r she stated, I strongly encourage the Palos Heights City Council to seriously consider the purchase of The Reformed Church of Palos Heights, (http://www.palosheights.org). The major opposition to Alderman Corsis opinion were the citizens of Palos Heights. NIMBY, or not in my back yard played a very important role in the discussion of the sale of the church. One of the major points against the sale of the property to the city was the expectation for a great increase in traffic. One citizen voiced his concern by saying, My biggest concern is the school that may be established. I am very much opposed to adding considerable traffic to an intersection that also handles traffic into and out of the Recreation Building and the Independence Middle School,(Jim Davids, citizen of Palos Heights, http://www.palosheights.org)The most significant institution in the issue was the executive branch, headed by the Mayor Dean Koldenhoven. Mayor Koldenhoven was opposed to purchasing the Reformed Church of Palos Heights from the beginning. The Aldermen made an offer to the Al Salam Mosque Foundation of Chicago of $200,000 to back out of its contract with the church was vetoed by the Mayor on July 18, 2000. The citizens of the community also supported the Mayors stance on this issue. The key actors in this issue were the Mayor, Omar Najib, President of the Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Aldermen, and the citizens. Mayor Koldenhoven was very much against paying the Mosque Foundation to back out of buying the church, as was quite evident in his vetoing the payment. He was also upset and showed regrets toward allowing politics into religion. The entire issue upset Mayor Koldenhoven greatly. Najib voiced his opinion in all of the meeting concerning the sale of the Reformed Church of Palos Heights. He thanked the Mayor for his position on the mosque issue and for acknowledging the mistake in putting politics into religion. The Arab Anti-Disc...
