Tag: bullying

Orland’s Pekau rejects contract renewal for Village Manager George Koczwara

June 15, 2024June 15, 2024 Ray Hanania No Comments

Orland’s Pekau rejects contract renewal for Village Manager George Koczwara Controversy-plagued Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau will introduce a letter at Monday’s Village Board meeting (June 17, 2024) signed by him telling Village Manager George Koczwara that his contract cannot be renewed because it would be “unfair and inappropriate to allow an automatic extension” to…

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Senators address cyberbullying but avoid blaming parents

February 4, 2024February 4, 2024 Ray Hanania 1 Comment

Senators address cyberbullying but avoid blaming parents Ray Hanania A bipartisan panel of Democrat and Republicans members of the U.S. Senate held a public hearing on Wednesday Jan. 31, 2024 in which they accused the owners of social media platforms not doing enough to prevent cyberbullying of children. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee found common…

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No, You Do Not Own ‘Your’ Pronouns or My Language

June 6, 2023June 6, 2023 Guest Columnist 1 Comment

No, You Do Not Own ‘Your’ Pronouns or My Language By Jane M. Orient, M.D. From the viewpoint of a home-school grammar teacher (since I was in seventh grade), a pronoun is just a short word that takes the place of a noun, so that you don’t have to keep saying the noun over and…

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Pekau’s attacks: A personal letter from Columnist Ray Hanania

April 4, 2023April 28, 2025 Ray Hanania No Comments

Pekau’s attacks: A personal letter from Columnist Ray Hanania By Ray Hanania I have covered Chicagoland politics since 1975, when I was honorably discharged from active duty service in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War. I served 12 years in the Illinois Air National Guard and believed strongly in military service. I followed…

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Des Plaines, Ill., Families Find Solutions to Bullying From a Surprising Source

October 26, 2022October 26, 2022 Ray Hanania No Comments

Des Plaines, Ill., Families Find Solutions to Bullying From a Surprising Source Melchizedek and Susana’s son was in the fourth grade when a group of children from his school in Des Plaines, Illinois, began to verbally assault him every day. When the words turned into physical blows, the couple recognized that this was not a…

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Casten slams Pekau for bullying in Drag Queen Bingo controversy

September 12, 2022September 12, 2022 News Editor No Comments

Casten slams Pekau for bullying in Drag Queen Bingo controversy The Downers Grove Library this week announced they would cancel a planned entertainment bingo night that was to include a “short drag queen” performance in the face of an onslaught of anonymous threats, bullying from rightwing politicians, and fear mongering on social media. U.S. Congressman…

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Lightfoot shuts small businesses in futile drive to stop street gang violence

September 8, 2021September 9, 2021 Ray Hanania 5 Comments

Lightfoot shuts small businesses in futile drive to stop street gang violence Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has created a Special Task Force of Police and Inspectors to shutter Arab and minority owned businesses as a “Hail Mary” strategy to stop spiraling street gang violence. Dozens of gas stations with food sections have been shut down over…

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Special Column/Podcast: Ald. Lopez says Mayor Lightfoot’s failures empower street gangs

August 17, 2021August 17, 2021 Ray Hanania 1 Comment

Special Column/Podcast: Ald. Lopez says Mayor Lightfoot’s failures empower street gangs 15th Ward Alderman Raymond Lopez in an interview this week told me that Mayor Lori Lightfoot has not only failed to confront street gangs but has empowered them with her rhetoric and failed policies. Coupled with States Attorney Kim Foxx’s failed policies, street gangs are emboldened and…

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Bullies and cliques plague Nextdoor Social Media site

May 8, 2021July 13, 2021 Ray Hanania

Opinion: Bullies and cliques plague Nextdoor Social Media site Nextdoor, the social media site that allegedly is intended to bring “neighbors” together to discuss local issues and concerns, is more of a bully pulpit for narrow-minded political partisanship where cliques dominate the discussions and censor anyone they dislike without accountability. The Nextdoor site often portrays…

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Opinion: Orland Mayor accuses me of writing fiction over public meeting

April 16, 2020July 5, 2021 Ray Hanania No Comments

Opinion: Orland Mayor accuses me of writing fiction over public meeting Orland Park’s controversial Mayor Keith Pekau is upset that I publicized his angry personal attacks against Trustee Dan Calandriello from a public meeting he held on April 6 and accused me of writing fiction. But the truth is on the audio tape that the…

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Opinion: Mayor Keith Pekau’s “Watergate” problem

April 9, 2020April 20, 2020 Ray Hanania 1 Comment

Opinion: Mayor Keith Pekau’s “Watergate” problem Did the Pekau administration on Thursday edit the audio files of Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau bullying Trustee Dan Calandriello in order to prevent taxpayers from hearing his vicious and personal attacks against another elected official? Pekau was angry because I published an opinion column that quoted his remarks…

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Pekau clamps down on democracy, plays victim card again

November 24, 2019November 29, 2019 Ray Hanania No Comments

Pekau clamps down on democracy, plays victim card again Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau is accusing others of personal and vicious attacks, but the truth is Pekau doesn’t shy away from name-calling, attacking others personally when it benefits his political agenda. His latest effort to stifle Democracy in the village by eliminating critical voices is a…

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Protests against “racism” must be effective and civil

December 18, 2018March 30, 2022 Ray Hanania No Comments

Protests against “racism” must be effective and civil Protestors have been disrupting meetings of the Palos Township board for nearly 18 months as a part of a political strategy devised by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle to undermine her anti-tax critics led by County Commissioner Sean Morrison. They are targeting Sharon Brannigan out of…

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Media spins politics in state government issues

October 7, 2018November 29, 2019 Ray Hanania No Comments

Media spins politics in state government issues The Daily Herald has been doing a lot of stories critical of the Illinois Tollway Authority. Some think it has less to do with good journalism and more to do with the friendship between the newspaper’s reporter and a controversial member of the Tollway Authority board who has…

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Tollway Chairman slams board members’ bullying

August 23, 2018November 29, 2019 Ray Hanania 1 Comment

Tollway Chairman slams board members’ bullying The Chairman of the Illinois Tollway Authority released copies of a letter and memos critical of Tollway board member Joseph “Joe” Gomez who has been accused of bullying and using inappropriate language in addressing Tollway employees. Gomez denies the claims but the letters offer specific details about incidents and…

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Brannigan vows to stand up to bullies, work for Township

March 22, 2018September 25, 2018 Ray Hanania No Comments

Brannigan vows to stand up to bullies, work for Township Palos Township Trustee distributes newsletter vowing to stand up to the small group of bullies who have been disrupting Township board meetings over opinion comments she posted on her Facebook page critical of immigration that some accused of being “racist.” Brannigan apologized for the comments…

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The bullying of Sharon Brannigan

December 7, 2017November 29, 2019 Ray Hanania 6 Comments

The bullying of Sharon Brannigan Sharon Brannigan, a suburban Township politician who made some improper comparisons while arguing about immigration policy has suddenly become the target of the protesters against anti-Muslim, anti-Arab racism. But in their protests, they have turned into bullies who yell, scream, and disrespect the image of what Arabs are all about. And…

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Carrigan attack against Jubeh is pure bullying

October 18, 2017November 29, 2019 Ray Hanania No Comments

Carrigan attack against Jubeh is pure bullying The vicious attack by Mike Carrigan, the president of the Illinois AFL-CIO, is a disgraceful example of bullying that demands that the union take some swift action. Carrigan should apologize. The political cheap shot is uncalled for, and it disgraces all of the proud union members who have…

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