Darien Alderman Leaving After 2 Terms, Says He'll Miss Job

DARIEN, IL – Darien Alderman Eric Gustafson, the only incumbent City Council member to prevail in the 2023 election, is not seeking a third term in next April's election.

"Since I cannot attend meetings remotely and the fact that I plan on traveling more often to my daughter's Canadian cabin, I am not running," he said in an email to Patch on Wednesday. "I will miss the time I have spent in the position."

Gustafson's Ward 6 is Darien's westernmost ward. It includes Elizabeth Ide Elementary School, the Darien Towne Centre and the Darien-Woodridge Fire District station. The ward borders Woodridge.

In 2022, Gustafson revealed that he was against an ultimately successful tax hike ballot measure for Center Cass School District 66. This upset the referendum's supporters, who vowed to run a candidate against him in the next election.

They followed through with Rachel Lazich's candidacy, but Gustafson edged her out with 51 percent of the vote.

Meanwhile, aldermen Lester Vaughan and Tom Chlystek, who ran unopposed four years earlier, lost by lopsided margins.

In 2019, Gustafson won in a landslide.

A few months ago, Gustafson suffered a severe stroke in Ontario, Canada, where his daughter lives. He spoke about his experience at a City Council meeting.

A year earlier, his remote attendance at meetings became an issue.

Gustafson, who is an accountant by trade, was the only alderman to oppose an apartment complex as part of an overhaul of the Chestnut Court shopping center. Many in his ward spoke out against the plan.

At the meeting in question, the council blocked Gustafson's remote attendance, so he was unable to vote. The developer later pulled the apartment plan.

Early in his term, Gustafson spearheaded the opposition to a car wash in an unincorporated area bordering houses in his ward. The car wash did not happen.