Residents, Commissioners Sound Off On Proposed Library Referendum

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — Tuesday's Downers Grove Village Council meeting lasted for nearly four hours, with heated discussions ensuing surrounding a proposed nonbinding referendum question about how Downers Grove Library Board members are selected. Voting for the proposal had been postponed.

Instead, the agenda item was listed for a first reading, with more than a dozen Downers Grove residents speaking during the meeting's public comment portion. Many residents and some commissioners pleaded that the referendum question not appear on the April ballot.

If approved by the council, the referendum question would appear on the April 1 ballot as follows:
“Shall the trustees of the Downers Grove Public Library be elected, rather than appointed?”

At one point, Commissioner Leslie Sadowski-Fugitt mentioned attacks and criticism the library has received over the past two years in the wake of a proposed drag Bingo event that the library had planned to host. The event was canceled after a bullet casing was mailed to the library with the return address that read "your friends at MAGA." Months later, a shell casing was found inside the library.

Sadowski-Fugitt played a threatening, profanity-laced voicemail she had received and cautioned that she fears "more hate crime and hate speech," saying she believes residents should have more opportunities to gain information and discuss the proposed question before it is presented on their ballots."

Resident Elliot Spiegel said he is not in favor of adding the referendum question to the ballot, saying, "I believe it is a solution based on a non-existent problem."

Related:'Chaotic Timeline:' DG Library Board Slams 'Nonsensical' Referendum

Spiegel said he served on the board of the Suburban Library System and the Metropolitan Library System as chairman. He said he also served as a board member of the Lisle Library District.

"Our five-star library is the result of continued good governance," he said, urging council members to vote against putting the referendum question on the ballot.

Amanda ReCupido, who spoke on behalf of the Downers Grove Public Library Foundation, said,"Like most Illinois libraries, Downers Grove is part of the village as a result of government consolidation."

She added, "The Downers Grove Public Library is thriving under its existing partnership," ReCupido said, urging the council members to vote against the referendum question.

Downers Grove resident Ilene Briner spoke in favor of putting the nonbinding referendum on April's ballot. Briner said, "Don't be afraid of putting this in the hands of the citizens of Downers Grove. It's time for diversity of thought surrounding the library."

"There is diversity of ideas...there is difference of opinion," Hillary Denk contended during her public comments.

She said, "The library is going to be the one spending unnecessary resources trying to educate people" [about the nonbinding referendum question].

"What is the point of even doing it this way?" Denk asked. "It just doesn't have to happen this way."

Other residents urged commissioners to wait to present the referendum question until more information was made available to voters.

Downers Grove Library Board President Matt Topic also spoke, echoing many of the sentiments he had shared in an open letter to Downers Grove Mayor Bob Barnett and members of the village council in late November.

In his letter, Topic called the timeline for the referendum question "chaotic" and "irresponsible" and raised concerns about the question's "problematic" language.

When initially proposed, the referendum question had been phrased as follows:

"Shall the Downers Grove Public Library become an independent unit of government, with its own levy and a separately elected library board of trustees chosen by and directly accountable to residents of the community?"

Topic wrote that the "significant" change in the language "demonstrates the complexity of the issue and the need to get the language right, rather than rush this through in a matter of weeks."

Commissioner Tully reminded community members that the topic is currently up for discussion and said he feels it is worth discussing as an "issue of governance."

"Even if this response to the advisory referendum question... is answered in the affirmative... that does nothing by itself," Tully said.

"Instead," he said, "what it would do is begin a discussion about what an elected board of trustees might look like and what it might take to make that happen."

Commissioner Greg Hose said, "There is a lot of information we need together, and it goes further than a 45-day period during the holidays will allow us."

Hose urged transparency, saying, "Before I take a vote on it, sitting up here, I would want that information. And I would certainly want that information before I put my ballot in a ballot box."

"This is a conversation worth having," but this is a longer conversation, Hose said.

Sadowski-Fugitt said it's important to consider "the real human impacts of what the last two years have meant for this library and this community."

She suggested working with staff and trustees from the library to "actually be informed about what the best path for the community is.”

Sadowski-Fugitt urged commissioners to "slow down."

She said, "Please, let us do this the right way, together."

Her sentiments were echoed by Commissioner Chris Gilmartin, who said, "We have to reset. We have to take a pause on this. We have to tone this down. The referendum will not allow us to do this."

Around 10:30 p.m., Mayor Bob Barnett called for a recess before council members returned to discuss the remaining agenda items.

Also read:

• After Threats, Drag Queen Bingo Canceled At Downers Grove Library
• Drag Queen Bingo: Downers Grove Library Stands By Criticized Event
• Drag Queen Bingo Controversy Prompts Threats At Downers Grove Library