We have been asked "how do we get this message out to all those who do not have a computer?"
Well, That is where you come in. We ask you to print a copy and share it with your friends.
WHY ARE WE HERE? Years ago after the residents of East Chicago obtained cable television in their homes; one of the perks for the community was public access television. It allowed a broader degree of participation in the cable market and brought with it the opportunity to speak out on a myriad of subjects.
One of the key issues before the residents of East Chicago at that time was the ability to record and broadcast the meetings of the Common Council. The City of Hammond was not only broadcasting their Common Council Meetings, but was doing so LIVE! The president of the East Chicago Common Council (now in exile in Greece) stated publicly: I will remove cable television from every home in East Chicago before I allow our council meetings to be recorded or shown on cable television.
It took a group of very concerned citizens to rectify the situation. After a trip to the State House they returned with a letter that clearly stated that the public had an absolute right to audio and/or video tape ANY public meeting and that after having done so, they had the right to broadcast that recording in any means available to them. This was by all means the beginning of the end for the prior administration. Why you may ask? Because for the first time in history, the residents of East Chicago could view the actions of THEIR elected official supposedly doing their jobs (or not).
Over the next few years several other public action groups found a home on the public access television station and in doing so made it very clear that business as usual in East Chicago would no longer be tolerated. It was these very same television programs that helped to spur on the Fed’s in the indictments of the now infamous Sidewalk Six (ok – 8-10) and the subsequent convictions or pleas in those cases.
But what happened to public access television in East Chicago? It was negotiated away by the past administration. The attorney for the city made a very public and foolish comment that: Public access television in the format presented in East Chicago is a violation of the constitutional issue of separation of Church and State. Where did he get his law degree from – mail order? Any idiot knows that this had absolutely nothing to do with the separation of church and state, especially coming from a city that to this day spends tens of thousands of dollars buying off clergy and celebrating Christmas.
And so it was that public access has been stripped from the residents of East Chicago and with it, the region’s ability to observe the proceeding of the Common Council from the comfort of their homes and, even more importantly, their ability to speak out against the follies of local government in a very public way.
But wait, it doesn’t end here. When the now Mayor Pabey was a member of the East Chicago Common Council and a candidate for the office of Mayor, he made the return of public access television one of the many planks of his campaign, all of which have been ignored over the past two years.
It is for this reason, and this reason only that we are forced to present The Lies Of The Mayor on the internet as opposed to presenting them on public access television.
It should be noted that the presentation of this web page and the content herein is not the product of any candidate for office.
As you will see, the information is factual. If Mr. Pabey would like Mr. Rico, his cousin Carmen Fernandes ($100,000.00+ per year inept corporation council), or other members of his staff to respond, well that’s fine too, for we all know that he is incapable or responding on his own.
Note: We are hearing reports of a change in the City's vacation policy for those workers who help in the campaign.
Report #001
Caught? Are we doing campaign work on city time. This is your Park
Superintendent, Kenny Monroe, with two of city workers (David Medina - Joe Valdez's son-in-law, TC - Monsi Corsbie's Husband, ) hard at work maintaining your parks. Photos were taken on the morning of April 17, 2007.
Report #002
Springtime In East Chicago AKA a municipal election year.
The grass is turning green and the tulips are popping up. Spring is in the air and this is an election year for city officials. What does that mean in East Chicago? Let’s get the job done no matter what. And so it was the case on Thursday, March 29, 2007 when two crews of city workers with heavy equipment excavated the front year of this home on 151st Street in the Calumet Neighborhood of that once great city. The purpose was either to replace a sewer line or water line. No one wanted to get close enough to ask. The bottom line is that the work was done on PRIVATE PROPERTY. As they say in the Olympics (ask FK): Let the Games Begin!
(note the political sign in the lower right window)
"hire an independent financial auditor to review the city's revenue and expenses. We will open the books and shine the light on the casino money to see where it has been going and how it has been spent.”
Well, we decided to find out where the Mayor was spending our Casino Funds. Thanks to an Indiana Access to Public Records Act (APRA) request by the Indiana State Gaming Commission we are able to share that information with you here.
The Mayor asked for ACCOUNTABILITY and we demand it. What you will discover in these documents is what the Mayor is reporting. We believe this reveals a clear mis-handling of funds justifying a need for an independent investigation.
Highlights from Year/Period - 2005/1 to 2006/6
Entity
Description
Amount
George Pabey, JR
(Mayor's Son)
Police Security Overtime
$2,820.00
William Pabey
(Mayor's Cousin - Plead Guilty to theft at the Casino)Article 1 , Article 2
Settlement - Law Dept.
$20,000.00
Alan Slivko
(Plead Guilty to theft at the Casino) Article, Article 2
Settlement - Law Dept.
$20,000.00
Actin Inc.
(Mickey Lopez's company - an environmental company)
Travel Expenses ???
$8,472.28
Louis Vazques
Police Security Overtime
$780.00
James Oppolo
Police Security Overtime
$460.00
FMT Consulting
(Fernando Travino president of the School Board)
Engineering Services ???
$96,091.00
Puerto Rican Parade & Cultural
Other Services and Charges ???
$2,500.00
Fieldhouse Refrigeration
HVAC Assistance (Maintenance)
$116,156.77
Kroger Gardis & Regas
(Prepared these documents for the State Gaming Commission)
Legal Services
$196,581.06
Morgan, Lewis & Bockuis LLP
(Received 1.1 million from E.C. to defend city in unjust termination lawsuits, also received $432,000 in lawsuit against Lake county Transfer)Article
Legal Services ???
$307,140.05
Total Legal Services
$647,029.03
Why did it take the Mayor more than a year, and under threat of legal action, to comply with the Indiana State Gaming Commission's request for these records?
Why are we paying the Mayor's son out of casino funds?
Why are we paying settlement money to the Mayor's cousin out of casino funds?
Why are the majority of legal receipts absent?
Why are there receipts that do not show up on the ledger - i.e. Marina Catering (Charlie Pacurar Step Son's business)
Why are we doing general city maintanence out or the casino fund?
There are too many questions. Please review the documents for yourself.
For some reason these expenses are being paid out of casino funds when, if legitimate, they ought to be paid out of the City Budget. There is a concern that the Resident's of East Chicago will be required to replenish these funds.
Supporting Documentation: The following are the actual documents supplied to the Indiana State Gaming Commission by the City of East Chicago.
First Indiana Access to Public Records Act (APRA) request letter by State Gaming Commission (20K pdf) - July 7, 2006 View Document
Second APRA Request Letter By the Indiana State Gaming Commission (24K pdf)- Jan. 29, 2007 View Document
General Ledger and receipts Volume 1(11.4MB pdf)- 2005/1 to 2006/6 View Document
2)The State Board of Account's 2005 Annual Financial Review of the City of East Chicago cites the Pabey Administration for spending $1.5 million in gaming funds without budget approval (page 48). (900k pdf) - View Document
Are things beginning to add up?
"Upon review of expenditures from both funds, amounts were being spent prior to the budgets being approved. As of October 31 2005, $9,832,551 was spent from the Gaming Special Revenue Fund. At this date, the City has an appropriation in the amount of %5,000,000, and had prior year encumbrances totaling $3,292,088; thus, the City had spent $1,540,463 over what had been appropriated to that date.
Indiana Code 36-4-8-2 states in part:
"Money may be paid out of the city treasury only on warrant of the city fiscal officer. Unless a statue provides otherwise, the fiscal officer may draw a warrent against a fund of the city only if:
(1) an appropriation has been made for that purpose and the appropriation is not exhausted;..."
3) Remember who had a vested interest in the Casino Boat coming to East Chicago. 45 percent of showboat was owned by a group of investors called Waterfront Entertainment and Development Inc. This group had 13 original investors. George Pabey, former East Chicago chief of police, was a 0.5 percent shareholder. Article
The vacancies left by Van Blocklin's successes have had some serious unintended consequences for Democracy in East Chicago. Today, the majority of East Chicago's Common Council were never elected by Residents of East Chicago. They were appointed by the Mayor's Precinct committee people. Consequently, they (TEAM PABEY) have consistently voted in the Mayor's interest and not in the interest of the districts they are meant to serve.
Along with the Mayor TEAM PABEY voted to increase Property Taxes to 8.25%. On average 3 times more than other communities in the state
TEAM PABEY voted to allow the Mayor to petition the state for an excessive levy tax increase - to raise the taxes beyond what state law allows.
TEAM PABEY voted to approve the Mayor's October 2006 payroll, which revealed 1,300 city employees on staff, an increase of 400 new employees (or 22%). It is important to note that Shererville, with a similar population, has less than 300 city employees.
TEAM PABEY voted to increase the 2007 budget by $12 million (or 19%).
TEAM PABEY voted to spend $51 million of future gaming revenue to move the water filtration plant into our North Harbor neighborhood. This gives the Mayor the opportunity to AGAIN award contracts to his cronies for Lakefront development. Remember, the Mayor was an original investor in the Waterfront Entertainment and Development Inc. that brought in the casino boat.
TEAM PABEY voted to give control of the payment vouchers to the Board of Public Works which is appointed by the executive branch.
And TEAM PABEY brought forward a motion to end All public comments at the Council Meetings.
Are they complicit in the Mayor's Lies? I believe so.
NOW, TEAM PABEY has the advantage of running as incumbents.
The people of East Chicago have the right to live in A FREE EAST CHICAGO.
{IN THE NEWS}
March 30, 2007: Corporate Council & Mayor's Cousin Carmen Fernandez admits to the Press that the Mayor has not kept his campaign promises.
"As Pabey's attorneys cast the issue, the money spent had made it more difficult for the mayor to fulfill his campaign pledges."
"Pabey ... promised the citizens of the city that he would end corruption, bring property tax relief, and place the city on a solid economic footing with a much reduced tax rate," the lawsuit says. "In these serious financial times, any amount spent unnecessarily by the city makes it harder to lower its tax rate."
How does "money spent" make it difficult for Pabey to keep his promises to:
"Establish an Elected School Board"
"Return Public Access Television"
"hire an independent financial auditor to review the city's revenue and expenses. We will open the books and shine the light on the casino money to see where it has been going and how it has been spent."
“appoint a Citizens' Budget Committee to work with the independent auditor so that taxpayers will have a direct view of our financial condition.”
“cancel all unnecessary and overpriced contracts with consultants, lawyers and contractors.”
“In terms of the City work force I will be asking Department Heads to accept lower salaries.”
"sweep politics out of City Hall and this is a giant first step. Our work force will be judged by the quality of the work they do, not by their political contributions and connections.”
"will be scheduling Town Hall Meetings in each Council District so that myself and your Council member can hear your issues and concerns and work together to solve problems and be responsive to your needs.”
The Mayor's words, not mine. Not a dime needs to be spent to realize these much needed promises. He did not do them as he promised. We all can speculate why. I think Pabey is just-like-Pastrick.
In his defense, the Mayor had to:
Spend more than a million dollars for lakefront entertainment for him and his cronies.
He had to spend another million dollars (???)to hire Charlie Pacura's step-son - Marina Catering - to cater the marina restaurant and lakefront entertainment.
He had to award more than $250,000 for no bid contracts with Manny Montalvo's family - Greentree Builders LLC - to do construction work they are unqualified to do: Article
He had to spend more than $150,000 to hire Al Velez's family to do work for the city.
He had to spend $150,000 to hire John Aquilera: Article
He had to spend $120,000 for 82-year old Gus Kouros to oversee contracts in the School City: Article, Another Article
He had to spend more than $3 million dollars to hire $500/hr out-of-state lawyers (last estimates have reached nearly $5 million): Article
He had to spend more than a million dollars to equip and staff a large government media department to act as his personal campaign firm.
He had to spend more than $40 million dollars to hire more than 1,300 city employees, some of which, like himself, have multiple salaries (compare 1,200 EC employees to less than 300 Schererville employees - similar populations)
He had to increase the 2007 budget by $12 million dollars (or 19%) over 2006
Oh yes, I just about forgot, the Mayor had to hire political broker Cantrell for campaign work: Article
1. Return of public access television. BROKEN PROMISE!
As we said, he promised it and then refused to deliver. Add to this that in 2006 he began having the Multi Media (ex. Public Information) Department edit out the public comments of the Council Meetings before they were aired on the CITY ONLY cable access channel and you will see that control of all information in East Chicago was his goal. After they began editing out the public comment portions they went on to edit out the comments of certain council members. The next step was to interview only the council members that were in good graces with the Mayor. The final insult was their elimination of the broadcast of the council meetings all together, stating: We don’t want certain council members using this program as a means of running for office. If you consider the number of times the name Mayor Pabey is mentioned every day on their normal broadcasts of city events and other programs aired, I guess you could say this is the Mayor Pabey channel dedicated to his reelection only.
2. Elected School Board.ANOTHER BROKEN PROMISE!
He promised it, and he stopped it. His first year in office both the State Senate and the House of Representatives had bills pending before the Indiana Legislature. Both bills had passed committee and were approaching their third reading and passage. Mysteriously, those bills were pulled from consideration and once again, East Chicago remains with a politically appointed school board. East Chicago school are now on academic probation and if they do not resolve the problem this year the State Board of Education will pull their accreditation, and that means that a high school diploma from E.C. Central will not be worth the paper it is printed on.
3. Elimination of the CDF. ANOTHER BROKEN PROMISE!
He marched against it under the prior administration. He even signed a petition against it on the very steps of city hall. And what has he done to stop it? Absolutely NOTHING! Not one public comment against it. Not one letter to the State of Indiana or the federal government. Just another broken promise!
4. Lower Property Taxes.ANOTHER BROKEN PROMISE!
The numbers speak for themselves. Have your property taxes gone down? NO! Has city the budget been reduced? NO! Has he reduced the workforce? NO! Actually he has increased the number of employees across the board. All of those promises of eliminating certain positions fell to the wayside once he was elected. For by then it was payoff time and those who helped get him elected had to get their fair share of the spoils.
While the Mayor brags about having provided tax relief to owner occupied homes, the fact of the matter is that Anthony Copeland was the first to introduce both of those bills at the Common Council, but the Mayor’s Council President sat those bill aside and introduced nearly identical bills which were eventually approved.
And why didn’t the $500.00 payment get applied to your last round of taxes before they were done? Read the letter that the Mayor sent you THIS SPRING. You got the LATE tax credit and he got the credit for giving it right at election time. Remember: these were YOUR tax dollars in the first place, not his and he still has not cut the budget or lowered the taxes as promised.
5. Elimination of Certain Staff Positions. ANOTHER BROKEN PROMISE!
Before being elected the then candidate Pabey said we didn’t need a Director of Community Services. After he was elected he appointed Byron Florence to that position.
Before he was elected he said that there was absolutely no reason to have five people in executive position in the City Controller’s Office. After he was elected he appointed or hired under contract more people to MISmanage that office than the prior administration would have ever considered. And we’re not even talking about the cost. And this is just the tip of the patronage problem in East Chicago.
Items in this section are taken verbatim from the Inaugural Address of Mayor George Pabey. For full version of the Mayors 2005 Inaugural Address - Click here (pdf) ,City Website
2. ”Together we will rid our neighborhoods of crime, drugs and gangs.”
Didn’t happen! Do you feel safer in your home or neighborhood? No!
3. “Together we will bring new businesses and good paying jobs into our city.”
Didn’t happen! ALL of the new businesses that have come to East Chicago were planned during the prior administration. NONE of what you have seen is the result of the actions of Mayor Pabey or his politically appointed staff.
4. “Together we will work to lower the property taxes.”
Didn’t happen! The tax rate is as higher today than in the prior administration.
5. “We will have to make hard decisions and tough choices to turn our city around, and we will make those decisions together.”
Didn’t happen! The city has not turned around. If anything, it has slipped farther into the dredges of disparity. Have you been asked to help make any of those decisions? NO! Even the North Harbor Project has been a closed door plan, eliminating anyone who has a different opinion than the Mayor and his staff.
"During the next 100 days I will be working hard to create a new beginning for our city, and while there are many things we will be doing, here are some of my top priorities:
1. We will hire an independent financial auditor to review the city's revenue and expenses. We will open the books and shine the light on the casino money to see where it has been going and how it has been spent.”
Didn’t happen! Have you seen that report? It doesn’t exist!
2. “I will appoint a Citizens' Budget Committee to work with the independent auditor so that taxpayers will have a direct view of our financial condition.”
Didn’t happen! No Citizens’ Budget Committee was appointed. No one, not even the Common Council can find out where the money went or is going!
3. “I will cancel all unnecessary and overpriced contracts with consultants, lawyers and contractors.”
Didn’t happen! OK – while he may have dismissed some of the prior contracts, the city now finds itself in court having to defend the dismissal of those very same contracts. But what about the $5,000,000 of YOUR tax dollars that went to a Chicago law firm to defend this city against the obviously political and improper firings by the Mayor? He has replaced each end every one of those contractors with contractors of HIS choice.
4. “In terms of the City work force I will be asking Department Heads to accept lower salaries.”
Didn’t happen! City Department Heads are making more today than ever before, and there are more of them than in the prior administration.
5. "I pledge to sweep politics out of City Hall and this is a giant first step. Our work force will be judged by the quality of the work they do, not by their political contributions and connections.”
Didn’t happen! Explain how one of his secretaries went from being a minimum wage janitor at the EC Public Schools to a secretary in his office. Who is she you ask? HIS COUSIN. Don’t stop there. Her husband is a department head. Interesting!
6. “I will put all my energies into finding ways to reduce property taxes by tightening our belts, eliminating waste, and doing things right.”
Didn’t happen! No reduction in property taxes, but what the Mayor has done was to petition the state for an excessive levy tax increase, e.g., to raise property taxes beyond what state law permits.
7. “I will personally work to reorganize our police department to make sure we have more officers on the street.”
Didn’t happen! With more than 120 police officers and 30 civilian staff members at the ECPD we still have no more than 6 police officers on the street at any one time, unless you look at the number of police on the street on New Year’s Eve. Did it end the gunfire? NO! NO! NO!
8. "One Saturday every month I will have open office hours from 9 AM to 5 PM. You won't have to make an appointment to see me, just come down to City Hall.”
Didn’t happen! He waited one year before he began this project and then he mad it twice a month (every other week as opposed to 2nd and 4th or 1st and 3rd Saturday) and then, if you do get to talk to him it is ALWAYS a closed door meeting. DEALS, DEALS AND MORE DEALS.
9. "We will be scheduling Town Hall Meetings in each Council District so that myself and your Council member can hear your issues and concerns and work together to solve problems and be responsive to your needs.”
Didn’t happen! NO TOWN HALL MEETINGS unless you consider his daily stops at local taverns as Town Hall Meetings.
Items in this section are taken verbatim from the 2006 State of the City Address given by Mayor George Pabey at the Police Department as opposed to the E.C. Central Auditorium. By this time he already knew that the public was dissatisfied. For full version of the Mayors 2006 State of the City Address -Click here (pdf) , City Website
1. “During my campaign, I promised to deal with issues such as: public safety, services, education, jobs, economic development, housing, and recreation. Our City is better today because we have changed the way business had previously been done. We have cut our costs, improved services, and restored confidence in our City. We are bringing hope to each neighborhood and the City will grow stronger because we are working together. Our City is strong and will only grow stronger! This is the rebirth of East Chicago!”
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER: If he has changed the way in which the city does business: it’s for the worse not better. They have not cut costs, improved services or restored the confidence in this City. Neighborhoods are slipping away each and every day. Gang shootings, graffiti and break ins are increasing and everyone knows it. If this is the rebirth of East Chicago, we are all in trouble when this one clears the birth canal.
2. “We also committed millions of dollars to upgrade the City’s aging water treatment plant that had previously seen minimal to no repairs since it was built in 1964.”
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER: Water Filtration Plants are DESIGNED to have a life expectancy of 75-100 years. Why are we tearing this down you ask? Two reasons: 1) He gets to award lucrative contracts to his insider friends, and 2) He wants to make way for building high rise condos on the lakefront. Do you think those condos will be for current East Chicago resident? NO! They too will be for his out of town friends. The total price of this project now exceeds $50,000,000.00 – that’s 50 MILLION DOLLARS of YOUR TAX DOLLARS! YOUR water and sewer bill will triple and your children, grand children and probably great grand children will be paying for this for decades to come.
3. “We revitalized the marina and gave it back to the community. We hosted several successful events celebrating the summer holidays at the marina in 2005.”
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER: Government is designed to do for the people what they cannot do for themselves, and it is for that purpose that they were established and permitted to TAX the property owners. Why are YOUR TAX DOLLARS being spent on parties at the marina and elsewhere?
4. “Last year nearly 88% of East Chicago graduates pursued a college education. This percentage is near the very top in the State of Indiana. We have honor students and student council in attendance here today! Let's give them a round of applause. Education is ensuring that they are well rounded in all areas including the arts.”
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER: Another lie told by his friend, the former superintendent of schools. In fact, less than 40% of the junior or senior class members even take the SATs, and without taking them they are not able to pursue a college education anywhere in the United States. Why do we have to lie about something that is as verifiable as this? Our schools are failing from the bottom to the top and the administration is filled with slackers and patronage workers. We were promised an elected school board and that promise was also broken.
5. “Praxair and Mittal Steel have expanded. National City Bank reinvested in the City and built a brand new building and Walgreens is doing the same. Thank you for your investment and for believing in the greatness of East Chicago.”
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER: Praxair expanded at the cost of the taxpayers. That’s right, they gave them tax abatement, which if not granted could have aided in LOWERING YOUR TAX BILL.
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER: National City Bank reinvested in a new building and abandoned their old site to Walgreen’s so they could raze the historic First National Bank Building and install a new parking lot for their new building. Do you consider this progress? Don’t blame this one on the prior administration Mr. Mayor. You did this yourself and the Chairman & CEO of Walgreens tagged you. (Letter from Dave Bernauer, Chairman & CEO of Walgreens)
6. “New housing has also been a major priority over the past year with the first city wide property rehab plan to be unveiled soon. Entire neighborhoods will be transformed. We want to provide the best and lowest interest loans to all residential owners.”
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER:
What happened to that city wide property rehab plan? NOTHING!
What happened with those lowest interest loans to all residential owners? NOTHING!
7. “Last week, we announced a partnership with two of the nation’s most successful non-profit community development corporations. The Community Builders, Inc., and Hispanic Housing Development Corporation will redevelop the entire North Indiana Harbor section and the Lakefront. This development will bring millions of dollars of private investment into the Indiana Harbor community.”
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER: We have to give them full tax abatement and donate the land to them? Is this progress or bribery? People will not reinvest in East Chicago until the problems are resolved. What are those problems?
A. Corruption in public government
B. Inside deals and contracts.
C. Refusal to provide open access to the process
E. Hiring friends and family as opposed to qualified individuals
D. An 8.25% tax rate while others in the immediate area have rates between 2 and 3%.
8. “We have connected our community through recreation. When I took office, I wanted to bring quality sports leagues back to the community. We started: Softball, Soccer, Basketball, Football, AAU Track, Fishing, Tennis, Volleyball, Wiffleball, Water Aerobics, and Biddy Ball.”
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER: The only thing recreation has done is enlarge their staff while doing less and producing less each month. All of the sports and programs listed above were in place under the prior administration. Does he think we are all blind idiots?
9.”In July, the Jeorse Park Beach was opened for the first time in over ten years for public swimming and provided a beautiful beachfront experience for our community. The East Chicago Marina is also a great facility. We hosted several summer celebrations at the Marina and gave the Marina back to East Chicago, where it belongs. Thousands of people packed the Marina and this year we will continue those events.”
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER: Where was George when Bob Pastrick opened up Jeorse Park and the Beach TWO YEARS BEFORE George claims to have done so? Was he on vacation or a binge? And as for those summer celebrations: YOUR TAX DOLLARS PAID FOR THEM! And the supplies were chosen from the INSIDER list of the friends of the Mayor.
10. “One thing I promised was to take care of our Senior Citizens and our Youth. My administration started a Senior Outreach Committee to make sure our seniors were taken care of. This year, our seniors enjoyed: A Summer Picnic, Bingos, Movie Nights, a day at the Railcats Game, a Christmas Celebration, and were treated to Free haircuts and manicures. Our Senior Citizens will always be our priority!”
Senior citizens are also the easiest ones to influence. Why did we spend YOUR TAX dollars to rent five luxury busses to take seniors to Navy Pier for a luxury FREE boat cruise complete with live entertainment and a meal? You want to buy the seniors vote. Plain and simple.
NOT TRUE MR. MAYOR! 2006 - 2007 ISTEP scores reveal that over the last two years East Chicago has fallen to Last in the state - ranked 296th out of 296 school districts. Indiana Department of Education data (School City overall performance data ) (ISTEP Performance)
3. I Grew Up In This City
NOT TRUE MR. MAYOR! Try Gary, not East Chicago.
4. The EC Police Department Closed Down Pete & Mabel’s
Not True Mr. Mayor.Mabel died and her children closed it down on their own. If you had anything to do with it then what are all of the prostitutes still on the street in that very same neighborhood?
5. I have been working with Lighthouse Charter to bring another charter school to East Chicago. This one will be at the site of the old Columbus School in New Addition.
Not True Mr. Mayor. The fact of the matter is that you have done everything you can to stop that school from even renting space in East Chicago. You have also blocked the purchase of the land that they wanted to build on. And you have not stopped the current charter school from building onto their existing structure. WHY? Because you want those tax and state dollar to remain in your politically corrupt school city.
1) He used YOUR tax dollars for tax relief and made sure you had to go to HIS office to turn in your application earlier this year.
2) He bought off ex State Representative from running for office by giving him a $150,000.00 per year contract as a lobbyist in Indianapolis. If you remember, John has said he would not seek reelection as State Representative because he wanted to serve the residents of East Chicago as their Mayor. Immediately after getting the lucrative contract, Mr. Aguilera stated he would no longer be seeking election to that office. What is amazing is that Mr. Aguilera has only been seen at the State House once this session. It appears that he in turn hired Lance Rycamp to step in and make those ever so not important comments at the various committee meetings in Indianapolis.
3) Want to keep control of the Common Council? Buy it! And so was the case that he killed to birds with one stone with the again lucrative School City “do nothing” contract for Councilman Kouros of the Second District. Mr. Kouros is a CONTRACT employee of the School City and oversees the contractor who actually provides food services for all of the city schools. Mr. Kouros makes in excess of $60,000 per year on this contract and his current contract does not expire for two more years. But mysteriously in late November 2006 Mr. Kouros decided to resign from the Common Council after accepting a 2 year extension on his contract.
What does this mean to the Common Council? To begin, another Pabey supporter and CITY EMPLOYEE has been elected by the politically corruptible Precinct Committee Members from that district to serve out the remaining five months of Council Kouros’ term in office. Now the replacement councilman can run under the guise of “Re-Elect” as opposed to “Elect”.
It also meant that Rich Medina has retained the position of Council President for a third consecutive term in office. For decades prior to the election of Mayor Pabey, the position of Council President has changed hands nearly every year, giving everyone a chance at holding that position at least once. NO – It’s power they want and they want it all!
Across the Calumet Region and the entire state the comments are made that the resident's in East Chicago get exactly what they deserve in the way of elected officials. They are right.
At the last election we asked for change and that is exactly what we got: the CHANGE! We got the pennies, nickels and dimes while those on the inside have been giving our hard earned tax dollars away to friends, family and political cronies. Now is the time to vote for POLITICAL REFORM. Make your vote count this May 8th.
