By Illinois Review
On Tuesday night, the Downers Grove Village Council voted 4-3 to remove library board member Bill Nienburg – a conservative who consistently questioned how taxpayer dollars were being spent, as Mayor Robert Barnett weighed in saying he “can’t support this resolution.”
As reported last week by Awake Illinois, on February 28th, the Downers Grove Library Board voted 5-0 to censure Nienburg “for sharing non-confidential information with a Downers Grove taxpayer regarding a window painting policy at the library.” The unanimous vote, taken in retaliation for providing a taxpayer with transparency on a policy matter, occurred when Nienburg was out of town and unable to defend himself.
The board remains controversial. In October 2022, the board planned a Drag Queen Bingo Night for school-aged children in grades 7-12. And during that same year, taxpayers were left paying $86,000 for a sloppy report that was thrown together by copying and pasting information from a previous consulting firm’s work and portrayed Downers Grove as a racist community. The board has also removed reciting the Pledge of Allegiance during board meetings – a move that disrespects 16.2 million veterans, 2.8 million active duty personnel and 430,000 National Guard members.
Nienburg, who began serving on the board in 2022, and whose term expired in 2028, quickly made a name for himself as a fiscal hawk who consistently held the board accountable for how they spent taxpayer dollars. Nienburg also frequently asked tough questions – challenging his fellow board members on policies, proposals and more importantly – how money was being spent. Uncomfortable with his governing style, the board moved swiftly through intimidation, to silence his voice and on March 5th, the board voted 4-3 to investigate Nienburg’s removal.
On Wednesday, the day after Nienburg’s removal, the Downers Grove Library Board website had already removed his name and added the words, “Vacant Seat” and “The Downers Grove Village Council will appoint the next Trustee.”
Going into Tuesday evening, there was hope that the village council would do the right thing and back Nienburg, but unfortunately – the progressive, out-of-touch liberal policies were too strong and he was ousted.
The four village council members who voted in favor of removing Nienburg include Gregory Hose, Mike Davenport, Leslie Sadowski-Fugitt and Christopher Gilmartin. The three who voted against removal included Martin Tully, Danny Glover and Mayor Robert Barnett.
In America, one of the many advantages to living in this great country is the freedom of speech and the ability to question our leaders without fear or retribution. Unfortunately, boards like the Downers Grove Library Board have now joined the ranks of Xi Jinping in China, Vladimir Putin in Russia and Kim Jong Un in North Korea – where opposing voices are humiliated, silenced and removed, altogether.
