Naperville City Council delays campaign finance ordinance decision

After a month of debate about repealing the city's campaign finance disclosure ordinance, the Naperville City Council voted this week to delay action until the fall.

The issue became contentious in recent city council meetings, with Mayor Steve Chirico wanting the law repealed due to its ineffectiveness. Some council members disagreed, saying incoming Mayor Scott Wehrli and the new council members - who will be sworn in on April 30 - should use the existing law as a framework and adjust it as they see fit.

The ordinance requires council members to publicly disclose campaign contributions of $750 or more when an agenda issue concerns a donor.

At Tuesday's city council meeting, Councilwoman Jennifer Bruzan Taylor forged a compromise by proposing the vote be delayed until the Oct. 17 meeting. In the meantime, city staff would research best practices from other communities, and new council members could attend a workshop about options and ramifications.

Bruzan Taylor's proposal passed 7-2, with Theresa Sullivan, the architect of the ordinance, and Patrick Kelly dissenting. Kelly voted against the motion because he wanted the issue tabled indefinitely so the new council could decide if they wanted to act on it.

"I was afraid that if we indefinitely tabled it, other issues would come up and other priorities," Bruzan Taylor said Thursday. "I didn't want it forgotten about."

Chirico, who chose not to run for reelection, proposed repealing the law, saying it's "flawed badly." Chirico said the ordinance opens the door to "gotcha" moments if council members fail to remember contributions among the dozens they receive during a campaign.

Chirico, however, voted in favor of Bruzan Taylor's compromise.

"We didn't have the votes, so that was the way to essentially keep it alive," he said Thursday. "It's a dysfunctional ordinance. It's going to cause a lot of embarrassment."

The law mainly applies to Wehrli and Councilman Benny White, who was defeated by Wehrli in the April 4 election, because of their costly mayoral campaign. But the increasing amount of money entering Naperville politics makes it potentially applicable to council members.

White suggested adjusting the $750 minimum amount higher because of the changing landscape of campaign contributions.

"The dynamics of campaigning from a financial standpoint have just changed tremendously over the last four years or so," White said.