Jim O'Donnell: Arlington Heights officials need to speed the flow of information about the Bears

TWO BIG MEETINGS and early returns on in-person local interest in the possible move of the Bears to Arlington Heights are extraordinarily low.

A séance with the spirits of Dick Duchossois and Secretariat at Arlington Park would likely stir more souls.

Consider:

• Despite significant advance hype, the team's informational forum at Hersey High School last week drew less than 1,000 people;

• A speical committee meeting of the Arlington Heights village board at the Forest View Educational Center Monday night to discuss Bears/AP possibilities attracted less than 40 - count 'em 40 - attendees.

THOSE FOLLOWING THE BOUNCING FOOTBALLS found out that:

• The Bears have grand plans and dandy drawings for the future if they can find the money to get everything done; and,

• Arlington Heights Mayor Tom Hayes, village manager Randy Recklaus and associates really want to handle the potential big-league transition properly and maintain the "quality of life" in their suburb.

Really.

Question of the night at Forest View came from an AH resident who was concerned about any impact of a Bears' stadium on the value of his home but more importantly wondered why the village had not properly addressed barking dogs in his neighborhood.

Arf, arf - and both Bear and quiet down.

GOOD STUFF, SO MUCH SO that here's a free consulting tip for Hayes, Recklaus and all other Arlington Heights administrators and elected officials involved in the potentially megabillion earth move:

Your taxpayers wants crisp, continual and timely updates on all elements related to The McCaskey/Churchill Downs Inc. Dream Scheme.

So in the best interests of transparency and the greater civic good, immediately establish a dedicated "AP/Bears" information click on the village website - vah.com.

To be included in sequenced manner is every iota of publicly funded action and other information generated by any village entity or hired agent associated with the potential Bears' redevelopment project and land purchase from CDI.

THAT WOULD ENCOMPASS large news, small meetings and even such incidentals as whether or not any Arlington Heights officials have received offers of comped tickets or beyond to Bears games.

Such a website would end the "clubby" release of information by Arlington Heights officials including Hayes, Recklaus and Charles Witherington-Perkins, the village's director of planning and community development.

Monday night, for instance, monitors of the Forest View meeting found out that some AH ambassadors attended some sort of "stadium conference" with regard to the McCaskey project. There have also been discussions with representatives of completed redevelopment projects involving Stan Kroenke and Inglewood, Calif., Mark Davis and Las Vegas and Bob Kraft and Foxborough, Mass.

All fine and likely on the public dime. But that is eminently public information and not something to be doled out piecemeal by the whims of any elected or salaried pontificate in Arlington Heights.

THERE'S ALSO A VERY SIMPLE ALTERNATIVE for any taxpayer-supported master of Arlington Heights who opts against full disclosure and that's to resign immediately.

With the warp speed of modern technology, that new "AP/Bears" click at vah.com can be up and informing by the end of the month. That's how important any developments in the process that might bring the Bears to Arlington Heights are to village and regional concerns.

In the interim, hopefully the Bears/Arlington Heights Express has made a whistle stop to help quell the barking dogs in that man's neighborhood.

Street beatin':

While White Sox fans are apparently supposed to be counting Tony La Russa heartbeats, in Cleveland they are counting down magic numbers. The idea that Jerry Reinsdorf would have OK'd a 77-year-old evincing signs of cardiac disruption to manage a high-expectation season is mean and obscene. ...

At least one Vegas-based NFL tout is wondering whether Justin Fields and the Bears are "mudders." Also not to be overlooked is that on all three scoring drives vs. the Niners, Matt Eberflus and crew benefitted from game-changing "yellow pixies" (penalty flags). To their credit, Eberflus and staff never sent more than four pass rushers, betting on green SF QB Trey Lance to go dry. ...

With a rush of theatrical finishes, Week 1 ratings for NFL games were markedly up from last season. NBC's "Sunday Night Football" - as always - led with 25.1M viewers (including streaming.) The debut of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on "Monday Night Football" drew a robust 19.8M. That was the highest opener on "MNF" since Dennis Miller's star-crossed bow in 2000 ...

Bears GM Ryan Poles attended a Navy SEALs Foundation fundraiser at Navy Pier Tuesday night. Featured speaker was Mike Pompeo, the former Secretary of State who is edging toward a bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. ...

Trinity Rodman - 20-year-old daughter of Dennis Rodman and Michelle Moyer - is now the highest-paid player in the National Women's Soccer League. Although, her Washington Spirit are struggling and she has yet to head-butt an official. ...

And Danny Covitz, on Aaron Judge's prodigious home run pace with the Yankees: "In this era, with steroids, he'd be at 157."

• Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears Sunday. and Thursday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com.