Mayors Formally Object to Naperville Annexation Petition

The mayors of Naperville, Lisle, Woodridge and Warrenville held a press conference today after the mayors of the smaller towns filed formal objections to the annexation petitions in DuPage County Court.

Their primary objection was that the number of signatures submitted was far below the number required by law. Warrenville Mayor David Brummel said he believed that the court would find the petitions invalid.

"Merging our communities offers no benefits, would be very costly and complicated with negative impacts," Brummel said. He added that Warrenville incorporated 50 years ago to prevent annexation from a neighboring community.

"Each one of our communities have unique characteristics that set them apart from each other," Lisle Mayor Joe Broda said. "We're unique, we're different, but we have one thing in common-we work together collectively for the common good of our residents." Broda also said the majority of names listed on the petition for Lisle did not match addresses in his village.

"Each of the communities that are here represented are independent communities. We're thriving and that's the way we want to stay," Woodridge Mayor Gina Cunningham said.

"This referendum question doesn't pass the sniff test," Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico said. "I think it was simply a political stunt."

He stressed that no Naperville voters signed the petitions. Chirico also said he spoke with state legislators about adjusting the petition law, which does not require signatures from the community accepting the annexation.

The court will need to rule on the petitions before January 26, which is the deadline for finalizing the April ballots before they are printed.

January 9, 2017, Wheaton, Illinois-Left to Right: Mayor Gina Cunningham of Woodridge, Mayor Joe Broda of Lisle, Mayor David Brummel of Warrenville and Mayor Steve Chirico of Naperville.(Patrick Martin/Patch)

Photo at top by Patrick Martin