Seeking to bolster flagging membership, the Citizen’s Council of La Grange (CCLG) on May 8 held a public meeting to spark interest in the citizens group.
About 30 members of the public — and several Village Board members — turned out at Fourteensixteen restaurant, 14 W. Calendar Avenue. Interested residents asked questions of the officials and officers of the Council.
“Tonight is our third social event in a row,” CCLG Chairperson Todd Van Cleave said before the meeting began. “CCLG had lost a lot of members over the last few years, so we’ve been having social events to add more members, and get everybody excited again and get it going.”
He added that CCLG needed more members, estimating that the group only had about 15 current members, and needed to boost that number to start slating candidates and having serious discussions about Village policy.
CCLG began in 1941 and has historically been the preeminent local body finding and slating candidates for Village elected offices.
Dawn Cimino, an active member of the group, and owner with her husband Joe of The Photographic Depot, 110 1/2 Burlington Avenue, echoed Van Cleave’s comments about the need for greater citizen representation.
“Right now it’s kind of a drive to recruit new members, and we’re trying to revitalize the Council,” she said. “We’re looking to get more members involved so when we have our upcoming election next year, we can have contested races and have more people running and have more members, whether they’re interested in running or help find qualified candidates who might be interested in running.”
The Council’s membership ideal is for La Grange’s 11 districts to have 8 members contributing to deliberations. In the wake of the pandemic, meeting that goal has been difficult, limiting the Council’s ability to perform its traditional role of slating candidates for the Village Board, Park District Board of Commissioners, and the Library Board of Trustees.
In April 2025, several elected offices will be open to challengers, including three Village Board Trustee positions, Village President, and Village Clerk. Two positions will be open on the Park District Board of Commissioners, and three are open on the La Grange Public Library Board.
Lou Gale, an incumbent running for reelection to the Village Board, was at the meeting.
“The Citizen’s Council is a great organization with a long tradition in the Village of La Grange and what’s wonderful about it is it’s a nonpartisan organization that helps find candidates for Village offices,” he said.
Another Trustee, Beth Augustine, a former CCLG chairperson herself, praised CCLG’s historic role in educating residents about local government.
“I’ve come to see the great value this organization provides to the community,” she said. “It provides people understanding and awareness of how the Village works, and it provides people a pathway to possibly getting involved in a Board or Commission, and understanding how to run for those offices in a way that takes away any kind of intimidation.”
Gale, Augustine, and their Board colleague Glenn Thompson, took questions from the public, as did La Grange Park District Board of Commissioners President Bryan Opyd.
Elyse Hoffenberg, vice chair of CCLG and Lyons Township Clerk, noted that she still supported the slating of candidates and educational aspects of CCLG, but wanted it to evolve into something more.
“We think that we’re in a time when building community is important, coming together to have robust conversations about issues that we all deal with on a daily basis,” she said, “and all the challenges that we have about La Grange remaining vibrant.”
Carla Carter, an intellectual property attorney and La Grange resident since 2018, is one of the residents pondering a run for a Village Board seat.
“I’m thinking about it,” she said. “I’m part of the LGBA (La Grange Business Association) and I started coming to these meetings and I love to be involved. I love La Grange.”
Carter said she has a particular interest in La Grange commerce.
“I really want to make sure that the business district does well, that we revitalize and really keep moving forward and get diverse types of businesses,” she said. “We have a lot of empty storefronts out there.”
Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.