Update On Illegal Secret Meetings Of Lisle Trustees

Remember the Illinois Attorney General's investigation into illegal activities by Joseph Broda and Lisle trustees?  The AG found that Broda and Lisle trustees did violate the law, and has demanded that they turn over minutes and tape recordings of the secret meetings.  Penalties for these violations, as prescribed by law, are $1,500 per offense or 30 days in jail.  There were 5 violations for each trustee and Mayor Broda.  Two additional violations in January were more than 60 days prior to the original complaint, and could not be reviewed by the AG because of the 60 day expiration.  

Lisle trustees will vote on Monday night to release the closed session meetings from Jan-March 2011.  However, they have refused to release audio recordings.  Then they will go into secret session (again) to discuss the "compensation, performance of legal counsel" - watch for them to blame Ancel Glink for the Attorney General's determination that they violated the Open Meetings Act for all those meetings...better to blame the attorney than take the blame themselves.

I certainly am no apologist for Ancel Glink, but the minutes show the attorney wasn't even present at most of the meetings where the violations occurred! 

Now  - why not discuss any issues with the attorney in open session?

  

Why You're Paying More In Taxes

Tax rate increase on your 2010 property tax bill:
Lisle Park District Pension Fund +20.3%
Village of Lisle +11.6% 
College of DuPage +10.6%
Lisle Park District + 8.9%
Lisle Woodridge Fire District +9.2% 
Lisle Township +9.1%
Lisle Township Road +9.4%
Naperville School Dist 203 +7.1%
DuPage County +7.0%
DuPage Forest Preserve +6.7%
Lisle Library District +6.6%


Did you get a 20% raise this year?  How about an 11.6% raise?  If not, maybe you should think about looking for a second job to pay for the tax and spend tactics of the Lisle Village Board and Park District Board.  Based on the results of the last election, they have a mandate from voters to accelerate the spending spree and we can look forward to similar increases next year, the year after that, the year after that, etc etc

Elections Matter

Lisle has more than 13,000 registered voters, but scarcely more than 3,000 of them bother to vote in any given election.  Many of the people who live in Lisle but don't vote are probably unaware that their failure to vote can have a direct impact on their lives and their families.

Recently 3 Lisle trustees were reelected to the Village Board.  Last Monday the Village Board voted to reappoint Charles Rego as chair of the Planning & Zoning Commission, with no discussion.  Setting aside the fact that Rego's previous behavior and his choice to be an "active investor in Lisle real estate" make him unsuitable for a seat on the PZC, new information about Rego has come to light, and it should make every Lisle resident who did not vote in the recent election think long and hard.

Rego rents a property to a registered sex offender at a location just a few houses away from the Lisle Library and St Joan of Arc school.

http://www.isp.state.il.us/sor/offenderdetails.cfm?SORID=E99A1433

http://www.city-data.com/so/so-Lisle-Illinois.html

Donald D Schultz

Address: 649 Front St
Zip code: 60532
Crime: Violate Sex Offender Registration Act ; sex Offender Registering/False Information ; aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse/Victim 13-16
Sex: Male
Date of birth: 1966-09-08
Height: 5'09
Weight: 175
Race: White

http://chicago.blockshopper.com/property/08-11-113-011/649_front
649 Front Street

puchased in 2003.

Lisle's Planning & Zoning Fiefdom

While we're waiting to learn whether the Lisle Village Board will cooperate with the Attorney General's office and turn over recordings of illegal secret meetings held in January, February and March (word is that Lisle's attorney has asked for a time extension), there is a vote scheduled at tomorrow's Board meeting (7 p.m. Monday at Village Hall) to reappoint Charles Rego as chair of the Planning & Zoning Commission.


Rego was first appointed to the PZC by Mayor Broda in 2005.  In 2004 Rego fought against a developer's petition to subdivide 3 large lots in the "McIntosh Subdivision" into smaller lots of 10,000 square feet.  Rego fought the petition in spite of the fact that owners of properties immediately adjacent to the property in question supported the petition.  The property in question was zoned "R-2".  The developer's petition was denied because the proposed lots would be smaller than the original "McIntosh Subdivision" lots.  In 2010 Rego petitioned the PZC to subdivide property he owned in that same "McIntosh Subdivision" into smaller lots of 10,000 square feet.  Rego's property was zoned "R-2".  Twenty five Lisle homeowners who lived near the Rego property signed a petition asking the PZC not to approve the Rego petition.  Rego's petition was approved.  In recusing himself from the vote on his own petition, Rego stated that both he and his wife were "active investors" in Lisle real estate.  Whether you believe Rego used his appointed office for personal gain or not, there is an obvious question: should Lisle have active investors in real estate appointed to the Planning & Zoning Commission?  Are there no citizens in Lisle who are not real estate investors who could serve on the PZC?


Beyond Rego's financial activities, his behavior has raised many serious questions about his suitability for any public office.  His conduct of hearings on the Navistar petition was so biased and incompetent that a judge had to be appointed to replace Rego in the hearings.  Far from being contrite, Rego retaliated by changing the rules of the PZC to deprive homeowners of their right to participate in zoning processes.  An attorney with almost 20 years of experience in zoning matters had this to say about Rego's behavior during the Navistar hearings: " I have come to believe that if people holding appointed positions have such impatience, the answer may not be to have all these rules (that scare developers, look bad politically and impose procedural opportunities and burdens for the rare occurrence that need only be planned fairly for that rare occurrence), but rather to remove the appointed official who cannot seem to steer these. In my zoning experience since 1994, Mr. Rego is the only chair that acted as he did and set the parties in the wrong direction." More on Rego's outrageous rules change: "I am going to offer testimony on similar efforts and bills whenever these make it to the state legislative agenda. I will lay out the complacency and retaliation issues, with an open presentation of the Navistar pre hearing issues that led to the mistrust. I am a bit tired of what I have seen ... where the response to a bungled Navistar hearing is one that maligns me and residents and, at the same time, utterly ignores Charles Rego’s attitude and disregard for what Silverman, Whitaker and I could have done to make that an easy process. All of this sets aside the predetermination issue that unfortunately occurred and Rego’s statements that he would have approved the original LTC without conditions. "

If Rego is reappointed, what image will be projected for Lisle?
What will that say about the Mayor and the Village Board?
Why didn't the Village Board ask for interested persons to submit qualifications for the PZC (other villages in Illinois solicit citizen applications online)?

Apathy Or Intentional Exclusion?

Ever wonder why Lisle Village Board and zoning meetings are so sparsely attended? Think it's because Lisle taxpayers are stupid, or that they just don't care? It could be that they've been conditioned to be cynical by appointed officials like the zoning commissioner who, when taxpayers say things he doesn't agree with, changes the rules to prevent them from speaking.

Here's a view from Canada, where they don't have extremes like zoning bosses changing rules to exclude citizens but they seem to have similar issues:

Illegal Secret Meetings Of Lisle Trustees Under Investigation

For the first time in 2011, the Village Board did not got into secret closed session at Monday night's meeting.

That's because a formal complaint was filed with the Office of the Illinois Attorney General for Open Meetings Act Violations.

 

Will Lisle trustees cooperate with the Attorney General's office?  Or will they hire Ancel Glink, at taxpayer's expense, to cover their tracks?  Perhaps they'll enlist Mike "Ubi est mea" Connelly  to try to change the law again?

More details here