Overreach or cautious? Lisle Township supervisor's decision to shut down office criticized

Dozens of fresh tomatoes picked at the Lisle Township Food Pantry garden went to another pantry Monday when volunteers realized Lisle's was closed due to COVID.

The closure was unexpected by volunteers who only learned of it from a sign on the door, said Paula Deacon Garcia, a DuPage County Board member who also serves as chairwoman of the Lisle Township Pantry Vegetable Growers.

In an email to other officials, Township Supervisor Diane Hewitt said she decided to close her office, which includes the food pantry and senior services, after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.

"The generally accepted protocol and legal advice are to work remotely and close offices for five days after such exposure in a small office," wrote Hewitt, who initially planned on keeping her office closed until Wednesday.

By Monday afternoon, however, Hewitt changed course and said that after consulting with legal counsel the office would reopen Tuesday. By that time, however, the fresh tomatoes had already been delivered to the West Suburban Community Pantry in neighboring Woodridge and families who arrived Monday morning expecting groceries were turned away.

"What she's doing is drastic and very hurtful to the community," Trustee Autumn Geist said Monday morning after learning of the closure.

She questioned the public health guidance Hewitt used to decide to close. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people who contract COVID-19 isolate at home.

While the CDC recommends masks for those who have been exposed, it no longer recommends they stay home.

Geist and Trustee Jean Page also noted the decision was not well-communicated, with only a message on the township's web page and a sign posted on the door. Although Hewitt said she planned to reopen on Tuesday, the township's website late Monday afternoon still advised the supervisor's office would be closed until Aug. 30 and employees would be working remotely.

Trustees added they were not consulted on the decision to close.

"These decisions have ripple effects that we have to clean up," Page said.

Earlier this month, trustees took a unanimous vote of no confidence in Hewitt.

"This is just the continued state of chaos we work in," Geist said Monday.

In an email to the Daily Herald late Monday afternoon, Hewitt said she relied, in part, on a contact tracing course she had taken online when deciding to close.

"I did the math," she said.

Hewitt added she spoke with a disease specialist from the DuPage County Health Department on Monday and was advised that employees who tested negative could return to work Tuesday with N95 masks.

"He said he does not fault anyone for being concerned in those situations and taking a conservative approach," Hewitt said.