Woodstock: Why no 3rd BOFPC member?

Another Woodstock City Council meeting will occur when they do not appoint a third member to the Woodstock Board of Fire and Police Commissioners.

What's the delay???

The Board is supposed to have three members. Will it be necessary to file a lawsuit against the City of Woodstock to force them to appoint a third member?

The Board is the citizens' committee of residents to control the police department. There is one long-time member who is the chairman, and a second member, while a city resident, is the police chief of Lakewood, Illinois.

Would a fully-independent third member last October have raised the battle cry, when the Police Department and the City hushed up the disciplinary matter involving Sgt. Amati? A Chicago Tribune reporter caught wind of the trouble in mid-October and talked to Chief Lowen. The Board met on October 28 and doled out a 30-day suspension.

As a public body, the Board made its decision in the public portion of the meeting; yet the Board, the Police Department and the City all failed to release any information about the matter. Finally, on the day before Thanksgiving, the Chicago Tribune broke the story.

Of course, there won't be a "fully-independent" resident ever appointed to this Board. Such a person would be a high risk for the City Council and Mayor. They'll appoint a follower - someone who will know from where his marching orders come.

And that's wrong.