On Nov. 12, 2001, young Hillside attorney Emanuel “Chris” Welch was sworn in as a new member of the Proviso District 209 high school board. That July Welch opined that while the magnet school concept was a good idea, building a separate school building “is not a wise decision at this time.” “We also know that only 28% of the respondents in Mike Manzo’s poll say that a magnet school is very necessary,” Welch said, conveniently ignoring the other 61% who stated they believed a magnet school was “necessary.” “Yes, I stepped up, the case was dismissed Sept. 3, 2003 against Billy Welch,” Welch answered. “The Subject Statements made on the Proviso Insider … are hereby unconditionally and unequivocally retracted and the Proviso Insider regrets the publication of those statements on the blog which were made without factual basis.”