Hello friends of Herrick and Danada,
Unfortunately, as you may have heard, the Naperville City Council swiftly approved (with a 7-to-1 vote) Pulte's plan for development on the Nokia campus adjacent to Herrick Lake and Danada Forest Preserves.
THANK YOU, EVERYONE, for your support and letters. Our petition achieved 9K supporters, and the City Council received 125 emailed letters in a less than 24-hour period before the public hearing.
We'd also like to THANK Councilman Patrick Kelly for coming out in the pouring rain to see the property with his own eyes and for being the lone voice of reason and consideration on the Naperville City Council regarding this issue, simply urging for more time for proper public feedback and discussion. His was the sole vote against Pulte's existing plan.
It is incredibly disappointing that 9K supporters of our petition were completely disregarded by both the City and the DuPage Forest Preserve. Likewise, the City Council could not be bothered to acknowledge or even discuss the 125-plus emails it received questioning points of Pulte's proposal. The City Council also refused to address the seven criteria from the PUD it put in place a year ago to protect this property, essentially making its own word worthless.
The warp speed the three lame-duck City Council members and the rest of the board was able to push this huge, complicated development through in less than one evening is ethically questionable at the very least. Speaking of ethics, in the spirit of complete transparency, Mayor Chirico should have noted for the record in this case that he has received multiple campaign contributions from Pulte. He chose not to bring that up.
The people of DuPage County should be seriously questioning the leadership of their Forest Preserve, which put up an underwhelming and hollow response to this impactful development on its borders.
The Forest Preserve couldn’t even be bothered to send a warm body to officially speak (virtually) or answer questions at ANY of the planning or city council public hearings. It sent a letter from one staff member instead. There was no meaningful feedback or push-back on the proposal's REAL ISSUES—the need for more open space, a much more substantial buffer to protect fragile preserve habitat and wetlands, or even a request for an independent Environmental Impact Study as a best practice.
Consequently, any environmental issues that were brought up by the public for discussion at the hearings were immediately shut down because Pulte’s lawyer could claim that the DuPage Forest Preserve already supported this housing development. They made their constituents absolutely powerless.
Please feel free ask your ELECTED DuPage Forest Preserve Commissioners to explain their actions (or lack thereof):
www.dupageforest.org/our-board/board-commissioners
We'd love to hear responses, since we have not been able to get a straight answer (or even any replies) nearly all of them.
This is shameful neglect of even the most basic duties and stewardship.
Obviously, a lot of questions have been left unanswered about this whole proposal and process.
Naperville and DuPage deserve better than this. Future residents deserve better than this. What a missed opportunity for excellence over mediocrity.
For the record, the SEVEN City Council members who overwhelmingly approved this project on Pulte's behalf are listed below. If you would like to offer feedback or remind them that every one of their decisions and every one of their votes are cumulative and have a lasting impact (not just before re-elections), please feel free to reach out to them for answers:
Paul Hinterlong
PHONE (630) 305-5362
EMAIL hinterlongp@naperville.il.us
Councilman Hinterlong's current term expires in 2023.
Theresa Sullivan
PHONE(630) 305-5334
EMAIL sullivant@naperville.il.us
Councilwoman Sullivan’s current term expires in 2023.
Judith Brodhead
PHONE (630) 305-5335
EMAIL brodheadj@naperville.il.us
Councilwoman Brodhead's current term expires in 2021. - Term Limit
Kevin Coyne
PHONE (630) 305-5331
EMAIL coynek@naperville.il.us
Councilman Coyne's current term expires in 2021.
Patricia A. Gustin
PHONE (630) 305-5332
EMAIL gustinp@naperville.il.us
Councilwoman Gustin's current term expires in 2023.
John Krummen
PHONE (630) 305-5333
EMAIL krummenj@naperville.il.us
Councilman Krummen's current term expires in 2021.
Dr. Benjamin M. White
PHONE (630) 305-5318
EMAIL whiteb@naperville.il.us
Re-Elected: Councilman White's current term expires in 2021.
Likewise, here is the Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico's contact info. Please feel free to ask him why he did not disclose, at least for transparency's sake, that he has received multiple campaign contributions from Pulte. While these donations are legal, his transparency with this much at stake surely would've been appreciated.
Steve Chirico
PHONE (630) 420-6018
EMAIL mayor@naperville.il.us
Mayor Chirico's current term expires in 2023.