Kreutzer family has ‘an unsettling feeling’ regarding Village of Huntley’s decision in renaming Kreutzer extension road

HUNTLEY – My Huntley News had previously reported that former Mayor Chuck Sass’s legacy was being honored by the Village of Huntley through the means of renaming a road that had been constructed as an extension of Kreutzer Road, west of Route 47. The announcement was made at the May 13 Village Board meeting.

The Board of Trustees were slated to vote on the motion to approve of the name change at the May 27 meeting. However, it was discovered by Linda Byrne (whose maiden name is Kreutzer) and her husband Bill, that four out of the five signs once bearing the Kreutzer name, had already been changed to Charles H. Sass Parkway well before that night’s meeting.

The Kreutzer family has had a long-standing history in the community, having settled in Huntley in 1868. Bill explained that his mother-in-law Frances, used to bake cakes for Sass’s children on their birthdays and was deemed the “cake lady” in town.

“So out of respect for the family, [Sass] could have respectfully said ‘You know, I don’t want to remove the Kreutzer name. Can we do something else,’” Bill said.

Linda and Bill who spoke in opposition of the name change at the May 27 meeting, were confused at the response they received from village officials regarding why the signs were changed without the public’s knowledge.

While Village Manager Dave Johnson, did not return My Huntley News’ request for comment, Trustee JR Westberg stated that Johnson took the blame for executing the work order responsible for the changing of the street signs.

“At the meeting, I apologized to them. I said I knew nothing that the street signs were being changed before we even voted on it. I thought that was quite disrespectful…I think as a trustee, I’m pretty upset with our communication and transparency with the public on a few things. I think overall, we do a great job,” Westberg said.

“I know that moving forward, I spoke to Dave about it offline afterwards, there’ll be no surprises and stuff. We weren’t trying to bamboozle anybody or do a backdoor deal or anything like that.”

Westberg explained that he felt bad the Kreutzer family had not been contacted beforehand, though he stated that other factors led him to be in favor of renaming the extension road.

“I think primarily when it was presented to us individually as trustees from the village staff, one of the biggest compelling factors is that it had zero impact on any addresses except for one of our very own, which is the west waste water treatment plant,” Westberg said.

“The other thing is I think at the time when it was constructed, we always referred to it as Kreutzer Road extension. Not exactly Kreutzer Road…Had it gone through the Kreutzer farm I would have been a ‘No.’ It would have made better sense to keep it the way it was because it was going through their land, but it wasn’t. It was on the Manke property.”

Trustee Mary Holzkopf said she was also unaware of the sign changes before the meeting. However, she agreed with the points Westberg made in regards to voting “Yes” for the name change.

“Ultimately that portion of the road was an extension of the original Kreutzer Road that former Mayor Sass worked extremely hard to get built. While I was unaware that the Kreutzer family had not been notified of the change (which I disagree with), I do feel that particular road name change was appropriate and fitting,” Holzkopf said in an email statement.

Linda noted that it seemed farfetched that prior discussions didn’t take place regarding the sign changes and explained she did not agree with the trustees’ decision to change the name of the road.

“If the village saw it as an extension which I would say part of Kreutzer Road [and] put the family name on it for however many years it’s been, eight or more, that’s Kreutzer Road. If it has a family name on it, it should not be taken off. You have no respect for the history of the town and the early families, early settlers. That’s pretty disappointing,” she said.

“I see it as, if it’s so easy to take that portion off, I don’t see any reason that they find some reason in their minds to do something with the original part somewhere down the line.”

Trustees Harry Leopold and Niko Kanakaris had the strongest reactions at the meeting, with Leopold stating he was insulted by the remarks made by the Kreutzer family.

Leopold spoke about his efforts assisting the Kreutzer family in a lawsuit against Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) who planned to install a 138,000-volt transmission line that would have forced the demolition of the historic Kreutzer home in Huntley.

Bill told My Huntley News that Leopold was never at the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) public hearings on behalf of the Kreutzer family, and that the fight against ComEd was to benefit the community as a whole, not just the family.

“Harry said that he was offended by what we said and we didn’t say anything that was really offensive. So, where he came up with that, I’m not sure. He predetermined at that point that his vote ‘Yes’ was more of a vendetta against what we said because he was offended,” Bill said.

Despite the Kreutzer family collecting over 200 signatures from residents against the name change, all but Trustee Ronda Goldman voted to approve the motion to change the name of the extension road.

Bill did not wish to comment on what the next steps would be for the family, though he did state they might continue collecting signatures for their petition.

“I’d say to any citizen out there, it’s not too late to let your opinion be heard. I’m sure everybody has electronic communication. You can get out the old pen and paper. Send a letter with your thoughts. You can call the trustees, the mayor, the village manager. Let them know what you think of it,” Linda said as a message to Huntley residents.

“For new residents to learn about the past, to carry your legacy on, the future is the perfect time to make sure that the past is not dissolved,” Bill said.