O'LAUGHLIN: "I GREW UP IN GRAVEL PITS"

Franklin O'Laughlin is running for a position on the Village Board of Cary. He seems like a likeable enough guy. He is roughly my age and has two kids who are roughly the age of my kids. He wants to work to keep businesses in Cary and help certain strip malls and businesses get much needed "face-lifts." He wants to "fix roads" and "get the economy moving for Cary" again.

However, he is also employed by Meyer Material Company and has worked there all his life.

At the candidate forum on Thursday evening hosted by the Cary-Grove Chamber of Commerce, I had the opportunity to ask Mr. O'Laughlin a question:

"I am a little concerned about your employer," I said. "Now that Meyer has a deep relationship with the Village of Cary, as a trustee, how would you deal with issues that may come up between Meyer Material and the Village and do you see a possible conflict of interest here?"

"Absolutely not," he exclaimed. Then he went one to point out a few details:

• He mentioned that he is a "third generation miner."
  
• He pointed out that "gravel pits built McHenry County."
  
• And he expressed a love for gravel pits in general: "I grew up in gravel pits," he exclaimed proudly. "I would live near one."

He then went on to explain that he has been on the Zoning and Planning board for the last several years and when the Meyer petition came up, he simply recused himself. And he would do it again as a trustee, he claimed. But he assured the crowd that the Meyer deal was a done deal and that all of the "Ts" have been crossed, implying that we need not worry about Meyer Material anymore.

But, I am a little worried.

What if Meyer wants to get the agreement amended in the near future? What if Meyer wants other lands within the Village? What if it is discovered that Meyer has broken some of conditions and issues are raised at Village Board meetings?

Even if O'Laughlin recuses himself, what will he say in executive sessions? Will he advocate on behalf of Meyer to the other trustees "off the record?"  Will he be expected by Meyer to be the eyes and ears for the company when it comes to business with the board? As an elected official, will his first inclination be with the Village and the people who elected him, or with the company that pays his salary?

These are important questions.

And, although Mr. O'Laughlin seems like a nice guy and I have nothing against him personally, his association with Meyer material is a liability for the Village of Cary.  Perhaps this is an overreaction, but, in the end, is it worth the risk?

Please remember this when you vote on April 7.

TIME TO COMPLAIN

It has been quite loud as of late in the Fox Trails subdivision.  they are currently working on the berm and the noise is exceedingly loud.  We are to expect noise, that is for sure.  However, the noise that now pounds the subdivision every day is beyond acceptable.

Click here to sample what it sounds like.

The machinery that Meyer is using is too loud.  It squeaks.  It clangs. And the overall hum of the engines is enough to drown out all the other ambiance of a once-quiet neighborhood.

Perhaps Meyer should get new machinery.

Or, even better:  maybe Meyer should hire more workers and build the berm in the old fashion way---by hand. 

The state has standards for noise pollution and those standards are enforced by local law enforcement.  If you feel that the noise is too loud, call the following people to make a complaint:

Bob Nowack:  (847) 639-1100

Cary Police Department (non-emergency): (847) 639-2341

The Chief of police is Ed Fetzer. he can be emailed at efetzer@caryillinois.com

Cary Loses to Greed and Money

I am a high school history and civics teacher. In this world, it is very difficult to get young people excited about government. Even at such a young age, high school students are cynical about their voice and their influence in the very affairs that can affect their lives. "My vote doesn't count," they say. "No one listens."

And the Village of Cary last night proved them right in a vote that was for greed and against the well-being of many Cary residents---residents who have, over the last several months, expressed concern and outrage over the proposed extension of a gravel pit within the borders of the village.

Despite the petitions, despite the letters, emails and phone calls, the village of Cary decided to side with Meyer in a unanimous vote in favor of the corporation's plans. So much for Cameron Davis' proclamation that Cary is a "great quality of life community."

Tom Kierna admitted that some residents will feel "pain" during the mining of the pit. That's comforting to know that at least he acknowledges our pain. But then he also revealed the true nature of his vote: "It’s going to generate $2.5 million for the village of Cary, and that’s not small potatoes." He then went on to express admiration for the deal, "looking forward to a prosperous relationship with Meyer."

A prosperous relationship with Meyer? Wow. That's a big "screw-you" to the residents of Cary who put him into office. Apparently, his "relationship" to a corporation with headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, now outweighs his relationship to the very people in his own community.

I wonder what this "long-term" relationship includes? Perhaps further extension of the pit into Hoffman Park? All that has to happen is the Cary Park District sells that land to Meyer and we are going through this all again. Only this time there will be less opposition, because people will know that the concerns and well-being of the community are secondary to the whims and wishes of a faceless corporation.

I know what some people are going to say: "you don't understand the intricacies of the situation." "The village could be sued." "There were people in Cary who supported the pit." "You are a nimby." Yada Yada Yada.

The fact is, this vote came down to an issue of morality, plain and simple.

Eighteenth century moralist Emmanuel Kant tackled the issue of morality and law during the Enlightenment. He believed that morality was something one was born with; it was not something learned. With his "Categorical Imperative," Kant outlined a way in which one can "test" the morality of an action or a law: if you can will that action as a "universal law" to be followed the world over, then that law is "moral."

In other words, if you can imagine a world in which it is followed that, in exchange for large sums of money, gravel pits are dug near residential homes over the protests of the residents, then you believe that that Village of Cary's actions last night were moral. If you can envision this as the rule rather than the exception, then the vote taken by the Village of Cary was the right thing to do.

Greed over people. That is what this vote comes down to. It doesn't matter that there may be a lake or a park there sometime in the future. The fact is, those residents who live nearest the pit overwhelmingly were against it. They are the ones who should have figured most into the decision. Apparently, they were not.

I am not too surprised by the fact that Meyer will be extending their pit. I am surprised, however, by the unanimous nature of the vote. Even Deb McNamee, a Fox Trails resident, voted for it. However, after a long period of time in executive session, she admitted that her vote was based upon the "advice" of Cary's attorney, Mike Coppedge.

It's a shame that my tax money is helping to pay for his salary and who knows how much he has billed the village for his "advice." I guess we are stuck with his mediocrity.

But at least we can vote the others out of office.

On the Brink

When the village of Cary annexed some land on February 5 that once belonged in Lake in the Hills, Village Administrator Cameron Davis announced that the acquisition of this land will add "to the village's reputation as a great quality-of-life community."

However, many of us in Fox Trails are doubtful of Davis' assertion as we stand on the brink of having a gravel pit back up to our own back-yards, drastically reducing our quality of life.

Don't get me wrong, the addition of the 180 acres of Hoffman Park into the village is good news. However, that still leaves about 100 acres belonging in Lake in the Hills. Although the Cary Park District owns it, who can say that they won't sell that land to Meyer in the future and the proposed pit will get even bigger.

It can happen. Unless we stop it now.

We are standing on the brink of the final decision. Possibly the last meeting regarding Meyer Material's petition will be held on Tuesday, February 19 at 7 pm. This time, the meeting is being held at D'Andrea Banquets in Crystal Lake. D'Andrea is located on Route 14 and Route 31.

This has been a very long road. It's been monotonous. It's been difficult. It seems that many of us have grudgingly accepted the fact that we could have an eyesore next to our houses.

Some of us have apparently accepted the possibility that in this housing market our home values will fall even further and we will be forced to live next to a dusty, hazardous pit.

Some of us may have accepted the possibility that we will lose.

If we give in to defeat now, then we have given up on our homes, our neighbors and our community.

If we give into defeat now, we have let corporate greed highjack the democratic process.

If we give into defeat now, we will have allowed Cameron Davis to tout the Village's quality of life reputation for the papers while disregarding the truth.

We cannot let that happen. We can still win.

Please come to the meeting on Tuesday. Call the Village Hall at (847)639-0003 and tell them that we hope the village lives up to Cameron Davis' statement about Cary's quality of life reputation and insist that if the village believes that, they will vote no to Meyer's petition.

The only thing that stands between a "yes" or "no" vote is us.

And together, we can tip the scales in our favor.

Protect Our Standards

The following is a recent letter that appeared in the Northwest Herald:

Dear Editor:

The Tuesday, Feb. 5, edition of the Northwest Herald shared a quote with readers from Cameron Davis, Cary’s village administrator, about the Hoffman Park proposed annexation agreement with the Cary Park District. He was quoted as saying that gaining the property “certainly adds to the village’s reputation as a great quality-of-life community.”

What about Fox Trails residents’ long standing pleas to the village to deny Meyer Material’s request for a conditional use mining permit? Please, Village of Cary Board of Trustees, reassure us that our quality of life is as equally important. Vote no and allow us to get on with our lives.

Residents, please attend the next board meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19, at D’Andrea Banquets at Routes 14 and 31 in Crystal Lake.

Our standards of living should not be compromised.


Cheryl Janu

A Holiday Wish

Our homes are our most cherished investments.

When we began looking for a community in which to buy our first house and start a family, Cary figured predominately into our decision making. My wife grew up in Barrington and knew the area well. We toured the village, looked into the schools and immediately fell in love with Cary's charm and small town appeal.

We moved here in 2002. Since then, we have started a family and are busily raising two small boys.

And now the idyllic town that we fell in love with may no longer hold the same appeal that brought us here.

We may become neighbors to a large, noisy, dusty gravel pit. An eyesore, much like the one that exists to the south.

Our homes are our most cherished investments. In these troubling economic times our house value has plummeted as homes all over Cary sit vacant or at reduced prices.

A pit will only exacerbate the situation.

Anyone living near the pit will not be able to sell their homes. They can only sit and helplessly watch the value of their investment fall.

In the meantime, Meyer Material will add millions of dollars to their bottom line. Cary will get a kickback.

And the homeowners will suffer.

The suffering will continue when Meyer Material looks to expand further North into Hoffman Park. Greenfields and Cimarron will be next.

And what is the root of this? Plain and simple: greed.

Money talks. And Meyer has plenty of it and can get the best lawyers, bribe village officials with annual payments, produce flashy presentations that magically turn their eyesore into a beautiful park that will "benefit" Cary for years to come.

In the meantime, the citizens of Cary are held hostage. If this truly was a representative government where the will of the people was rooted in all decisions, it would not be the middle of December with this issue still on the table.

The issue would have been decided months ago with a resounding "no!"

As we get ready to celebrate this holiday season, the Village of Cary stands ready to approve a plan that will irrevokably change the entire nature of this village and threaten our most cherished investment.

This isn't Bedford Falls. There isn't a George Bailey to stand up to the sinister Mr. Potter here. This is not the the realm of Mr. Cratchit or Jacob Marley's ghost.

This is Cary, Illinois.

And all we hope in this holiday season is for the happy ending that we have seen over and over again in reruns of Chistmases past.

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE VILLAGE OF CARY

I am an American history teacher and have spent the last 17 years of my career trying to get kids to understand not only the values upon which this country was built but also understand the basic ideas behind what the founders called "a republic of virtue."

I am afraid that in the modern era, the founders would have difficulty recognizing this country as the values upon which they created the structure for this federal system have slowly eroded away over the last several decades.

And the current issue with Meyer Material Company regarding the building of a gravel pit echoes this erosion.

Although the founders established safeguards to prevent mob rule, the structure they created was to reflect, at all levels, the will of the people. This would be especially true at the local level. The local level was the level that Jefferson thought was most important because it was there where people would have the greatest voice in determining their political lives.

However, this does not seem to hold true anymore as those entities with more resources---money, legal representation, etc---have taken that voice away from where it truly belongs.

And that is a problem.

Meyer has far more resources than anyone in the village. They have money. They have a cadre of lawyers that we can never hope to match.

But they also lack the virtue upon which this country was built. They are not out to create something for the "general good," which is the cornerstone of republican virtue, but for their own profit.

In this never ending quest for profit, the will of the people is disregarded and bulldozed: the ultimate violation of the republic of virtue. Profit becomes the virtue over everything else. And profit then trumps quality of life, property values and basic self determination for the citizens. The decision making is taken from the voice of the people and replaced by the voice of profit. Corporations have hijacked the democratic voice of the people. And they do it through money, bribery and threats.

Meyer bought the land over ten years ago knowing the zoning laws in regard to that land. And those zoning laws and the Chally Farm Agreement reflected the will of the people--the idea that the Chally Farm land should never be used for mining purposes. Indeed, it is that very agreement which prohibited mining on the land that persuaded many of us in Fox Trails to purchase property near the land in question in the first place. Maybe that is because many of us believed that the law was supreme, that the village was in the business of not only protecting the residents but also adhering to the basic principle that the government represents us, the people.

And now Meyer wants the village to go against the will of the people and they will use whatever it takes to do so---because for them, the profit is more important than ethics. Profit is more important than virtue.

And profit is more important than the people.

All that we ask is for you to recognize this for what it is: an attempt by Meyer to increase profits at the expense of the people of Cary.

You will need to make a decision: Do you represent the people of Cary or do you represent the interests of a multi-billion dollar international corporation--a corporation that has no ties to this village other than the fact that they own some land they wish to strip of its resources?

You know where we stand.

And we hope you will stand with us.