Demos urges Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce to have greater voice

GLEN ELLYN – As he gets ready to step down next month after being Glen Ellyn village president for four years, Alex Demos urged Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce members to have an even bigger presence in the community.

"We're all individually invested in Glen Ellyn," Demos said during the chamber's monthly meeting April 11 at the Crowne Plaza in Glen Ellyn. "Some of you live in Glen Ellyn, some of you own businesses in Glen Ellyn and you don't live in Glen Ellyn. You have your individual opinions, but I need to start hearing, and the next board needs to start hearing, what the combined Chamber of Commerce opinion is."

Demos, who decided not to seek a second term, said the village would like to know the chamber's opinion about various developments around the village.

"It will empower us to make decisions in a more informed manner," Demos said.

For example, he noted the former 72,000-square-foot Dominick's store in the Baker Hill Center along Roosevelt Road in Glen Ellyn has been vacant since December 2013.

"What does our business community think about the fact that Dominick's has been closed for years?" Demos asked. "I would like to hear a strong voice out of the Chamber of Commerce... You need to be able to come out and make statements, be strong, be heard. Because that's another value that the Chamber of Commerce can bring to this community."

At a news conference in November 2016, Demos and other area municipal leaders accused Jewel-Osco's parent company, Albertsons, with intentionally renewing the leases of vacant Dominick's stores with the intent of keeping them vacant. Albertsons representatives were invited to the conference, but they declined to attend.

"The Albertsons Companies real estate team continue to keep this top of mind and is actively pursuing long term tenants that can open and operate thriving businesses in the local communities," Steve Cogan with Albertsons Companies said in a Nov. 9, 2016, letter to Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico.

During his remarks, Demos also praised incoming Village President Diane McGinley, who served on the Glen Ellyn Village Board of Trustees from 2011 to 2015 and is currently filling a spot on the board after trustee Tim Elliott stepped down following his election Nov. 8, 2016, to the DuPage County Board.

"I know that everyone will be treated fairly, that this village will be run effectively because collectively as a village we have endorsed and elected Diane McGinley," he said. "Diane is a quality leader. The greatest trait of Diane is that she will tell you exactly where you stand and exactly what her opinion is. She will also reach out with both hands to help you in any capacity that she can."