See Capri Ristorante Owner's Outburst At Meeting

BURR RIDGE, IL — Filippo "Gigi" Rovito, owner of Burr Ridge's popular Capri Ristorante, interrupted a public meeting about his plan for a lounge Monday, cursing and saying he was aggravated.

After a 1½-hour meeting at Village Hall, the Plan Commission recommended the plan for the lounge, Are We Live, which would be a few doors from Capri at County Line Square.

Rovito was quiet through the first part of the meeting, while critics railed against the proposal, particularly the parking and noise aspects.

One man spoke in favor of Are We Live. He said the objections were "so ridiculous and so silly." Many of the objections, the man said, were because others were jealous of Rovito's success.

"When people say Burr Ridge, they say Capri," the man said. "I'm the guy that's there all the time."

The man left Village Hall shortly after. Patch reporter David Giuliani followed the man outside the meeting chambers, identified himself and asked for the man's name to make sure he got it right.

The man said his first name was "Robert," but before he could give his last name, Rovito interrupted, advising the man not to give information to Patch.

When Rovito returned to the meeting chambers, he could be heard by the audience saying the f-word.

"I'm starting to get aggravated now," he said.

When the reporter took Rovito's photo, the businessman moved a chair within inches of the reporter and sat there.

The rest of Rovito's comments were documented in a video taken by Zach Mottl, a former Burr Ridge trustee who recently lost his bid for re-election.

A police officer who was standing outside the chambers walked inside. And the hearing came to a stop, as plan commissioners watched Rovito, who questioned why the reporter followed the man out of the room.

"What are you chasing people outside for?" Rovito said, adding the reporter was making people feel uncomfortable.

Mottl said, "We're in a public meeting."

Sandy Andrews, a general contractor who is representing Rovito, told Mottl, "Put your phone down."

Another woman warned Rovito that Mottl was recording him. Rovito then shifted his chair away from the reporter, then later moved to the back row, where he had been sitting.

Rovito said people couldn't take photos of others, but officials said people had the right to take photos and video at public meetings.

Mottl then directed his camera in the direction of a woman supporting Rovito. She was standing up by that point.

"Zach, do you want to film me? Go ahead," she said.

When Rovito spoke about his plan for Are We Live to the commission, he apologized for what happened before.

Not long after, Mottl interrupted the meeting and asked a question of Andrews about Capri's parking agreement with the Pace suburban bus agency.

Plan Commission Chairman Greg Trzupek said he would have Mottl removed if he continued to interrupt the session. The chairman did not issue a similar warning to Rovito. Trzupek could not be reached for immediate comment.

Mottl and Mayor Gary Grasso are bitter political rivals, while Rovito has close ties with the mayor.