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4 | June 7, 2018 | The Mokena Messenger news
mokenamessenger.com
Village of Mokena Board of Trustees
Fines for fireworks could skyrocket to $750
Jon DePaolis
Freelance Reporter
Mokena residents considering
playing fast and loose
with the state and local fireworks
laws may want to
think twice this year.
Village officials discussed
increasing the fines associated
with fireworks offenses
May 29, during the work
session following the regular
meeting of the Mokena
Village Board.
Mokena Police Chief
Steve Vaccaro said staff has
been reviewing the ordinance
that pertains to fireworks
violations.
“Currently, our code of
ordinances doesn’t give a
specific fine for a fireworks
violation,” Vaccaro said.
“Being that there is no specific
fine indicated, the fine
would be covered by Village
ordinance … which
says that fines will not be
less than $10 and not more
than $750.”
Vaccaro said the police
department has discretionarily
written the fines up as
a $25 ticket. After researching
the issue, he found that
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had higher fine amounts associated
with these offenses.
Village Attorney Carl
Buck said the Village could
move to a fine schedule that
increased with each time the
person was ticketed for the
offense or keep it as a fixed
amount for each offense.
Trustee Joseph Siwinski
suggested moving to a
progressively higher fine
schedule, with the first ticket
starting at $25. But the
second ticket would go up
to $250, and a third would
be $750.
Vaccaro said police officers
do try to offer warnings
first to offenders instead of
tickets in order to curb the
behavior.
“If we end up going back
a second time, that’s when
we move to the citation,”
Vaccaro said.
The board members directed
staff to bring a finalized
ordinance amendment
to a June meeting, with the
fine schedule going from
$25 (first citation) to $250
(second) to $750 (third) in a
calendar year.
Board members honor late
trustee
The meeting began on
a somber note, as Mayor
Frank Fleischer informed
those in attendance that
former Trustee John Mazzorana
passed away over
the Memorial Day weekend.
Fleischer asked for a moment
of silence in honor of
the trustee, who was first
elected to the Village Board
in 1993.
Mazzorana was elected to
seven consecutive terms, but
resigned in April because of
an undisclosed health issue.
At the end of the regular
meeting, the Village staff
and board members expressed
their condolences
to the Mazzorana family
Round it up
A brief recap of other items discussed at the May 29
Board of Trustees meeting
• In a 4-0 vote, trustees approved the appointment of
Sue Novak to the position of customer service clerk
in the Village’s Community Development department.
Trustee Joseph Siwinski wasn’t present for the vote,
and Trustee Joseph Budzyn was absent.
• Also in a 4-0 vote — with Siwinski not present for the
discussion or vote — trustees approved an amendment
to a special use permit allowing Tribes Brewing
Company to sell wine produced off-site for on-site
consumption at its 11120 Front St. location.
• A proclamation also was read in recognition of Gun
Violence Awareness Day, to be held June 1 in Mokena
— as well as around the country.
and spoke to how much the
trustee meant to them and
the Village.
“I would like to extend
our deepest sympathy to the
Mazzorana family for not
only our loss of a great municipal
leader for 25 years
but also a great dad, husband,
friend and person,”
Village Administrator John
Tomasoski said.
Trustee George Metanias
said he had a lot he wanted
to say about Mazzorana, but
wasn’t sure he’d be able to
make it through saying it.
“John is going to be
missed by all,” he said.
Trustee Debbie Engler
echoed that sentiment.
“He was a great mentor,
and he was always there for
me when I needed him —
whether it was in good times
or bad times,” Engler said of
Mazzorana. “I’m really going
to miss him.”
Trustee Jim Richmond
mentioned how crucial the
former trustee was to his
public service aspirations,
too.
“John was very influential
in helping me decide
what I wanted to do as far as
running [for office],” Richmond
said. “He was always
there to answer questions
and be the historian. He was
kind of like a second dad.
John was one of those guys
that would just take you under
his wing and be more
than happy to help you out
however he possibly could,
personally as well as professionally.”
Fleischer also reflected on
his time working alongside
Mazzorana.
“I’ve been involved in
Village government for a
long time, and I’ve worked
with John for a long time,”
Fleischer said. “John and I
went back and forth over the
years, and that’s just part of
politics. A lot of it was fun.
But through that, I never
lost any respect for Trustee
Mazzorana. He was a good
trustee, and he was a good
person — and he gave a
darn about this village.
“He will be missed. Mokena’s
going to miss him,
because he meant a lot to
this community. As you can
see, he meant a lot to the
people [on the board].
“He left a legacy.”