Editorial: Petty politics taint a simple effort to show solidarity, compassion

It was an honorable gesture made in the wake of a horrible tragedy thousands of miles away.

And petty politics got in the way.

Perhaps the intent isn't to make the city of Des Plaines look unwelcoming and tone deaf. Perhaps it really is just procedural and political - a battle of wills between rivals.

But when the city decides it needs rules and prior permission to govern what flags are appropriate to fly at the library and other municipal buildings because a gay pride flag was flown after 49 people were killed in a gay bar in Orlando, the optics, as they say, aren't good.

"We had 49 people that were slaughtered. I think that's more the issue, regardless of who or what the community is. It was a no-brainer," said library board President Greg Sarlo of flying the flag, as reported by staff writer Chris Placek. " ... I think it's silly we even have to have discussions like this when so many people have been murdered."

And yet that's exactly what happened after the flag was raised outside the library on June 17. Sarlo got permission from Des Plaines Mayor Matt Bogusz to fly the flag. And some on the city council didn't like that they were left out of the permission process. Which could lead some, including us, to believe they would have voted against this act of compassion toward the gay community.

To be fair, Alderman Jim Brookman, who proposed the new rules on flag-flying and is a Bogusz rival, said he probably would have voted for flying the gay pride flag given the reasons Sarlo states. But a vote is what he wants.

"My philosophical belief is that the city council should be part of the decision-making process in the city," Brookman said. "That's what I think we're elected to do. I don't think this is micromanaging. We're talking about flying flags over public buildings. This is not a small issue."

And yet it makes him and the others who decided to make an issue of this particular flag look small.

We applaud Sarlo and Bogusz for recognizing a community in need of support and doing their part to show solidarity. This was not flying the gay pride flag to show support during gay pride festivities. This was to help a community heal from a devastating attack.

Unfortunately, there are those who have a problem with that. Sarlo heard from some and we agree with his sentiments: "If people have to ask why that flag was flying during a time when there's such a tragedy that affected a certain community, they should be ashamed of themselves."

And now we expect the city of Des Plaines to move on to bigger issues.