COD Civic Center Agreement Approved By Glen Ellyn Trustees

GLEN ELLYN, IL — After more than a half hour of debate, Glen Ellyn Trustees approved the agreement for College of DuPage to build a business incubator in the Glen Ellyn Civic Center. The motion was approved by a 4-2 vote with Trustees Ladesic and Fasules voting against the proposal.

Before the COD agreement was discussed, Trustees denied a motion from School District 41 to delay the Civic Center vote until January so they could submit their own formal proposal. The village says it hopes to work with District 41 and the Park District to find a space in the future.

Throughout the debate, Trustee Ladesic rallied for the school district and proposed the the village still allow the school district time to present a proposal after the vote. Ladesic later asked Village President Diane McGinley to recuse herself from the vote. McGinley has worked as a substitute teacher for District 41.

McGinley said there was no need for her to recuse herself because she was no longer employed with the school district. "My vote is yes," she said.

During the discussion, Trustee John Kenwood focused on how the community will benefit from Innovation DuPage occupying space at the Civic Center.

"I'm not buying into the economic development being a huge aspect of this," he said. He went on to quote another "wise trustee" as saying "We're here to bridge tradition with the future." Then he commented, "I like that because the tradition is the Civic Center is here for the people."

After the vote, McGinley said "I am very excited to welcome College of DuPage to this building."

>>Image via GoogleMaps Streetview

What do you think of the COD building Innovation DuPage in the Civic Center. Let us know in the comments.