Rift among Schaumburg trustee hopefuls
An online comment about fallen Schaumburg police Officer Frank Russo made by one of the new candidates running for village trustee has apparently destroyed any possibility of his running on a slate with his fellow newcomers.
Candidate Peter Dombrowski's comment on the Daily Herald's website was posted at 10:32 a.m. on Nov. 26, attached to a Nov. 22 article about resident Brian Costin filing his candidacy for mayor.
At that point in the online discussion, commenters were debating the relative costs and merits of experienced police officers and paramedics versus those of younger recruits.
“I would rather have a 24 yo paramedic than a 64 yo paramedic,” Dombrowski wrote, using his own name as his online identity. “Especially if that experienced paramedic is likely to have a heart attack or stroke trying to answer an emergency call to my home, or chasing a suspect like officer Frank Russo did.”
Russo was 47 years old in November 2008 when he became the Schaumburg Police Department's first officer to die in the line of duty. He suffered a heart attack while struggling with an unruly suspect who had been ejected from the John Barleycorn nightclub.
Costin and village trustee candidates Ralph Roller and Robert Garrett condemned Dombrowski's comment, saying they were dropping any plans of including Dombrowski on the slate they're organizing.
The four newcomers are challenging the re-election hopes of Mayor Al Larson and trustees George Dunham, Hank Curcio and Mark Madej.
Costin said he'd gained an even deeper respect for the sacrifices of police officers and firefighters from having attended Schaumburg's Citizen Police Academy, and believed that Dombrowski's using the name of an officer who'd made the ultimate sacrifice was inexcusable.
Furthermore, Costin said it would make it difficult for him as village president to sit down and talk with police officers if he ran on a slate with someone who'd made such a comment.
Dombrowski said he deeply regretted having cited Russo as an example in the point he was trying to make and realizes there are going to be consequences to that. But he intends to continue running to bring his own particular strengths and insights to the village board.
“The point I was trying to make is that I don't want anyone to die from a heart attack, including this officer,” Dombrowski said.
He added that he was criticizing the village's current policy of hiring experienced officers laid off from other departments for financial reasons. His own preference is to hire younger officers trained up from a lower pay rate.
“I take responsibility for making the comment,” Dombrowski said. “I'm totally apologetic about it. But I think it's been twisted well beyond it's intended point.”
He said he's realized the comment has caused offense within the police department as well as among his fellow candidates.
“I know that I can't mend those fences,” Dombrowski said. “I obviously hit a chord that runs too deep to be repaired.”
Even though Dombrowski is being kept off Costin's planned slate, Roller and Garrett said there was never any suggestion that all the newcomers would agree on every issue anyway.
Costin said he knows the process of transforming Schaumburg's politics and policies will require multiple elections as opposed to creating a new majority opinion in one day next April 5.
“There is an opportunity to send a message,” Costin said. “Even having one new person on the board would be a step in the right direction. What you see now are 6-0 votes on almost every issue.”