A year or so past, Trustee Hanusiak offered an ordinance to change the name of the plaza from "Blase" to a name which memorialized Nilesites and village staffers who DIED AND GAVE THEIR LIVES in service to the citizens and public. Blase protégé Mayor Callero provided the NO VOTE which ended the matter at that time. Now Trustee Palicki has rightfully raised the issue again.
Blase domineered Niles for nearly half a century. He promised to end "domination" by the Democrats when he campaigned in 1961 and within a few months of being mayor forced the Democratic committeeman of Maine Township out of office and became the head of the Democrats for decades.
His campaign in 1961 complained that 20-year incumbent; Mayor Frank Stankiewiec had served TOO LONG! Blase campaigned at my parents' home and said NOBODY deserved to stay in office that long. And then BLASES STAYS FOR NEARLY A HALF-A-CENTURY! The egos of these self-serving, arrogant politicians are amazing. He was often seen then driving around Niles in a Caddy convertible surveying his fiefdom and the toiling serfs caring for their lawns.

He squashed political opposition by giving public jobs to those who planned to or had run against him and his cronies. He made no effort to recruit independent future leaders for the village. Village trustees were selected on the basis of loyalty to him, and to him alone…having their own connections to labor union “donations” and others. He ran for Congress in 1972 and was trounced outside of Niles. Politics under Blase was ALWAYS ABOUT HIM, HIS CAREER and HIS CHOICES.

The puff-pieces that "he built" Niles are silly and insulting. Milwaukee Avenue was the conduit for Chicagoans to move to the suburbs for newer homes and space to raise kids. This process was well in progress by 1961; Niles, as well as other suburbs, grew the same way...BUILY BY SUBDIVISION DEVELOPERS and the market economy, NOT POLITICIANS...the breed that always takes credit for what someone else has done. Blase was never known to have said what a great contribution Mr. Stankiewiec had made! Only HIM..."NICK" was to be the Zeus of the Olympian Niles!

He piggy-backed on the natural course of human progress and then claimed credit. I could find no instance where he honored those who preceded him in office. Blasé was to be the center of the known political universe and everybody else better step to the side. Another Stroger. Another Daley.

Thanks for the comment, Clark. I didn't know Blase ran for Congress.

More specifically, in the 1972 Democratic Primary. During the 1950s Niles was in the 13th Congressional District and represented by Marguerite Stitt Church (R) who succeeded her late husband in that position. What a wonderfully talented, educated , elegant, conservative, pro-American lady. Mrs. Church retired in 1962 and was replaced by Donald Rumsfeld (R) from 1963-1969.

There were a number of people who entered the Republican primary to replace Rumsfeld and the winner was Phil Crane (R) who was in Congress from 1969 through 2005. In 1972 new lines were drawn based upon the 1970 Census and there was again no incumbent so everybody got into the fray. The Democratic winner was the carpetbagger motor-mouthed Abner Mikva who beat Blase and several others in the primary. The Republican winner in the new 10th District was Sam Young (who I think is still living in our area) but served only one term, losing to Mikva by the famous "201 votes" (Watergate Era "victory"). Mikva almost lost in 1979 and so he CONVENIENTLY got a Carter judicial appointment (with the usual sob story of how he really hated to leave Congress yada yada yada). The we had the moderate John Porter (R) and the rest I'm sure you know.

Thanks for the history lesson, Clark! One always has to wonder about the effect of Niles being divided between two townships and four state reps. And I do remember John Porter. I interviewed him during one of his election campaigns. I had the impression his district was in Lake County; I didn't realize it came this far south.