Hide Article Text (OCR)
Gene Mulcrone is not your ordinary candidate for mayor. No sir. We met this fellow, who says he makes his living being a ‘honey dipper” (septic tank expert) at lunch Saturday and he told us to watch him closely because he’s going to be the next mayor of Orland Park. No question about it, he said. Starting April 17, he will be at the controls. We were cordially invited, in fact, to his victory party, which he said will be staged at the Odyssey restaurant in Tinley Park on Election Night. “Then we'll drive over to the village (Orland) and I'll serve you a glass of champagne drawn from the village water towers. I'm going to fill them with champagne when I win, you wait and see,”’ Mulcrone said. HEARING A STATEMENT like that makes it hard to believe you are sitting at another lunch arranged to meet area candidates to learn their stands on issues. Hard to believe especially when the man you're talking to keeps extracting extraor dinary exhibits out of a briefcase, things like: A photo of Gene Mulcrone doctored up to look like he’s holding an Orland Park water tower by its stem martini glass style. The tower says, naturally, ‘Golf Center of the World.” A glossy of Gene Mulcrone posing with Miss Universe from the Phillipine Islands. ‘‘Oh yeah, I know President Marcos over there. Met him during World War II,’’ Mulcrone tells you. “This friend of mine is in really bad shape in a Chicago hospital. Nobody here can do much for him. But I know of this miracle doctor in the Phillipines, I’m going to call Marcos and set up a meeting with the doc.’ The most elaborate, verbose bumper sticker we’ve ever seen. Full of Vote for Mulcrone exhortation, the sticker seems destined to cause auto accidents because people will become mesmerized trying to read everything on it. A letter of thanks he is sending to each of the persons who signed his petition of candidacy. Scvery signatory was a woman. **Nobody — and that means nobody — has ever done that before, right? There has never been a campaign like mine.” WE HAD TO DRINK to that. At his most recent public appearance, at a Republican night affair in Orland, he approached the speaker's platform, patted a miniature GOP elephant on the backside, said, ‘‘How you doin?”’ to the statuette, and then made a single campaign promise: “When this campaign is over, I promise to take down all my campaign posters.” Malerone will not admit there is any chance he may lose, “TI can’t lose. I won't lose,’’ he enthused, regarding us openly from crinkle surrounded eyes. “The people want a change. They want full-time village government. They demand decisions to be made on the spot, when they are needed, not at the next board meeting. They are tired of collusion and corruption in village politics. They want someone who is up to date and can lead in this modern, changing time.’ The current government is too slow, he elaborated. Like when Nieman Marcus, luxury department store in Dallas, Texas, was reportedly considering a home in Orland. **But no, they went to Northbrook instead. I would have taken a plane right away to Texas and offered them something. But what did the village do? Nothing, and we lost the best store in the world.”’ BUT, GENE, HOW would you pay for a journey like that, we wanted to know. “You set aside funds for things like that,’’ he snapped. ‘It would have yielded thousands in tax money. It’s worth it to do what has to be done.” Trips in general were on Malcrone’s mind, as we munched on salad. He said he’s been all over the world and when elected he'll really give Orland’s Golf Center slogan the kind of kick it needs. “I’m going to China,’’ he announced. “We went there to play ping pong. I'm going to invite them here to play golf in the Golf Center of World — right here in Orland,” he pledged. “I’m going to give a special driver to Mao. I’ve got it in the car waiting for him right now.” Furthermore: “THIS TOWN NEEDS better recreation for all the people, especially for the kids. I want a separate park district that will provide adequate recreation. There should be dances for the kids — two a month. They have nothing to do now. But my biggest plan is for the village to buy Silver Lake country club. Yeah, Silver Lake. Put village hall out there. The fire department, too. Make the club into a municipal golf course for all our people. Then we're really the Golf Center of the World.’ The victory prediction is no idle guess, Mulcrone went on, hardly pushing to breathe. “We took a straw poll among the school kids out at Orland junior high. You want to know the result? I got 310 votes and ( Mayor Melvin) Doogan got only 13. Some of that has to be coming from the parents, doesn't it? And you know what Doogan said to me the other night at the village board meeting? He walks up to me and the first words out of his mouth are, ‘I'll bet you a grand I beat you.’ How about that?” Mulcrone wanted to know. Lunch over, he shook hands and suggested a golf date someday. Then he strode confidently toward the restaurant’s front door while pulling on his blue and white windbreaker, which has a big monogram on the back — ‘Gene Mulcrone for President of Orland Park. “By the way,” he called back. ‘Want one of my jackets to wear? Then he laughed and disappeared out the door. Dennis R. Wheeler, Editor JUINO!P cruics SAW A new one? What's wrong with this? Wheeler
Newspaper Details
Tinley Park Star Tribune
Tinley Park, Illinois, US
Thu, Mar 29, 1973
Page 10
Full Page
Clipped by
Annette B.
USA 22 Dec 2025
Other Publications Near Tinley Park, Illinois
Tinley Park Daily Southtown News Marketer
Tinley Park Palos Star Herald
Tinley Park Pennysaver
Tinley Park Star Herald
Tinley Park Star Tribune
