In response to the 11/15/99 Lisle, IL Village Board of Trustees Meeting, Open Forum

I agree with some recent speakers at recent Lisle Village Board meetings, there are issues of integrity at the Board level which need to be addressed.

For instance, there is an issue with the integrity of legal representation to the Village. The current Village attorney was appointed by the Mayor after approval by the previous Board. It was that attorney who guided the hearing process which led to the approval by the previous Board of the Meijer project. That same attorney opined that the process was appropriate after the lawyers for the residents currently suing the Village sent a letter detailing the flaws in that process. Even after a sitting Judge in the Circuit Court of DuPage County ruled that the process was unlawful, that same attorney again agreed with the Mayor that there was no need to alter those procedures. How can anyone suggest that the Village attorney’s opinion is tainted by his loyalty to the Mayor or is biased because he was the one who okayed the process ruled to be unlawful?

What about the Board members who are now in the minority? Even though they were elected by all the registered voters in Lisle, they apparently believe they are entitled to choose what parts of Lisle they will represent. Nancy Earley says that she isn’t being allowed to speak for the people she represents. Judy Yuill says that "those people" (as she refers to people who live in Green Trails) ought to just be thankful that Lisle saved their children from falling into unfinished foundations when that area was annexed into the Village over 20 years ago. Didn’t they take an oath to represent and listen to all people in Lisle?

The new Trustees have been passing measures that benefit the whole Village such as the leaf pick-up program, tax rebates and incentives to improve the downtown area. They have rejected the notion that the Village is to be guided only by the Mayor and that the Trustees exist only to "rubber stamp" his judgment. They have acted on the behalf of the entire Village instead of a narrow notion of those people in the Village who "deserve" representation. What a breath of fresh air!

Heck, we might even get end up getting impartial legal advice

Scott Hardek
Lisle, IL