Much Chest-Thumping but No Plan to Stop Crime

After I wrote this piece, it was my expectation that we would have an honest discussion about the increasing crime in Burr Ridge followed by a strong and transparent plan to deter it. I should have known better. Like an alcoholic who refuses to admit their problem and never gets better, the Mayor and Village Board in Burr Ridge hide problems and angrily lash out when asked to change and improve.

For nearly 60 minutes at the August 10th board meeting, I listened while Chief Madden, the Burr Ridge Police Commissioners, and a retired Burr Ridge officer thumped their chests and waved their accreditations around in what can only be described as a shame-driven-pride fest. Now, even Teamsters Local 700, the union representing the Burr Ridge Police Department, has weighed in. I get it. The union, the retirees and the Commissioners feel compelled to support their own and they are ashamed of the truth -- there is a problem.

But you wouldn’t have known it from listening to Chief Madden. Likely at the behest of the Mayor, the Chief presented misleading and outdated information, lumping many years together: 2013-2018. Most importantly, he failed to talk about trends, and he failed to offer any opportunities for improvement or ideas on how to deter the rising crime. In short, the Chief and the Board said, “nothing to see here folks.” Then they started to back it up with the ongoing ad hominem attacks on my character, even censuring me again and demanding my resignation.

But what they still haven’t addressed was the entire point of my letter -- what’s behind the rising crime wave in the Village and what’s being done to stop it? As I earlier wrote, the unknown about crime only compounds the fear among residents.

Here’s the truth: crime in Burr Ridge rose seven percent from 2017 to 2018, according to City-Data.com (2018 statistics are the most recent available via the FBI.) Over the same five-year period, 2013-2018, that Madden used in his presentation, Burr Ridge saw an increase in property crime each year. The Chief didn’t mention that.

And based on the 2019 data he reported, along with local news reports and anecdotal evidence that I’m reading and counting, there will be an increase from 2018 to 2019 and again from 2019 to 2020. In addition, a City-Data.com comparison of neighboring villages shows that Burr Ridge has a much higher danger index than some neighboring villages. Another crime data site,Alarms.org, ranks Burr Ridge 50th on a list of Illinois’ safest cities. Hinsdale ranks 10th.

In striking contrast to our town, Brian King, the Chief of Police of Hinsdale, a much safer place to live than Burr Ridge according to the data, held an online discussion on August 17th, “Forum on Crime and Community Safety,” with residents to discuss a recent uptick in crime. Is it too much to ask that we at least do the same here?

But instead of asking when we can have that honest chat, one of the Burr Ridge Police Commissioners, appointed by the Mayor and not elected, angrily asked, who are you, Zach Mottl, to ask these questions. Good point, Commissioner. I’m a Trustee in your village, elected to represent the people. It’s my job to ask questions, hold the staff accountable, demand better, and make sure taxpayers are getting their money’s worth. In my nearly four years on the board I have never once heard a report from the Police Commissioners. So who are you, Commissioner? Because I’ve asked about this several times.

Perhaps the Police Commissioners are not aware that on March 9th, at the Board meeting, I asked to put this discussion on a future Board agenda and encouraged my fellow Trustees to join me in a broader discussion about smarter policing solutions. Also, on July 27th I emailed Village Administrator Doug Pollock to inquire again about this subject. No response. Then, on July 28th I emailed Chief Madden to ask for answers from him and solicit his ideas on reducing the crime. I followed up with him again on July 30th and August 4th. No response was received.

Nor have I heard one world about how we can get better outcomes, meaning less crime, from the 60% of the Village budget we spend on policing. Other than the times I object, the Board hires officers and buys them gear via the consent agenda, meaning there will be no discussion and it’s lumped into a mass vote on everything from buying road salt to payroll. Really? This is where we spend 60% of taxpayer’s money and we are not going to talk about if we get a good value or if there are other solutions like cameras, more part-time officers, etc. that could improve results and lower costs?

Without oversight and transparency, any system can go awry. Here, what we get is more crime and more expenses and the data proves that. Burr Ridge spends more per capita on police than our neighboring communities and we have more officers per capita than our neighboring communities.

Our police are getting extra generous pensions too, and Grasso wants us to pay even more for them when they are already well above the state requirements for pension increases. So for all this money and personnel, you’d think we would be seeing better outcomes than comparable communities, like Hinsdale, that have fewer officers and spend less money. We don’t.

What’s worse, I tried to get additional data to help me understand what’s going on. Since the Mayor instructed Village staff to not work with me, I am forced to file Freedom of Information Requests (FOIA’s) to get data from the Village to do my job as Trustee. I filed FOIA’s to get all the records for the past few years from the Board of Police Commissioners, the Police Personnel Committee and others. The Village Attorney denied my FOIA’s. So much for transparency and accountability. If I can’t get it, good luck to the general public.

And while Mayor Grasso was chastising me for asking what can be done about the crime, he publicly ruminated about which of my neighbors might be talking to me about their concerns. I tried to reply, but as usual, he won’t let me say much in the board meetings. However, just like a mobster, he pressured my neighbors to confess. He actually called several of them, leaving bizarre messages about “Zach Mottl” and “the Crime”. A few thought something happened to me and they called. They were even more bothered because they did not receive a call a few weeks ago when Patch reported on yet another robbery in Burr Ridge, and in this case, the crooks dropped some evidence in the street right in front of my house. Our subdivision has cameras, like many in Burr Ridge, which the police can access. Neighbors were wondering why they didn’t hear from Grasso or the police to get access to the cameras to try and solve that crime.

Don’t get me wrong, I support the police force in Burr Ridge. I even donated thousands of dollars in masks and hand sanitizer to our PD and recently donated to the Concerns of Police Survivors in support of families of fallen officers. But I do not support an arrogant and unaccountable police force or a force that allows itself to be used as a political tool. When they refuse to answer reasonable questions, when they feel they are above reproach and reprimand, when they have no plans to improve, when they engage in personal attacks on those who seek to simply ask how they can do better, I wonder, WHY? Then I think of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”