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Residents criticize trustees, demand transparency and more review time for contracts
Summary
Multiple residents used the public-comment period to accuse trustees of bullying behavior and rushed decision-making and to urge greater transparency and longer review windows for contracts and board business.
Several speakers used the public-comment portion of the Village of Manteno Board of Trustees meeting to criticize recent board conduct and press for more transparency and time for review of contracts.
Sandy Chish, a resident, said she watched a replay of the prior meeting and called the conduct she observed "bullying, petty, overbearing reactions," adding, "What I saw was the same behavior that caused some of you to lose the election." Bob Foresight and other residents urged the board to "bring the town back together" and criticized actions they said had deepened divisions.
Other speakers focused on the timing and review of contracts. Paul Motel said he was concerned trustees were asked to vote on contracts with little advance notice and said it "didn't seem like good practice" that some contracts were provided with only a 48-hour review window over a holiday weekend. He asked when residents could expect more transparent notice of committee meetings and praised changes that scheduled some committee meetings at 6 p.m. to improve public access.
Resident Greg Olajar asked for clarification about local public-works activity near his home and whether work related to a proposed firing range had resumed; a trustee replied the work under way was finishing an original berm and that discussions about an off-site firing range had been tabled for the new board to explore.
Why it matters: Public-comment criticism underscores resident concern about how the board conducts business and the transparency of hiring and contract approvals. Trustees and staff heard repeated calls for more time to review documents and for meeting times that residents and employees can attend.
No formal board action resulted directly from the public comments at this meeting. Residents asked the board to consider procedural changes; trustees said they would review the contracts and that some committee meeting times had already been adjusted to 6 p.m. in an effort to increase participation.
