Darien Alderman's Ouster Sought By Center Cass Official

DARIEN, IL – A Center Cass School District 66 official resigned from two Darien committees last week, expressing his differences with the city.

In an email to the city Wednesday, school board member Brian Liedtke said he was immediately leaving the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Economic Development Committee.

He criticized the city government, but took particular aim at Ward 6 Alderman Eric Gustafson.

In Tuesday's election, Gustafson was against a proposed nearly 20 percent increase in Center Cass' part of the property tax bill. Liedtke, meanwhile, was a vocal supporter of the measure.

Liedtke said he and others have found a candidate to run in Ward 6 in the April election. He said he needed to focus his time and energy on supporting candidates with a "forward vision for this city."

Gustafson did not return a message for comment.

In a text exchange with Patch, Liedtke did not identify the Ward 6 candidate, but questioned the relevance of a story about his resignations.

After last week's election, Liedtke said on social media that "selfish tendencies" existed among those who voted against the tax increase.

In his email to city officials, he said it did not seem as if the city government cared for young families like his.

"Our city is stagnant and we're watching the surrounding communities evolve. While other towns' demographics change and amenities are developed to attract young families, Darien remains stubbornly with a heavier senior demographic," Liedtke said. "Alderman (Tom) Chlystek made this clear to a Center Cass supporter who recently spoke to the City Council earlier this week."

Asked about this, Chlystek said in an email that he was a supporter of investing in Darien – from backing new stop lights for traffic safety to new sidewalks to get students safely to school to concerts at Carriage Greens Country Club.

"However, the tone of the majority of the council is no taxes at all costs," Chlystek said. "This of course will limit investments that could bring young professionals and families to our community. Whereas some neighboring towns will invest heavily into their community. As an example, Willowbrook is looking at a significant (tax increment financing) district to rejuvenate the area around Sterigenics, in order to bring new businesses and residents to their community."

In his email, Liedtke said Ward 6 in particular seemed not to care about young families, "putting self in front of others."

"I cannot help but ask myself, if Alderman Gustafson remained neutral and not used his position as a city leader to slander the district and spread misinformation, how this vote would have turned out," Liedtke said.

When Liedtke wrote the email, the tax increase measure was nine votes behind. Now, it's nine votes ahead, according to unofficial returns. Mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day continue to come in.

"When the neighboring Darien school districts have a tax rate that is almost 30% higher than District 66, but District 66 residents refuse to acknowledge that, we have a problem. Darien 61 has a 2.95% tax rate, and now Darien 63, with their successful referendum, will have a 2.96% tax rate," Liedtke said.

He said some Darien area residents get it, pointing to successful tax hike referendums Tuesday in Cass District 63 and Downers Grove District 58.

"Frustrations and emotion aside," Liedtke said another reason for his departure from the committees is that the school board has taken him away from the city meetings. He said he would need to spend time focusing on a tax increase referendum in April if the current one fails.

According to the U.S. Census, Darien has a higher percentage of those 65 and older than the state average – 21 percent to 17 percent. Downers Grove and Woodridge are at 19 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

Here is the full text of Center Cass School District 66 board member Brian Liedtke's email to Darien officials last Wednesday:

Good Morning Mayor Marchese and Chairmen of the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Economic Development Committee:

I am writing to you today to inform you of my immediate resignation from the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Economic Development Committee. I wanted to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude for the 6+ years I have spent on Planning and Zoning and the past year on the Economic Development Committee. It has been my pleasure to have served the city and the community with pride on these two committee boards. I especially want to express my appreciation for Jordan, who has been nothing short of amazing to work with.

Being an elected school board member and going through two referendum challenges has really shown me the true makeup of our community and what they value.When I submitted a letter with feedback, around frustrations and concerns with Alderman Gustafson and how he was representing Ward 6, in regards to the Center Cass referendum, I heard back only from Mary Sullivan. Nobody else in city leadership bothered to write me back. And with unofficial results showing the November referendum attempt failing by 9 votes, I have to turn my attention to April.

As I mentioned in that aforementioned letter, in addition to my school board duties, we have found a candidate to run for Ward 6 and I need to focus my time and energy on finding and supporting candidates who have a future forward vision for this city. As a young family, I do not feel like Darien supports me or cares about me. Our city is stagnant and we're watching the surrounding communities evolve. While other town's demographics change and amenities are developed to attract young families, Darien remains stubbornly with a heavier senior demographic. Alderman Chlystek made this clear to a Center Cass supporter who recently spoke to the City Council earlier this week. To be clear, there is nothing wrong with seniors living within a community but a community thrives on diversity, and needs young families as well. What is the City doing to attract young families? In fact, it's highly plausible, with more cuts to Center Cass on the immediate horizon, a lot of young families will be looking to move out. Ward 6 in particular, seems to not care about young families and education, putting self in front of others.This becomes dangerous for my kids when now their school loses extra curricular activities, lacks critical resources to meet their social, emotional and mental health needs, sees class sizes increase, and has a reduced school day. I cannot help but ask myself, if Alderman Gustafson remained neutral and not used his position as a city leader to slander the district and spread misinformation, how this vote would have turned out. When the neighboring Darien school districts have a tax rate that is almost 30% higher than District 66, but District 66 residents refuse to acknowledge that, we have a problem. Darien 61 has a 2.95% tax rate, and now Darien 63, with their successful referendum, will have a 2.96% tax rate. Some members of Darien do get it. Two of the 3 schools in our area successfully passed referendums, as Downers Grove 58 also passed theirs. The only one in our area that failed, was led by a misinformation campaign by Alderman Gustafson. He cannot be allowed to represent his ward.

Ultimately, frustrations and emotion aside, the key reason for my resignation is that during the lead up to this November election, school board duties have taken me away from PZC and EDC meetings and with unofficial results showing the November referendum losing by only 9 votes so far, I will need to double down my time, and energy, and commitment to our school district and community to get this to pass in April. I have to more strongly counter all the misinformation that has flooded Ward 6 residents, fueled by inaccurate and false statements from the alderman himself. My number one goal for April is to get this referendum passed for Center Cass. Equally as important is ensuring Alderman Gustafson no longer is able to represent his Ward 6 constituents, as he is unfit to serve and does not represent all members of his community.

I once again have thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity over the years, first working with Mayor Weaver and then Mayor Marchese, first learning from Steve and now Jordan in the planning department. It truly has been a joy, and I have learned a lot about the process and community development. But now I need to turn my focus to more important work, that directly impacts my family and many families I have been in contact with, during my school board work. I wish Darien nothing but the best, I wish these committees a lot of success and continued learning, and I encourage Darien to be more open minded and inclusive of young families, with an eye to the future.

Regards,

Brian Liedtke