Barrington mayor uses bully pulpit to criticize opponents over White House

Barrington Village President Karen Darch this week called out unnamed political opponents for spreading what she called "lies" during the recent municipal election campaign.

Speaking during the Village President's Report portion of Monday's village board meeting, Darch said political opponents made false statements about the Barrington White House Project and her husband's role in the village's litigation with the Canadian National Railway.

"Mark Twain said, 'A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes,'" Darch said. "The truth has its shoes on tonight."

Although Darch did not specify whom she was accusing at the meeting, she said they had filed Freedom of Information requests with the village on those two topics.

A Daily Herald Freedom of Information request found that Mike Kozel, who unsuccessfully challenged Darch in the 2013 election and ran for village trustee this year, had filed such a request.

He denied Darch's accusations.

Kozel said he did not, as Darch alleged, spread misinformation about how the $6.1 million White House project was being funded.

The project, which is being paid for through private donations, will convert the 86-year-old house into a community center.

Instead, Kozel said, his criticisms concerned the money the village paid to acquire the building and surrounding land in the first place.

Also among Kozel's Freedom of Information requests related to the White House was a copy of the village's business plan, which he said fails to impress him.

"The numbers were almost pulled out of thin air," Kozel said. "Are (Darch's) intentions good? I would expect so, but her business plan wasn't based on the realities of the marketplace."

Darch also accused opponents of falsely claiming that her husband, Douglas Darch, was being paid legal fees by the village as part of the ongoing CN litigation.