City should change motto with recent activity
As a consequence of preserving the Berwyn National Bank building, the failed attempt to save the Sears catalogue center and the latest move to prohibit the razing of Marik’s Funeral Home, I’d like to recommend the City Council consider changing the motto of Berwyn from “The City of Homes” to “The City of Historic Landmarks.”

Robert Swade, Berwyn

Stickney is not immune to problems with crime
Stickney residents did not see any news in the Life in regards to the vandalism that was done to a whole block of cars in the 3900 block of South Wesley the week of Sept. 21.

The residents of Stickney should be told what goes on in this town, which is not crime-free. If any residents know of someone who has a huge supply of car mirrors, please let the police know.

Dick Wysocke, Stickney

Mayor said Berwyn better off than four years ago
I want to inform the readers of the Berwyn Life that on Oct. 24, we unveiled the full slate of Independent Voter of Berwyn candidates for April’s municipal elections.

We have much to be proud of in the past three-and-a-half years since the Independent Voters of Berwyn took over the reigns of city government.

In the first 18 months of my administration, we conducted financial audits past due for several years prior to my becoming mayor. We subsequently refinanced our city bonds, improved our bond rating, hired the city’s first professional finance director and uncovered nearly $5 million in overpayments to the city of Chicago. All of this was accomplished by our administration.

The budget deficit spending has been reduced every year I have been in office. In 2005, when I was first elected, our budget deficit was $8 million. 

Compared to our neighbors, Berwyn is in a healthy economic position. We professionalized hiring by bringing in the first professional human resources director in the city’s history to handle city hiring. We professionalized the management of the Berwyn Police Department with the appointment of a new police chief, William Kushner, who came from outside Berwyn after an extensive search and has done much to professionalize and reform the Police Department.

We added 12 additional police officers, despite being left with an $8 million deficit when we came into office. Additionally, we have doubled the size of the Neighborhood Watch Program participation.

Working with Chief Kushner, we created an anti-gang task force, WEDGE, which works with neighboring cities to prevent and stop gangs. We brought in over 100 new condo units, and despite the economic downturn, our Depot District redevelopment is moving forward. Our visibility has been raised in a positive way through advertising Berwyn to professionals throughout the Chicagoland area.

Lastly, during our administration, we have aggressively pursued outside funds, including succeeding in obtaining $9 million in grants for streets, the Senior Center, the Depot Parking Garage and our new fire house.

Michael O’Connor, Berwyn mayor