Buckle up 🚗

Rumor has it that Della Patterson was chauffeured down to Springfield to attend the inauguration of emperor Welch's 3rd term.

The problem here is that she used Proviso D209 district resources for this excursion. That's right, someone from the district drove her to/from Springfield for a non-educational event.

To exacerbate the problem, the mayoral slate, which is behind Patterson's re-election campaign was there! Bruh! You know your financiers are going, tag along with them. Don't have the district foot your bill as is the norm for corrupt board members.

What's ironic is that Welch knew this was happening and noted this in his post from 2009:

Proviso Insider: Some Truths About Theresa L. Kelly and Arbdella "Della" Patterson...

Talk about influencing the district budget...

 

I beg your pardon

Henderson pleaded with now-former President, Joe Biden, for a preemptive pardon in response to a scathing 96-page report that surfaced. The report highlights a variety of concerns, ranging from misuse of tax payer funds on gifts and meals to administrative gaffs.

In the letter titled "Presidential Letter to the President", Henderson argues that all wrongdoing should be forgiven and all blame placed squarely on H5. The letter states that, while the D209 board cannot seek justice or retribution due to the separation agreement, he is not immune to public scrutiny. Furthermore, since the board approved all purchases, he is absolved of all perceived wrongdoing.

The letter closed by thanking his enablers by stating, "Thank you H5 for saving my hide!"

Revenge of the 7th...District Rep

At the behest of lord Welch, the Chicago Federation of Labor endorsed Della Patterson and her slate mates.

The irony here is that Della Patterson has no interest in protecting the rights of organized labor. In fact, she was instrumental in the teacher's strike at Proviso D209 (source: Explaining Proviso’s Historic Teacher Strike - Village Free Press). Where is the research and fact checking nowadays in academia!?

She also led the efforts to terminate three teachers as they bruised the delicate ego of then-Superintendent James Henderson (source: D209 teachers not fired but tensions still hot - Forest Park Review).

In the second article mentioned above, Mayor Harvey of Bellwood, came out against Della's decision to terminate the teachers. Nearly three years later, he has become a staunch supporter of Della's campaign. Make it make sense!

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper

The 209 Students 1st campaign has a limited time offer!

For the low amount of $500, you can hang out with the beloved protagonist from the hit TV sitcom series "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper" 

To those of you fortunate enough to donate $500 to hang with the coop, my hats off to you!

Lastly, where the hell is silver?

Please sign here, James Henderson ✒️

Do you remember when you would forge your parents signature on important school-related documents (e.g., report cards, field trips)? You would forge them hoping that your parents would never find out.

What if I told you that then-superintendent James Henderson forged Theresa Kelly's signature for the Oak Park League of Women's Voters D209 candidate forum? You can classify that under "things that superintendent Henderson did to save his career for $500, Alex."

Ironic that the leader of a local academic institution would participate in such chicanery, but this is far from the worst thing he has done for the district. 

Playing the Queen's Gambit ♟️ on Finances

In the game of chess, a good strategy to follow is sacrificing insignificant pieces for tactical advantages to win the game. Also, common in the game of chess are what as known as blunders, or mistakes. 

We know that Della Patterson's likes to tout her financial prowess - she's the queen of finances, or so she thinks. Her blunders have cost the district thousands of dollars during her eight-year tenure.

Here's a non-exhaustive list of her blunders while on the board:

• She allowed the district to lose out on $13k when Henderson cancelled an end-of-school-year event at the swanky Hilton in Oak Brook. Imagine what projects the district could finance with that amount!? Obviously, Henderson didn't care - it wasn't his money.
  
  
  
  
  
• She allowed Henderson to purchase over $45k for Dormco without board approval in June  2022. The purchase was then OK'd by the board afterwards - do you see a theme yet? You will find that Henderson often hid behind the board to OK his fund mismanagement.
  
  
  
  
  
• She OK'd the purchase of $500 worth of cupcakes from a bakery in Indiana. Yes, Indiana! The delivery fee was about half the amount of the cost. Those cupcakes better have been covered in gold in diamonds to be worth that much!
  
  
  
  
  
• She declared chapter 13 bankruptcy 6 years ago

As the adage goes, you cannot manage what you do not measure. Della Patterson could care less of the mismanagement - it's not her money she's pissing away. She has shown that she's poor with money; how can we entrust her to oversee the budget that finances our children's futures?

Lastly, how can anyone believe that Della's fiscally responsible?! The evidence speaks for itself. Is she not aware that when expenses exceed income, it's a bad indicator? Maybe that 4th year of Math will help her out. #checkmate #queensgambit #slay

Help me, Theresa Kelly. You're my only hope 🆘

What could Henderson possibly put into the hands of Theresa Kelly? Could it be his career as superintendent for Proviso D209?

I mean, it hinged upon Theresa keeping her seat on the board to keep the gravy train chugging along. Henderson would do whatever it required to keep his lucrative job ($1 million over 5 years), even if it meant using district resources. 

And it couldn't have been in worse hands because the layout was all over the place. To make matters even worse, you, the taxpayer, funded this monstrosity. 

I can only imagine the editor reviewing the flyer prior to print.

Apart from the editing cost of $7k, it went to the printers for a total of $11k. Yes, we all financed this tragedy and it was sent directly to your inbox.

People on social media weren't too kind often citing the poor formatting and alignment.

Can you believe that, after all this shit, Della Patterson urged the board to payout his entire contract?! Sound fiscal advice there. He should have never received one cent after uncovering all the corruption. 

We were forewarned...🐀

I think this image aptly captures what's at stake in the 2025 election.  

We we didn't heed the warning, but it's not too late to change the course for 2025.

Fortunately, the OG Proviso Insider, Chris Welch, left us a treasure trove of blog posts and information highlighting Della's behavior while she was with Charles Flowers.

Proviso Insider: Daily Southtown Exposes Regional Superintendent Charles Flowers As Financial Failure!!!

Proviso Insider: State Auditor Seeks Criminal Probe of Charles Flowers!!!!

Proviso Insider: Charles Flowers Arrested For Theft...Faces Additional Charges!!!

We witnessed it with Henderson through excessive gifts, expensive chat-and-chews at establishments such as Pappadeauxs and Gibsons and unapproved travel expenses for board members. The chat-and-chews is the most offensive in a district where the majority of the students benefit from reduced and free breakfast and lunches. The thought that board members wined and dined on the tax payer dime despite being in a low-income district is repulsive.

Do your due diligence and consider whether Della is fit to hold to place of board member. The time is now to rid the board of the corruption that has plagued it for far too long.