5 Comments - stones - Tuesday, Mar 10, 09 @ 8:02 am: What is the over/under on how long Weis remains as Police Chief? - Cassandra - Tuesday, Mar 10, 09 @ 8:08 am: Oak Park is an exceptionally liberal community and issues such as the homeless man on the ballot (or not) reinforce that image, which could even be called flaky. One doubts that the homeless guy would have tried this in, say, Barrington. The wealthy liberals who play a major role in OP politics, however, have been remarkably uninterested in supporting any type of property tax relief, a problem which could lead to real homelessness, not just the posturing kind, among Oak Park’s grossly overtaxed residents. For the wealthy, high property taxes are barely noticeable after all. - Amy - Tuesday, Mar 10, 09 @ 8:23 am: flooding will be a bigger issue for politicos because of the rains in Sept., Dec. and now Feb. March, and we must assume, ongoing. sewer capacity, projects as they affect runoff into back yards and basements, closed roads, unpassable viaducts all must be evaluated individually and together. the stevenson had water near the entry to the Ryan today. this will only get worse and government is doing a pretty bad job of figuring out why it floods where and what to do about it. rivers and creeks are, of course, a problem, but it’s the other places that drive voters nuts because they seem to defy explanation. and solution. - Bobby - Tuesday, Mar 10, 09 @ 4:02 pm: Interesting that State of Illinois Capital Development Board employee Jesse Martinez is on the ballot for the upcoming election in Melrose Park. He is often seen door knocking or at schools passing out campaign material during 9:00 to 5:00 work hours and has hit state vendors for dontation. Check his D-2 forms. - Nearly Normal - Tuesday, Mar 10, 09 @ 4:15 pm: Update on the Interlake situation from the Pantagraph.com website this evening– UPDATED 4 p.m. PONTIAC – An estimated 150 people lined up in the rain outside the Interlake/Mecalux plant Tuesday in Pontiac seeking jobs from the new owners of the shelving manufacturer that let 260 of its existing employees go last week following a bankruptcy sale. It was unclear early Tuesday morning how many of the applicants were former Interlake employees seeking to be re-hired and how many were new applicants. About 100 people were lined up in the median between Old U.S. 66 and the frontage road in front of the plant taking part in a union protest of the plant. Police are keeping people off the frontage road and Interlake parking lot. The company is not allowing anyone but job applicants onto the property. Protesters were seen holding signs that read “A union worker is a good worker,” and “Bankruptcy law equals corporate theft.” The protesters included former Interlake workers, as well as union workers from Caterpillar, Mitsubishi and Pontiac prison. The protesters voiced the sentiment that they are opposed to laws that allow a company to come in and put them out of work and force them to reapply for a lesser wage. Alicia Janssen, a former Interlake welder said she’s going to go to Heartland to become a certified nurse’s aide. “We don’t have anything against the people applying in there,” Janssen said. “We just want the same kind of community support we saw for the prison.” She stressed her disappointment in Pontiac Mayor Scott McCoy for not standing with the Interlake workers. “I was out on the courthouse lawn (to show support) for the prison,” Janssen said. Janssen said she’s not going to bother reapplying, because it her opinion it’s not a fair hire. “The people doing the hiring know everyone’s history, whether they supported the union or had surgery or whatever,” Janssen said. Cliff Slof of Pontiac, who worked at the plant for 17 years, was one of the former workers reapplying for a job. Slof said the management didn’t offer any details, simply asking people to fill out an application. “I might be interested in seeing what they have to offer,” said Slof, who added that he needs a job with health insurance benefits and didn’t know what else he could find right now. United Auto Workers Local 2488 President Ralph Timan echoed the sentiments against the way Mecalux was allowed to reorganize following the bankruptcy sale. “We’re urging our politicians, our senators and representatives, that we need reform in the corporate bankruptcy law,” Timan said. “The sad fact is (these workers) have to reapply for their jobs.” Timan said he thinks it is offensive that Mecalux wanted to take advantage of bankruptcy laws. “They considered it a good investment, putting these workers out of business,” Timan said. Mark Rios, a 58-year-old Pontiac man who worked at Interlake for 30 years, said he doesn’t know what to do now. “We didn’t get laid off. If we got laid off we’d be right back in there now,” Rios said. “I think this is just them trying to break our union. I made $16.84. I’m 58. What am I going to do now? I worked here for 30 years to raise my kids, buy a house. It was American dream. What are we telling kids now, that honesty isn’t fair?” A Mecalux employee at the gate, who refused to give his name, said the company is referring all questions to corporate office. Interlake announced in late December that the company would close the Pontiac plant in March due to the sluggish economy unless another company bought it. Nearly a week later came word that Mecalux, a Spanish company, would purchase Interlake, which had just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Eric Monical, UAW Local 2488’s bargaining chairman for employees at the plant, previously said Mecalux is expected to ask workers, who earn about $16 to $18 per hour, to take pay cuts of up to $3.45 an hour, pay a 20 percent increase in health insurance and accept a freeze of pension contributions. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.