Burr Ridge Workers Want Cops When Trustee Visits: Official

BURR RIDGE, IL — With varying degrees of severity, nearly all employees at Burr Ridge Village Hall are "generally uncomfortable" when Trustee Zach Mottl is in the building, a top official said in a report this week. At least three are said to have asked the village for a police presence when Mottl visits.

In response, Mottl called the report false and unethical.

On Monday, interim Village Administrator Evan Walter provided a report on the staff's feelings about Mottl in response to a request from Trustee Guy Franzese. Mottl and Franzese are among five candidates running for three positions on the Village Board in the April 6 election.

While employees expressed discomfort with Mottl's visits, Walter himself showed he was comfortable with Mottl more than a year ago. At the time, the two exchanged texts about behind-the-scenes activities at Village Hall, with Walter describing his then-boss in vulgar terms.

In the email to Franzese, Walter said one employee threatened to quit if directed to work with Mottl in any capacity, even on the phone or by email. When Mottl went by Village Hall on Oct. 7, the employee in question quit, left the building and had to be talked into returning to work, Walter said. During that visit, Mottl shook a door to the administration department and rang a bell on the front counter for 10 minutes, Walter said.

"A security camera was installed in the Village Hall lobby as a demand of this employee," Walter said in the email.

He said no employees would meet with Mottl one on one. Village Hall staff includes 11 full- and four part-time employees.

In an email to Patch, Mottl called the report a "fabricated controversy."

"Evan has already been proven to send out false and misleading information, as evidenced by his texts which Patch has published, calling his boss and others names and feeding me false info in an effort to advance his own career and get his boss fired," the trustee said.

Mottl asked for proof of the claims against him and details about what exactly threatened the employees. He also inquired whether they filed documented complaints with human resources.

"There is a formal complaint process if this was true, but it’s not. This is just made up," he said. "There is also a legal definition for threatening behavior and if something threatening was occurring, the police would be involved. They are not. In fact, I have asked for them to escort me several times on my visits to Burr Ridge village hall, and they did. Nothing threatening occurred or the officer would have intervened. Ringing a bell? Opening a door? Hardly threatening activities."

He also noted Walter's text messages, which he released last fall as the board was considering Walter as village administrator. In the messages, Walter, then the assistant administrator, railed against then-Administrator Doug Pollock, a village employee for a quarter century.

In one of the texts, Walter told Mottl, "Honestly, Doug is just a p----. I wish it were more complicated than that. He has no ability to lead or manage. He's a planner who spent 20 years doing permits and plan commission reviews as they came across his desk."

This was at a time when Mottl was fighting Mayor Gary Grasso on a number of issues. The Village Board has now censured Mottl six times.

The revelation of the texts nearly shattered Walter's chances of a promotion. The trustees were poised to name him the permanent administrator, but made him interim instead.

Mottl questioned the timing of the latest report.

"Evan is doing this now to try and curry favor with the Mayor and damage me politically in the middle of an election, which is highly unethical," Mottl said. "As staff, he should stay neutral."

Patch has left a message with Walter for comment. He has yet to publicly discuss the controversy.