New accusations split airport co-owners
A letter accusing Wheeling Village Manager Mark Rooney of overstepping his authority concerning Chicago Executive Airport was sent to interim Wheeling Village President Judy Abruscato Wednesday by the Prospect Heights City Council.
The letter charges that Rooney has pushed the Federal Aviation Administration to allow a Wheeling fire station on airport property without first getting the approval of the airport board or Prospect Heights, which co-owns the airport with Wheeling.
It also says that Rooney, one of Wheeling's three representatives on the airport board, has "pressured" Airport Manager Dennis Rouleau to get the FAA approval by threatening his continued employment.
Rooney, who said he first saw the letter Wednesday night when faxed a copy by the Daily Herald, said the accusations are false.
He added that his comments to Prospect Heights officials at a recent joint meeting were obviously misconstrued.
"Prospect Heights has been disingenuous," he said. "There's not one thing in (the letter) that's factual."
The letter is addressed to Abruscato and the Wheeling village trustees and is signed by Patrick Ludvigsen, the acting mayor of Prospect Heights, and the four other Prospect Heights alderman.
In it, they contend that Rooney is conducting himself in a manner similar to former airport Chairman Kevin Dohm, who resigned after the Wheeling members of the airport board accused him of secretly working with an airport consultant on behalf of Prospect Heights.
Wednesday's letter says that Rooney "has ignored our collective understanding and pursued a course of conduct which mirrors the very conduct he complained about."
Rooney, meanwhile, said Wheeling officials discussed the fire station in detail just last week with Ludvigsen and staff from the city.
"We tried to clarify these things," he said, indicating that the meeting was congenial. He said he got no hint from that meeting that a letter like this one would be forthcoming.
Reached on Wednesday night, Ludvigsen said he stands by what's in the letter.
"In all honesty, he is doing things that are not appropriate for his position," he said. "It's harming our relationship with Wheeling."
Rooney also denied that he ever talked to Rouleau about his job status. He added Wednesday that the letter amounts to slander.
Abruscato, reached Wednesday night, said she had not yet received the letter and did not want to comment on it until she had read it.