A political feud between the mayor of south suburban Park Forest and a member of the Village Board that escalated into a shouting and shoving match over the weekend has now resulted in assault charges.
Village Trustee Bill Patterson on Monday filed charges with the Park Forest Police Department accusing Mayor John Ostenburg of grabbing him by the coat lapels and threatening to kill him after a Village Board candidates forum on Sunday.
On Monday, the mayor made a public apology for his role in the confrontation.
In his apology, Ostenburg acknowledged that he and Patterson had engaged in a heated argument, but he denied having physically threatened Patterson.
But Patterson, who is seeking re-election to the Park Forest Village Board in Tuesday’s election, said the mayor did threaten him.
In an interview Tuesday, Patterson said Ostenburg arrived midway through the candidates forum Sunday in the Village Hall and began heckling him.
He said Ostenburg confronted him in front of the dais and accused him of being “a Chicago politician who was trying to get (village) contracts for friends.”
“He said he would have me investigated,” Patterson said. “When I responded by saying, `John, do whatever you think you have to do,’ he grabbed me by the lapels of my coat and said `I’m going to kill you,’ ” Patterson said.
“We had to be pulled apart by some of the people who were there in attendance.
“He’s lost his temper with me in the past but normally he’s a reasonable person,” Patterson said. “This time, however, he went way over.”
Patterson said he filed a police report of the incident on Sunday but waited until conferring with an attorney and friends before deciding to formally press charges against Ostenburg.
Park Forest Police Chief Robert Maeyama confirmed that charges against Ostenburg had been filed and said the mayor had been asked to come to the Park Forest police station to be formally notified of them.
A court hearing on the charge has been set for 9 a.m. April 14 in Room 205 of the Cook County Circuit Court branch in Markham.
In his apology, Ostenburg said that although he “behaved like a jerk” in confronting Patterson, he did not threaten him.
“Things got kind of heated, and we started yelling and pushing each other,” Ostenburg said.
“He (Patterson) said something about killing all of my appointments and, in turn, I said I was going to kill any of the proposals he made (during Village Board meetings). That was the end of it. But, apparently, he took what I said as a physical threat.”
Patterson, who did not respond to the mayor’s apology, made at Monday’s Village Board meeting, said he wasn’t impressed with Ostenburg’s remarks, saying he felt they lacked sincerity.
“His apology was nothing but damage control; he’s merely trying to cover his rear end,” Patterson said.
