Village Trustees Say No Thanks to Pay Raise Proposal

The recessionary economy is wrong time to be approving the per-meeting stipend from $100 to $125, one board member says.

Despite having approved an $8,000 pay raise for the mayor's job in July, Plainfield Village Board members opted to reject a much smaller trustee raise Monday night. With a 4-2 vote, the board rejected increasing the per-meeting fee from $100 to $125, an increase that would not have gone into effect until after the April 2013 election for three board seats and after the April 2015 election for the remaining two seats. The proposal was voted down by Trustees Dan Rippy, Garrett Peck, Margie Bonuchi and Bill Lamb. Trustees Paul Fay and Jim Racich voted in favor of it. Trustees are not allowed to approve a pay raise for themselves, according to state law. They can only OK increases that go into effect after an election. The same applies to the …

•  6 Comments
• Photos (1)

Sheila Raddatz

8:35 am on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Eyes, I agree and don't agree slightly. I agree that more payouts is not comfortable for any budget. Where I disagree, and technically agree again with you, is that perhaps with slightly more pay, maybe more of the "more qualified" people (as you put it) or more people that fit the demographics of the area would be encouraged to run on the board. We need people on the board that will represent …   more ›

About Town

Plainfield Village Officials Dipping and Flipping for Charity

If you hear heckling while you're ordering your burgers and fries at Culver's next week, it may be because of who's standing behind the couner.

Fay, where are my fries? Peck, what the heck? I said hold the onions. Collins, you call this lop-sided mess a cone? Expect to hear heckling if you dine at the Culver’s at 13349 S. Route 59 next Tuesday. Those burger flippers may be incompetent, but they sure look familiar. Haven’t I seen that mug on an election poster somewhere? Yes, you have. You’ve seen them on the local cable channel and in parades, too. And during lunch and dinner May 10, you'll be seeing village of Plainfield officials serving up burgers, fries and custard to unsuspecting Culver’s restaurant patrons. That will explain why the employees look so fetching in their hairnets; you simply can’t camouflage political charisma. And Margie Bonuchi will be flaunting it in that …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Kachel Exits Stage Left as Rippy's Sworn in as New Village Trustee

A small reception was held during a break in the Plainfield Village Board meeting to celebrate one trustee's departure and another's new tenure.

Plainfield Village Board members said goodbye to their colleague Larry Kachel Monday night and welcomed newcomer Dan Rippy to their ranks. Kachel, who was appointed to the board two years ago, opted not to run in the April general election. Rippy, a Joliet-based lawyer, was elected as were incumbents Paul Fay and Bill Lamb. All three men were sworn in Monday by village Clerk Michelle Gibas, and a small reception with cake and punch held in their and Kachel's honor.

• Photos (8)

Morse Campaign Donor to Land Contract if Wheatland Town Building OK'd

Some township board members were surprised when they learned a construction management contract was to be awarded to a firm condemned for "pay-to-play" tactics.

At least one big campaign contributor is in line to land a large contract if Wheatland Township voters give the green light on a new $1.5 million town hall tonight. Wight and Co. of Darien has been tapped for a construction management contract worth about $60,000 for the proposed new building, proposed for township-owned land at 4232 Tower Court in Naperville.   Wight is the same company that was condemned for “pay-to-play” politics after a Chicago Tribune investigation documented in 2008 that it donated $50,000 to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and received $10 million in state contracts. Wheatland electors who attend tonight's annual town meeting are to vote on whether the new town hall project goes forward. More than 55 Wheatland …

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)

Peck Pushes Village Board to Discuss Implementing Term Limits

The proposal comes in the wake of Naperville residents voting last fall to limit board members to three terms.

At the instigation of Trustee Garrett Peck, the Plainfield Village Board will be talking term limits Monday night. It's not necessarily a concept that he agrees or disagrees, Peck said, as much as a topic that deserves to be considered, especially as the village heads into another election cycle. There will be at least one new face on the board come May. "I've had several residents ask me to bring it up," he said. "I'd like the board to have a dialog to see where everybody is on it." The discussion comes on the heels of the November election in Naperville, in which voters overwhelmingly supported a term-limit referendum. More than 70 percent voted in favor of limiting all positions, including that of the mayor, to three terms, starting …

• Photos (1)

Downtown Historic District's an All or Nothing Deal, State Official Says

Businesses can't be left out of the district simply because they don't want to be part of it, village officials are told.

If the village wants to create a downtown historic district, it can’t selectively draw boundaries so businesses that don’t want to be part of it can be left out, the Plainfield Village Board was told Monday. Catherine O’Connell, manager of local government services for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, said it’s ultimately a “majority rules” scenario because a district represents a uniform collection of buildings linked together to protect the historical integrity of an area. “We can’t gerrymander a historic district around property owners who don’t want to be in it,” she said. Or rather, you can, but the state is not likely to certify such a district and thus those in it won’t be eligible for federal tax breaks and the village …

• Photos (1)

Arizona Shooting Prompts Trustee to Push for Village Hall Metal Detectors

Paul Fay says the device would offer needed protection for elected officials, but the concept is opposed by at least two board members.

Plainfield Trustee Paul Fay says a metal detector is needed at village hall to prevent a shooting similar to that in which an Arizona congresswoman was gravely injured and six people killed. Fay, who broached the subject with fellow board members this week, said it’s a sad commentary on the current state of the world but precautions are necessary. “I am very serious about this,” he said. “There are too many incidents of this kind in our culture.” Fay’s idea would be to install an unmanned monitoring system at the front door of village hall, 24401 Lockport St. Village employees would be trained on how to handle a situation in which it was activated, and a police officer attending village board meetings could do the same thing after hours, …

• Photos (2)

Trustees Voice Support for Stockade Plans, but Still Have Questions

Staff directed to work with developer to answer board questions before bringing the project back for site plan and facade grant review.

Downtown restaurant developer Jason Morales inched a bit closer to getting site plan and façade grant approval Monday night from the Plainfield Village Board, but trustees remained frustrated that several basic questions remain unanswered. Among them: What will the garage door-style roll-up front window actually look like? Will the sealing on the porous recycled 100-year-old brick proposed for the façade last longer than five or 10 years? And what changes will result in the building being exempt from national or local historic landmark designation? Morales announced in November that he planned to open the Stockade Bar & Grill in the 24108 W. Lockport St. building that now houses the Combat-Do martial arts training center. At the time, he …

• Photos (1)