Today is a great day in the life of the Cullerton Family. After much sole searching and many pro/con discussions we have made a decision that I should work towards the next level of Village leadership and run for the President of Villa Park. We are all very excited and anxious as we count down to April 7, 2009 -Election Day.

My goals are very clear. Throughout the campaign I will be bringing up ideas and giving opportunities for you to view my opinions on various issues. I will run a campaign based on the issues- how to move Villa Park forward, how I can be an effective leader for our Village and how I will work toward the long term future of our town. 

As your President I will bring respected leadership, a vision of economic success, a transparency to Village issues, a strong fiscal responsibility to the needs of our residents, an attack dog mentality to criminal activity and I will continue with fresh ideas that move our Village to prosperity.

Since 2005 when I was elected to the position of Trustee I have been a constant source of new ideas. My belief in government is not what won’t work but rather how can we make it work. With today’s slumping economy and housing crisis, the likes never seen before, we need a leader that is creative. A leader that will be effective in attracting new opportunities. A leader that can articulate to developers and new families how Villa Park is shaking off the dust of complacency and striving to achieve the highest level of success. I believe I am that leader.

My unique perspective and my optimistic outlook has allowed me to push for ideas that many thought weren’t possible. Ideas that others said couldn’t get done. Development that was thought beyond the reach and capability of Villa Park. I don’t believe in allowing others to rain on the positive opportunities that we have here in VIlla Park. The future is here in Villa Park. It is time for us to make a shift in our government as well as in our community. A shift towards a brighter and stronger future here in Villa Park.

Sincerely,

Trustee Thomas Cullerton

To: Madame President, Trustees and Manager Neimann

I would like to ask for an option to be placed into our budget as a possible addendum if necessary.

While we have had conversations as to possible layoffs I believe we should explore all possible options before looking at laying off our employees. I would like to see a few scenarios looked at before we get to the point of layoffs.

1. I would like to see a budget analysis of all salaried employees from supervisor on up taking a 2%, 5% and 10% pay reduction. This would not be a permanent option but I would like to see how the numbers would run.
2.  I would like to see an analysis of all hourly employees taking 1-3 unpaid days off throughout the course of the year. Again not a yearly permanent option but still would like to see the numbers.

While these are possible contentious options they may be needed in this struggling economy. There is an 8.9% unemployment rate in America. I don’t think any of us want to be the cause of that increasing.

I also believe that none of us wants to see services decline. In traditional layoffs the line employees are the ones who take the brunt of the hit. All departments are already understaffed! We will lose too many services if we layoff our pothole fillers, our service counter helpers, our CSO’s and our inspectors. I personally could not think of laying off line workers who are in the trenches everyday if we haven’t looked at these options.

Finally if we end up laying off a significant amount of “line” workers we cannot look at management without laying off one or two of them as well. Managers only need a job when they have people to supervise. If a department loses employees then we have to look at which supervisor’s responsibilities have been reduced and consider taking them off the payroll as well.

I reiterate I am not for any layoffs, rather creative thinking! I know it adds a little bit more to do but I would ask before we throw our hardworking employees into the street we look at exhausting every possible solution for us, as a Village, to retain our maximum levels of Service.

Let’s all work together to see this budget process through to a successful resolution.

Trustee Tom Cullerton

One of the issues I have recently raised with the Village staff, and I will work to implement as Villa Park President, is a program regarding Village Vehicles and more cost effective and efficient management of our vehicle fleet.

For example, once a police car reaches about 85,000 miles, we pass that vehicle down to community development or another village department, and purchase a new police car at a cost of about $25,000. This cost can be even higher if we have to replace some of the police equipment such as the emergency light bar.

As Village President I would seek to change this policy. Instead of replacing the vehicle at 85,000 miles, I would instead have the vehicle revamped with a new engine and transmission, suspension and other vital components. This would carry a much lower cost of approximately $10,000. By doing this, along with some enhanced maintenance, we could extend the life of a police car to more than double what it is now, saving the village many thousands of dollars every year.

I would then seek to equip other village departments with electric or hybrid vehicles. The hand me down police cars these departments use are terrible fuel wasters for their usage. By converting the non police vehicle fleet to plug in hybrid or all electric vehicles, we would save a tremendous amount of money in fuel costs, as well as be more environmentally responsible. Additionally, we may qualify for state and federal grants to purchase the “Green” vehicles, further adding to the savings to the village.

We could even install solar panels to act as a fuel source for these vehicles, reducing the operating costs to very low levels.

This kind of forward thinking is exactly what our village needs and what I believe makes me a strong candidate for Village President.

Fundraiser and informational gathering

Meet Tom Cullerton and hear his platform to lead Villa Park through
the next four years and beyond.

Questions and concerns will be addressed.

All voters are welcome

February 19, 2009
5:00pm - 9:00pm

Churrasco Brazilian Steak House
541 W. North Ave., Villa Park, IL, 60181
(630) 832-0877

Refreshments will be served

Today is a great day in the life of the Cullerton Family. After much sole searching and many pro/con discussions we have made a decision that I should work towards the next level of Village leadership and run for the President of Villa Park. We are all very excited and anxious as we count down to April 7, 2009 -Election Day.

My goals are very clear. Throughout the campaign I will be bringing up ideas and giving opportunities for you to view my opinions on various issues. I will run a campaign based on the issues- how to move Villa Park forward, how I can be an effective leader for our Village and how I will work toward the long term future of our town. 

As your President I will bring respected leadership, a vision of economic success, a transparency to Village issues, a strong fiscal responsibility to the needs of our residents, an attack dog mentality to criminal activity and I will continue with fresh ideas that move our Village to prosperity.

Since 2005 when I was elected to the position of Trustee I have been a constant source of new ideas. My belief in government is not what won’t work but rather how can we make it work. With today’s slumping economy and housing crisis, the likes never seen before, we need a leader that is creative. A leader that will be effective in attracting new opportunities. A leader that can articulate to developers and new families how Villa Park is shaking off the dust of complacency and striving to achieve the highest level of success. I believe I am that leader.

My unique perspective and my optimistic outlook has allowed me to push for ideas that many thought weren’t possible. Ideas that others said couldn’t get done. Development that was thought beyond the reach and capability of Villa Park. I don’t believe in allowing others to rain on the positive opportunities that we have here in VIlla Park. The future is here in Villa Park. It is time for us to make a shift in our government as well as in our community. A shift towards a brighter and stronger future here in Villa Park.

Sincerely,

Trustee Thomas Cullerton

We will be constantly updating this site so you, the residents of Villa Park, can have immediate access to me for any issues you need resolved. Contacting a candidate to hear their views, understand their policy and know what their plans are couldn’t be easier. Please also be on the lookout for me knocking on your door sometime during the next 6 months. All of this will allow you to make an informed decision come Election Day April 7, 2009.

The Next Generation of Leadership in Villa Park

The Villa Park board voted 4-2 Monday night against a proposal to prohibit tavern patrons from dancing on bars and tabletops. Trustees also nixed a companion measure barring bar employees from working while intoxicated.

Village President Joyce Stupegia and Trustee Richard Illian supported the restrictions.

“You now have consent to have whoever dance on the bars,” Stupegia said after the vote. “Your bartenders can be intoxicated.”

Trustee Tom Cullerton countered, “You can run your business the way you want, without government interference.”

The vote followed some public comments and board member discussion.

“If it is a safety issue, then what about jungle gyms, skate parks and bike paths? People get hurt on these things all the time. Should we ban the use of those too?” asked Brendan Fitzharris, who owns Fitz’s Irish Bulldog along St. Charles Road. “I know a guy who broke his hand playing Golden Tee video game. Are you going to ban that, too?

“This rule is absolutely ridiculous,” Fitzharris added. “You are micromanaging business.”

If a customer complains that a beer is flat, how is a bartender or owner supposed to determine whether that’s true without tasting it and then risking a ticket and fine, Fitzharris asked. Also if a new drink comes along, how can bartenders and other employees describe it to customers if they’ve never tasted it, he asked.

“Sometimes it is part of our job to try a drink,” he added.

Resident and former bar owner Scott Shepard agreed, saying he’d never heard of anyone getting hurt falling off a bar or tabletop.

“Dancing on tables and bars has been going on for centuries,” Shepard said. “Where are the statistics (of people getting hurt)? I have a better chance of tripping in one of our streets.”

Illian said he supported the regulations because they aimed to prevent drunk people from tripping down streets and sidewalks or engaging in other improper behavior because they are getting overserved, possibly by intoxicated bartenders.

But, Trustee David Hegland noted, existing laws already make public intoxication and disorderly conduct punishable crimes.

“We can enforce that right here, right now, without reaching into people’s businesses,” Hegland said.

Daily Herald

This and more was made possible by people who donated their time, hair and items as part of USA Magazine’s annual Make a Difference Day.

In Villa Park, hundreds of residents of all ages participated in the annual day of doing good through a collaborative effort by the Villa Park Lifelong Learning League, which coordinated and co-sponsored 10 projects and spotlighted others during an Oct. 25 fair.

“We were very pleased with the turnout,” said Judy Grove, a coordinator of the effort. “We had no idea what to expect. The spirit of cooperation … helping people - that made me feel good.”

With help from five area salons whose stylists donated their time and talent, the Villa Park Junior Women’s Club collected more than 20 quart-sized bags of human hair to be used by the Locks of Love Foundation for hair prosthetics for medically bald children, Grove said. Anyone interested can still donate hair by calling Julee Vingren at (630) 833-0610.

About 100 pairs of new and gently used shoes were collected for the Soles of Villa Park effort, Trustee Tom Cullerton reported.

Under the direction of Girl Scouts of Villa Creek Center Service, more than 40 children created 110 handcrafted Christmas tree ornaments. The decorations will be sent with live Christmas trees to on-duty military personnel as part of the Villa Park Men’s Garden Club Trees for Troops Make a Difference Day project. The Garden Club collected nearly $700 for the trees, Grove said.

In addition, the Villa Park Rotary gave away more than 200 books to students in preschool through high school.

Kevin Conner, a community service officer with the Villa Park Police Department, helped make a difference by teaching safety lessons to numerous children through hands-on activities.

Though a few people were unable to donate, a total of 13 pints of blood were collected during the Villa Park Chamber of Commerce’s blood drive for LifeSource, said chamber Executive Director Alesia Bailey. The donations have the potential to save 39 lives, according to the blood center.

About a dozen bicycles and wheelchairs were donated for the Recycle your Cycle program, while eight pairs of glasses were collected by the Lions Club.

Daily Herald