At one point during the May 5th City Council meeting, I found myself thinking that maybe I had been too harsh on Mayor Churnovic in the past and that perhaps he did deserve some praise. This came after he had spoken on the successful efforts to keep Statesville open, his trip to the Philippines, and his upcoming trip to Las Vegas. These all seemed to show him to be an active and dedicated mayor. It took only moments though for those thoughts to quickly be shattered.
Mayor Churnovic explained his plan to circumvent the City Council and begin the process of hiring a new Police Chief. He then proceeded to scream at Alderperson Convery when questioned about this matter. It is just shameful that a mayor would not only ignore the desires of the City Council and the advice of the just retired Police Chief, but would then throw a fit when questioned.
This show was not enough for Mayor Churnovic though. He next was asked why he had held several events in different wards and not given the alderpersons for those wards a courtesy notice. Meeting with residents is definitely a positive thing to do, but the Mayor should show some courtesy and invite the alderpersons as well, especially if he is inviting other city officials. Instead of taking this constructive suggestion from 3 alderpersons, Mayor Churnovic defended his lack of consideration by being condescending and rude.
Crest Hill deserves a city government that can work together for the betterment of this city. That will not happen as long as we have a Mayor that yells at Council members and treats them with contempt. No matter how hard Mayor Churnovic works to develop Crest Hill, it is all for nothing if he allows his bad attitude and lack of self-control tear the City Council apart and make citizens afraid to question him.
