Another Sleepy La Grange Election? Maybe Not With Critic Jumping Into Ring

LA GRANGE, IL - La Grange's next village election may not be so quiet.

At Monday's Village Board meeting, Jonathan Robinson, a village government critic, announced he would run for trustee in next April's contest.

"I intend to run in the upcoming election to try to change what's going on here because I haven't had as much success as I would like from behind this podium," Robinson said.

In three of the last four elections, the village saw no competition. In 2025, four candidates vied for three seats; the incumbents defeated the challenger.

In April, the trustee seats held by Beth Augustine, Shawana McGee and Tim O'Brien are up for election.

A few months ago, Augustine announced she would not seek a third term, saying she wanted to give potential candidates enough time to prepare. McGee and O'Brien have not publicly revealed their plans.

Last summer, Robinson and his neighbors were given 15 days' notice for a public hearing on a condo development next door; the hearing was later delayed.

Behind closed doors, the developer had been in contact with the village for nine months about the condo project. But the village kept the public out of the loop during that time.

Robinson lived closest to the proposed project, which involves demolishing the old Jackson Square building at 112 E. Burlington Ave. He complained that it was hard to get information from the village, even though the development would violate setbacks to his property.

After the village approved the condos in January, Robinson proposed changes to the village zoning code that he said would protect residents, all of which the village staff opposed. One of the ideas, though, appealed to the Plan Commission – mandating that a developer hold a neighborhood meeting before turning in a project application.

On Monday, the Village Board approved the proposal, for which Robinson thanked officials. Earlier the same evening, the developer of an 84-unit proposed townhome project held a public meeting with residents at the local library.

This year, Robinson has been taking video of village committee meetings, as well as those of other government entities, such as the park board. He said this would help residents know what's going on.

During his public comments to the board, Robinson said the village should insist on "compensating amenities" when developers seek exceptions to zoning regulations.

"Those amenities should be meaningfully balanced against the additional benefits being granted to the developer," he said. "And who is in the best position to tell us what would make the development work better? The people who live next door, the people who live across the street."

He added, "The residents are the ones who will live with the consequences long after the developer has moved on."