By Stan Zegel

A controversial proposal by Village Trustee Tim Allen will be voted upon at the semi-monthly meeting of the Winfield Village Board tomorrow, Feb. 16 at 7:00 p.m. at the Village Hall, 27w465 Jewell Rd.

Mr. Allen’s proposal would, on its face, merely expand the jurisdiction of the Economic Development Task Force (on which Mr. Allen sits as a voting member) from concentrating on bringing new businesses to the original downtown, to embrace the entire village.

But Mayor Deborah Birutis says that the real goal is to repeat his success with the EDTF taking the heat as a scapegoat for his own actions in initiating the involuntary rezoning of Beecher Ave. He plans to give it more power by using his coalition of Trustees Jay Olson, Tony Reyes and —increasingly— Jim Hughes to gradually move planning and zoning issues away from the present Plan Commission and the statutory Zoning Board of Appeals.

Those bodies meet in the evening when the public can attend and have legal counsel present, but the EDTF meets a noontime, with no legal counsel.

Besides, says Mrs. Birutis, she appointed the members of the EDTF because of their interest in Town Center development, not because of any experience with more varied situations.

She told The Winfield Register that perhaps some day the jurisdiction might be justifiably expanded, but this is a political move by Mr. Allen for the wrong purpose.

With expanded jurisdiction, Mr. Allen plans to use the EDTF to initiate forcible rezoning of Roosevelt Rd., a long-discredited obsession of his, as described in a document he wrote, reprinted in our Thunderer section on page 3.

Trustee Erik Spande has spoken publicly against the proposal, saying that springing it on the Board and demanding a vote is not only illegal, but profoundly disrespectful to the other Trustees; Mr. Allen has in effect ambushed his colleagues for something that is not a high priority for anyone besides Mr. Allen. It is an example of why the Board needs the Village Attorney present at all times.

He also says the EDTF is already fully busy as it is, other members of the EDTF do not want it, and the proposal is too expansive, overlapping the responsibilities of the Plan Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals. Nor does he trust the motives behind the change. “It is sneaky and underhanded,” he says.

The Village Attorney has recommended that the charter of the EDTF be redrafted to reflect the changes, because just adding a few words here and there would be a sloppy way to do it and lead to future problems. At the Jan. 19 meeting, the majority of the board seemed content to just do the few words instead of following the Attorney’s recommendation.

Mr. Allen previously tried to accomplish his plan by a surprise less formal method, but the Village Attorney ruled that it was a violation of law to proceed along that path. “He wasted a half-hour of everyone’s time during the meeting arguing with the Attorney about why he thought voting on it was not illegal,” Mr. Spande told The Winfield Register.

Winfield Road Bridge

Before the meeting of the Village Board, at 6:45 p.m. there will be an informal presentation for the public of plans for the improvement of the Winfield Rd. bridge crossing the creek.

Liquor License for Walgreens

The board will also vote on whether to upgrade the liquor license of Walgreens to include spirits along with its present ability to sell beer and wine.

The CVS pharmacy has also applied for an identical upgrade.

Messaging During Meetings

The board will also consider banning use of electronic communications devices by Trustees during public meetings. The Illinois Attorney General has determined that “electronic messages sent or received by any public official during a public meeting that pertain to public business are public records.”

The Winfield Register has filed a formal request for all such records, which would include the e-mails and Instant Messages of the only Trustee who brings his computer to the board table, Mr. Allen, who constantly sends and receives them during the meetings. Seatmates say those are often directions from former Trustee Chris Levan, whom Mr. Allen has called “my mentor.”

Because it is difficult to police and preserve such messages so that the Village can comply with the Freedom of Information Act, the staff has recommended that the practice of electronic messaging during meetings be banned.