October 13, 2023
Dan and Jody Bovey
West Chicago Community Development and the Abuse of Power
In December of 2020 we received a permit from the City of West Chicago to build a geodesic dome greenhouse in our backyard. The greenhouse was constructed with sustainable techniques including solar heating, rainwater collection and a thermal heat sink.
After receiving the initial permit, the structure passed more than seven inspections by West Chicago inspectors. In 2022, a new chief inspector, Stuart Caravello, was hired by the city. Since November 2022, we have experienced a pattern of obstruction and abuse of power from the West Chicago Community Development Department.
This pattern began on November 23 when we received a citation for a dirt pile in our backyard. City staff then issued us conflicting directives (first to remove the pile, then not to touch the pile) which put us in an impossible position. Though city administrator Michael Guttman apologized for the contradictory directives, he still authorized his department to take us to court and fine us for non-compliance.
In the ensuing months, the city has continued a pattern of strong arm tactics and stonewalling to prevent the completion of our permitted project. One of our aldermen counseled us that it would be futile to oppose the Community Development Department saying, “Sometimes you just have to kiss the ring.” We believe that elected public servants and city officials are entrusted with power not for their own exaltation, but in order to uphold the law. The Community Development Department has misappropriated this power by refusing to follow the statutes and procedures outlined by the Municipal Code of West Chicago. When asked to support their numerous assertions with evidence from the municipal code, they have alternately responded with belligerence, intimidation and a refusal to communicate. For eleven months now, we have submitted to the city’s processes: doing the extra work they request, producing document after document, paying numerous additional fees and fines, and appearing in court six times.
At least 15 times, the city has made demonstrably false assertions (including four in court). These false assertions have cost us at least $6,375 in fines, fees and work to date.
The city has refused us the right to present our case to the building board of appeals (a right outlined in the municipal code).
The city has withheld documents which we rightfully requested through a Freedom of Information request. When we attempted to obtain the documents directly through city inspectors, the city attorneys demanded that we desist or face financial penalties.
At least 7 times, the city has either lost or refused to acknowledge possession of documents which would have allowed the project to move forward.
The greenhouse received a permit and passed more than seven inspections. For 9 months, the city insisted that three of these inspections never occurred. Mr. Caravello used this assertion to delay us from obtaining a final inspection until the permit had expired.
Once the permit expired, the city refused to renew the permit. They then forced us to re-apply for a brand new permit. We submitted the same documents which had been originally approved, and this time they were rejected as insufficient.
We responded with a second submission including 8 documents which provided all of the new information Mr. Caravello requested.
After the second submission, the city moved the goal posts and asked for a new set of documentation including a request for architectural drawings costing $3500 to produce. Architectural drawings are a specifically exempted requirement in the Municipal Code for accessory buildings.
The city has delayed our project for 10 months through a refusal to respond to our calls and emails: There have been at least
26 documented times this year that the city simply does not respond to emails or phone calls. There have been an additional 31 times this year where we requested information and did not receive an answer, merely a reply that ignored the question. There has not been one time in that entire period that we have failed to respond to the city.
The mayor has refused to speak with us despite at least 8 requests.
We have been required to produce a burdensome and unreasonable amount of supporting documents for a project of this scope. We have made at least nine separate submissions including more than 90 pages of drawings, engineering studies, documentation, topographical drawings, site plans, etc.
An attorney drafted a letter for us requesting that the city reconsider the burdensome documentation required for our permit. This letter was sent on August 31, and for 4 weeks the city refused to respond to the letter or to daily emails or calls from our lawyer. Mr. Caravello later claimed to have not received the messages.
On September 29 and October 2, we received citations and notices to appear in municipal court for “work that did not conform to the permit application” and for “not obtaining a permit within 30 days of permit expiring.” These citations demand that the greenhouse be torn down, and the land be restored to its original condition. No response to the letter was ever provided.
The city is in essence assessing us a penalty in excess of $125,000 (the cost of the building plus demolition) and depriving us of the right to use and enjoy a structure which we legally constructed on our property in accordance with the Municipal Code, the permitting process and building inspection reports.
The city has also implied that if the case goes to court, they would pursue the maximum $750 per day fines going back to when our permit expired. (Approximately $70,000 by the date of our October court appearance.)
In court on October 18, Mr. Caravello demanded that we and our neighbors cease from contacting the public officials in what our attorney called "a clear violation of my client’s 1st amendment rights".
We have been residents of West Chicago for 23 years. We have raised four children in this community, and have loved living among the people here. We have served in the community, Dan as a pastor of a small bilingual church for 23 years, and Jody as a teacher in District 33 for 8 years. Our oldest daughter, a graduate of District 33 and 94, has also returned to the community to serve as a first grade teacher in District 33.
For over ten months we have submitted to the Community Development Department’s dictates, and have done everything they have asked of us as much as is reasonably possible. Over and over, they have demonstrated an unwillingness to communicate with us or make any meaningful attempts at resolution. They have flouted both the spirit and the letter of the Municipal Code. We ask the mayor to act on our behalf; vacate the case against us and direct city staff to extend our original permit, allowing us to make the final corrections which would allow us to to pass the final inspection and use our greenhouse.
We have not included any statements in this letter that we cannot back up with specific facts, examples and, in most cases, documentation. If you would like us to provide any more details or documentation, we are happy to provide them.
Things we would ask of the mayor if we were allowed to speak with him:
That the city vacate the two cases against us for (1) work that did not conform to the permit application and (2) for not obtaining a permit within 30 days of a permit expiring.
That the city renew our original permit for six weeks, allow us to make the 11 corrections identified in the final inspection and approve the greenhouse.
That the right to a hearing before the Building Board of Review guaranteed by the Municipal Code be honored in the future.
That the city provide meaningful oversight of the Community Development Department to prevent future abuses of power.
That the city provide adequate translation in municipal court for those whose first language is not English.