Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bensenville president defends referendum messaging, says manager pay and personnel matters are private
Summary
Village President Frank DeSimone pushed back against social-media criticisms, said an April referendum will decide whether Bensenville’s managerial form of government remains, denied plans for a 'strong mayor' change and emphasized personnel matters are not public.
President Frank DeSimone opened the meeting by disputing claims circulating on social media and clarifying what will appear on the April ballot: "It is up to the residents of Bensenville to decide if they wanna change our form of government." He said the only referendum is whether to stop being a managerial form of government and that a return would be to a president-and-board-of-trustees structure, not a strong-mayor system.
DeSimone addressed recent criticism tied to personnel actions and compensation, saying the village manager made "over $200,000 per year plus benefits, which totaled 302 for the year of 2025," and adding that employee terminations are not discussed publicly "to protect our employees." He also accused online "community agitators" of using FOIA to "take bits and pieces of information and twist it to make it look like the village is always wrong."
