Burns Pays Tribute to City Staff During Swearing-in Ceremony at City Hall

Mike Bruno joins a veteran City Council as Mayor Kevin Burns takes the oath of office for the fourth time—becoming the longest-serving mayor in Geneva history.

As he took the oath of office Monday night at City Hall, Kevin Burns made history as the longest-serving mayor of Geneva. Burns began his fourth term with a four-minute speech that thanked his supporters but also centered on his deep appreciation for the work of the 142 staff members of the city of Geneva. "These men and women, particularly the leaders in the city of Geneva whom you just reappointed, and their entire teams in every department are consummate professionals whose chosen careers are rooted in the very best of public service," Burns said. "As elected officials, we chip, carve and cut consensus out of stone. That stone has veins of differing opinions, passions, visions and concerns, and one false strike risks causing a pile of …

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Geneva Will Say Goodbye to Red-Light Cameras March 8

The three-year program ends with mixed results, but Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns says the experiment was worthwhile.

Geneva's three-year experiment with red-light cameras at two dangerous intersections will come to an end in early March. Geneva police Cmdr. Julie Nash said by e-mail this week that the contract is set to expire at 11:59 p.m. March 8, 2013. That "fade to black" marks the end of a sometimes controversial police enforcement technology that was hailed by some as the wave of the future and condemned by others as too much "Big Brother" oversight by local government. Red-light cameras also came into play as a political issue in the 2012 Republican primary race for Kane County Board chairman, when then-candidate Chris Lauzen held a press conference decrying the cameras in the hometown of his opponent, Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns. Burns said Thursday…

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Mike Simon Wins 2012 Mayor's Choice Award

Geneva businessman Michael Simon is congratulated by Mayor Kevin Burns.

Little Traveler co-owner Mike Simon received a surprise award earlier this month. Simon was presented with the first-ever "Mayor's Choice Award" during the Nov. 1 annual holiday kickoff breakfast. According to the city's newsletter, Mayor Kevin Burns recognized Simon's commitment to downtown through stewardship and investment in his downtown properties and his tenants. A year ago, Simon announced the closing of the Fashion Walk shops, "to the collective worry of the community," the city newsletter said. "In the past year he has been systematically cleaning, repairing and rebuilding the buildings—and, placing great tenants in each!" The tenants include Beaute by Sylvie/C'Est La Vie, Mossy Twig and All Chocolate Kitchen. The exteriors of …

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Burns Blasts Idea of Allowing Liquor License Holders to Seek Office

Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns takes a hard stance this week against a code change that would let liquor-license holders run for alderman.

Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns this week blasted the City Council's stated position to allow liquor-license holders to run for public office. At the tail end of Monday's Geneva City Council Committee of the Whole meeting, Burns underlined in bold his stance that the city code is right to prohibit liquor license holders from holding an aldermanic position. "We don’t have a problem, folks," Burns said. "But I think we have a problem by amending the code." First Ward Alderman Sam Hill brought up the notion at the fifth-Monday COW meeting on July 31. On that night, Hill announced that he would not be seeking a fourth term, but he did ask the City Council to consider amending its code to allow liquor-license holders to run for an aldermanic post. He …

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Jeff Ward: Geneva Does Write Right-on-Red Tickets!

And why does it take a freelancer to uncover the truth?

Though I believe it’s important for columnists to quickly call out politicians for their more-dubious pronouncements, never let it be said that Jeff Ward doesn’t have a sense of fair play! Instead of continuing my full frontal assault on Geneva’s pair of heinous red light cameras, I interrupted that offensive until the March 20 primary dust had settled. You all know I’ve never been a fan of these unconstitutional devices, but this particular attempt to eliminate them started with a state Sen. Chris Lauzen press conference at Williamsburg Avenue and Randall Road. That’s where 1st Ward Alderman Sam Hill challenged me to write the truth about Geneva’s cameras. As it turns out, the truth is: Despite that data, Mayor Burns persisted in …

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Geneva 'Out & Around'

PATCH VIDEO: Mayor Delivers Nick's Homecoming Dance Proposal ... Ally Says 'Yes!'

Kevin Burns delivers his most memorable proxy vote.

Mayor Kevin Burns played the role of Cyrano sans the big nose Monday night. The mayor used his bully pulpit powers to invite Ally Serra to the Homecoming dance on behalf of junior Nick Konicek. He did it at the start of Monday's Committee of the Whole meeting, right there on Channel 10 for all the Comcast cable audience to see. Even if you're not a fan of how big a deal these high school dance proposals have become (as you voted 45-5 in a Patch poll with Moms Talk), you have to admit this one was pretty cool. Burns read the proposal as a city proclamation, complete with all the Whereas's and Therefores. "Having been officially and respectfully called to duty by Geneva High School junior Nick Konicek ... I therefore proudly, and with …

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