Memorial Lights Slated for Final Vote

It's the moment we've all been waiting for: The final vote on Memorial Lights is scheduled for Jan. 30 at 8 p.m.

After numerous meetings, Glen Ellyn's Village Board of Trustees have decided to schedule two workshop meetings where Glenbard Township High School District 87, Our Field, Our Town and citizens will rehash the issues about installing lights at Glenbard West's synthetic turf practice field before the board. Those two meetings will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 23 and Jan. 30.

The Jan. 30 vote will be final and comes seven weeks before the advisory, non-binding referendum scheduled for March 20.  

According to a recent statement from the village, trustees will proceed with the vote before the referendum results because of "statutory and constitutional obligations to process and complete variation requests in as timely a manner as possible."

Jim Ozog, lawyer representing Our Field, Our Town, says there is no state statute forcing the village to vote before the referendum. However, Village President Mark Pfefferman , waiting to make a final decision based on the scheduled non-binding, advisory referendum sets the wrong precedent and would cause contentious issues to drag on for years. 

"We have to deliver better service than that to our constituents," Pfefferman said.

Trustee Carl Henninger feels the same way as President Pfefferman. Henninger said the board owes it to District 87 to provide them with a final verdict on the variance requests.

"Because of the extra number of hearings that have already been held by the plan commission, I feel like the school districts already been delayed further than the normal timing on a variance like this," Henninger said.  

Before the final meetings trustees were provided transcripts and documentation from each of the 11 plan commission meetings that typically lasted three hours.

As of Monday, Jan. 9 at about 3:00 p.m. Village Trustee Peter Cooper was on page 116 of the transcript from the plan commission meeting that occurred on Sept. 8, 2011.

"I've got plenty more to read and I will read these, and the other presentations that were made before I come to a final determination," Cooper said.

A recent Daily Herald report showed that some trustees were already in favor of lights at Memorial Field.

The final vote will be televised live and replayed throughout the week on Comcast channel 10, Wide Open West channel 6, and AT&T channel 99.