'Shame On You,' Elmhurst Park Official Tells Residents

ELMHURST, IL – The Elmhurst park board on Monday rejected asking voters about the controversial proposed bandshell site.

In doing so, a top official chided residents in the audience that they didn't know the bandshell's location before a 2024 referendum.

"Shame on you for not paying attention during the process," the board's president, Kevin Graf, said.

The audience groaned. Some shot back that Graf should be ashamed.

Recently, the Elmhurst Park District's executive director, Jim Rogers, turned down a petition with nearly 1,200 signatures.

The document called for an advisory referendum on whether the bandshell should be built on the iconic Wilder Mansion's east lawn. The outcome would not bind the board. In January, a 4-3 majority voted to put it on the lawn.

At Monday's meeting, the board debated whether to place the referendum on November's ballot. In a memo last week, both Graf and Rogers recommended approving such a move.

Meghan Scarsella (left), an Elmhurst Park District board member, reacts Monday after Spaeth raised his voice when she broke in during his comments about the bandshell issue. He apologized. In the middle is member Carolyn Ubriaco. (David Giuliani/Patch)

But Graf said he only signed the memo because it was part of the park board's procedure. He said "misconceptions" had been published that indicated he supported having a question on the ballot.

In May 2025, the board started debating the bandshell's site at Wilder Park. Many residents opposed the structure interrupting the sightlines to the mansion.

The bandshell is a small part of a $90 million referendum that voters approved in November 2024. Of that money, $85 million is going toward a new Wagner Community Center.

In 2024, referendum materials contained the east lawn location. But a minority of board members said that resulted from a consultant's recommendation, not a board vote.

Last fall, a park district survey indicated that residents overwhelmingly wanted a different location at Wilder Park.

'Democracy is messy'

In rejecting the petition, Rogers said state law doesn't allow citizen-initiated advisory referendums in park districts.

An election law attorney has since disagreed with Rogers' ruling. Rogers apparently based his decision on an unreleased opinion from the district's longtime lawyer, Andrew Paine.

At Monday's meeting, board member Vince Spaeth said Rogers' decision was made without the board's authority. He urged a referendum.

Kevin Graf, president of the Elmhurst Park District board, is at the head of the table at Monday's meeting. He was part of a board majority that rejected putting a question about a proposed bandshell's location on the November ballot. (David Giuliani/Patch)

"You either are going to let the community speak or you are not going to let the community speak," Spaeth said.

In any case, he said, the board's trump card was that it could stick with its plan for the east lawn bandshell.

"Why wouldn't you want to weigh in on it with a vote?" Spaeth said.

Member Carolyn Ubriaco agreed.

"The question is not the park district's. The question belongs to the people who signed the petition who felt that they had followed a good process," she said. "Democracy is messy."

'Not appropriate'

Other members called for respecting the board's process.

"This board was elected to make difficult decisions after hearing public input and weighing it alongside professional recommendations and the long-term interest of both the park district and the community as a whole," member Meghan Scarsela said.

Member Tim Sheehan, who opposed the east lawn site, agreed with Scarsela.

"I believe that it's not appropriate to entertain a referendum anytime that a group disagrees with a board decision, even though I was on the end that didn't win in this one," he said.

The board voted 5-2 against a ballot question.

Graf, Scarsella, Sheehan, Claire Kubiesa and Susan Smentek made up the majority, with Spaeth and Ubriaco dissenting.

'Lack of transparency'

Later in the session, Spaeth asked the board to discuss Rogers' rejection of the petition at a meeting later this month.

He noted the opinion from an election law attorney, John Fogarty, contradicted the park district's ruling. He said he would like to hear all perspectives on the law in question.

"We need to listen to what else is out there in the community from other legal opinions," Spaeth said.

But Graf said he would not listen to any legal opinion other than Paine's.

Spaeth replied, "His opinion doesn't matter." But Spaeth later said he agreed with Paine's advice more than 99 percent of the time.

Standing by his opinion, Paine said the board held no power to overrule Rogers' decision. He said it was part of the director's role as the district's election official.

Ubriaco favored a discussion at a later meeting, but she said she didn't want to contradict Paine's legal advice.

"There is a feeling of a lack of transparency," Ubriaco said. "Whether that comes from a real place or not, I can't say."

Spaeth said two board members could request that an item be placed on the agenda.

Graf said he wouldn't allow it.

Raising voice

The debate became heated at times.

When Scarsella broke in during Spaeth's comments, he chided her for interrupting.

He then apologized for raising his voice.

"I feel that a discussion was going on, and we weren't finished," Spaeth said.

As 10 p.m. neared, Spaeth and Graf had gone back and forth for a while. Graf referred to him as "buddy" a couple of times. And Graf once warned Spaeth against raising his voice.

When Spaeth said he valued Paine's advice, Graf took exception.

"You don't value it, Vince," Graf said. "You're totally going against the opinion of your counsel."