'Real Difficult': Darien Priests' Home Approved, With 1 Official Dissenting

DARIEN, IL – Darien aldermen this week approved a home for priests, although neighbors objected, with one hinting at the church's nationwide child sex abuse scandal.

Residents said they feared the house in the Tara Hill subdivision would become an Airbnb-type operation for transients.

In March, the Society of Mount Carmel in Darien paid nearly $1.2 million for the house at 8825 Robert Road.

Neighbors warned the church would pay no property taxes, given the religious tax exemption. The home's property tax bill is now about $24,000.

Mount Carmel needed a special-use permit because the city code limits the number of unrelated people in a house to two.

Last month, the city's Plan Commission deadlocked 3-3 on the proposal.

During Monday's City Council meeting, other residents gave their names before speaking. But one man did not.

The man said a quick Google search revealed that 453 Catholic priests had been transferred over the years.

He appeared to be referring to a 2023 report from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who alleged that 451 Catholic clerics and religious brothers had abused at least 1,997 children.

Raoul's office said the church moved priests around without disclosing allegations of abuse, similar to other areas of the country.

In his comments to the council, the man said aldermen could make their own assumptions on why the church is moving around the priests.

"It's not good for us as parents. We don't want it," the man said.

Alderwoman Mary Sullivan, a Tara Hill resident and a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, said the connection had no bearing on her decision.

She said she wanted the city to be specific that the house be used as a residence and not for other purposes.

Growing up in the Chicago area, Sullivan said she knows that a rectory, which is a home for priests, is used not just as a residence, but as a place of business where a lot of activity happens.

"The (local church) has stressed that this would not be the case at this residence," Sullivan said. "I want that language in the ordinance."

Alderman Joe Kenny said he was also a member of the local church. He, too, said he wanted the house to be used as a residence only.

The city's attorney, John Murphey, noted the house gets a tax exemption. But he said the tax impact on other residents is "infinitesimal."

"One house over a tax base that happens to get exempted cannot even be measured in my opinion," Murphey said.

As for the argument about transients, Murphey said the church would violate its permit if people lived in the home for weeks at a time.

The council voted 6-1 for the request, with Alderman Eric Gustafson as the lone dissenter. Patch left a message for comment with him.

After the vote, Mayor Joseph Marchese said it had been a "real difficult issue for a lot of you."

"We followed a process, and the process led to this," he said. "I want to let you know that Alderwoman Sullivan and all of us are very sensitive to both sides of the issue."