Rare No Vote On Western Springs Village Board

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – The Western Springs Village Board is a bit of a no-drama zone, where trustees are collegial with one another.

No zingers. No political pot-shots. No rants.

But the discussion over a townhouse development got pointed Monday night.

And the Village Board saw its first no vote since May 2021, according to meeting minutes.

Trustee Philip Nawrocki voted against all eight zoning changes to make the development a reality. Amy Avakian gave a thumbs down to one.

Nawrocki told his colleagues that the 29-unit complex would "fundamentally" change Western Springs, which he termed a "home-based" town.

He acknowledged he was a resident of the neighboring subdivision, but did not say during the meeting that he was across the street from the proposed complex.

Before the board's discussion, Village President Heidi Rudolph asked for a motion and a second for the first zoning change.

Nawrocki broke in, asking, "When do we get to discuss this?"

And Avakian said, "Is this a done deal?"

Rudolph pointed out the board follows Robert's Rules of Order, which require that a motion and a second precede a discussion.

During the debate, Nawrocki suggested trustees did not review all the public's feedback on the development, which is planned for 5600 Wolf Road.

"I know I'm not being naive that we've probably on this board not read all of it because we had a 4,400-page agenda today," Nawrocki said. "Everybody's not going to read everything, but every public comment has not been in favor of this project going forward."

Trustee Nicole Chen took exception to Nawrocki's comments.

"I actually read every single word of all the transcripts from all three Plan Commission meetings that occurred here," she said. "So I take slight offense because it's very serious. The Plan Commission is very serious."

Village President Heidi Rudolph also said she read every comment and attended every meeting.

"(I) have understood everything that has been changed and everything that has been worked on over the last seven months," she said.

The next Village Board election is April 1. It's like every other election for the last 20 years – no competition for the village's elected posts.

During these years, the candidates on the ballot have the endorsement of the Western Springs Caucus, which historically recommends residents for village offices.

As for the last no votes, they both took place at the May 10, 2021, meeting. Then-Trustee James John was against an intergovernmental agreement to proceed with an upgrade to concrete for the Hillgrove Avenue project. Later, Trustee Scott Lewis voted against having the village staff pursue a stormwater fee study.