Monday night, prior to the DeKalb City Council meeting, a group of 13 concerned residents organized a protest of DeKalb governmental practices.

The protest took place at the intersection of First Street and Lincoln Highway, and once the protest was over the participants attended the city council meeting and voiced their opinions.

The group could be considered a watch dog group.

“We call ourselves a group of city watchers, and we’ve been involved in watching the actions of city government for quite some time,” said DeKalb resident Lynn Fazekas.

The members of the group put together a flier with a list of seven demands that they believe would improve government operations.

At the center of the demands was a commitment to be made to the highest standards of ethical conduct at all departments and levels of city government.

Another point of concern regarded the actions of Third Ward Alderman Victor Wogen and called for the immediate termination of all staff involved in his Masonry Works employment arrangement with the city.

Wogen was not present at the city council meeting.

Fazekas said the point of critical mass was finding out that aldermen and city employees do extra work without the citizens knowing about it.

Another point of interest of the group was censorship.

“The latest revelation is that the Citizens Community Enhancement Commission actually talked about at their Sept. 21 meeting, pressuring a local daily newspaper to remove online comments that are unflattering to the city,” Fazekas said.

There was also concern raised about how decisions are made.

“It’s problematic because the city manager gets to decide when there are expenditures under $20,000,” said John Duerk, NIU graduate student.

Some feel that more scrunity is a possible solution to these concerns.

“I think that there needs to be more disclosure in how the city does business,” Duerk said.

The Freedom of Information Act is a way for citizens to gain access to government information, but some feel that it does not do enough.

Duerk feels that strides have been made, but that citizens should be provided with whatever documents that they request, and not just what officials want to provide. Some protestors want the city officials to realize change in procedure is needed because the economy is changing.

“I feel they need to realize that it’s time to adapt,” said Mac McIntyre, a DeKalb resident. “The climate has changed, the economy has changed; they can’t continue with a plan that we need to borrow money to compete.”

The fact that there has been a warning of a possible $2 million or $3 million shortfall is a wake up call, McIntyre said.

McIntyre also believes that a citizen review board would be a good idea to have in place to overlook things such as spending.

There are individuals who may call the protesters “whiners and complainers,” Fazekas said, but she said they view themselves as otherwise.

“On this list of demands you will not find a complaint,” Fazekas said. “You will find ideas for action that will lead to better city government, which is all we want.”

Many of the protestors said that the protest came together rather quickly, but that it is not specifically a one-time deal.

“I could see us doing it again, maybe in a couple of weeks,” Fazekas said. “We have to wait and see how the situation turns out.”

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