Slurs Made Against Italian Americans: Burr Ridge Official

BURR RIDGE, IL — Slurs against Italian Americans were made in a Zoom chat during a recent public hearing to consider a businessman's request for a new night spot in the village, a trustee said last week.

"There are two individuals — I'm not going to mention their names, but you know who you are — who made ethnic slurs against Italian Americans via this chat medium," Trustee Guy Franzese said at last Monday's Village Board meeting. "As an Italian American, I am deeply offended by these slurs. To these two individuals, would you make these slurs against other ethnic or racial groups such as Irish Americans, Polish Americans, African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans and so on? No, you would not. What makes you think it is OK to slur Italian Americans?"

Franzese did not indicate what the slurs were. In response to a Patch inquiry, he said trustees may discuss the slurs at next week's board meeting and that he may reveal the contents of the messages after that. Patch has filed a public records request for the Zoom chat dialogue.

Franzese's statement on the slurs was part of a larger critique of the public's behavior during a Plan Commission meeting earlier this month.

The commission is considering a proposal for the "Are We Live?" establishment in County Line Square. It is being proposed by Filippo "Gigi" Rovito, an Italian American who owns Capri Ristorante, also in County Line Square.

In his statement, Franzese said he was upset that people in the meeting were constantly interrupting the Plan Commission's chairman, members and those called on to speak. In the Zoom chat, he said, some participants encouraged others to get loud.

"This is not a Bears or 'Hawks game where you can get loud and cheer for your team," the trustee said. "This is a public hearing where important village business is discussed in a respectful and meaningful matter."

Franzese also took issue with a resident's statement that Plan Commission members take their lead from the mayor. He noted the board, not the mayor, appoints commission members. And he said members' terms are five years, which are longer than those of trustees, further distancing them from "any possible yet remote ties or connections."

Of the eight commission members, Mayor Gary Grasso, who took office in 2019, has nominated just two of them, Franzese said. The others, he said, were recommended by previous mayors.

Franzese, who served on the Plan Commission for 16 years, said no mayor ever tried to influence his decision on any proposal considered in more than 400 public hearings. That includes the Village Center, the LifeTime fitness center, Loyola Medicine Burr Ridge, three hotels, 12 restaurants, 16 subdivisions and "who knows how many" fence variations.

Franzese urged the staff to draft a code of conduct for the public for all village meetings. Such a code, he said, should bar interruptions, ethnic or racial slurs, and unfounded accusations.

"It's unfortunate we have to move in this direction because of only a few individuals who have ruined it for the rest of us," he said.

Trustee Tony Schiappa said he spoke with Franzese afterward and was "flabbergasted" by the comments from Burr Ridge residents.

Mayor Grasso said it was only a few residents — "the same vinegar-veined-type people that just need to disparage people in order to fill their lives."

"We welcome everybody in Burr Ridge, but it would be nice if a couple people would move," he said.

Trustee Joe Snyder backed the idea of a code of conduct, saying it was unfair the Plan Commission had to take ethnic slurs and other interruptions.

The next commission meeting on "Are We Live?" is set for June 7.