'Malicious' Comments On Darien City Government

DARIEN, IL – A top Darien official last week suggested the City Council consider taking a stand against "malicious" comments about the city government.

In a memo to the council, City Administrator Bryon Vana said he periodically checks for posts about the city on Nextdoor, a neighborhood-focused social media app. Many of the posts about the city, he said, are "inaccurate, malicious and slanderous."

He said the city welcomes feedback, whether it's positive or negative. But he said several recent posts, particularly about the council's zoning approval of a chain auto body shop, crossed the line of reasonableness.

Some of the comments suggested corruption was involved in the city's approval. One person wrote, "Gee, I wonder who is getting the kickbacks." Another person responded that a particular city official was too friendly with the developer. Yet someone else said, "It's all about whose palm got greased."

Vana said the challenge is responding to such social media posts. The city, he said, typically responds to questions and inaccurate comments on Facebook and the city's Nextdoor page.

"Sometimes I will comment on a non-Darien page (Nextdoor) post if there is a serious allegation or material misinformation," Vana said. "We don't respond to comments as they reflect opinions and we encourage that kind of feedback, positive or negative."

Vana asked the council to approve a statement or resolution denouncing comments like the ones suggesting corruption. The statement, he said, could include the city's expectations for people to be reasonable with social media public posts.

"This statement is by no means suggested to discourage comments but to ask for civility from people using social media," Vana said. "Any statement approved by the Council is symbolic in nature, but is important since social media is integrated in much of what we do."

Last week, Mayor Joseph Marchese decided to keep Q Bar owner Robert Taft as a member of the city's Economic Development Committee. This was after Taft sent private social media messages to former Alderman Tom Chlystek, calling his wife a "pig," suggesting the alderman take his own life and bragging that he made more money than Chlystek.

The mayor's critics, including resident Brian Liedtke, have taken him to task for keeping someone involved in city government who has made such vulgar remarks. Taft has apologized.