La Grange Today

Park District begins interviews with board applicants

UPDATE - March 22, 10:48 p.m.: Only one candidate, Julie Workman, met with Park District commissioners tonight in the first interview session the board conducted as it seeks a replacement for outgoing commissioner Rob Metzger. The session was closed to the public.)

The Park District of La Grange tonight will conduct the first of two interview sessions scheduled this week with some if not all of the five individuals who asked to be considered for appointment to fill a vacancy on its board of commissioners created by the resignation announced in January by Rob Metzger. The second interview session is set for Wednesday evening.

The board has opted to close the interview sessions to the public under an exemption to the Illinois Open Meetings Act allowing private meetings for "[t]he selection of a person to fill a public office [...] including a vacancy in a public office, when the public body is given power to appoint under law or ordinance."

The park board last Thursday decided not to exclude two candidates, James Fornaciari and Julie Workman, whose applications were received after the deadline of 5 p.m. on March 1 set by the board.

Workman's application was emailed to Executive Director Dean Bissias at 10:44 p.m. March 1; Fornaciari's application, also via email, was not sent until March 5.

The other three candidates—Bradley Belcaster, James Boo and Daniel Shoemaker—all submitted their applications before the deadline.

The decision to keep all five candidates in the running was made in closed session, and was not announced or explained by President Tim Kelpsas when the board returned to open session.

But following Thursday's meeting, Commissioner Chris Walsh, acknowledged the decision and said that the park board was free to make rules, and later change them, as it sees fit because the Illinois Park District Code does not specifically govern the selection process, other than to require that candidates be registered voters and reside in the district.

"I personally, in the [Jan. 25 board] meeting where we talked about this, asked whether we were at liberty to use any mechanism of our choice, and if we didn’t get enough people in could we still continue and this and that," Walsh said. "I don’t remember the exact words. But the answer is yeah, you can use any mechanism you want. There’s no prescribed way and it’s OK. If you only get one applicant by March 1, you can keep it going or whatever. It’s no big deal."

A review of an audio recording of the Jan. 25 meeting, at which Metzger's resignation was announced and the board discussed and agreed on March 1 as the deadline for applications, did not contain any discussion about whether the deadline was flexible.

However, at that meeting Rob Bush, the Park District's attorney, did tell the commissioners, "How you go about selecting that individual is entirely up to you."

There was some discussion about extending the deadline at the board's Feb. 25 meeting after Bissias reported that he had received verbal inquiries from six individuals but had yet to received a single application in writing.

Commissioner Mary Ellen Penicook recommended that the board continue to solicit applications until at least five applicants came forward. Vice President Bob Ashby noted that voters had only four candidates to choose from in last year's election when three board seats were up for grabs.

"Can we make the decision when the time comes?" Walsh asked regarding a deadline extension.

"Yeah, you can," Bissias replied.

When Ashby noted that the board had not set a timeline beyond the application deadline for appointing one of the candidates, Walsh responded, "Even if we did agree we can unagree. The process that we use to select this person is not something that we have to etch in marble."

Given the flexibility the board appears to have, Walsh last Thursday was asked if potential applicants were misled by the legal notice published in the Feb. 17 edition of the Suburban Life newspaper and a similar notice posted on the Park District website--both of which stated, "All inquiries must be received no later than 5 p.m. on March 1, 2010."

Walsh, who claims not to have seen either notice, replied, "Everyone had the benefit of the opportunity to go to the meeting and hear exactly what was talked about because all of this happened in a public meeting.

"People who were interested and learned of the vacancy applied and we are considering the applications that we received," Walsh continued. "We are at liberty to receive more; we are at liberty to solicit more. I don’t see what is controversial about any of that. To the extent that someone thinks it is controversial, I would say that they need to take a broader view of things when, in the very meeting that we talked about that a vacancy was going to exist, we talked about how we might fill it."

Potters prepare 'empty bowls' to combat hunger

Empty Bowls, a community event designed to help fight hunger by raising funds for local food pantries, will take place April 22 from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. in downtown La Grange.

Volunteer potters from throughout the area have been converging at Terra Incognito Studios & Gallery, 35 S La Grange Rd, where they are making hundreds of clay bowls in preparation for the event.

Anyone who purchases a bowl ($20 for adults, $15 for children) can take it to any or all of 19 participating restaurants and food retailers during the three-hour event and have it filled with soup, pasta, and desserts and other fare.

The money raised will be donated to food pantries at St. Cletus Church, Second Baptist Church and St. Francis Xavier Church.

Watch the video below to learn more about the event from Terra Incognito owner David Toan, and see the potters at work:

Late applications may not disqualify candidates for vacancy on park district board, Bissias says

The fact that two candidates seeking to fill a vacant seat on the Park District of La Grange board of commissioners filed their applications after the deadline set by park officials may not disqualify them, Dean Bissias, the Park District's executive director, said Wednesday.

Bissias acknowledged that emails sent by James Fornaciari and Julie Workman asking to be considered to replace Commissioner Rob Metzger, who announced his resignation in January, were transmitted after the 5 p.m deadline on March 1.

Bissias said he was not authorized by the park board to reject their applications, adding that there had been discussion among park commissioners some weeks ago about extending the deadline if an insufficient number of candidates stepped forward.

Bissias said he forwarded all five applications he received to park commissioners and that they would make any decisions related to the eligibility of the candidates.

Copies of the applications made public Tuesday by Bissias show that Workman's email was sent at 10:44 p.m. on March 1. Fornaciari's was sent at 11:48 p.m. on March 5.

Bissias said that Fornaciari had contacted him by telephone prior to March 1 and stated his intent to submit an application.

Applications from the other three candidates--Bradley Belcaster, James Boo and Daniel Shoemaker--all were received prior to the deadline, Bissias said.

A legal notice published in the Feb. 17 edition of the Suburban Life newspaper and a request for inquiries posted to the Park District website make no mention of a possible extension of the deadline.

A follow-up phone message left for Bissias Wednesday afternoon, asking if the resolution passed by the board stating its intent to seek candidates to replace Metzger contained any mention of a deadline extension, was not answered. (Update: Bissias Thursday said there was no resolution passed in conjunction with the board's decision at its January regular meeting to solicit applicants for Metzger's position.)

Similarly, Board President Tim Kelpsas also did not respond to phone and email messages asking him to clarify the matter.

According to the agenda for the park board's regular monthly meeting, made public Tuesday, discussion regarding the appointment will occur under the heading of Board Business. But the matter is not listed as an action item.

Interviews that the board plans to conduct with each candidate have not yet been scheduled, Bissias said Wednesday.

The board meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Park District Recreation Center, 536 East Ave, La Grange.

Related story:

• Park District divulges information submitted by applicants seeking to fill Metzger board vacancy

Park District divulges information submitted by applicants seeking to fill Metzger board vacancy

The Park District of La Grange today made public documents submitted by five applicants seeking to fill a vacancy on its board of commissioners created by the resignation of Rob Metzger.

Park officials redacted home addresses, personal telephone numbers and email addresses from the documents.

An examination of the documents reveals that two of the candidates—James Fornaciari and Julie Workman—appear to have filed their applications after the deadline imposed by the Park District.

View PDF copies of all of applicants' documents by clicking on the links at the bottom of this report.

The applicants' biographical information was released only after La Grange Today Publisher Thom Rae filed two requests under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and threatened to refer the matter to the Illinois Attorney General.

Park officials did not directly respond to Rae's request to provide the date and time each application was received. However, that information can be discerned for three of the candidates—Fornaciari, Workman and Daniel Shoemaker—as each of their applications were transmitted via email and contain the date and time it was sent.

Shoemaker and Workman both emailed their applications on March 1, the last day to receive eligible filings.

Shoemaker's application was sent at 2:08 p.m., nearly three hours before the 5 p.m. deadline. But Workman's was not sent until 10:44 p.m., several hours after the deadline.

Fornaciari emailed his application on March 5 and acknowledged his late filing in his correspondence.

The two other applicants, Bradley Belcaster and James Boo, apparently submitted printed versions of their filing documents to the Park District on Feb. 24 and 26, respectively.

Park officials have made no announcement as to when interviews with the candidates will be conducted. Executive Director Dean Bissias last week said he was still trying to coordinate the schedules of park commissioners and candidates.

There also has been no mention of whether the interviews will be open to the public.

The Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA) allows public bodies to conduct closed sessions for "[t]he selection of a person to fill a public office, as defined in this Act, including a vacancy in a public office, when the public body is given power to appoint under law or ordinance."

While the OMA allows closed sessions for this purpose, they are not required by the statute.

Notice of any meeting of a public body, including a closed session, must be given at least 48 hours before it is conducted.

The final vote to appoint a person to fill a vacancy on a public body must be conducted in public.

Click on name of each applicant below to view a PDF version of his or her documents.

• Bradley Belcaster
• James Boo
• James Fornaciari
• Daniel Shoemaker
• Julie Workman

Read these related stories:

• Withholding information submitted by applicants for public office is illegal, Illinois Attorney General rules
• Park District reveals names of five applicants for board vacancy, but withholds all other information
• Park District withholds identities of applicants for board vacancy pending approval of FOIA request

Withholding information submitted by applicants for public office is illegal, Illinois Attorney General rules

The Park District of La Grange should make public all documents and personal information submitted by five individuals seeking appointment to fill a vacancy on its board of commissioners, according to a March 5 ruling by Illinois Attorney General's Office of the Public Access Counselor (PAC).

"When [a] public office becomes vacant, it follows that the public has a legitimate interest in knowing who has applied for the position so that they may evaluate whether the individuals are qualified to represent a particular[district] and discern why one applicant was appointed over others," the ruling said. "Moreover, [t]he public has a legitimate interest in evaluating whether these applicants have met [the] residency requirement before the vacancy is filled."

While the ruling did not speak directly to the Park District's apparent efforts to cloak its appointment process in secrecy, but rather a similar situation in the City of Chicago, the circumstances and legal issues in the two cases are strikingly similar. 

In the Chicago instance, the city's attorneys sought to deny entirely a reporter's request under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to obtain the names, addresses and other information contained in applications submitted by more than 90 individuals seeking appointment by Mayor Richard M. Daley to two vacant ward seats on the city council.

In the case of the Park District, its officials responded to an identical FOIA request submitted March 3 by La Grange Today publisher Thom Rae by providing only the names of five individuals who applied for consideration by the park board to fill the vacancy created by Commissioner Rob Metzger, who resigned due to time constraints involving job and family.

But park officials refused to provide the applicants' home addresses or any documents provided in support of their application.

Chicago's attorneys argued that an exemption provided in the FOIA statute, Subsection 7(1)(c), supported its denial of the request filed by Alex Parker, a reporter with Chicago Current, a website devoted to covering the city's political scene.

Subsection 7(1)(c) exempts from disclosure:

Personal information contained within public records, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, unless the disclosure is consented to in writing by the individual subjects of the information. "Unwarranted invasion of personal privacy" means the disclosure of information that is highly personal or objectionable to a reasonable person and in which the subject's right to privacy outweighs any legitimate public interest in obtaining the information. The disclosure of information that bears on the public duties of public employees and officials shall not be considered an invasion of personal privacy.

Park officials cited a different exemption from the statute—Subsection 7(1)(b)—as the basis for their withholding the addresses of the five applicants. It exempts:

Private information, unless disclosure is required by another provision of this Act, a State or federal law or a court order.

It would be speculation to suggest that park officials deemed the addresses to be "private" versus "personal" information in an attempt to avoid having to meet the standards imposed in 7(1)(c), on which the PAC appears to have based its ruling in the Chicago case.

"[T]he City has failed to establish either that disclosure of the information in these job application packets would be highly personal or objectionable to a reasonable person or that the applicants' right to privacy outweighs any legitimate public interest in obtaining information about the people seeking appointment to this public office," the PAC's ruling said.

By citing FOIA exemption 7(1)(b) instead of (c), the Park District also sidestepped a requirement specific to the latter exemption. Any public body citing "personal information" as the reason for denying a FOIA request must notify the PAC in writing of its intent. The PAC's denial in the Chicago case was made in response to the city's notice of intent to deny using 7(1)(c).

In any case, the park officials' argument that the applicants' home addresses are "private information" appears shaky when one considers that addresses for all five applicants were easily found within a single online telephone directory.

However, the fact that information requested of a public body may be obtained elsewhere does not offset the body's obligations under the FOIA to provide the same.

In denying release of any documents provided to the Park District by the five board applicants, its attorneys relied on legal arguments reminiscent of the Clinton White House, quibbling over the exact meaning of the word "application."

Because the Park District did not require applicants to fill out a standard form, (Chicago, by comparison, did provide a form), it could not provide copies of the applications because no standard form was used, Jeffrey Jurgens, an attorney with law firm Ancel Glink, which represents the Park District on general matters, including FOIA responses, told Rae.

When Rae pointed out that at least one applicant, Jim Boo, had publicly disclosed a letter he submitted to park officials as his application, Jurgens said that any such documents were not viewed by the Park District as applications because they did not employ the non-existent form that was not provided.

Jurgens said that Rae could file a new FOIA request describing documents such as the one submitted by Boo using words other than "application." Under protest, Rae filed a revised FOIA request last Friday. A new FOIA request gives the Park District an additional five business days to respond.

Rae said the PAC's March 5 ruling came to his attention this afternoon during a conversation with Terry Pastika, an attorney and executive director at the Citizen Advocacy Center in Elmhurst, a non-profit organization that promotes open government.

A subsequent phone call to the PAC office in Springfield was too late in the business day to accommodate a request for a copy of the document.

Chicago Current reporter Parker, reached by phone this evening, provided a copy of the ruling via email.

Parker said that, in the Chicago case, the Daley administration late last Friday released a list of nearly 60 applicants, having removed those names who were ruled ineligible or whom had subsequently withdrawn from consideration. While each applicant's name was associated with one of the two respective vacant ward seats, no home addresses were provided. The city later provided copies of the applicant forms and related documents with the homes addresses redacted, Parker said.

Rae said he will forward a copy of the ruling to Park District officials in hopes of resolving the conflict over his FOIA request without direct intervention of the PAC. But if that fails, Rae said he will file a formal request for assistance.

Read the entire ruling from the Illinois Attorney General's Office of the Public Access Counselor.

Palmer's celebrates St. Pat with five-day festival

Palmer Place, the popular restaurant and biergarten in downtown La Grange, is celebrating St. Patrick with its 27th Annual Shamrock Festival: five days and nights of Irish music, drink and, of course, green beer.

While you may have missed the initial festivities held this past weekend, they were just a warm-up to Tuesday and Wednesday's high points.

La Grange Today visited with co-owner Steve Palmer last Friday morning, and later on checked out the music and the first-night crowd.

Watch our video report below:

Cops & Kids raise $2,600 for Cari Cook Family Fund

Countryside Interim Chief of Police Scott Novak presents Matt Cook, holding daughter Ellie, with a symbolic check for $2,600 as Mayor Robert Conrad looks on.

The family of Cari Lyn Cook, the young Countryside mother who was struck and killed last May while crossing 47th St with her two small children, received a check for $2,600 at tonight's meeting of the Countryside city council.

The money was raised at the 13th Annual Cops & Kids basketball tournament held February 18 at Gurrie Middle School in La Grange.

To learn more about the event, watch the video below. To learn more about the Cari Lyn Cook Family Fund, click here to visit the website.

Asperger, three trustees to address Citizens Council

The March 10 meeting of the La Grange Citizens Council will feature speakers from the La Grange Village Board.

Village President Elizabeth Asperger, along Trustees Bill Holder, Mike Horvath and Mark Langan, will provide an overview of village government and their respective roles.

The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Village Hall auditorium. The public is invited.

Park District reveals names of five applicants for board vacancy, but withholds all other information

The Park District of La Grange today disclosed the names of five individuals it said expressed formal interest in being appointed to fill a vacancy on its board of commissioners.

But the district refused to disclose any additional information regarding the applicants, including their home addresses, despite a state requirement that board members reside within the boundaries of the park district.

The five individuals are listed here, along with addresses obtained from whitepages.com, an online phone directory:

• Bradley Belcaster, 124 N Edgewood Ave
• Jim Boo, 1327 Mason Dr
• James Fornaciari, 930 S Spring Ave
• Dan Shoemaker, 116 N Stone Ave
• Julie Workman, 233 S Park Ave

Belcaster is a La Grange real estate broker who was contracted by the Park District in 2007 to help negotiate the sale of a portion of Gordon Park to developer Atlantic Realty Partners (ARP). He has continued on as a consultant during the Park District's repeated, and so far unsuccessful, attempts to complete the sale, which has been blocked in Cook County Circuit Court by residents opposed to the loss of parkland. Belcaster is paid $200 an hour for his services, according to his own court testimony.

Boo unsuccessfully sought election to the park board in 2009. He finished fourth behind incumbents Tim Kelpsas, Rob Ashby and Chris Walsh, all of whom were re-elected. Boo, along with Ashby and Walsh, received the endorsement of the La Grange Citizens Council.

Workman, an attorney, was a paid spokesperson for Citizens for a Great Gordon Park, which successfully advocated voter support for a Nov. 2008 referendum approving sale of the parkland to ARP. For her services, Workman received $3,500 from a contribution of $30,000 made to the organization by the developer, according to the group's filing with the Illinois elections board. 

Fornaciari and Shoemaker have no public record of recent activity related to the Park District.

The Park District released the names of the applicants only after La Grange Today publisher Thom Rae March 3 filed a request under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.

The Park District withheld the applicants' addresses citing an exemption to the Act that protects an individual's "private information" from disclosure.

As defined by the Act, "private information means unique identifiers, including a person's social security number, driver's license number, employee identification number, biometric identifiers, personal financial information, passwords or other access codes, medical records, home or personal telephone numbers, and personal email addresses. Private information also includes home address and personal license plates, except as otherwise provided by law or when compiled without possibility of attribution to any person."

Under the Illinois Park District Code, "Each member of the governing board of any park district shall [...] be a legal voter of and reside within such district."

The Park District also refused to disclose any additional information provided in writing by the applicants, stating, "The Park District does not have an application to fill board vacancies. Accordingly, the Park District does not have a document to provide."

Rae said he requested copies of "any application data" provided by the individuals, not simply a copies of a non-existent standard form.

For example, the Park District did not provide a copy of Boo's letter of application, which is known to exist because Boo on his own sent a copy to La Grange Today.

The Act clearly states, "All records in the custody or possession of a public body are presumed to be open to inspection or copying."

Rae said he likely will ask the Illinois Attorney General's office to review the Park District's decision to withhold records in this case.

iPod too loud? Stick this thought in your ear instead

Do you love cranking up the volume on your iPod but secretly scold yourself for the long-term harm it may be have on your hearing?

 

Why lecture yourself in vain when there's a local doctor willing to discuss with you several studies suggesting that 5 to 20 percent of people who use portable music devices with over-the-ear headphones experience either tinnitus or dull hearing. 

Dr. Robert Battista, a neurotologist who treats patients at Adventist Hinsdale Hospital is offering a free lecture on the topic on MP3 players and hearing loss on March 31 at 6:30 p.m. at Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital. Joining him will be pediatric audiologist Dawn W. Maniskas.

 

The two-hour program will include tips on how to safely listen to iPods and other portable music devices and spotting signs of hearing damage.

“People should realize that listening to music at high volume and for long durations is potentially dangerous because it can permanently damage your hearing,” Battista says. “Take care when you put on your iPod and remind your children to do the same.”

He encourages people to limit the volume on their portable music devices.

 

Popular in-ear headphones such as the ones packaged with iPods block less ambient noise than the old-fashioned over-the-ear devices and they deliver sound more directly to the ear canal, resulting in a one-two punch for your ears, Battista says.

 

At the same volume control setting, in-ear headphones produce noise levels in the ear canal that are substantially greater than noise levels of over-the-ear headphones.

 

“New technology allows iPod users to lock in a maximum noise level for their personal device,” Maniskas said, “yet many people don’t even realize their iPods have that capability.”

Battista also advises parents to take their children for hearing tests with doctors affiliated with Adventist Hinsdale Hospital’s Center for Hearing Restoration and Ear Research. Tests are particularly crucial for children who’ve had repetitive ear infections or whose family members have a history of hearing loss, he says.

The Center offers patients and their families a comprehensive range of diagnostic services and surgical treatments for ear and hearing problems. This includes profound deafness treated with cochlear implants, perforations of the ear drum, otosclerosis, acoustic tumors, balance disorders and facial nerve problems.

 

Can't attend the March 31 lecture? Then consider one being held March 17, also at 6:30 p.m., at the Hinsdale Community House.

 

In either case, space is limited. To register, call (630) 856-7525.