Burr Ridge Official Blocked From Village Board Meeting

BURR RIDGE, IL — Burr Ridge Trustee Zach Mottl has been blocked from participating in Village Board meetings before. On Monday, he was given a new reason.

A couple of minutes into the meeting, Mottl announced that he was present by phone. But Mayor Gary Grasso said the trustee knew he had two ways to participate — attending the meeting at Village Hall or taking part through the Zoom videoconferencing program.

Mottl, however, said the state Open Meetings Act and the governor's order suspending some of its provisions during the pandemic allow him to participate by phone.

Grasso responded it was unfair to offer a "special privilege" to one trustee, saying the public had the right to see its trustees either in person or on Zoom.

Grasso asked the village's lawyer, Melissa Wolf, for her legal opinion. She said the village could bar Mottl from participating.

Mottl said that he didn't think that blocking his participation would comply with the governor's order.

"You can interpret it how you like. We'll get a ruling," Mottl said. "What are you choosing to do, Gary?"

Grasso said it was up to the board to decide whether to make an exception for Mottl. He asked whether any member would move to allow the trustee to take part. No one did.

When Trustee Guy Franzese asked Mottl why he would not participate on Zoom, Mottl said it was not a secure platform and that many government entities were recommending against it. He has said before that Zoom was compromised by the Chinese Communist Party.

Mottl also said he was unable to load Zoom on his computers.

"We used to use the phone," Mottl said. "Suddenly, Gary doesn't want to use it simply because I want to use it. It's like he says 'black,' I say 'white.'"

Grasso said Mottl had the same village-issued computer tablet that others do. And he said if the trustee was having issues, the village could find another computer for him.

The mayor ordered that Mottl be muted, but not disconnected because, as a member of the public, he was entitled to listen to the meeting by telephone.

When a staffer said Mottl could simply unmute himself, Grasso said he would take further action if Mottl did so. Minutes later, Mottl spoke up a couple of times.

"Please disconnect Trustee Mottl," the mayor asked village staff.

Mottl was not heard from again during the meeting.

Under his executive order, Gov. J.B. Pritzker encourages government entities to provide different ways for the public to access meetings outside physically attending. The three ways mentioned are video, audio and telephone. None is mandated under the order.

At a February meeting, Mottl was barred from participating by phone. He said he was away on business, but the mayor said he had missed too many meetings. When Grasso asked for a motion to allow Mottl to take part, trustees were silent.

In June, Grasso had Mottl muted, accusing the trustee of being disruptive after several interruptions. But he said Mottl could still vote on issues. Mottl later said he wasn't allowed to vote. He said the village cut off his call and repeatedly blocked him from calling back in.

Since last year, the board has censured Mottl four times for such things as calling the mayor and others "mobsters." Grasso defeated Mottl in the April 2019 election.