Burr Ridge Jumps Gun On Incoming Trustee

BURR RIDGE, IL — Russell Smith, who won a Burr Ridge trustee position in last Tuesday's election, was listed as a trustee on the village's website Tuesday.

The problem: He isn't slated to take office until next month.

At some point since the election, the village replaced the photo and contact information for Trustee Zach Mottl, who lost his bid for re-election, and replaced it with Smith's photo and information.

After Patch asked about the website change, the village put Mottl's information back online and took down Smith's.

Village Administrator Evan Walter explained what happened.

"The Village website did briefly inaccurately reflect the current makeup of the Board this morning," Walter said. "I am told the issue was a background update that was scheduled to go live after May 10, but inadvertently went live immediately. The website has since been updated."

Village Hall confirmed Tuesday that Smith is swearing in on May 10. Mottl's term officially ends April 30, so if a meeting was held between May 1 and May 10, Smith would be seated, Mayor Gary Grasso said in a text message.

Grasso said that while he looks forward to the change in trustees, May 1 would be a more appropriate time to adjust the website.

"Mottl missed last night's budget and Board meetings and never told us he would not attend," Grasso said. "So he seems to have abdicated, but his term does not end until April 30."

In a text message, Mottl said the website change did not surprise him.

"The rules don't matter to Godfather Grasso and his rubber-stamp gang," Mottl said. "They will do whatever they want, regardless of the law or rules."

Before the election, Grasso minced few words in his desire to see Mottl off the Village Board. The two men have been bitter rivals since they faced off in the 2019 mayoral election, in which Grasso won in a landslide with 70 percent of the vote.

In Tuesday's election, five candidates vied for three trustee positions. Incumbent Anita Mital led the pack with 1,430 votes, followed by incumbent Guy Franzese with 1,413 and newcomer Russell Smith with 1,383, according to unofficial election returns. All three had the mayor's support.

Mottl's ally, newcomer Elena Galinski, finished fourth with 501 votes. Mottl was last with 446.

DuPage County is expected to certify the election results later this month.