07-08-2009, 06:33 AM
For those who missed it, there is an article in the News Sun today.
TenPas tempest
Battle royale between mayor and alderman
July 8, 2009
By DAN MORAN <!-- e --><a href="mailto
MORAN@SCN1.COM">DMORAN@SCN1.COM</a><!-- e -->
![[Image: waukegan.jpg_20090707_22_58_29_934-116-165.imageContent]](http://media1.suburbanchicagonews.com/multimedia/waukegan.jpg_20090707_22_58_29_934-116-165.imageContent)
WAUKEGAN -- A power struggle between Mayor Robert Sabonjian and 6th Ward Ald. Larry TenPas dominated the proceedings at Monday night's City Council meeting, as a debate over the hiring of a city prosecutor featured some 90 minutes of raised voices, pounded fists and threats of lawsuits.
"The City Council is checks and balances. It's not a dictatorship," TenPas said, adding at another point that "Mayor, I'm not going to let you say, 'I'm King Robert.'"
Monday's dispute came three weeks after the council met in closed session to discuss a proposal by Sabonjian and corporation counsel Newton Finn to appoint Ted Kuderko as prosecutor. An alternate proposal, backed by TenPas, was to retain the current firm of Smith & LaLuzerne.
Though other aldermen -- including Thomas Koncan (2nd Ward) and Rick Larsen (6th) -- joined in at times against Sabonjian, Monday's battle was primarily between the mayor and the council's senior alderman, and it unfolded in two stages.
First, TenPas objected to the meeting's agenda being altered to remove consideration of the Smith & LaLuzerne proposal, and he also quarreled with Sabonjian over whether or not TenPas could correct minutes on the issue from the June 15 meeting.
"Why wasn't it put on the agenda?" TenPas said, rising to his feet. "When it's held over, it has to be taken up at the next meeting."
"Mr. TenPas, you're out of order," Sabonjian said.
"No, I am not out of order," TenPas said. "I'm not out of order, and I refuse to be called out of order ... I demand we vote on it, up or down. If you try to remove me, I will sue you on it."
While the argument over correcting the minutes was eventually settled and the council moved on to other business, a second round began when the agenda worked its way to where the Smith & LaLuzerne proposal had been before it was removed.
Sabonjian said he wanted the city's representation and general approach on legal issues to be reviewed in light of expenditures over lawsuits.
"Before tonight, no alderman sitting at this dais called our legal costs into question," Sabonjian said. "How do you think we got to $3.2 million (in fees) last year? You think that was an accident?"
The primary issue boiled down to whether or not Sabonjian can appoint a city prosecutor without a vote of approval from the council. Reading from the city's ordinance book, TenPas quoted a passage stating that the hiring of "other" attorneys is "authorized by the council."
Finn responded that the council controls payment to city attorneys, but "you don't, however, select the attorney to fill that position." Finn contended that the prosecutor is not a city officer, so the hiring of one doesn't require the advice and consent of the council.
"We went through meeting minutes, (and) there has never been one entry where the City Council hired a city prosecutor, or approved one," Finn said. "Quite frankly, this is not the business of the City Council, it is the business of the executive branch."
Finn and TenPas also sparred over the course of the debate, with Finn saying at one point, "Can we talk like gentlemen about this?" TenPas responded "I am a gentleman. I beg your pardon."
At various points, both 1st Ward Ald. Sam Cunningham and 3rd Ward Ald. Greg Moisio called for the animated back-and-forth to stop, with Moisio saying "I think we've had enough discord for the evening."
The drama finally ended when Cunningham asked for the prosecutor issue to be tabled, pointing out that "it is 11:10 (p.m.) and we're not even halfway through the set agenda."
"It's gone on way too long," Cunningham said. "It's come dangerously close to an embarrassment to our city."
In the end, Sabonjian agreed with a suggestion from 7th Ward Ald. Patrick Needham to seek a legal opinion from the Illinois Attorney General's office on whether or not a mayor needs council approval to name a city prosecutor.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/1656259,5_1_WA08_WAUKEGAN_S1-090708.article">http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... 08.article</a><!-- m -->
TenPas tempest
Battle royale between mayor and alderman
July 8, 2009
By DAN MORAN <!-- e --><a href="mailto
MORAN@SCN1.COM">DMORAN@SCN1.COM</a><!-- e -->WAUKEGAN -- A power struggle between Mayor Robert Sabonjian and 6th Ward Ald. Larry TenPas dominated the proceedings at Monday night's City Council meeting, as a debate over the hiring of a city prosecutor featured some 90 minutes of raised voices, pounded fists and threats of lawsuits.
"The City Council is checks and balances. It's not a dictatorship," TenPas said, adding at another point that "Mayor, I'm not going to let you say, 'I'm King Robert.'"
Monday's dispute came three weeks after the council met in closed session to discuss a proposal by Sabonjian and corporation counsel Newton Finn to appoint Ted Kuderko as prosecutor. An alternate proposal, backed by TenPas, was to retain the current firm of Smith & LaLuzerne.
Though other aldermen -- including Thomas Koncan (2nd Ward) and Rick Larsen (6th) -- joined in at times against Sabonjian, Monday's battle was primarily between the mayor and the council's senior alderman, and it unfolded in two stages.
First, TenPas objected to the meeting's agenda being altered to remove consideration of the Smith & LaLuzerne proposal, and he also quarreled with Sabonjian over whether or not TenPas could correct minutes on the issue from the June 15 meeting.
"Why wasn't it put on the agenda?" TenPas said, rising to his feet. "When it's held over, it has to be taken up at the next meeting."
"Mr. TenPas, you're out of order," Sabonjian said.
"No, I am not out of order," TenPas said. "I'm not out of order, and I refuse to be called out of order ... I demand we vote on it, up or down. If you try to remove me, I will sue you on it."
While the argument over correcting the minutes was eventually settled and the council moved on to other business, a second round began when the agenda worked its way to where the Smith & LaLuzerne proposal had been before it was removed.
Sabonjian said he wanted the city's representation and general approach on legal issues to be reviewed in light of expenditures over lawsuits.
"Before tonight, no alderman sitting at this dais called our legal costs into question," Sabonjian said. "How do you think we got to $3.2 million (in fees) last year? You think that was an accident?"
The primary issue boiled down to whether or not Sabonjian can appoint a city prosecutor without a vote of approval from the council. Reading from the city's ordinance book, TenPas quoted a passage stating that the hiring of "other" attorneys is "authorized by the council."
Finn responded that the council controls payment to city attorneys, but "you don't, however, select the attorney to fill that position." Finn contended that the prosecutor is not a city officer, so the hiring of one doesn't require the advice and consent of the council.
"We went through meeting minutes, (and) there has never been one entry where the City Council hired a city prosecutor, or approved one," Finn said. "Quite frankly, this is not the business of the City Council, it is the business of the executive branch."
Finn and TenPas also sparred over the course of the debate, with Finn saying at one point, "Can we talk like gentlemen about this?" TenPas responded "I am a gentleman. I beg your pardon."
At various points, both 1st Ward Ald. Sam Cunningham and 3rd Ward Ald. Greg Moisio called for the animated back-and-forth to stop, with Moisio saying "I think we've had enough discord for the evening."
The drama finally ended when Cunningham asked for the prosecutor issue to be tabled, pointing out that "it is 11:10 (p.m.) and we're not even halfway through the set agenda."
"It's gone on way too long," Cunningham said. "It's come dangerously close to an embarrassment to our city."
In the end, Sabonjian agreed with a suggestion from 7th Ward Ald. Patrick Needham to seek a legal opinion from the Illinois Attorney General's office on whether or not a mayor needs council approval to name a city prosecutor.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/1656259,5_1_WA08_WAUKEGAN_S1-090708.article">http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... 08.article</a><!-- m -->