Darien Mayor Defends City Against Criticism

DARIEN, IL – Darien Mayor Joseph Marchese on Thursday defended the city government from those he said are seeking to tarnish it.

He reacted to criticism after the City Council's recent 4-3 vote to approve an auto body shop.

The mayor's comments follow a memo last week from City Administrator Bryon Vana, who asked the City Council to take a stand against inaccurate and slanderous posts about the city.

In his piece in Darien's weekly newsletter, Marchese said there was a time when people with differing viewpoints would at least acknowledge the other's view. He did not say when that was.

"Now, we live in a society where there is diminished nuance or sensibility to or ability to express subtle shadings of meaning or value," Marchese wrote. "Today, many issues are seen as black or white, with no room in the middle for compromise. As a result, people take to social media to harshly critique those who they disagree with on issues."

He said the city's aldermen and staff spend many hours researching issues before the City Council votes on them. When aldermen disagree, they walk away acknowledging the value of the other's point of view, he said.

Now, Marchese said, city officials find themselves attacked and maligned by those who disagree with their decisions.

"Rather than work to understand the data that led to our decision, they take to social media and make statements such as 'he/she is on the take,' or 'they are making backroom deals,' statements that only serve to misinform the public, and malign an elected official or staff member," the mayor said.

He said Darien's elected officials and staff are honest, working diligently to meet residents' needs.

"Those who seek to disparage us do a disservice to our city in their efforts to separate us rather than unite us in our efforts to bring about positive change to our city," Marchese said. "I can promise each and every Darien resident that both elected officials and staff have and always will have your needs as our main priority."

Marchese has weighed in before on residents' reactions to certain issues. In 2019, Marchese said he was embarrassed for the town by how residents handled their criticism of a funeral home's request for a crematory.