Jen Konen Fact Sheet: Key Points on the Crown Project

Saturday, February 1, 2025

Sugar Grove, Illinois

Jen began meeting with Crown shortly after being elected as Village President in 2021. (Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4, Source 5)
Several of Jen's major campaign contributors have connections to Crown.
- Jerome Rich (Owner of Rich Harvest Farms)
  - 2021 + 2024 contribution total: $8,151 (Source 1, Source 2)
  - In July 2021, Jen, Alex Kline-Wedeen (then Vice President of Marketing at Rich Harvest Farms), and Lewis Livermore (Managing Partner of Prairie State Energy, a fuel supplier) scheduled a meeting to discuss a gas station at I-88 / R-47. Jen then forwarded this "potential end user" to Crown. (Source 1, Source 2)
  - In July 2023, Jon Meagher (General Manager at Rich Harvest Farms) recommended Meredith Krantz for Village public relations, specifically mentioning messaging regarding the Crown project. Subsequently, in September 2023, the Village signed a contract for Krantz's services up to $4,500/month and her related expenses up to $1,500/month. (Source 1, Source 2, Source 3)
- J&S Construction Sewer and Water, Inc. (Oswego, IL)
  - 2024 contribution total: $10,000 (Source)
  - In May 2019, J&S applied for a permit for demolition work on Crown's property. The TIF consultant (SB Friedman's Geoff Dickinson) and the TIF attorney (Kathleen Field Orr) were sent emails related to the demolition. There were no other demolition permits received via the Crown FOIA requests covering 2013-2023. (Source 1, Source 2, Source 3)
- Wheeler Road Properties, LLC
  - 2025 contribution total: $1,000 (Source)
  - According to the Illinois Secretary of State's business entity database, Wheeler Road Properties, LLC is managed by David Burroughs and Peter Wallers. Burroughs retired as Senior Vice President of Engineering Enterprises, Inc. (EEI) in 2020. Wallers retired in 2023 after serving at various times as chairman, president, and CEO of EEI. (Source 1, Source 2)
    - Correction notice: previously, this fact sheet had the retirement years for Burroughs and Wallers swapped. This has been fixed.
  - EEI performed the drainage study used as evidence for the Crown TIF. (Source)
Town Center
- In 2021, Jen ran on a platform of building a town center near R-47 and Galena Blvd. This plan pivoted to incorporating the town center into the Crown property, which, due to annexation, now lies at the extreme northern edge of the Village's boundaries. As part of the Town Center, Jen supports building a new Village Hall. (Source)
  - The Village estimates a new Village Hall would cost $10,000,000. (Source)
- The Village created a Town Center Committee, which developed a presentation proposing a concept for the town center. The presentation cites Seaside, Florida, a coastal resort community, as its inspiration. (Source)
  - Tony Speciale, Susan Smith, and Jon Meagher (see above and below) were appointed by Jen to this committee. (Source)
  - In May and early June 2021, before the committee was established on June 15th, Jen emailed herself articles about Seaside and received an email about the community from Tony Speciale. (Source 1, Source 2, Source 3)
Potential Land Ownership Conflict of Interest
- According to The Daily Herald, "several parcels adjacent to the [Crown] site are owned by Konen-Hysell Trust 101... The trustee is Judith Hysell..." While Jen has disavowed direct ownership of the parcels in question, she has not publicly disclosed if there is a familial relationship between Judith Hysell and her husband, Eric Konen. (Source)
Sean Michels
- As Village President, Jen led an effort, which effectively failed, to have Trustee Sean Michels removed from the Village Board via a writ of quo warranto. (Source)
- The Village was subsequently found by the Illinois Attorney General Public Access Counselor's office (PAC) to have violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act when they discussed the writ for quo warranto in closed session. (Source)
Kaneland OMA Complaint
- As Village President, Jen filed a request for review with the PAC claiming the Kaneland school district violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act. (Source)
Jen has made major Village appointments to her and Crown's supporters.
- Larry Jones
  - As a member of the Planning Commission, voted 'yes' to recommend Crown property's zoning. (Source)
  - Long before any votes took place, suggested there was likely unanimous support for the TIF. (Source)
    - This ended up not being the case as the Joint Review Board (JRB) did not vote to approve (or disapprove) the TIF and the Village Board's vote was not unanimous. (Source 1, Source 2)
  - Appointed by Jen to chair the Planning Commission. (Source)
- Susan Smith
  - Appointed by Jen to the JRB as the public representative and voted 'yes' for the TIF. (Source 1, Source 2)
  - Appointed to Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee. (Source)
    - Was instructed by Walter Magdziarz, then Sugar Grove's Community Development Director, to respond to a call for volunteers on Facebook because "Jen doesn't want it to appear we had a closed selection process." (Source)
- Tony Speciale
  - Appointed by Jen to the Planning Commission. (Source)
  - As a member of the Planning Commission, voted 'yes' to recommend Crown property's zoning. (Source)
- John Coia
  - Spoke in favor of Crown's annexation. (Source)
  - Appointed by Jen to the Planning Commission. (Source)
- Rachel Rockwell
  - Supported Jen's 2021 campaign. (Source)
  - Appointed by Jen to the Planning Commission. (Source)

This public service announcement is presented by The Sugar Grove Gadfly.