Elmhurst Park District Board President Kevin Graf told a room full of residents they had only themselves to blame for not knowing where the Wilder Park bandshell would go.

"Shame on you for not paying attention during the process," Graf said at the board's Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, meeting, after the board voted 5-2 to reject placing an advisory question about the bandshell's location on the November 2026 ballot, Patch reported.

The vote killed a months-long effort by petition organizers Andrea Hutchinson and Claire Cronin, who collected 1,183 signatures from Elmhurst residents asking for a non-binding referendum on whether the bandshell should be built on the east lawn of Wilder Mansion. Executive Director Jim Rogers had already rejected the petition as illegal in a July 30 letter, but residents packed the meeting hoping the board would override him.

The board did not.

Graf, Meghan Scarsella, Tim Sheehan, Claire Kubiesa and Susan Smentek voted against the ballot question. Board members Vince Spaeth and Carolyn Ubriaco dissented.

The dispute hinges on whether state law allows citizens to petition park districts for advisory referendums. Rogers said it does not, basing his ruling on an unreleased legal opinion from the district's longtime attorney, Andrew Paine. At Monday's meeting, Paine told the board it held no power to overrule Rogers' decision, calling it part of the director's role as the district's election official.

Chicago-based election attorney John Fogarty publicly disagreed. In a statement reported Aug. 5, Fogarty said state law contains no restriction on citizens' ability to petition any type of political subdivision, including a park district.

Spaeth pressed the majority to consider Fogarty's opinion, saying the board was either going to let the community speak or it was not. He argued Rogers made the rejection without board authority and urged the full board to weigh in.

Ubriaco backed him, saying there was a feeling of a lack of transparency around the decision, whether or not that perception came from a real place.

Majority holds firm

Scarsella defended the board's authority, saying members were elected to make difficult decisions after hearing public input and weighing it alongside professional recommendations. Sheehan, who had opposed the east lawn site in the board's 4-3 vote in January 2026, nonetheless sided with the majority Monday. He said he did not believe it was appropriate to entertain a referendum every time a group disagrees with a board decision, even though he was on the losing side of the original vote.

What's next

Spaeth asked Graf to place a discussion of the competing legal opinions on a future August agenda, noting that two board members can request an agenda item under board rules. Graf refused, saying he would not entertain any legal opinion other than Paine's.

The bandshell is part of a $90 million bond referendum Elmhurst voters approved in November 2024, with $85 million earmarked for a new Wagner Community Center. Soil sampling for the bandshell project has already been completed, according to the park district's project page. Construction on the Wagner center is expected to begin in 2026, with the bandshell and related improvements scheduled for completion in 2026-2028.

The meeting grew tense near 10 p.m. when Spaeth raised his voice after Scarsella interrupted his comments. He apologized. Graf repeatedly called Spaeth "buddy" and warned him against raising his voice.