Naperville mayor berates councilwoman over ‘dirty politics’ book ban election flyer mailed by her PAC

A campaign flyer alleging some Naperville candidates support a school and library book ban triggered an angry response from Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico, who charged this week that the council member behind it violated the city’s ethics code.

The campaign literature was produced by Naperville Forward, the political action committee helmed by Councilwoman Theresa Sullivan.

While no candidates’ names were cited, the mailer does promote a slate of city, school, park and College of DuPage board candidates who will “protect your right to read freely.”

At Tuesday’s Naperville City Council meeting, Chirico accused Sullivan of “dirty politics.”

“It’s a bad reflection on all of us. It’s a bad reflection on our city and doesn’t belong in Naperville or any local election; and it’s very unfortunate,” Chirico said.

While stopping short of censuring Sullivan for violating the city’s ethics policy, the mayor did advocate for rescinding the campaign finance transparency reforms she championed, which he said she violated as well.

The Naperville Forward mailer charges that books are under attack from “self-appointed ‘book police,’ who decree that scores of classics be removed from school and library shelves.”

It goes on to say there are candidates running for city, school and park board seats who “hope to advance a fanatical agenda that will have a profoundly negative impact on our freedoms and the quality of life we have in Naperville.”

Chirico said the council adopted an updated code of conduct last June to stop members of the council or any advisory body from getting into political battles similar to one that occurred after the names of two people under consideration for city board appointments were made public. The uproar on social media and in the public “reflected poorly on the city,” he said.

The guidelines were established “so that we never put the city in an awkward situation or in a bad light,” he said.

Sullivan has the right to maintain a PAC, Chirico said. “But as an elected official, you agreed not to take these types of positions, and so it’s troubling,” he said.

Sullivan denied the flyer violated either the city ethics code or state law.

“If the city attorney thinks I’ve broken any rules or the state of Illinois does, I’d like them to come talk to me,” Sullivan said.

She also stressed no one was called out by name in the mailers. It’s easy to pretend “it’s just unicorns and rainbows and everybody telling the truth about everybody else (during Naperville elections),” but that’s not true, she said.

“The people who got up here tonight to say that it was partisan and it was against them, I question that. If that’s how you took it, that’s on you,” Sullivan said.

Among those who have said in public forums that the flyer does not refer to them are Naperville Park Board candidate Chris Jacks, Naperville District 203 School Board candidate Ron Amato and Naperville mayoral candidate Tiffany Stephens.

The Lisle Township Republican Organization also accused Naperville Forward of inappropriately using the city’s logo.

City Attorney Michael DiSanto said the design on the mailer is slightly different from the city’s official logo, but the city is investigating.

Chirico said he believed a censure was the only tool available to deal with this type of situation, but since neither he nor Sullivan are seeking reelection, it would be unproductive to pursue it. But he did ask that the meeting minutes reflect that a censure was warranted.

On a different issue, the mayor accused Sullivan of failing to notify the council that she had received union donations before voting with the 7-2 majority on a responsible bidders ordinance, a measure supported by union organizations.

The addendum to Naperville’s existing procurement code requires contractors bidding on city projects show proof of having an apprenticeship training program.

Naperville Forward received a $5,000 contribution from the Chicago Laborers’ District Council PAC of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, according to the state election board.

Before voting, Councilman Benny White, who is running for mayor against Stephens and Scott Wehrli, acknowledged he’d received donations from unions in excess of $750.

In 2020, the council narrowly approved campaign finance reforms that require council members to publicly disclose campaign donations of $750 or more when voting on a topic in which the donor has an interest. The move was seen as bringing transparency to city politics so citizens can see where elected officials are getting their campaign money.

Because Sullivan did not do so in this case, Chirico called her out at the end of Tuesday’s meeting for not complying with the ordinance she proposed and pushed to have passed.

The mayor also said he wants to rescind the campaign disclosure requirement at the April 5 council meeting because of the outside money that is trickling into local nonpartisan elections.

“I believe it puts a chill on local donations because some people don’t feel comfortable with having to be called out on votes if they support a candidate,” Chirico said.

As a result, he said, it gives an advantage to one party over another, “and I think that’s unethical.”

Chirico said in Illinois, Democrats outraise Republicans 9-1.

If local people are unable or unwilling to help certain candidates, PAC money will become more and more involved in local politics, he said.

“I don’t think it’s right to give a party an unfair influence,” he said.

Sullivan said she has nothing to gain from the donation to her PAC because she’s not running for office.

“Nothing was broken from our ethics ordinance,” Sullivan said.

State election board records show her PAC in 2023 received $20,000 in donations from the laborer’s PAC, Democratic groups and a political strategy firm.

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