Chosen Geneva candidates stump for votes at GOP event

The private room at Aurelio’s Pizza in Geneva was packed.

Nearly every chair was taken, a line formed outside the door as people entered.

The Geneva Township Republican Central Committee hosted a special candidate’s night there Feb. 24.

GOP Chair Susan Dixon said the event was to educate voters about the candidates.

“Not all of them, just some of them,” Dixon said.

“Local government plays a crucial role ... and we need every one of you to take part in that,” Dixon said. “This is why it’s really important to meet our candidates. Because they all have a vision and our vision is ... through them.”

Geneva mayoral candidate Karsten Pawlik, 5th Ward candidate Patrice Bertheau, 3rd Ward candidate Larry Furnish and 4th Ward candidate Erin Di Silvestro were invited.

Pawlik and Bertheau attended; Furnish and Di Silvestro did not. A spokeswoman for Furnish said he had a trip planned before he decided to run for office.

Incumbent Mayor Kevin Burns, and two other candidates in the 5th Ward, Jeff Palmquist and Kim Edwards, also were not invited.

‘Fluffy’

Pawlik and Bertheau were critical of Burns’ leadership.

“Has anyone read the Strategic Plan?” Pawlik asked.

The latest Geneva 2030 Strategic Plan, approved Sept. 30, 2024, and past plans, are on the city’s website, www.geneva.il.us.

Pawlik dismissed it as “fluffy.”

“There’s not much in it,” Pawlik said. “It’s very fluffy.”

Pawlik complained about how the circa 1843 former blacksmith shop looks on the corner of Illinois Routes 25 and 38 at 4 E. State St.

The city and owner Shodeen are in a legal battle over its condition – with the city fining the developer over its condition and the developer suing in response.

“That blacksmith shop was historically landmarked after the owner bought the property ... it wasn’t done ahead of time. That’s the problem, right?” Pawlik said.

“That’s a theme with Geneva government. They don’t tell anybody and then they rush it through. And all of a sudden, you go, ‘What happened here?’” Pawlik said, “‘You weren’t at that meeting three years ago?' There’s no transparency.”

According to the city’s landmark and historic district designation process, a member of the Historic Preservation Commission, an owner or interested party can nominate a property.

The commission holds a public hearing and makes a recommendation to the City Council, which votes on it.

Notices of all the meetings and public hearings were posted on the city’s website.

Records show that was the process for the historic landmark status of the former blacksmith shop, with the City Council voting 9-1 on May 7, 2018 to approve landmark status.

Pawlik, who has worked in construction for over 35 years, charged that the incumbent mayor, who has been in office 24 years, is complacent.

“He knows all the laws and how government works, but he does not see the problems all around him, Pawlik said. “I have more experience, tons more experience, I guarantee you...I’m not a politician, but I can get things done.”

Geneva Dam

A key campaign issue for Bertheau is the potential of removing the Geneva Dam. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a study of the Fox River that recommended removal of nine dams in Kane County.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources owns the dam. The Corps' final report on the dam is not due until early next year.

The state would pay the full cost of $2.38 million to remove the dam. If the city would own it, it would be responsible for its maintenance and liability.

Bertheau dismissed dam maintenance as negligible.

“The push to remove the dam threatens everything - recreation, business, natural beauty,” Berteau said. “Some people say it costs too much to keep when it poses risks.”

She said safety risk of the boil at the foot of the dam can be mitigated by adding a stair-step spillway to the existing dam.

“With IDNR funding and private donations, it would be free to the taxpayers...Conversely, if you take that dam out, there will be millions in unfunded costs,” Bertheau said.

“It will be an economic disaster as well as an environmental disaster. Wildlife – like egrets and eagles will be gone – wetlands will be lost, water levels so low that the charm of the river vanishes," Bertheau said.

Cindy Skrukrud, retired from the Illinois Sierra Club, but who continues to volunteer on Fox River issues, disputed Bertheau’s claims.

“The diversity and the abundance of fish and other aquatic life is always greater in the free flowing river,” Skukrud said.

“By removing dams from the Fox River, we are actually improving habitat for aquatic life and improving habitat for other life,” Skukrud said. There would more fish for bald eagles to catch."

In a May 21, 2024 letter to the city, Bertheau and her husband offered to pay $387,750 of what would be the city’s shared cost of a stair-step spillway, with the state paying the rest, $1.410 million.

Though the local municipal elections are non-partisan, the Kane County GOP is accepting donations for Bertheau on its website, www.kanegop.org.