In a letter from his attorney, Shawn Collins, Councilman Dick Furstenau offered to settle his lawsuit against the city of Naperville and several of its officials. Furstenau is seeking an apology from the city to end the civil suit that came after his acquittal on battery charges against a Naperville police officer. He is also seeking an unspecified amount of money from the city that, presumably, will be negotiated. The latest round in this saga comes on the heels of Furstenau's fellow councilman, Grant Wehrli, publicly chastising Furstenau for the lawsuit. Wehrli claimed in a letter he read in Council chambers that the Furstenau lawsuit is responsible for the bulk of the city's largest municipal property tax rate increase in 17 years. Is this an olive branch that Furstenau is extending to the city? If so, should the city accept it, apologize, pay the money and move on? Or, should the city stand firm and let this play out in a Chicago courtroom? The comment lines are open.
City Council: March 2008 Archives
In a stinging - and very public - rebuke, Naperville city councilman Grant Wehrli pulled no punches in attacking one of his own, fellow councilman Dick Furstenau. In a letter read in an open meeting yesterday and published in The Sun and at napersun.com today (Thurs., 3.27), Wehrli takes Furstenau to task over his lawsuit againt the city and several of its employees. Wehrli says these are tough economic times - where the city is faced with declining revenues - and is faced with the onerous task of voting on the largest municipal property tax rate increase in 17 years. But the bulk of that tax rate increase, Wehrli says, is the direct responsibility of Furstenau because of the money needed to pay for the city's defense of his lawsuit which, at last count, was estimated to be in the $600,000 range. Is this how you want your tax dollars spent or is Dick Furstenau right for making a stand and suing the city?
Friday's Sun reports that Will County authorities are asking the federal government for funding to begin the long-awaited extension of 95th Street, east of Plainfield-Naperville Road, over the DuPage River, to Boughton Road in Bolingbrook. If the project is completed by 2011 as officials hope, will it have been worth the wait?
