Sign Honoring Ex-Mayor Blase Removed

Nicholas Blase Plaza is no more.

Niles Public Services workers, who may have worked for former Mayor Blase during the 47 years he served, took down the "Nicholas B. Blase Plaza" sign Thursday after the

Former Mayor Blase told pioneerlocal.com Thursday that was the wrong move, in words that echoed the strong passions of his wife and supporters, who addressed the village board Tuesday during its public comment section.

On Tuesday, more than a dozen residents took to the podium to tell the village board their opinions. Some urged keeping the sign to honor the former mayor for his 47 years of contributions, including building Niles into a center of retail and industry, with good municipal services. Some noted Blase had paid for his mistake and urged forgiveness.

Others stressed that honoring a convicted felon, who served time in prison, was inconsistent with the village's stated goals of ethics and transparency. They argued it was dubious for the village to hold the former mayor up for recognition after he admitted to federal crimes.

Blase told pioneerlocal.com, “They really usurped the will of the public on something that’s really the public right. I think that was wrong.” He was likely referring to a poll in the village newsletter in fall 2010, in which a majority of respondents urged keeping the sign. However, Trustee Louella Preston had criticized the poll as faulty and unscientific.

He also suggested that some of the trustees had political motives for voting against the Blase Plaza sign, an allegation that some of his supporters also leveled on Tuesday at the village board meeting.