Town spends $1,000 on rubber chickens

CICERO, Ill., Oct. 7 (UPI) -- An Illinois town official said 250 rubber chickens were purchased for $1,000 from a company owned by a member of a town board "as a matter of convenience."

Ray Hanania of Cicero said the rubber chickens were purchased from You & Me, a company owned by Housing and Real Estate Board member Rosemary Walsh Konz, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Friday.

"It was my call," Hanania said. "It was just a matter of convenience. We can order and pay them later."

He said other vendors wanted to be paid immediately.

Konz, daughter of Cicero Town Trustee Lorraine Walsh, provided the chickens to be tossed by local TV horror host Svengoolie during Sunday's Houby Day Parade in Cicero and Berwyn.

The town also purchased 250 of the chickens in 2008 for a Svengoolie appearance in Cicero.

Town President Larry Dominick's administration has also spent nearly $600,000 on promotional items, including mouse pads and ice cream scoops, from You & Me.

Hanania said he expects proceeds from the Houby Day festival to pay the bill for the chickens.

"It is what it is. We're not hiding it. We're trying to be aboveboard," he said.