Tinley Park Clerk O’Connor, Mayor Glotz Try to Set Record Straight With Galante (Tinley Park, IL) — The village of Tinley Park held a special board meeting Tuesday, May 3, 2022. The Board Comments portion of the meeting again focused on Trustee Diane Galante and her comments during the recent board meetings.

Village Clerk Nancy O’Connor attempted to clear up some issues from previous board meetings. O’Connor stated: “Trustee Galante states that she sent questions concerning the budget to staff and those questions were not answered … She also stated that there were items in the budget that she had never heard of … There were a couple of executive sessions that she was not at … The mayor offered twice through e-mail to meet with her, to give her an update on those executive sessions … She did not respond to any of that. … She accused staff of not answering her e-mails. After that meeting … I chose to ask staff if that was true and if her e-mails and questions were answered. They were kind enough to supply me with all the e-mails and their responses and answers to all of her questions. … She sits on this dais, and accuses, harasses and bullies staff.

Regarding Trustee Galante’s accusations that Mayor Glotz obtained information at the police station and gave it to a resident, O’Connor stated that she sent Galante four e-mails asking for proof “and not only has she not responded, she hasn’t even acknowledged those e-mails were sent or provided me with proof … and she will accuse staff of not answering her, but yet, she will not respond to me.”

O’Connor also added “She questioned why so many staff members have left, might want to look in the mirror. When you make accusations unfounded, bullying staff … not surprising why they leave. This has to stop. We have incredible employees in this village … to be dismissed like that and lied about is just truly, truly, disheartening … It just needs to stop, today. No more sitting up here making accusations, no more sitting up here lying, enough. It’s time to move on.

Trustee Galante was offended by O’Connor’s comments and again gave her view of what has been happening in Tinley Park: “I take offense to what you say to me. I have worked 35 years in accounting, I just finished a career that I was the last person out because of the trust my company has in me. … I have never been so insulted in my life. I absolutely sent e-mails to Brad. Brad’s last response to me was ‘Patience, we’ll get back to you.’ Nobody got back to me. … I don’t know why you keep acting like I’m harassing people. Besides Pat Carr, who filed harassment claim against me, that was later found baseless by HR”

Referring to e-mails from Mayor Glotz offering to meet with her, Galante stated “Mayor Glotz did send me an e-mail and offered to meet with me, and then sent me five e-mails degrading me afterwards, saying that I’m untrustworthy and he can’t be alone with me.”

“I sit on this board, elected by the people in this town to do a job … Just because Nancy, who wasn’t elected, was appointed up here, who continues to say I don’t supply her with information … I don’t know why you’re making those comments. … I do the best I can, but I will no longer just vote yes because I want to go along. I was very uncomfortable with the budget, your strategic plan no longer matches. … It is an outright lie of what Nancy is doing. Nancy has lied about my son attacking her; show me that proof Nancy. There’s a lot of lies that go on.”

“I have great ideas, I believe I could be a huge asset to this board, but I’m excluded … I’m looked at like I’m a lying, I don’t even know why, I’m insulted. … I think it’s ridiculous that people on this board have the right to use whatever time they want against – attack my family, myself, and that I have no right to defend myself.”

Mayor Glotz was prepared to clear the air about what has been going on, particularly after the press coverage of previous board meetings:

“The part that’s embarrassing is I went to Jewel, and The Southland Journal, who is on the newsstand … wrote on it, comments from one of our elected officials, being Diane Galante, she states with all her e-mails … asking questions of Brad Bettenhausen … and her quote to the papers was ‘patience, we will get back to you, and they didn’t get back to me.’ His response to her was ‘patience, staff has been working on updating our budget document. We will advise when the revised document has been posted on the website. On April 15^th, the full, entire board, and the community, and anyone that has access to a computer received that answer when they posted … any corrections or errors that had to be made. So it was one day later, so she did receive her answer, but still told the press that they didn’t.”

Regarding Galante’s comments about being excluded, Glotz called them “very frustrating, because you know the process starts in November and it goes for six months … until the board approves it in April or May … You wait until the day of before the budget meetings and you send all these questions to them when they’ve already prepared everything. Hannah, the whole finance team, has worked their tail off prepping all this, and then last minute, you throw questions at them and you expect them to just bend over backwards. That’s not how it works, it’s very unprofessional. … That’s why I put you with the budget. You cannot keep constantly crying wolf. Now your role will be in the budget with them as they prepare it. So next year, we don’t have to go through this.”

Glotz also discussed the issue of personal attacks against Galante and her family. Glotz stated: “There’s not one board member that I’m aware of that has ever made one comment regarding Diane’s family member breaking a window and entering a business until she keeps bringing it up and bringing it up, and this is the reason it keeps getting discussed. No one from this board has ever brought that up or posted publicly on Facebook.”

Other Agenda Items

CONSIDER APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL VILLAGE BOARD MEETING HELD ON APRIL 12, 2022, AND REGULAR VILLAGE BOARD MEETING HELD ON APRIL 19, 2022 – APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY
CONSIDER PROCLAIMING MAY 14, 2022, AS “APRAXIA AWARENESS DAY” IN THE VILLAGE OF TINLEY PARK – APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY
CONSIDER PROCLAIMING JUNE 3, 2022, AS “NATIONAL GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS DAY” IN THE VILLAGE OF TINLEY PARK – APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY
CONSIDER ADOPTING RESOLUTION 2022-R-040 RECOGNIZING MAY AS BUILDING SAFETY MONTH IN THE VILLAGE OF TINLEY PARK – APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY
CONSIDER ADOPTING RESOLUTION 2022-R-039 RECOGNIZING MAY 1ST THROUGH MAY 7TH, 2022, AS “MUNICIPAL CLERKS RECOGNITION WEEK” IN THE VILLAGE OF TINLEY PARK – APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY
CONSIDER ADOPTING RESOLUTION 2022-R-041 RECOGNIZING MAY 1ST THROUGH MAY 7TH, 2022, AS “PUBLIC SERVICE RECOGNITION WEEK” IN THE VILLAGE OF TINLEY PARK – APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY
RECEIVE PRESENTATIONS OF THE TINLEY PARK BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT – POPUS GOURMET POPCORN AND BANGING GAVEL BREWS
CONSIDER THE APPOINTMENT OF ZACHARY GRUMAN TO THE POSITION OF MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN – APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY
CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING STAFF APPOINTMENTS FOR THE 2023 FISCAL YEAR – APPROVED, 5 YEAS, GALANTE ABSTAINED
CONSIDER THE APPOINTMENT OF TRUSTEE MICHAEL G. MUELLER TO SERVE AS PRESIDENT PRO-TEM FOR THE 2023 FISCAL YEAR – APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY
CONSIDER ADOPTING ORDINANCE 2022-O-033 AMENDING TITLE III CHAPTER 30 SECTION 40 OF THE TINLEY PARK MUNICIPAL CODE ENTITLED “STANDING COMMITTEES” – APPROVED, 5 YEAS, GALANTE NO
CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING STANDING COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS – APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF THE FOLLOWING CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS – APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY
- CONSIDER PAYMENT OF IMPACT FEES THROUGH MARCH 2022 IN THE AMOUNT OF $5,175 TO THE TINLEY PARK PARK DISTRICT.
- CONSIDER A REQUEST FROM ST. JUDE RUNNERS ASSOCIATION TO CONDUCT A TAG DAY FUNDRAISER ON SATURDAY, MAY 28, AND JUNE 25, 2022, AT CERTAIN INTERSECTIONS IN THE VILLAGE OF TINLEY PARK.
- CONSIDER REQUEST FROM SOUTH SUBURBAN SPECIAL RECREATION ASSOCIATION (SSSRA), TO CONDUCT A RAFFLE FROM JUNE 1 TO SEPTEMBER 1, 2022, AT THE SOUTH SUBURBAN SPECIAL RECREATION ASSOCIATION (SSSRA) ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE, 19110 80TH AVENUE, WITH THE MAXIMUM VALUE OF THE PRIZE NOT TO EXCEED $6000. WINNERS WILL BE DRAWN AT SSSRA ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE.
- CONSIDER REQUEST FROM GOOD SHEPHERD MANOR, TO CONDUCT A RAFFLE THROUGH JUNE 27, 2022, AT THE ODYSSEY COUNTRY CLUB, 19110 RIDGELAND AVENUE, WITH THE MAXIMUM VALUE OF THE PRIZE NOT TO EXCEED $800. WINNERS WILL BE DRAWN AT THE ODYSSEY COUNTRY CLUB.
- CONSIDER PAYMENT OF OUTSTANDING BILLS IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,201,388.94 AS LISTED ON THE VENDOR BOARD APPROVAL REPORTS DATED APRIL 22, AND 29, 2022.
CONSIDER ADOPTING ORDINANCE 2022-O-030 GRANTING A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR A TOBACCO STORE TO DRIP DROP SMOKES AT 17133 HARLEM AVENUE – APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY
CONSIDER ADOPTING ORDINANCE 2022-O-031 GRANTING A SPECIAL USE FOR A SUBSTANTIAL DEVIATION FOR ADDITIONAL SIGNAGE FROM THE PARK CENTER PUD AT 15920 HARLEM AVENUE (MCDONALDS) – APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY
CONSIDER ADOPTING RESOLUTION 2022-R-042 APPROVING A CONTRACT BETWEEN THE VILLAGE OF TINLEY PARK AND STEVE SPIESS CONSTRUCTION FOR GREENWAY BLVD. WATER METER VAULT IMPROVEMENTS – APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY
CONSIDER ADOPTING RESOLUTION 2022-R-036 APPROVING A FOURTH AMENDMENT PCS SITE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE VILLAGE OF TINLEY PARK AND STC TWO LLC, A DELAWARE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, BY AND THROUGH ITS ATTORNEY IN FACT, GLOBAL SIGNAL ACQUISITIONS III LLC – APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY
CONSIDER ADOPTING RESOLUTION 2022-R-043 APPROVING A CONTRACT BETWEEN THE VILLAGE OF TINLEY PARK AND CITY ESCAPE GARDEN AND DESIGN, LLC FOR LANDSCAPE PLANTERS AND BEAUTIFICATION SERVICE – APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY
CONSIDER ADOPTING ORDINANCE 2022-O-032 AMENDING CHAPTER 54 OF TITLE V REGARDING RESPONSIBLE BIDDER REQUIREMENTS ON PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS – APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY

Tinley Park Clerk O’Connor, Mayor Glotz Try to Set Record Straight With Galante

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