An ordinance to allow Highwood`s aldermen and other officials to carry guns was wiped off the books Tuesday night, as Mayor Fidel Ghini and many residents wanted, but the aldermen did it in a way to show their independence from the mayor.
Ghini had vetoed the ordinance at a raucous meeting Feb. 4.
Tuesday`s meeting was calmer, but it still drew 200 people to the Highwood Recreation Center.
The aldermen announced at the outset that by consensus they were overriding Ghini`s veto, thus enacting the ordinance into law.
But then they voted 6-1 to repeal it.
The only vote against repeal came from Ald. Joseph Obenberger, who had introduced the ordinance Jan. 21 and won passage of it the same night.
Obenberger read a statement comparing the other aldermen to ”scared rabbits” who ”promised” two weeks ago to override the ordinance but to remove its gun language. Instead the aldermen repealed the whole thing, including the section declaring themselves to be peace officers with power to order police help anytime.
Ald. John Sirotti told Obenberger and the crowd: ”I realize we gave our word on the position paper two weeks ago, but there comes a time when people make mistakes and I`d be making another mistake to stick with that
ordinance.”
The crowd, watched over by a half-dozen police officers, gave the aldermen a standing ovation after the vote and Ghini formally thanked them.
Sandy Lorusso, one of the leaders of the campaign against the ordinance, said, ”I`m very pleased with their decision. They listened to the people that they represent.”
James Lyon, another resident, said, ”It seemed like a half-baked idea from the beginning. Guns just aren`t the thing.”
The ordinance had generated widespread bad feelings in the North Shore suburb ever since it first surfaced.
On Jan. 31, an anonymous letter was mailed to many Highwood residents asserting that if the ordinance were kept, the city would become like Nazi Germany.
When Ghini vetoed it Feb. 4, a capacity crowd cheered and jeered, pelting Obenberger with harsh language and wadded-up paper.
Later that night, Obenberger returned from the council meeting to find two large neon-orange swastikas painted on his neighbor`s garage, which was apparently mistaken for his.
At a special meeting last week to set peaceful ground rules for Tuesday`s session, many of the aldermen conceded that they had made a mistake by approving the ordinance so swiftly.
Sirotti, who is one of Obenberger`s chief allies on the council, was one. ”I should have read it more carefully,” he said.
Even Obenberger himself was remorseful. ”I wish I had never even brought this thing up. Because of this I`ve lost my support, my respect,” he said.
”Believe me, if I could take it all back, I would.”
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