North Cook News

Mayor Gary Grasso’s proposal that the salary for the office of mayor leap from the current $6,000 a year to $30,000 is getting personal.

Burr Ridge resident and attorney Ellen Raymond, an opponent the Grasso's pay raise plan, characterized a comment in a Grasso email sent to another pay raise opponent as “misogynistic.”

In the email exchange obtained by the DuPage Policy Journal, Grasso responded to a resident who sent him the results of an informal survey of village trustees for their views on the raise. Most of the trustees told the resident, who asked not to be identified, they opposed the proposed pay raise. In reaction to receiving the survey results, Grasso wrote to the resident: “Hope your broom didn’t let you down too hard.”

Raymond said that Grasso’s response, besides being offensive, undermines the validity of the mayor’s campaign for the pay raise. 

In early October, Grasso mailed letters to Burr Ridge residents, making his case for the raise, but he never revealed how individual residents responded. At a recent board meeting, the mayor said only that he received more positive responses that negative ones.

“If that’s true,” Raymond said, referring to Grasso’s allegation, “it’s because people feel intimidated by him and they have a right to be judging by his ‘broom’ comment.”

“It’s not the way to go about this,” she added. “If you want to survey the residents on the pay raise, make the responses anonymous and all the results transparent.”

In response to an email request for comment, Grasso said that he and the resident “were trading Halloween barbs.”

“If she took offense, she did not say so to me, but if she did to you, my apologies to her,” he said.

Raymond, who helped lead a grassroots effort that defeated a home rule question on the ballot last April, has sent village office a Freedom of Information Act request to view the responses to the Grasso pay raise letter.

In response to the informal survey of the trustees on the proposed pay raise,  Al Paveza wrote that “his salary request is out of line,” and that the trustees would make the decision about whether to place the question on the ballot.

“At this time we are still receiving the letters the mayor has received and the emails that are being received daily," Anita Mital responded. The residents are sharing their views for and against the mayor’s salary increase. So at this time I cannot answer your questions.”

Antonio Schiappa said he did not agree with the 500% increase, and that he would like the question to go on a ballot to let the voters decide.

Joseph Snyder said that he supported an increase to $12,000 a year, and opposed the cost of putting the referendum on the ballot.

Guy Franzese said that he neither supported the increase nor the referendum “at this time.”

Zachary Mottl responded that he would be a no vote on the 500% increase, and that he would consider putting the issue on the ballot depending on the wording of the question.

The pay raise is on Monday's village board agenda. If approved as proposed by Grasso, the raise will become effective May 2021, the start of the mayor’s next term. Or the board could let the voters decide by putting the question on the April ballot.

Grasso has yet announce whether he will run again.