No Swearing After Darien Council Meetings: Official

DARIEN, IL — A Darien alderman is contrasting local City Council meetings with the incident last month after a meeting of the Hinsdale High School District 86 board.

Over the weekend, Alderman Tom Chlystek shared a Patch story about a confrontation after the District 86 meeting. Footage shows board member Jeff Waters approaching his colleague, Erik Held, pointing his finger and then touching Held on the shoulder.

Waters was upset with one of Held's statements during the meeting. According to both sides, Waters repeatedly used expletives in the exchange outside Hinsdale South High School in Darien.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, Chlystek took no sides in the matter. But he said he had spoken with residents after difficult meetings and never left swearing and pointing fingers at residents with whom he disagrees.

"One thing I am extremely proud of is that elected officials on Darien City Council come from many backgrounds, and have a wide range of opinions, but they have never, ever come out from meetings acting like this," said Chlystek, who represents Ward 4.

Recently, the alderman said, the council faced a "challenging" issue with the city's garbage contract. The city went with a new provider and eliminated the stickers popular with some residents.

Over three months, city officials thoroughly reviewed trash companies, listened to residents and agreed on a contract that met the needs of a majority of residents, Chlystek said.

"Was it perfect? By no means. Was it a significantly better than what we currently do? Yes. Did we even raise the bar? Yes (Our City now does Electronic Recycling at your door. No one does that currently.) At the final vote everyone agreed we came up with the best option, for the best service for our residents," the alderman said.

Chlystek said he hoped the District 86 board looks to the Darien City Council as an example of how to move things forward for constituents.

In April, District 86 voters elected four new members to the board, making up a majority. The new members criticized the decisions of the old board on the math and science curriculums, among other issues.

Earlier this month, Held filed a complaint against Waters in connection with the Oct. 28 confrontation. Waters said he did nothing wrong.