DeWitte rebukes rumor mongers

Reported in recent news publications, and through the convenient cloak of anonymity within various newspaper blogs, representations made recently have suggested a "lack of objectivity" and purport the existence of a professional relationship between my personal business interests and development firms seeking approval for their projects in St. Charles.

In particular, comments posted in recent blogs regarding the proposed Towne Centre project, fallaciously suggest that I may have conflicting interests, with regard to references sarcastically asking the question: "How many cabinets go into 777 units" of the residential portion of the project.

While the correct answer to that misguided inquiry lies somewhere between 28 and 32 trailer loads, the fact of the matter is that in 26 years of my involvement in residential construction in the Chicago metropolitan area, I have never done any business with the proposal's developer.

It has always been said that it is much easier to create the illusion of a conflict of interest than it is to establish one. Anyone running for public office holding a law license in the State of Illinois should know the difference. Recent events in the state senate involving the impeachment of another misinformed and misguided politician confirm that there are some who are either unable, or unwilling, to discern the difference.

I stand by my 16-year record of political and professional transparency when it comes to differentiating between my personal business interests and the development process of the city of St. Charles. Should anyone believe that real conflicts of interest exist, I would direct you to the office of the Kane County State's Attorney, where fiction and fabrication are quickly separated from fact, and false allegations become a matter of public record.

Donald P. DeWitte

Mayor

City of St. Charles