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)?