Mayoral candidate quizzes Palos Park council on playground and Wu’s parking

By Jeff Vorva 

Ever since Palos Park Mayor John Mahoney said he would not run again and village council member Nicole Milovich-Walters and resident Ronette Leal McCarthy threw their hats in the ring for the open position, McCarthy has attended council meetings but had not spoken publicly. 

That ended Monday night when McCarthy spoke during the citizens and visitors comment period. 

More than 15 people who appeared to be her supporters were at the meeting. She had several questions regarding park improvements that Milovich-Walters presented earlier in the meeting and questions regarding the Wu’s House parking expansion, which has been continued to the Feb. 27 meeting because representatives from Wu’s sent new information to the village. 

The comment period generally doesn’t feature interaction between the speaker and the council, but Milovich-Walters answered McCarthy’s questions – many about accommodating special-needs children – for playground improvements at Village Green Park and the answers appeared to satisfy McCarthy. 

Meanwhile, the Wu’s parking questions went unanswered as Mahoney said there would be no interaction. 

“I’m going to ask my questions and you don’t have to answer them,” McCarthy said. “In regard to the upcoming meeting, I would like to know if there is any other possibilities of continued delay to the Wu’s parking lot. I’m hoping that council will be ready to make some decisions at the Feb. 27 meeting and it wouldn’t be extended past that.” 

Some of the questions she had were: 

• When did the village receive the updated information from Wu’s representatives? 
• Is Wu’s still parking vehicles on village property? 
• If not, why did it stop? 
• Who approved the agreement? 
• Was there a contract or anything formal in writing to use village property for valet parking? 
• Was there any sort of liability insurance or waivers to cover any incidents that may occur? 
  
  Mahoney said many of the questions and concerns will be addressed on Feb. 27. 
  
  In other business: 
• The board approved Dawn Portugues to fill a vacancy on the Recreational Advisory Commission. The appointment will expire June 1, 2025. 
• The village reduced its Class A liquor licenses by one as the Tavern on LaGrange failed to open. 
• A contract with Big Tent Events of Carol Stream worth $18,750 was approved to provide tents, flooring, lights and staging for the Autumn Festival, which will take place in September.