteemed people of naperville ? do you really believe that city manager never made his thoughts or feelings known before ? do you really believe the city council never knew of any problems with dick f. the mayor knew, they all knew. as for being a watchdog ? ask some of the city employees how much money dick f. has cost the city ? approved contracts sent back to him because he did not like the company, only to accept a higher bid with his approval. ask him if he ever tried to steer contracts to his old company AT&T sbc, even though the recommendation was against them. he is a cancer on the colon of this city. he must be cut out ! he soon will be ! march on the next council meeting, let it be his last !

Ms. Quigley,
I think you are prejudging Mr. Furstenau as others prejudged Mr. Napergate before him.

When the saga finally unraveled the courts stood by Mr. Napergate beyond a reasonable doubt.

Both the Dupage Courts and Illinois Appellant Courts sided with him over the City of Naperville. The city had every right to take it to the Supreme Court if I recall correctly and they surrendered. Apparently had enough embarrassment!

Instead of speculating with no basis on a pending case, why not discuss what Blake said above which is documented thoroughly both in the Naperville Sun and Dupage Courthouse archives.

Really you need to deal with facts and not be biased and have so much misdirected hatred.

Virginia
PS. Are you so obsessed with Mr. Quigley that you read nothing else? Who cares who Mr. Quigley is??? What is important is what is being said and if it makes sense and can be verified as truth or fiction. Present facts against his opinions instead of attacking his personality and you will gain credibility with your fellow bloggers. Character assassinations never got anyone anywhere in this world.
Pul.....leaaaseee Ms. Quigley. Let us not make this an AOL chat box.

Mr. Furstenau must be censured. As a lifelong resident of this town I am embarrassed that he is a representative of this town. I agree that the other members of the city council and the mayor must act on this myriad of transgressions that he has committed against city employees and staff. Is Mr. Burchard yet another who is out to get him? Furstenau is quoted as saying the he believed he and Burchard had a good working relationship. Huh? How on earth can you be repeatedly called in for inappropriate behavior and think that it is just a normal part of the day? Who wants to join me and be heard at the next city council meeting on this matter. If enough concerned citizens voice their opinion, he will be gone.

A few words come to mind after reading Peter B.'s letter only a few days before he leaves office:

1)Gutless. How chicken S--- of him to wait and write a letter like this just as he leaves the city for a higher paying job. If he was such a great manager how did it get the point where he writes this letter and all the other councilman say, "I had no idea." He should at least have the guts to deal with it face to face.

2) If he was my son, I would tell him that nobody likes a "tattle tale". Peter B. is no angel, by any means, and Mr. Furstenau has never stooped so low as to air Peter's dirty laundry to the public like this. Childish if you ask me. Even if his letter is mostly accurate, it is no better than, "I'm going to tell, Mommy on you!"

3) There are always two sides to a story. Peter was very good explaining his, but someone should ask him what his relationships were to some of the people who had a stake in some of the bids he and the council were accused of steering. And you know he had personal relationships with people involved in the bids that he was accused of steering. What were the other factors that made Mr. Fustenau think bid steering was taking place? He just coincidentally left that part out.

4) Mr. Furstenau has the guts to call it like he sees it. Corruption from city officials being in the pockets of developers has gone on in Naperville for a long, long time. That is how many development projects get passed, even if they are strongly opposed by large, organized, citizen protests. Everyone knows that. There are several examples of it here in Naperville. It is nothing new. Mr. Furstenau is the only one who finally has the guts to call a spade a spade. In my opinion, Peter B.'s attack is a defensive lashing out caused by a guilty conscience.

5) Proof is in the pudding. All this letter told me was that some people, (Peter B. and NPD) do, in fact, have a personal vendetta against Mr. Furstenau. That only goes to support his accusation that his arrest, and sham investigation, was only to get back at him. Supporting officers Hull and Cross after they were knowingly caught in a lie and refused to give statements under oath when it was time to, is a desperate move. Furthermore, it is apples and oranges to share stories that simply make Mr. Furstenau seem like a jerk, and compare them to officers, sworn to an oath, intentionally violating the civil rights of an innocent man. Time will only tell on this one.

6) Looking in the Mirror. Are taxpayers aware that our "Beloved" city manager, suddenly quit his job, without any pressure from anyone to do so, then promptly asked the taxpayers to pay him a years salary at $180,000 dollars severance for quiting his job? He also asked the city to surrender the remaining $50,000 dollar 0% home loan given to him by the city for his employment, which states that if he quits, the rate goes to prime. He also asked the city to pay medical bills until his new jobs insurance kicks in. All that for suddenly quitting in such a way that everyone around him was shocked by the news. We should all be so lucky and quit our jobs. When the council told him "no", he hired attorneys to go after the money he wants.

This whole thing is childish. Mr. Furstenau has the right to sue if he was advised his civil rights were violated. Do i believe that some of what Peter B. wrote is accurate? I believe that some may be. Never-the-less, all it demonstrates is that Mr. Furstenau can be difficult to work with, especially if he thinks your dirty. But Peter's letter to the public because "he thought people should know" was childish and immature. He should have the guts to say it to his face and deal with it "in house." What goes around comes around, Peter.

Let me get this right -

1) Mr Furstenau fights to keep the Naperville tax payers from paying ridiculous overtime and fluffed up pensions to Naperville Police Offers .... Result: Mr Furstenau gets arrested on trumped up police charges and must fight for two years to clear his name. (THE JUDGE THREW OUT THE CASE!)

2) Mr Furstenau votes to deny a quarter of a million dollar golden parachute to the City Manager (Peter Burchard) who is leaving to take a better job out of state..... Result: The City Manager promptly spams 2000+ emails recipients and every local media outlet with multi-page smear campaign against Mr. Furstenau. (PETER WHY DIDN'T YOU DISCLOSE THIS ISSUE IN YOUR "WE JUST NEED GOOD GOVERNMENT THESIS? PETER, YOUR LETTER WAS ISSUED UNDER THE CITY LETTERHEAD AND SEAL OF GOVERNMENT - DID YOU VIOLATE ANY ETHICS STATUTES IS FAILING TO DISCLOSE YOUR PERSONAL STAKE IN "OUTING" THE CITY'S BIGGEST GOVERNMENT WASTE WATCHDOG?"

3) Mr.Furstenau ... hide your pets before you vote against the next dog catcher pay raise! Or Fido will be MIA.

I have always appreciated Mr. Furstenau's tight fisted spending control. Every month when I look at the real estate tax escrow portion of my mortgage statementm, I am happy that I live in a City with residents that will elect and re-elect a councilman that pays attention to how the City spends my tax dollars.

Hang in there Dick. We support you. And when you win a mult-million judgement against the City for this apparently well-orchestrated attempt to get rid of you, I, for one, will be happy to see you cash the check! You, unlike Peter, are entitled to it!

Obviously, I, Dick Furstenau wrote the previous blog. No one else. It is me. I will continue to claim to be a good Mormon and then turn right around and high-tail it to Aurora to drink evil alcohol at seedy bars.
I will continue to claim I am a taxpayer watchdog and then support only builders and developers who I am partnered with even though they are of the unscrupulous sort. I am a HYPOCRITE.

you are all hoodwinked by this fancy music man who struts into our good town of river city. oh we got trouble, right here in river city. he is no friend of the taxpayer ! he is no gov't watchdog ! get it through your extra thick heads ! he is an egomaniac who must be stopped. he is a man who believes every thing the city does should be approved by him. he believes he has the right to tell police to move cars, as though he is a grand wizard. he is a selfish man, who waters his lawn every day in the cress creek wanna be subdivision of creekside, even though we have a "strict" policy of lawn watering on even odd days, ask his neighbors in the cress creek ghetto if they like him ? let us put DICK under oath and ask him some questions regarding contracts to SBC. again i urge all people of this town to march on the city council meeting tonight ! demand his censure ! no more apathy !

Hey Blake,that was me asking your opinion and that of naperman.The reason I did so is because your previous posting on the federal lawsuit.{Potluck nov. 1,21}We would like info that we missed from NAPERGATE,guess it happened before I got involved with NPD and my allegations of criminal conduct by many NPD employees. Napergate may hold information federal investigators can utilize to time line various citizen complaints that have been stonewalled.We all know that doubledipping{high-ranked}police who bank one LARGE pension and secure same or better job,is a big part of the problem.see Kass/Tribune,many columns.We have the national media attention,some individual street reporters and the stations they work for are already blocking information regarding Riley Fox muder and ISP cover-up.Not a single resident from town will comment on the second civil rights suit,is it because they are unaware,or are they sacred of possible retribution and harrassment from our local police agency.Thanks for pointing out the blogger signing mrsquigley has failed to respond to all questions. He posted the same type response on 1st and 21st. If anyone legal resident of n-town will help me compile other complaints regarding NPD actions,pls post.POI- I'm no relation to any tavern owners or NPD officers sharing the name quigley. Why would I sign a name anyother than my own?Let's leave the others out until they blog in. thanksun mr q

I find it ironic that both Mr. Quigley & Blake have had problems w/NPD, with Mr. Q going as far to say he was "terrorized" by NPD, and Blake admitting to being arrested for driving with a suspended license. Obviously, you two have moral issues much like Tricky Dick!!!!

this blog shows why the naperville library should remove public access to computers. the petty attacks and abusive language may be acceptable in your household, but in public you should be respectful of others who may read this.

I have been a big fan of Mr. Furstenau for many years. If he runs again, I'll vote for him again. I agree that he sometimes lacks tact, and can be blustery, but i simply cannot accept Mr. Burchard's attacks. The Sun has posited that Mr. Burchard may have been unwilling to come forward when was employed by the city because he worked for the council. Mr. Burchard attended nearly every city council meeting. If he had his eyes open, he would have noticed that the council has nine members that most votes are unanimous, or nearly unanimous and that the hotly contested issues are frequenetly decided by a vote of 5-4. Mr. Furstenau is in the minority more often than not. Therefore, it is impossible to conclude that the city council would not have supported Mr. Burchard if he had brought any of his allegations forward when he should have. If Furstenau was as bad as claimed, Mr. Burchard was derelict in not bringing the matter forward -- if he could support his charges.

From my observations, the staff has begun to show a certain contempt for anyone on council that dares to challenge their position on any matter. Certainly, Mr. Furstenau issues more challanges than any other member, but watch the meetings carefully, listen to the staff respond.... a few cannot hide their deep resentment at being questioned about anything. It is, in my opinion, a reflection of the government's "we know best" attitude.

Another example: Read the Sun's police blotter and compare the published reports to known events in your neighborhood. Over the past 15 years, in our neighborhood, we have had several residential burglaries, a home invasion, seven 22 caliber bullets fired into a home in the middle of the night( 15 years ago), several church burglaries, commercial burglaries, etc. and none of these were reported to the press. Vandalized mail boxes and DUI's are all reported, but many crimes, for whatever reason are not reported -- or not published. This doesn't mean Furstenau is above reproach, only that our government is not necessarily as forthcoming as it wishes to appear.

I agree with the Sun's position that the charges should be investigated. But, there are two sides to every issue and I hope that the city looks as hard at both sides. Right now, they appear to be circling the wagons and uniting against the loudest voice of dissent. That will have a chilling effect on future dissent.

Mr. Furstenau is the only councilman that I see that cares about the taxpayers of Naperville. Everytime some wants to spend money for some stupid idea he questions it. I truly feel he is being set up. The NPD and the city want to rune his good name because he is questioning their authority. He should not have been arrested but he was because he questioned over time and pay raises. he is suing because the city was wrong. Mr. Furstenau is the only politician that does not have a hidden agenda.

Perhaps there is some truth to Mr. Burchard's letter regarding Mr. Furstenau. But I take issue with why Mr. Burchard suddenly feels that the "public needs to know" just as he's exiting from the stage. What kind of effective City Manager can't deal with a single councilman? Mr. Burchard's letter is comparable to a whining child complaining to his grandparents about how his "mean" parents make him eat his vegetables. I had always had respect for Mr. Burchard, but I think his handling of this situation shows a serious lack of leadership and management skills, not to mention poor judgement.

Welcome to the real world, Mr. Burchard. Your government cocoon has been a little too insulated. Maybe you should take a corporate job for a few years and get some "real world" experience for a while. Some people are more aggressive than others. Some are pushier than others. Some ask probing questions that threaten the status quo. Some don't always say "please" or "thank you." Does that mean that those individuals don't have the citizens' best interests in mind? No. Does that mean that those individuals should be publicly smeared? No. I've worked with plenty of outstanding colleagues whose work I greatly respect, but I don't particularly care to socialize with them. That's okay. Mr. Furstenau can be a perfectly capable councilman, but you don't have to like him socially.

I have dealt with professional, efficient, and polite individiuals at the Municipal Center. I have also dealt with belligerent, incompetent persons there, as well. I'm sure the hostile, incompetent individuals in the City Clerk's office are not indicative of the entire staff, but they sure are the ones you remember the most.

Maybe Mr. Burchard should have focused more on keeping his own house in order and spent less time trying to muzzle Mr. Furstenau. I am deeply saddened by Mr. Furstenau's lawsuit, but I'm even more frightened of the abuse of power that we are seeing at other levels of our local government. Hopefully this is the wake-up call that the NPD and City Manager's offices need.

P.S. -- Some of the allegations mentioned here about NPD and Mr. Burchard are quite disturbing, so I would like to know how these items can be verified. Can those of you sharing these items list a reference to confirmed documents or newspaper articles? Basically, how can we check these references?

Hey Blake, I would have to agree 100% with your comment that Dick would NEVER allow three men on a garbage truck..Dick's wheelbarrow and your strong back should be all naperworld needs to rid itself of it's trash. :-(

Watching counsel proceedings on TV I was impressed on couple of matters.
Matter One-Four of the counsel members and the Mayor appeared to accept their responsibility and demonstrate leadership by not letting this fundamental mistreatment of staff be ignored. The basic leadership principle in business and military is “take care of your staff or troops.” Expressed another way, treat someone like you would like to be treated.
Matter Two- Selection of a new City Manager-- the consensus vote was to use a search firm to identify a new city manger. Because of published news and a law suit by a counsel member as a citizen and vote of one, I would not have the confidence in a counsel search committee. Thanks to you five brave counsel members for voting for the search firm. It will cost more money, but can hopefully help restore declining credibility.
In addition to the search firm I would seek a qualified Naperville citizens committee that would have the opportunity to interview and recommend.
Good luck to the counsel while carrying out their responsibility and establishing confidence and trust.
Thanks for the courage of our past City Manger.

Dazed and confused!!!

Thanks for the nice post and agreeing with me. I don't now if Dick's wheelbarrow and my back is enough to get rid of all the trash in City Hall(Naperworld). The trash is more than you can imagine. I wish Mr. Napergate was still around to help Dick carry the trash to the landfill. That Napergate guy had a strong back...real strong back that would not bend. Mine is not quite so strong to get rid of all this trash in City Hall. I wish it was...getting older!! Were you around in those Napergate days???

Blake

This case started out petty and it still is.

Thanks Dick for really 'looking out for the taxpayers' on this one by not being man enough to just drop the whole thing for the good of the city. You were found not guilty. Be done with it. Apparently contact was made, and it was subsequently found by the judge to not be in an intimidating manner. You won. Now leave.

Should OJ be able to sue California for all his legal fees from the mid 1990s since he was found not guilty? Yes, this really is that dumb.

In response to the Mrs. Q Poster who posted the below post

"I find it ironic that both Mr. Quigley & Blake have had problems w/NPD, with Mr. Q going as far to say he was "terrorized" by NPD, and Blake admitting to being arrested for driving with a suspended license. Obviously, you two have moral issues much like Tricky Dick!!!!"

Ma'am it is your kind of reasoning, that those who have problems with the police "have moral issues" that only serve to shield and hide bad apple cops whose behaviors eventually make it difficult for the good professional police officers to perform their duties, which are supposed to be extending service and protection to all citizens, not allow their uniforms to be used as strong arm billy-clubs to carry out bad boy cloak room polices seemingly intended to intimidate, run off, keep your "undesirable" minority group numbers artificially low, and silence any critics.

It is odd and telling that the bad elements of the Naperville Police can only seem to find "moral issues" among the people who tend to live in those areas with poverty or greater minority presence, that Northwest side for instance, in your city and those who have become or have the potential to become a burr in the behind of those whose desire is to keep everything in the hands of the few power brokers who run that city like their own family wealth maker.

Terming those who have had run ins with the Naperville police as somehow "morally defective" due to charges that are often trumped up and used in attempt to chill the rise, persecute, or punish of those who might one day challenge the status quo will one day no longer work. I pity the day the feds decide to blow wide open with an investigation the manner in which some elements of the Naperville Police have misused that badge. On that day it will be the innocent and unknowing citizens who will have to pay for the misdeeds of the rouge cop who allowed him/her self to be sent to do the dirty work of the power brokers.

It is no secret that Councilman Fustenau is the biggest burr in the mind behind of those who have basically ruined Naperville with all that cheaply built over development that now makes that place look like one big traffic jam. Mr. Fustenau has not an ounce more of any questionable moral issues than any other mortal human being and to read here all the snide attempts to diminish this man's personally integrity smells of hype. It is no secret to those of us who are or were trying to be involved in making Naperville work for its citizens that city staffers often resent(ed) the efforts of council persons and citizen members of the various committees and boards. These staffers like to forget that they were hired to work for the people and that the elected council person and appointed city residents serve because they truly care about ensuring that Naperville truly remains a great place to call home.

Maybe this suit brought by Councilman Furstenau will wake up so many others who need to speak out. There is a problem element in that Naperville Police Department that needs to be dealt with before they do irreparable harm to the reputation of the entire city.

It is so discouraging to know that this sort of in-fighting is going on within our city's government. These are supposed professionals, as well as adults. They are being paid to do a job. If they are not doing the job they were hired to do, the 'right thing' to do is bring it to the attention of whoever is in a position to right the wrong. Whether that is Mr. Burchard, the City Council, our mayor... it should automatic. It's not 'tattling', it's the 'right thing' to do. I am curious as to how these allegations could occur, supposedly while those who are in a position of authority to correcty it were aware, and it is allowed to continue? Why are we paying these people? If they can't do the jobs they were hired to do, they should be let go. There should be no place in our town for corruption and those who are guilty of it should be deal with accordingly. It's criminal and disgusting.