Residents Criticize Council Conduct At Suburban Meeting

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — Residents spoke out at the June 3 Downers Grove Village Council meeting regarding the meeting's contentious discussion about the position of mayor pro tem,with one resident calling the May 20 meeting "a disgrace." Tensions had risen on May 20 before the majority of commissioners voted down Mayor Bob Barnett's nomination of Commissioner Martin Tully for mayor pro tem.

Commissioners Leslie Sadowski-Fugitt and Chris Gilmartin raised concerns that they had only been informed that Barnett was nominating Tully the night before the May 20 meeting.

“Specifically, on this issue, I never received a phone call to discuss this pro tem appointment and only learned about the content of it yesterday evening at five-o-clock," Sadowski-Fugitt said on May 20.

Commissoner Gilmartin reiterated that he was not formally notified of Tully's nomination until the evening of May 19 via text.

He added that some commissioners had not seen the text until "hours before the meeting."

On June 3, resident Mary Blanchard compared the way Barnett's seemingly short notice about Tully's nomination to a conflict she said he and Tully had over a library board nomination in 2017.

Blanchard said Barnett had commented that it was "lousy" to notify council members of a nomination the day before the vote.

“You and commissioner Tully are both argumentative, defensive, condescending, adversarial and divisive," Blanchard said.

Referencing comments made by Barnett and Tully during the May 20 meeting, Blanchard said, "The flawed thinking that things need to be done as they have been is typically best for those that have always benefited.”

Ed Pollack, another Downers Grove resident, said at the June 3 meeting that he was “disappointed by the needlessly divisive and politicized process that you went through trying to nominate somebody for mayor pro tem.”

Resident Selma Moberg said she believes "it is the mayor's prerogative" to appoint a mayor pro tem, echoing comments that had been made by Commissoner Michael Davenport on May 20.

Moberg called the May 20 meeting "a disgrace," saying Commissioners Gilmartin and Sadowski-Fugitt "embarrassed the village council with your whiny b****ing.”

According to Moberg, Sadowski-Fugitt only brought up issues with Tully's nomination because she believes Sadowski-Fugitt wants to be mayor pro tem.

“You want the Mayor’s position in two years," Moberg told Sadowski-Fugitt, adding that she believes Tully is "far more experienced and more qualified."

During the May 20 meeting, Sadowski-Fugitt had said, "Despite my tenure, my attendance record, my work ethic and clear dedication to the residents, I have come to understand that it was guaranteed that this round’s pro tem would not be a new council member, and it would not be Leslie."

When she shared the above, Sadowski-Fugitt expressed that she was not happy about "sharing that in the public eye."

Both Sadowski-Fugitt and Gilmartin had suggested that whoever fills the role of mayor pro tem should offer a fresh perspective to the position.

After residents shared their comments June 3, Mayor Barnett said, “I kinda doubt that anyone up here felt real good about that meeting that we’re referring to.”

He added, "There’s just a lot of good work being done on behalf of the residents of Downers Grove day in and day out.”

Mayor Tully suggested holding a meeting to discuss council governance because it would let "people from different perspectives and different places to figure out how we are going to interact."

Tully also took a moment to address commissioner attendance over the past two years. He said he researched the issue of attendance after his own attendance had been brought into question on May 20.

According to Tully, former commissioner Danny Glover had missed three meetings, Commissioner Gilmartin had missed four and Tully himself had missed six. Mayor Barnett had been absent for eight meetings and Commissioners Sadowski-Fugitt and Michael Davenport had perfect attendance, per Tully .

Former commissioner Greg Hose had missed seven council meetings while serving as "the actual mayor pro tem," Tully said.

Before June 3's meeting concluded, Mayor Barnett said, “I don’t think those absences indicated that any of those folks were any less dedicated to the position or to their service to this community.”

Also on Patch:

Residents, Commissioners Sound Off On Proposed Library Referendum

Gilmartin, Sarver, Roe Win Seats On Downers Grove Council

Readers can click the links to view the June 3 village council meeting and the May 20 meeting. Commissioner comments regarding Tully's proposed appointment come just after the 3 hour, 20 minute mark in the May 20 meeting recording.