The proposed ordinance amendment comes after a contentious village council meeting over how Mayor Barnett handled a proposed appointment.
DOWNERS GROVE, IL — On Tuesday, the Downers Grove Village Council will review an ordinance amendment that would overhaul how the village's mayor pro tem is appointed. The proposal comes nearly three months after some village council members said they had not been notified of Mayor Bob Barnett's proposal to appoint Commissioner Martin Tully as the mayor pro tem.
Greg Hose had served as mayor pro tem before he stepped down from the village council earlier this year. After the May 20 meeting at which Barnett's proposed to appoint Tully, there has not been another nomination.
This prompted Commissioner Chris Gilmartin to propose the ordinance amendment, according to village documents. The ordinance amendment will have its first reading Tuesday.
Gilmartin wrote in July, "It has now been nearly two months since the Council rejected the Mayor’s initial nomination for Mayor Pro Tem. Since then, despite emphasizing the importance of having someone in that role, the Mayor has not submitted a new nominee. As written, our current code does not require the Mayor to offer a second appointment—effectively allowing the seat to remain vacant indefinitely."
He continued, "That’s not just a procedural concern. The absence of a confirmed Mayor Pro Tem means we lack a clear line ofexecutive continuity should the Mayor be unavailable. That is an unnecessary risk to the Village and, in myopinion, a structural weakness in our code that leaves our community exposed."
The proposed ordinance amendment would require the mayor to nominate another council member within 21 calendar days if their first nominee is not confirmed by council members. Should the second nomination fail to be confirmed, the council member who has the longest continuous tenure would be appointed mayor pro tem by default.
If more than one council member has the same amount of tenure, the appointment of mayor pro tem would go to whomever has served the most years consecutively in their current role. Provided there is still a tie, whichever council member received the most votes in their most recent election would be appointed mayor pro tem.
Gilmartin wrote, "This amendment maintains the Mayor’s authority to nominate but ensures that, if nominations fail, the Village has a predetermined and non-political fallback that guarantees continuity. It is a practical, principled safeguard that reflects how serious the role of Mayor Pro Tem truly is."
During the May 20 meeting, Gilmartin and Commissioner Leslie Sadowski-Fugitt raised concerns that they had only been informed that Barnett was nominating Tully the night before the May 20 meeting.
“Specifically, on this issue, I never received a phone call to discuss this pro tem appointment and only learned about the content of it yesterday evening at five-o-clock," Sadowski-Fugitt said on May 20.
Gilmartin added that some commissioners had not seen the text until "hours before the meeting."
Village staff has recommended approval of the proposed ordinance amendment "at the discretion of Village Council," with the proposed updates taking effect following the next municipal election.