Burr Ridge Officials Mum On Secret Meeting

BURR RIDGE, IL — Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso wasn't at the helm when a majority of the Village Board met secretly in 2018 with a prospective developer who was likely to have business before the board.

But Patch wanted to know whether the mayor would condone such a get-together. Before the board's meeting Monday, Patch asked him the question. He walked away.

The mayor may be in a tough position to comment. One of the meeting's participants was former Trustee Zach Mottl, Grasso's political adversary. Grasso has minced few words in his criticism of Mottl over the years.

But if Grasso took Mottl to task for attending the meeting, his criticism would extend to two other participants, current trustees Tony Schiappa and Joe Snyder, both Grasso allies.

In recent interviews, Mottl said the meeting was wrong, while Snyder acknowledged it happened, but defended it legally. Then-Mayor Mickey Straub, who attended it, said such private meetings of the majority happened on his watch, but he did not recall the one in particular.

Schiappa did not return Patch's messages before its story on the secret meeting last week. After Monday's meeting, Patch asked Schiappa about it, to which he responded, "I have no comment for you."

The question was posed while two of Schiappa's colleagues, Guy Franzese and Al Paveza, sat next to him. Neither was invited to the 2018 meeting. Nor was Trustee Anita Mital.

Under the law, a majority of the trustees can get together to talk about subjects unrelated to village business, such as the weather or sports. But the state's Open Meetings Act generally requires that a majority meet in public in advertised meetings.

The October 2018 meeting was set up through text messages, with Mayor Straub and the three trustees taking part. A majority is not supposed to take part in a discussion, even online, outside an advertised meeting.

The prospective developer was Adam Firsel of Core Acquisitions. In February 2019, Chicago-based Core Acquisitions and Orland Park-based Edwards Realty announced they paid $15 million for the retail part of the Village Center, then a dozen years old.

The Village Center has regular business before the board. Earlier this month, the board approved a business district for the Village Center and County Line Square.

The district involves a 1 percent sales tax for the businesses in the district. The tax is expected to raise up to $50 million over more than two decades for improvements inside the district, officials say. The Village Center backed the district and the tax.