Mundelein officials launched a new “Fact vs. Fiction” page on the village website, which hoping it will provide more transparency and information on topics of interest to the community.
Communications Manager Dawn Jenich, who will also run the page, said the goal is to allow the village to be more proactive about proving information. She said she believes the page will allow the village to present more explanation on some complex or controversial issues and decisions.
“Instead of sharing misinformation and unverified claims, this page is dedicated to presenting the facts,” according to the village website.
The page had two posts as of Sept. 10. One deals with Mundelein’s green energy electrical aggregation program. The other gives details on a new pedestrian bridge project that will replace an at-grade crossing at the railroad tracks near the Metra commuter train station. At the bottom of the page, there is a form where residents can submit questions or comments.
“The impetus for this page is most certainly related to (Mayor Steve Lentz) and the Board’s desire to proactively manage Mundelein’s narrative and stay ahead of the naysayers,” Jenich said in an email to Pioneer Press.
Lentz said a few years back, the village had a webpage titled, “Rumor vs. Fact,” which he said had a similar purpose as the new . However, that site was more to react to certain information being discussed in the community. Lentz said the hope is the new page will allow the village to be more proactive and stay ahead of certain information.
“We would wait and see something bad happening on social media and we would write something up about it,” he said.
Currently, there are no other posts planned for the page at this time, Jenich said.
Lentz said there is no goal as to how often there will be posts, adding that it will be more issue-driven.
More Top Picks Best Security Camera Systems
While officials said there wasn’t any particular incident that happened to spark this idea, Lentz said there are some people who post on social media who are “ill informed on issues, facts and nuances.”
“I think that applies to every village,” he said. “Some people just like to spout off their opinion without having the facts and nuances, and this (page) will really help, I think.”