Board Member Describes Tension Before Post-Meeting Confrontation

NILES, IL - The Niles Park District board member who has been accused of using a religious slur during a heated exchange with a resident after a meeting earlier this month is a longtime Niles resident and Park District leader. Ray Czarnik says the feud between him and resident Jason Trunco goes back a few years and came to another peak during, and after, a public meeting earlier this month.

"Jason came (during the public comment portion of the meeting) with some bad numbers and I pointed out that he was incorrect," Czarnik said. "After two or so years of his harassment and prodding the bear, I felt I had to wake up."

The "bad numbers" were in reference to how much money the Park District spent recently on Pioneer Park. Czarnik said he interrupted Trunco when in public comment Trunco claimed the cost to be approximately $150,000 when it was not.

Czarnik said the dispute continued after the meeting and alleges that the mayor made a comment about how board members do not respond to the public during comment periods at city meetings. A few exchanges followed between Czarnik and Trunco, with Czarnik stating that he did use a variation of the "Russian Jew" phrase that was mentioned by Trunco and witnesses in a Niles police report.

Witnesses said that after the comment was made, Trunco charged at Czarnik but the two were separated without a physical confrontation.

Trunco has already declared himself a candidate for a seat on the park board in 2019 and ran for a spot against Czarnik in 2015. Czarnik contends Trunco has been "put in place by the mayor to stir the pot."

The political rivalry between Czarnik and Niles Mayor Andrew Przybylo, according to Czarnik, dates back to Przybylo's first term when the Park District built a small T-ball field on a piece of property owned by the village of Niles.

A portion of the heated history between Czarnik and Trunco stems from an accusation Czarnik made about Trunco verbally attacking a juvenile employee of the Park District over an issue about campaign signs.

"I always stand up for kids," Czarnik said, noting that things got heated between he and Trunco during a 2016 meeting as well.

Niles police have confirmed an investigation into an alleged threat made by Czarnik after the meeting to meet Trunco "outside" has been closed. A police report more or less confirmed the version of events provided by both Czarnik in an interview with Patch and Trunco in an account published by the Journal & Topics newspaper. Two witnesses were also listed in the police report and confirmed the confrontation, which included profanity used by both Czarnik and Trunco.

Tom Elenz, executive director of the Niles Park District, says that in Czarnik "has been a dedicated member of the park board for 16 years."

"He has always done things with the best interest of kids in mind and has been instrumental in many of the project we've completed," Elenz said. "He's put a lot of time and effort into this volunteer position."

Czarnik says that after four terms on the park board, he's not sure if he will run again in 2019. Trunco is running, and the nature of the election is that two candidates get seats on the board.

And if those two just happened to be Czarnik and Trunco, Czarnik said he would have no issue with serving on the same board as him.

"I talked to Jason over the phone," Czarnik said a few days after the contentious meeting. "And we worked things out."

Photo: Ray Czarnik, via Niles Park District