Welcome To BRIC
Berwyn Resident Independence Coalition

All You Need To Do Is Stand Up And Be Counted!
       "I have watched grown men and women employed by the city performing the most childish acts of bullying and intimidation and dutifully embarrassing themselves for the security that patronage has to offer."
      "From off-duty police officers engaging in conduct which was tantamount to shaking down Berwyn business owners to threats of retaliation if you supported the opposition, Berwyn's thug politics was on display."
      "How demeaning it must be that you have to suckle at the tax trough extorting from your neighbors who work for a living.  What could possibly be wrong with you if you are not embarrassed for them and your city?"   
The Quiet Revolution
(No Lawn Signs Required)

What's Happening?

     In fairness to you , please understand that I have neither the time nor the inclination to get involved in politics again, certainly not as a candidate.  I am far more effective (and happier) working behind the scenes.  

     I don't need to spend four more boring years on the city council to realize the deep dysfunction embedded in this inherently corrupt politically controlled city.

    My experience as an elected alderman (2005-2009) is useful to you however.  I have experienced the game and understand how things "operate" in the back rooms.  There is no hearsay involved.  Credibity is based in personal experience.

   I have a limited amount of time to devote to this website.  Fortunately I have been joined by a few very creative people in this effort and so credits are widely distributable.  I am sure others among you will also be joining and contributing your ideas as well.

    As only one of the people contributing to this website, I and other contributors do so as private American citizens exercising the right of free speech and freedom of the press.  Any effort, political or otherwise, to intimidate or otherwise abridge this right, will be met with aggressive legal resolve.

The Real Concern.  The Real Solution.

    As a result of my experiences in city government, I share the concerns of thousands of other Berwyn residents who understand structural change is needed in how the business of city government is conducted.  

     I am the creator of the Berwyn Resident Independence Coalition, (BRIC) the purpose of which is amply described on the "Referendum" page (click "Referendum"  here  or in the menu on the left).

    Concisely stated, our goal is to replace Berwyn's  inherently corrupt Mayor-Council 
government (and the political control it represents) with the most popular form of local government in the United States, the professional, transparent Council-Manager form of  city government.

A Purpose And A Platform   

    The purpose of this website is not only to illustrate why adopting Council-Manager government is in Berwyn's long-term best interest.  The purpose is also to provide a needed platform from which Berwyn residents can speak out.

    Many residents want to participate in a serious effort to make change happen, but they have no "town square" in which to meet.  They have no "base of operations".  This website is intended to serve as a town square where ideas can be presented, reviewed and discussed.

    You can rest assured that things will begin happening here.

A "Laid Back" Strategy

    You will find the BRIC strategy and formula for success to be extremely simple, straight forward, creative and effective.  Your involvement will require very little from you.  The simple act of directing friends, neighbors and relatives to this website is the biggest part of your job.  

    Obviously success will depend on the number of people who sign up here and get involved.  If there is a sufficient response, we will move forward.  If not, we will all have to learn to accept things as they are.

Political History

    For those of  you who are familiar with my political history, you may be surprised to know that I get along just fine with the former Mayor Michael O'Connor.  I don't believe he and Jeanmarie would have invited me to their wedding if that were not true.
 

That Was Then And This Is Now

    The former mayor and I talk and meet occasionally.  It is no secret that I was unhappy with many of the things he did and did not do while he was mayor but, as you can well imagine, as his major critic and political antagonist I have not been the greatest joy of his political life either.

    Despite the fact that his leadership turned out to be an unexpected disappointment in many ways, I still feel as though he was the better candidate in the last mayoral election for reasons I stated in the campaign literature at that time.  

    Most of the projects being implemented today were planned and began under his administration while a lot of the problems that we solved or attempted to solve have returned and remain in full force.    These issues will be discussed extensively on this website.

The Main Gear In The Political Machine

    I have no animosity toward the current mayor either.  I sat next to him (literally) for four years while in office.  He is a loyal machine politician who stands for nothing.

    His message to the special interests and the "deal" to become the "main gear" in Berwyn's inherently incompetent and corrupt Mayor-Council city government (and the political machine it represesnts) is well known.  Here's the message and here's the deal:  "You get me elected and I'll take care of you.  I'll protect your interests.  We'll work it out". 

    He is what he is.  If it was not him, it would be some other face.  He represents his own self  interests and the interests of his cronies extremely well.  When it comes down to a choice between your best interests and their best interests, you lose.  Don't cry about it.  If you don't like it, do something about it.  Get involved with BRIC or choose to accept things as they are.

Show Some Respect:  Put Up A Lawn Sign

    As far as Berwyn's notorious political clique is concerned,  Berwyn residents are simply tools to be intimidated and manipulated.   These political hacks have done and said (and will continue to do and say) anything to cajole you into voting for the political machine every four years.  And God Forbid that you refuse to put up their lawn sign!   The last election amply illustrated their campaign techniques which ranged from manipulation to  intimidation.  We will deal with this issue extensively over the next several months with "real people examples".

Election Year:  The Circus Is Coming To Town

    During the last city election cycle, we witnessed all of those familiar poltical names and faces, the members of the Berwyn political clique who make their quadrennial pilgrimage to permanently degrade and humiliate themselves in their frenzy to "get the votes".

    Whether goading, cajoling and intimidating residents and property owners into putting a campaign sign on their lawn or giving people lunch money to entice them to go to the polls and vote for their candidate, the process is demeaning and corrupt.

The Council-Manager Form Ends This Circus

    The election year circus is strictly a creature of an inherentl corrupt Mayor-Council form of government and cannot happen in a a city managed transparently in a Council-Manager form of government.  Why wouldn't it happen?  I'm glad you asked.   Here's the difference.

    In an inherently corrupt Mayor-Council politically controlled city, the politicians covet political power because of the control it gives them over your money.  It gives them the power to hire their "pals", to take care of their "friends" and relatives, to build "business relationships" and to subsidize their political careers all with taxpayer dollars.   It gives people who are barely qualified to run a Kool-Aid stand the opportunity to manage a $50 million dollar city budget and control over city assets which they use to promote their own political careers.  
 

What If They Can't Reach For Your Cookie Jar?

    Political campaigns in a community operating under the Council-Manager form of government are considerably different and considerably quieter than those typically found in the Berwyn type Mayor-Council government.  The difference is based in the fact that the prize for winning is much different.

    Under the Council-Manager model, you are not running for office to capture control of the city's bank account.  Bank account activity is transparent and under the watchful eye of a professionally degreed Council-Manager.   (The man with the rifle at the door to the hen house).

The Campaign:  A Difference In Quality

    Since control of the city's bank account is not an issue, political campaigns in "Council Manager" cities are based in other considerations such as the quality of your purpose,  your ideas, your character and, most importantly, the issues facing your city.

From Patronage Sanctuary To The Private Sector?

    When residents adopt Council-Manager government, the city that served as a sanctuary to house the political patronage population of political cronies and political bullies becomes unavailable to them.   Where will the patronage, crony and bully crowd go?  Who will employ them?

    When the game was rigged under Mayor-Council government, they controlled a multi-million dollar budget.  Do you think that they will come anywhere near a position of that magnitude in the private sector?  

    To answer these questions, answer this question.

    Assume that you have accumulated personal wealth totaling $50 million or, in the alternative, you own a company that generates $50 million in sales revenues every year.  

    You embark on a search for a financial manager to assume responsibility for investing and managing your $50 million fortune on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis.  The manager will have total control over your fortunes and his or her decisions are final.

    Where will you start looking for a professional financial manager to invest your money and manage your business?  At city hall among the ranks of the politicians?  If so, who do you have in mind?  

    Without the ability to lie, coerce and bully their way into office, the employment opportunities for your average politician would be far more limited in scope.  We know they wouldn't be managing your $50 million dollar nest egg.  

    Yet, in an inherently corrupt Mayor-Council politically controlled city, political victory allows them to do exactly that.  Their victory allows them to help themselves to financial rewards unavailable in the real world of employment where you work for a living.   For them, winning the election is like winning the lottery.
 

There Will Always Be The Next $98,000 Pension "Plan"

    Read the inside account of the famous $98,000.00 pension you are paying every year to a retired Berwyn city employee by clicking here.  Be sure to sign up for EMAIL ALERTS because this is one of the many inside stories you will not wnat to miss.

   In the inherently corrupt Mayor-Council government there will always be the next $98,000 annual pension "arrangement".   Always.  There will always be another useless program designed to squander taxpayer dollars to promote the political careers of vacuous politicians like the farcical main street program.  Always.

    There will always be another "deal".    Always.

    And so you have the circus known as the political campaign coming to town every four years.  The more dependent they are on the taxpayers to subsidize their lifestyle, the more desperate their behavior, the more outrageous their tactics, the more fanciful their charges, the more irrelevant their allegations and the more absurd their promises.

    In short, they will continue to do or say anything to get elected.

Berwyn Has Never Been Given A Choice.

    BRIC represents the first real clear alternative to and the ONLY solution for the problems associated with inherently corrupt Mayor-Council politically controlled government.    Residents looking for REAL change will find it in the policies and programs advocated by BRIC.

* Special Note To Aspiring Independent Candidates

            If you are an idealist and you are an independent who is an aspiring political candidate intent on making a difference and representing REAL change in the way the city is governed, BRIC provides you an agenda that represents clarity of purpose. 

            Political candidates who adopt the BRIC platform of ideas and goals to change the nature and structure of city government will clearly stand out from the yawn inspiring crowd of boring sycophants known as the organization politicians.

            We have all seen what grass roots movements like the "tea party" can achieve.  BRIC existed before the "tea party" was born.   BRIC's clear, simple and forthright agenda will leave no questions as to where you stand on governing issues.

 Etch Your Name In The Foundation

       This Website will be here and will be available for viewing long after you and I have shuffled off this mortal coil.  This Website will  serve as a marker for your heirs to examine.  It will immortalize those who choose to act.

        Most significantly it will be an historical account of your participation, marking whether you chose to make a difference and became a part of the solution or simply didn't give a damn and sat on the sidelines while others struggled to built a better city.

    As our proposals and strategies for better government unfold over the next several months, expect to hear and feel tremors from city hall.  The changes BRIC represesnts and the ideas BRIC shall propose are designed to replace the unfairness, patronage, favoritism, pay-offs and chronic waste of taxpayer dollars that is inherent in a politically controlled Mayor-Council government.
 

It Will Happen

    It is only a matter of time.  Someday Berwyn voters will elect to change course.  They will successfully turn their backs on excessive taxation and they will change the structure of city government bringing a permanent end to the archaic 19th century model of inherently corrupt political control. 

When Will It Happen?

    How long it takes is up to you.

The Question Is

    How much more time and money do you want to waste by condoning inherently corrupt political control of city government with your tax "contributions"?

    How much longer do you want to provide them the opportunity to pay themselves $98,000 aannual pensions?

Stand Up And Be Counted
    Get The Word Out!

    Populate this website with hundreds of people by sending them here to register.  It is up to you to become involved and get others involved.  This website makes it easy for you.

    There are a couple of ways for you to register.  Those of you who want to actively participate will want to register in the Referendum section.  (Click on Referendum in the menu on the left).

Help Develop This Website

    You are invited to participate in the development of this website.  Your contributions and opinions are entirely welcome with the understanding that anonymity is the rule.  All information submitted is first reviewed privately by me before it is assigned to others for review, (if at all),  and before it is published on this website, (if at all).

    We do not want to turn this website into a forum for political rants.   We encourage serious articles and letters which address real issues and which offer and suggest solutions.

    Our membership list is not made public.
    Again, this website is for you.  I'll manage the agenda, organize the effort and direct traffic.  It is up to you to become involved and get others involved.
 

This Is Not About The Next Election

    Changing the hearts and minds of a majority of people in a community is a long term committment and you will NOT see over-night results.  Will we see change in the next election?  Maybe.  It is possible.  But don't count on it.  This is not about the next election.  This is about forever.  It requires a careful, steady, well planned and deliberate grass roots effort over an extended period of time.

    My strategy is the purest form of a grass roots effort.   It is designed to create a permanent majority that consistently demands professional government in which politicians remain public servants who cannot form a dictatorship.

    Victory is a matter of numbers.  If there is a sufficient response, we will move forward.  If not, you will have to learn to accept things as they are.

Your Eye Witness

    My eye witness experience in Berwyn's political arena as an elected official confirmed everything you and I instinctively know about politics and politicians and inherently corrupt politically controlled Mayor-Council government.  It is why we know that things need to change.

Life is good.  Live it.
Joel Erickson