Elmhurst Park Officials Pick Unpopular Site For Bandshell

ELMHURST, IL – The Elmhurst park board on Monday decided on a bandshell site that a large majority of residents in its survey opposed.

In a 4-3 vote, the board chose to place the bandshell on the east lawn of the Wilder Mansion. The building is iconic, one of the main photos on the city's website.

For months, the site's opponents said the bandshell would block views of the mansion in Wilder Park.

In the Elmhurst Park District's survey late last year, 70 percent of the more than 2,000 residents chose another site – the old ice rink north of the mansion. It was not a scientific poll.

Supporters of the east lawn said consultants recommended that location. They also said the site was included in the district's materials for the $90 million referendum in November 2024 that included the bandshell.

At least two park board members said they never settled on a site before the referendum.

During the meeting, most of the more than a dozen speakers spoke for the ice rink site, pleading with the board to follow the residents' will.

A couple of speakers urged the board to build the bandshell on the east lawn.

One of them was Colette Kubiesa, a former park board member and the mother of Claire Kubiesa. She chastised the other side, saying they should not blame others for being unaware of the site before the referendum.

She referred to the page number where the site was listed in the referendum materials.

Elmhurst resident Andrea Hutchinson asks the park board not to build a proposed bandshell east of the mansion. (David Giuliani/Patch)

"Please respect the process and the professionals who brought this to the table," Kubiesa said.

Lydia Wilder, who belongs to the mansion's namesake family, asked the board to look at the larger picture.

"We're just appalled that the open space would be taken up," she said. "You can't undo that if you put something there."

When the board took up the issue, members had no discussion. It's been debated since late May.

Members Kubiesa, Kevin Graf, Meghan Scarsella and Susan Smentek voted for the east lawn site. Dissenting were Vince Spaeth, Carolyn Ubriaco and Tim Sheehan.

They voted along the same lines as the positions they took over the summer during tense debates.

Before the board voted Monday, they held a nearly half-hour closed meeting with their attorney. It was related to apparently threatened litigation on the bandshell site selection.

During that time, dozens of people were asked to move to another room.