Powell won’t go away

The other day I had a conversation with a fellow student, and it went something like this:

He said, “Hey, what about this Mark Powell guy?”

I replied, you mean DeKalb’s 7th ward alderman. Yeah, what about him?

“Well I heard he was thrown out of a city council meeting.”

Well, I said, actually he was escorted out for displaying disorderly conduct. I began to wonder where this was leading.

“I heard he’s a bigmouth and always disagrees with the rest of the council,” he said. Then my newly found friend decided, “Maybe he’s got some good points. Maybe they’re (the rest of the council members) all against him. It sounds like he’s trying to make a change, improve things.”

Oh, I see, you must have talked to him. (Surely anyone of this wisdom must be a personal friend of Mr. Powell’s.)

“No.”

Oh, so you’ve seen and heard him at the city council meetings? I asked.

“No.”

Ahh, then you read about it in the good ole‘ Northern Star.

“Um, nope.”

Well, where did this overwhelming knowledge come from?

“I dunno,” he said. “I guess I heard some guys talking.”

Are you a registered voter? I asked, immediately fearing the answer.

“Sure.”

Uh oh, I thought I better sit down before I asked this one. Are you voting in the next election?

“Yep.”

That was enough for me.

Many people think the press in this area has taken particular instances involving Mr. Powell and blown them out of proportion. If I hear that line one more time (and I’m sure I will) I think I’ll scream.

Based on this conversation and similar ones I’ve had, I say, the alderman has not had nearly enough publicity.

Besides being disruptive, Powell has been said to have made harassing telephone calls to council members.

He has called council members and the mayor, liars and crooks. These terms in part evolved from a case in which Powell attempted to prosecute the city for having illegal involvement with a local business. Yet even after the state’s attorney said he saw no evidence of criminal conduct, Powell continued to make allegations of this type.

Another time the council voted to clarify a traveling expense policy after reimbursing Powell for a trip to Springfield. Powell had taken it upon himself to “lobby on behalf of the city,” he said. But according to a majority of the council members, it was not Powell’s job, nor was it the city’s desire for him to lobby on its behalf.

At this meeting, Powell was disruptive, insulted council members and repaid $300 dollars to the city manager. (Of course he did this by throwing his money on the floor.) He then requested change and a receipt and continued throughout the meeting to speak out of turn.

Most recently, Powell aired on WBBM radio publicizing his boycotting of Cornfest. His whining action resulted after the council refused to vote on his proposal to honor a deceased Polish-American celebrity at an airport advisory meeting.

Why am I rehashing the past? A lot of people think it is ridiculous to give Powell the attention he does not deserve.

This “Leave him alone and he’ll go away,” attitude is about as scary as trying to figure out how he got into office in the first place.

Powell is a non-student representing a student ward, and he’s there because a write-in candidate’s name was misspelled on some ballots in the last election.

Well guess what, Powell claims he’s running for mayor and thanks to enough people like my pal you just heard from, he just might sneak in.

I know, I know, not a chance you’re thinking. Until my recent conversation, that’s what I thought. But if he did it once he can do it again.

If people haven’t heard enough, they need to hear more, and as long as Powell acts in an unprofessional and erractic manner, the press should continue to make it known.