Shouldn't the Mayor Live Here?

For the last year or so, not long after Roger Molski's wife found a place in the city, the Mayor of Flossmoor has been an absentee mayor. I discovered this as I repeatedly watched him drive into the parking lot early in the morning (~5am or so).

I was actually surprised to learn that he intended to run for re-election. I would bet that if the market hadn't tanked, he'd have his condo in Flossmoor up for sale, and join his wife in their *real* home. But the market tanked -- and not only because Molski was singularly responsible for the replacement of 5 taxpaying businesses for the unsightly empty lot now at 2500 Flossmoor Rd! Why he would choose to run for re-election is a mystery.

Yesterday was one of the worse storms we've had in years. Elsewhere, mayors were out supervising the clearing of streets or the reconnection of downed power lines. Not in Flossmoor. I'm sure the mayor was somewhere cozy, staying warm. What was happening in Flossmoor probably didn't occur to him. He certainly was nowhere to be found.

The pictures in this post are of the mayor's two parking spots at his condo. You will notice that there is no evidence that either of their cars were here overnight, or at the beginning of this heavy snowstorm. In fact, those parking spots remained empty throughout the day. I'd bet the road conditions were such that it wasn't safe for the mayor to come all the way out here -- especially since we know he wouldn't have spent the night.

Shouldn't the mayor live where he runs? You would think so. But this is Illinois, as Rich Miller is fond of saying, and corruption, pay to play, and abuse of power are pretty much the norm. The mayor is certainly not out of the norm for Illinois. Even in the village's moment of crisis, it is warmer at home. Home -- for our mayor -- just isn't Flossmoor, anymore.

We deserve better. Someday, I hope, we will get better...