RR Station Passes State
Review (Continued)

The investigations were sparked by a
Whistle Blower suit filed by Norwood
Park attorney Larry Rolla. Melissa Merz,
spokeswoman for the Attorney General's
Office said each allegation in Rolla's suit
was carefully checked.

"Several of our staff went through Mr.
Rolla's complaint line by line," she said.
"We take all whistle blower cases seriously.
We decided that there was no cause to
intervene. While we're not minimizing his
complaints about shoddy work, we didn't
find anything that would enjoin us into a
whistle blower case. In looking at what
Mr. Rolla included in his suit, such as
breach of contract issues and breach of
warrant issues, a civil suit would be
more appropriate.

"Mr. Rolla has brought the fact that the
work was not done to Mr. Rolla's
standards. That is not evidence of
financial wrongdoing."

Rolla, president of the Norwood Park
Citizens Association, has acted as an
unofficial watchdog over workmanship
and finances of the station for about a
year. He has actively campaigned for an
open airing of the Station Foundation's
financial records. He said, "The community
has a public right to see how the money is
spent. The work that was done has to be
commensurate with what was paid."

Missing Mortar
Rolla pointed out gaps in the mortar
between bricks, chipping paint on wood
siding on the east and west sides of the
station, nails "popping" and the gutted
interior of the station itself. He said the
chamber paid $500 a square foot to
remodel the former baggage area and
wondered why there is missing mortar
if the chamber paid $52,000 to get the
tuckpointing work done.

Journalist Carol Marin also highlighted
Rolla's complaints in her inaugural story
marking her return to Chicago's NBC
Channel 5 television station. Her
investigative segment focused on
perceived shortcomings in the renovation
and the money. She called the railroad
station a money pit that has swallowed
millions of taxpayer dollars.

In a second report, which aired March 25,
she complained about the interior of the
station which is gutted and without a floor.

Despite Merz's statement about conducting
an intensive investigation, Rolla said,
"Seeing is believing. The AG's office
should have come out."

He wanted it to be clear that he is not
making any allegations of misuse of state
money and does not wish to ultimately end
up blocking the $500,000 in state money
promised to the Foundation. That grant
was approved by Gov. George Ryan.
The money was held up along with millions
of dollars worth of state grants that were
frozen shortly after Gov. Rod Blagojevich
took office.

"I've been very clear that the goal is to
have the station done," said Rolla, "But
there are still some serious lingering
questions about the money and how
it was spent."

Rolla has also criticized the lack of an
active oversight committee, and the fact
that the Foundation funds are managed
in more than five bank accounts. He said
if the chamber cannot manage the money
and handle the demands of the work, then
perhaps some other organization should
oversee the work and the funds.

"I know there is a perception that this
is personal," said Rolla. "This is just
business."

Merz said the Department of Commerce
& Economic Opportunity encourages
keeping separate bank accounts for each
separate grant. Some of the grants include
the initial $500,000 used to purchase the
station and to do most of the work on the
exterior; a $250,000 pass-through grant,
originally intended for the aborted
Edgebrook station project, and a $20,000
grant that was awarded to pay for lighting.

Interest Was Returned
Merz said Rolla also alleged that the
Foundation spent the interest earned from
those various accounts. The Foundation
actually returned almost $40,000 in
interest payments, she said. A further audit
found that the station's temporary waiting
room -the former baggage area- which
will serve as a cafe, complete with kitchen,
was remodeled at a cost of $165 a
square-foot, said Merz.

Dan Durkin, of the Norwood Park-based
architectural firm DAK & Associates, said
the gaps in the mortar joints occurred
because sections of brick - which were
in good condition after multiple layers of
paint were removed from the original
bricks - were left as they were to preserve
the historical integrity of the building. The
original mortar did not hold up as well as
was thought, said Durkin. Still, he added,
the overall structural integrity is sound.

Also, the tuckpointing work covered under
the $52,000 cost also included rebuilding
the chimney and other areas where bricks
were not in very good condition. Durkin
said one can look and find parts of the
building where the bricks do not quite
match because identical building materials
could not be found. Any needed repairs
will be done free of charge. In the future,
Durkin said, any salt used to melt ice and
snow on the platform will have to be
"swept away once it has done its job."

Volunteer Work Days
Volunteers will be out sanding and painting
on April 3 and 10, weather permitting,
to take care of the chipping paint on the
wood siding.

Money used from the second grant for
interior work also paid for sewer
connections and internal water lines.
Hook-ups were installed for the cafe
kitchen and two bathrooms on the west
end of the main waiting room.

There were no "popping" nails, Durkin
said. The nails pointed out by Rolla were
left after a vent cover was removed.

Helen Brown, president of the Norwood
Park Chamber of Commerce & Industry,
said her company, Desert Rose
Consulting, 6348 N. Milwaukee Ave., is
in the process of getting the Chamber's
web site ready for an April roll-out. She
plans to make a full and open accounting
of the Norwood Park Chamber Train
Station Foundation's books available on
the site as well. That way the facts will
available for anyone who questions the
handling of the grants received to date,
she said.

Bert Schreiber, chairman of the station
foundation, said he hopes to meet with
state Sen. James DeLeo, D-10th, to ask
for his help in gaining the release of the
final $500,000 grant. All Illinois FIRST
grants which were outstanding at the time
Gov. Rod Blagojevich took office were
frozen. A small portion of them have
been released.

Rolla said he was dissatisfied with the
findings of the Attorney General's Office's
investigation and "filed a federal lawsuit"
in U.S. District Court on March 17. He
declined to discuss the details of the case,
citing a 60-day freeze on all filings related
to the case.

Each of the 11 state complaints brought
by Rolla were investigated and "all of the
money that they (the chamber) spent was
spent pursuant to the grant," said Laura
Hunter, spokeswoman for the Department
of Commerce & Economic Opportunity.
"There was no misuse of funds."

The train station grant is under review, she
said, and Rolla's Whistle Blower suit would
have no bearing on whether or not the
grant is released. Alan Schmidt can be
reached at aschmidt@pioneerlocal.com.