Kim White (L) and Benny White (R) | Linkedin
Kim White (L) and Benny White (R) | Linkedin
While on the Naperville City Council, Mayoral candidate Benny White voted to send more than $50,000 in taxpayer funds to a non-profit run by his wife, city records show.
White voted for grants to the Naperville based Career & Networking Center, run by his wife, Kimberly, on four occasions since taking office in 2017, most recently in December.
He approved grants of $18,500 for 2019, $11,275 for 2020, $12,555 for 2021 and $8,563 for 2022, according to city of Naperville vendor records.
Kim White's salary has increased over the same period, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) filings show.
She earned $59,280 in 2018 and $82,400 last year, according to IRS 990 filings.
Kim White has been executive director of the organization since Aug. 2005.
Starting in 2021, the City of Naperville started requiring city elected officials to disclose campaign contributions of $750 or more, if the donor was an interested party in any matter considered by the City Council.
“While acknowledging potential enforcement challenges, Councilman Benny White said he supports the spirit of the policy as a way to build public trust," a Daily Herald report said.
Smaller grant approved for 2023
The Career & Networking Center applied for a $20,000 grant for 2023, but its request didn't score high enough per the city's evaluation criteria, so it will only receive $2,344.
Naperville gives away $500,000 of its city food and beverage tax revenue each year to local non-profits.
According to a Naperville City Council memo, 38 groups requested $1,340,901 in 2023, 27 of which-- including the Career and Networking Center-- had previously received funding.
A mask-less Sept. 2021 Career & Networking Center fundraiser held by White, who like her husband was ardently pro-school mask mandate, drew the ire of parents who called her hypocritical.
"While your kids mask at school, your elected officials dance and toast themselves unmasked," read a Facebook post.
If not in politics, Kim White has been outspoken politically.
In a June 2020 op-ed published in the Daily Herald, after the George Floyd riots, she wrote of "stories of (racial) injustices that (her children) personally experienced" living in Naperville and attending Neuqua Valley H.S., lamenting that she worried police would murder her son just because he was black.
"As I write, I hear the door open. Our son is home. He's breathing. He's alive," she said. "Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd. SAY THEIR NAMES."
The Career & Networking Center changed its name from the "Community Career Center" in Aug. 2019.
Career & Networking Center board members included Kim White along with Janel O’Connor of Batavia, Mike Partee of Western Springs, Steve Eschbach of Naperville, Phil Aderton of Naperville, Christine Kimm, Jim Atkins, Pathik Bhatt of Naperville, Tanya Griffin of Naperville, Debra Klimek of Naperville, Angie Kareh, Michael Melaniphy of Naperville, Satinder Rehal of Naperville, Anne Sido, Mike Wilczynski of Naperville, Sheila Sarovich of Naperville, and Tim Pabich of Naperville.
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Career & Networking Center grants from the city of Naperville
Since Benny White joined the Naperville City Council in 2017, he has voted for four grants to his wife's non-profit totaling $50,893.
Source: City of Naperville
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