Liz Gorman slams Trustee Gira for outlandish letter in SouthtownStar

Cook County Commissioner and Republican Township Committeeman Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman slammed Orland Park Village Trustee Patricia Gira for an outlandish letter Gira published in the SouthtownStar this week.


The Gira letter went beyond the bounds of politics and attacked Gorman personally, distorting facts and trying to attack the slate of candidates that Gorman has endorsed including her challengers John Burdnak, Molly McAvoy Flynn and Steve Williams. Gorman is also backing Blair Rhode and Christopher Evoy in the important to taxpayers race for the Orland Fire Protection District against Salvatore Cacciato, Gira's running mate.


Gorman sent this response to Gira's last minute letter in the SouthtownStar newspaper:

Dear Editor: 

Does anyone else find it strange that when Orland Park politicians want to hide from their back door tax increase and continue to push for the wasting of millions of tax dollars, they must find a scapegoat to attack?  No, they don’t want taxpayers to concentrate on the wasting of millions of tax dollars on the 143^rd Street condemnation and “Metra Triangle,” and McLaughlin’s no bid contracts, so they attempt to make me the issue by having one of their village employees, write libelous and personal attacks on me.

The fact is Ms. Gira’s party is responsible for record high taxes and fee increases, including a 900% hike in the fee for Senior Citizen vehicle stickers as well as a repeal of property tax rebates for Orland Park residents.  

Could it be that Ms. Gira is upset with me for openly supporting a slate of candidates who will bring fiscal sanity and the balance of power back to the community where I live? Since when am I or any other resident of Orland Park exempt from the right to support candidates in their community? Anyone who knows my legislative record, knows that I fight needless tax and spend policies in Cook County government, so why wouldn’t I want to fight for the community I live in by supporting candidates who will bring fiscal responsibility to Orland Park? 

Currently the “Dan McLaughlin Club” holds all village offices, all fire district offices and numerous school board positions.  You’ve seen how the excessive spending in the Fire District was exposed by the SouthtownStar. Ms. Gira’s power is being challenged and her vitriolic response is merely evidence of her anger. 

Ms. Gira is upset that I defended myself against the personal attacks from her friend and neighbor, who just happens to be employed by the village and hosted a political gathering in support of Gira’s campaign.  

These are terrible times for taxpayers and it’s time to decentralize power from the Dan McLaughlin club and give it back to the taxpayers.  I have seen what one party rule can do. In Congress, one party rule ravaged our economy. In Springfield, one party rule has given us the largest tax hikes in history. In Cook County, one party rule has created the largest cesspool of corruption in the country.  It is simply my hope that the voters of Orland Park will not allow this to happen here and will support the candidates of the Fiscal Voices for Orland – John Brudnak, Molly McAvoy Flynn and Steve Williams for Village Trustee and Blair Rhode and Chris Evoy for Orland Fire Protection District Trustee. 

Liz Gorman 

Cook County Commissioner 

Resident of Orland Park

Gorman's slate of candidates have given the incumbent village trustees the first real challenge in 20 years, and Rhode and Evoy have challenged the taxing record of incumbent Cacciato and his running mate who quit the race Patrick Maher.

The incumbents, Gira, Ed Schussler and new candidate Carole Ruzich have avoided answering the questions about why Orland Park property taxes are so high and why they haven't challenged the high taxes and outrageous spending and budget of the Orland Fire Protection District. And that prompted a tough mailer from the Gorman-backed Fiscal Voices slate which compared the tax records of the incumbents to Todd Stroger, whom Gorman singlehandedly threw out of office.

No one wants to be associated with Stroger, who raised more taxes than King John in Nottingham (the 12th Century brother of King Richard the Lionhearted). But when you increase taxes and fees, eliminate the Orland Park homeowners property tax rebate, and then refuse to discuss the issue and point fingers of blame at School District 135 and try to make the argument that what District 135 is doing is different from what Orland Park is doing, the comparison with Stroger is justified.

Okay. She didn't do it on her own, but had it not been for Gorman's persistence in successfully battling Stroger's many tax hike proposals and leading the fight against the increase in the sales tax and then its repeal, Stroger might still be in office.

-- Ray Hanania

www.TheMediaOasis.com