'It Truly Is A Burden Off Me': Burr Ridge Mayor

BURR RIDGE, IL — Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso said this week that the village is getting back to the business of residents in a "respectful consensus manner."

At a Village Board meeting on Monday, Grasso did not mention the name of his vanquished rival, former Trustee Zach Mottl, but it was clear who he was talking about as he opened the session. He said the village suffered the challenge of the pandemic last year, but that wasn't the only problem.

"This village was doubly afflicted due to the antics and indignations of a former trustee, but Burr Ridge has come through both challenges admirably," Grasso said.

He said voters stepped up in the April 6 election and overwhelmingly approved a new trustee, Russell Smith. Smith and incumbents Guy Franzese and Anita Mital defeated Mottl and his ally, Elena Galinski. Smith, Franzese and Mital ran as a team and won the mayor's endorsement.

Grasso ran unopposed, but two years ago, he handily defeated Mottl in the mayoral contest. The two have sparred ever since. In six instances, the board officially reprimanded Mottl, twice accusing the trustee of using slurs against Italian Americans such as Grasso. Mottl did not attend the two meetings after he lost the election.

Grasso spoke of better times ahead.

"It truly is a burden off of me to look around at this board and see a board that will work in unity for the village," Grasso said. "It doesn't mean that we discourage respectful debate. We encourage respectful debate, but the business of the village has to come first and we have a board that will do that."

He later said he went to the doctor earlier that day and that his blood pressure was way down.

"I think it's directly related to what's going on in this village now," he said.

In the coming months, the board is expected to confront a couple of controversial matters. Since the fall, Grasso and his allies have been seeking the ouster of Jerry Sapp, the village's finance director for the last quarter century. Sapp announced recently he refused to go voluntarily. He hasn't been working since September.

The other issue is a proposal for a new night spot in County Line Square, which has drawn opposition from neighbors. It is being proposed by Filippo "Gigi" Rovito, the owner of the popular Capri Restorante. He has close ties to the mayor, who recently wrote a piece in defense of Rovito's proposal.