Clarendon Hills Caucus Criticized, Loses About Half Of Key Members

CLARENDON HILLS, IL – A Clarendon Hills group that has recommended candidates for village offices since the 1940s saw the departure of about half of its key participants earlier this month.

Thirteen of the original 27 residents selected to serve on the nominating committees for the Clarendon Hills Community Caucus have resigned in protest. Another was listed as a confirmed replacement member. They signed a statement spelling out their objections.

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Last week, Patch left a message for comment at the email address listed on the caucus's Facebook page. It went unreturned.

"What we really want the public to understand is that we volunteered because we believed the Caucus could be a fair and constructive way to identify good candidates for our community and the future of our town," Corrine Natarelli, one of those who resigned, said in a message to Patch. "As the process unfolded, we became increasingly concerned about how it was being run and ultimately felt it was no longer operating in good faith. That's why so many of us chose to resign."

She added, "The Caucus may try to continue with the people who remain, but residents should understand that any endorsements it makes represent only that group of residents. Anyone can run for an open board seat, with or without Caucus endorsement."

Many wealthy Chicago suburbs, including Western Springs and La Grange, have caucuses. They are designed to avoid the influence of special interests' agendas.

Some of the resigning members' specific criticisms:

• The bylaws were last revised in 2016 and do not expressly address the current circumstance in which both the chair and vice chair positions are vacant.
• Participation in recent caucus election cycles has been limited.
• Recent committee communications have become increasingly contentious and, in the resigning members' view, have distracted from the work of identifying and evaluating candidates.
• Recent caucus meetings have been scheduled with limited notice. The Aug. 27 kickoff meeting was announced on Facebook two days earlier, while the participants got a day's notice for the Sept. 7 meeting, which was Labor Day. The Aug. 25 meeting coincided with Hinsdale Central's curriculum night, despite the conflict being raised in advance.

"We believe a community candidate-selection system should operate under clear and consistently applied rules, maintain appropriate decorum, and provide confidence to participants, candidates, and residents," the resigning members said. "Any subsequent recommendations or endorsements made through the Caucus process will occur without our participation and should not be understood as reflecting our judgment regarding any candidate."

The resigning members urged residents to consider independently running for open positions on the boards for the village, park district and public library.

"The Caucus future is unknown at this point, and anyone is able to run for office with or without Caucus endorsement," they said.

The listed resigning members:

• Michael Abraham
• Bridget DeMartino
• Laura Donnelly
• Ed Donnelly
• Megan Donnelly
• Ryan Keefe
• Kate Kiyosaki
• Andrea Magee
• Corrine Natarelli
• Maureen Noble
• Taskeen Pagany
• Marisa Sanchez
• Brad Tertell
• Josh Whiteside