-By Warner Todd Huston
If this isn’t a perfectly representative Illinois politician story I’ve never seen one. There’s misuse of public facilities, influence abuse, nudity, binge drinking, sexual harassment and a death… all the elements of the Chicago Way style of politics. It only lacks the bribes and payoffs that we always see, but as the cops become more involved, likely that’ll come along in due time.
Phil Kander has the odd tale of intrigue, wild partying, and death in the SouthTown Star of the southern suburbs.
As it happens, Freddie Bilotto, the president of the Blue Island Park District Board, thought it would be wonderful to commandeer a city pool after hours, close it to the public, and invite all his most lewd and lascivious buddies and their easily undressed girlfriends for a bit of wild bacchanalia all on the city’s dime.
The girls paraded about either nude or topless, the drinks flowed freely, the boy friends bumped chests and turned Neanderthal when other men ogled their women’s naked breasts, and poor little Carlos Salgado, 26, decided to drown in the park district swimming pool while everyone else got wasted and threw punches.
Now THAT’S a Chicago are politician’s party!
Now Park District Chief Freddie Bilotto is refusing to talk to reporters referring them to a high paid public relations firm and police are opening an investigation.
My favorite line in reporter Phil Kander’s piece:
I just wish someone had taken some photographs and put them on the Internet, so taxpayers could see what they were paying for.
Now, Phil. You know better than that. If there were such pictures, likely they’d just end up helping Freddie (Caligula) Bilotto win even higher office in THIS state! Remember, the most corrupt wins in Illinois.
but believe me, Phil. I WISH we lived in a state where politicians could feel shame and voters would punish them for silly things like graft, bribery, even murder.
Sadly, we live in Illinois.
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“The only end of writing is to enable the reader better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.”
–Samuel Johnson
Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer. He has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and before that he wrote articles on U.S. history for several small American magazines. His political columns are featured on many websites such as Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com, BigHollywood.com, and BigJournalism.com, as well as RightWingNews.com, CanadaFreePress.com, StoptheACLU.com, AmericanDailyReview.com, among many, many others. Mr. Huston is also endlessly amused that one of his articles formed the basis of an article in Germany’s Der Spiegel Magazine in 2008.
For a full bio, please CLICK HERE.