La Grange Today

Park board meetings will move to second Mondays of each month, overlapping with village board meetings

Tonight's regular meeting of the La Grange Park District board of commissioners will be the last one held on the third Thursday of the month, the night on which the park board traditionally has met for the past several years.

Park commissioners at their Dec. 16 meeting voted unanimously to switch their meeting nights to the second Monday of each month, beginning in February. The meeting time will remain at 7:30 p.m.

View the agenda for tonight's park board meeting (PDF).

Park Board President Mary Ellen said the change in meeting dates was considered because some members had problems attending the Thursday meetings on a consistent basis.

"Each of us have had conflicts over the past year or two that seem to be creeping up more and more often," she said.

Commissioner Tim Kelpsas noted that four regular meetings in 2010 had been rescheduled due to such conflicts. Also, attedance concerns resulted in July's meeting being canceled.

Penicook and Kelpsas each said they favored a Monday night meeting. The second and fourth weeks were suggested because the park district's attorney, Rob Bush, was available on those Mondays.

Commissioner Brad Belcaster supported the motion but said he had no problem attending Thursday meetings. He also expressed concern about having adequate time to review materials over a weekend in order to prepare for a Monday night meeting.

Commissioner Chris Walsh said he had no meeting-night preference. Board Vice President Rob Ashby was present but did not participate in the discussion.

Moving the regular meetings to second Monday nights also creates an overlap with the La Grange village board of trustees, which also routinely conducts a regular session on second Mondays. The park board did not address the overlap in its discussion.

When asked about it after the meeting, Belcaster and Penicook both said it presented no conflict for them because neither usually attends village board meetings.

Both face re-election April 5.

The third candidate in the park board race, Lynn Lacey, last week said that she had not been contacted prior to the Dec. 16 meeting about her schedule availability.

During a Dec. 1 interview with the Citizens' Council of La Grange, Lacey said one of the reasons she decided to seek election to the park board is that her Thursday nights were open.

But attending Monday night meetings would not be a problem if she is elected, Lacey said.

April will be an exception to the park board's new schedule, with that month's meeting occuring on the third Monday of the month. This will allow the Park District's annual budget to be posted for at least 30 days, as required by law, prior to that meeting, Dean Bissias, the park district's executive director, said.

Three candidates vie for two park board openings

Three candidates will vie for two openings on the Park District of La Grange board of commissioners in the consolidated election scheduled for April 5, according to an "unofficial" certificate of ballot released Tuesday by park district officials.

Here are the candidates in the order they will appear on the ballot:

• Mary Ellen Penicook
  135 E 8th Ave


• Bradley Belcaster
  124 N Edgewood Ave


• Lynn C. Lacey
  135 Sawyer Ave

Penicook and Belcaster are incumbent Park commissioners. Lacey, a longtime community activist, is seeking her first elected public office.

Penicook currently serves as the park board president.

Belcaster was appointed to the board in May of this year to serve out the remaining term of Rob Metzger, who resigned due to career and family commitments.

Lacey and Penicook are running as members of a non-partisan slate endorsed by the Citizens' Council of La Grange.

Village and library boards of trustees each have just three candidates seeking to fill three open seats

La Grange voters in next April's consolidated election will find a ballot offering only three candidates to the fill three open seats on the La Grange village board of trustees. Same goes for the library board.

The office of Village Clerk Robert Milne released an unofficial "certificate of ballot" shortly before 5 p.m. today, the filing deadline, containing the following six candidates, listed in order of ballot position:

Village Board

• James T. Palermo
  216 S Ashland Ave


• Mark A. Kuchler
  800 Bell Ave


• Jeff Nowak
  515 S Waiola

Library Board

• Caroline Coryell
  115 S Spring Ave


• John P. Reardon
  115 S Brainard Ave


• Bridgette O'Connor
  315 S Catherine Ave

All of the village board candidates are listed on the ballot as "Independent" and all library board candidates are listed as "Nonpartisan."

However, except for Palermo, all of the candidates are members of a slate endorsed by the Citizens' Council of La Grange.

Palermo, who is seeking his second four-year term on the village board, was endorsed by the council during his initial run for office. He declined an invitation to seek its endorsement this time, saying his employer had recently adopted a policy that would restrict his involvement as a member of any political party or slate.

Kuchler and Coryell also are incumbents. Nowak, O'Connor and Reardon are all seeking public office for the first time.

Council backs Kuchler, Nowak for village board

The La Grange Citizens' Council tonight endorsed Mark Kuchler and Jeff Nowak for election to the village board of trustees in next April's election, when three open seats will be filled by voters.

Kuchler is a one-term incumbent who was elected to the village board in 2007 with the council's endorsement.

Nowak is a newcomer to elective politics, but is currently an appointed member of the village plan commission and previously served on the village community and economic development commission.

The two men were the only village board candidates to seek endorsement from the council despite the organization extending its application deadline three times.

Another one-term incumbent, Jim Palermo, said he will seek re-election but did not seek the endorsement of the council, citing a policy adopted by his employer that would restrict his involvement as a member of any political party or slate.

Nineteen of the council's 25 members participated in tonight's slating caucus.

Council backs Penicook, Lacey for park board

The La Grange Citizens Council tonight endorsed Mary Ellen Penicook and Lynn Lacey as candidates for two seats on the Park District of La Grange board of commissioners that will be filled in a public election April 5.

Penicook, the incumbent park board president, and Lacey, a longtime community activist seeking her first elective office, were chosen in a closed-session caucus by 13 council members in attendance, following public interviews conducted in the Village Hall auditorium.

A third candidate, Brad Belcaster, also was interviewed but did not receive the council's endorsement.

Belcaster has been a park commissioner since last May, when he was appointed by the other four board members to replace Rob Metzger, who resigned from the board due to work and family commitments.

Citizens' Council deadline extension fails to attract more village board candidates for endorsements

The La Grange Citizens' Council Dec. 8 will interview only two candidates seeking endorsement for three open seats on the village board, after a third deadline extension failed to attract additional candidates, Council Chairperson Katie Justak said today.

The latest deadline expired at 5 p.m. Sunday, Justak said.

Council members at its Nov. 10 meeting voted to extend the deadline in hopes of being able to slate a candidate for each of the three board vacancies that will be filled by voters in a consolidated election to be held April 5.

The two village board candidates who have submitted applications to the council are incumbent trustee Mark Kuchler and Jeff Nowak, a member of the village plan commission.

Jim Palermo, also an incumbent trustee, said he will seek re-election, but declined to seek endorsement from the council.

Palermo said a policy adopted in September by his employer would restrict his ability to participate as a member of a political slate.

This Wednesday evening, Dec. 1, the council will interview three candidates seeking election to the Park District of La Grange board of commissioners: Incumbents Mary Ellen Penicook and Brad Belcaster, and newcomer Lynn Lacey.

Wednesday's session begins at 7 p.m. in the Village Hall auditorium. The public is invited to attend.

 

Adamczyk joins library board as interim trustee

The La Grange Public Library board of trustees Wednesday night appointed a former library trustee, Rick Adamczyk, to fill the remaining six months of the term vacated last month by Rose Taylor, who resigned from the board after moving her residency to Indian Head Park.

Rick Adamczyk will serve the remaining six months of a library board term vacated by Rose Taylor.
View larger image

A 34-year resident of the village, Adamczyk previously served as a library trustee from 1999 t0 2007, when he decided not to seek re-relection. Taylor subsquently replaced Adamczyk, winning the seat in that year's general election.

Adamczyk said he "didn't hesitate" when Library Board President Becky Spratford asked him if he was interested in accepting the interim appointment, which expires next May. But he added that he will not be a candidate in the April 5 general election.

Spratford said Adamczyk was the first choice among a number of former trustees the board considered approaching, as his service was the most recent.

The board also sought someone who was not a candidate for election in April, so that the appointment would be not construed as an endorsement, she said.

In rejoining the board, Adamczyk ensures that the board will continue to operate with a full complement of seven trustees, but he will be not be required to participate in any of its committees.

Adamczyk said that whatever his duties might be, they will be certainly be less demanding than his previous stint on the board.

A painting contractor by profession, Adamczyk chaired the committee that oversaw construction of the library's current building. Holding three or four meetings a week was typical for that committee, he said.

While Adamczyk had left the board by the time the new facility opened in Nov. 2007, his contribution was acknowleged by the inclusion of his name on building's dedication plaque.

Related stories:

• Rose Taylor resigns from La Grange library board
• Citizens' Council slates three for library board

Citizens' Council still seeking village board candidates

The La Grange Citizens' Council Wednesday night re-opened its call for applications from candidates seeking the council's endorsement in the race to fill three seats next April on the village board of trustees.

In what amounts to a third extension of its original Oct. 13 deadline, the council voted to accept applications from village board candidates until Nov. 28.

Council Chairperson Katie Justak said the decision was made in the hope that at least three qualified candidates would appear before the council for interviews scheduled for Dec. 8. As of Oct. 31, the council had received only two applications—from incumbent trustee Mark Kuchler and Jeff Nowak, a member of the village plan commission.

Justak said another unnamed candidate had been disqualified because their application was received two days after the Oct. 31 deadline. She said that person would be invited to resubmit before the new deadline.

Council members also decided not to re-open the call for applications from candidates seeking election to the Park District of La Grange board of commissioners. On Dec. 1, the council will interview three park district candidates and likely slate two of them.

On Wednesday night, the council slated three candidates for seats on the La Grange Public Library board of trustees after interviewing four hopefuls.

Citizens' Council slates three for library board

Three candidates seeking election to three open seats on the La Grange Public Library board of trustees were endorsed Wednesday night by the La Grange Citizens' Council, following interviews conducted in the Village Hall auditorium.

The candidates slated by the council are:

• Caroline Coryell, an incumbent trustee who has served on the library board since 1985. She also is a retired La Grange shopowner.
• Bridgette O'Connor, a newcomer to local politics. Employed as a control oversight associate and certified fraud examiner for an undisclosed entity, she has resided in La Grange for the past two years.
• John Reardon, another first-time office-seeker. A retired self-employed professional engineer, he has lived in La Grange for 11 years.

A fourth candidate, David Paulus, also was interviewed by the council, but did not make the cut. Also a newcomer to local politics, he is an associate creative director at SPM Marketing in La Grange, and has resided in the village for 10 years.

La Grange Today will publish more details about the candidates and their interviews next week.

Citizens' Council could again extend deadline for candidates seeking endorsement in village board race

The Citizens' Council of La Grange could decide to once again extend its deadline for candidates seeking endorsement in the race to fill three vacancies on the La Grange village board of trustees in next April's general election, Katie Justak, the council's chairperson, said Wednesday night.

Despite having already twice extended the deadline for candidates in all three local races, most recently until Oct. 31, Justak said the council has received applications from only two village board candidates: Incumbent trustee Mark Kuchler and Jeff Nowak, who currently holds an appointed seat on the village plan commission.

A third announced candidate, Jim Palermo, also an incumbent trustee, last week said he would not seek the council's endorsement, citing a policy recently adopted by his employer that would restrict his involvement as a member of any political party or slate.

Justak said that council members could consider another extension for village board candidates at its Nov. 10 meeting, at which they also will interview four candidates seeking endorsement for three seats on the library board.

Two of the library board candidates submitted their applications shortly before the Oct. 31 extended deadline, Justak said.

Interviews and endorsements of candidates for the Park District of La Grange board of commissioners are scheduled for Dec. 1. Those of candidates for the village board of trustees will be held Dec. 8.

The council has received applications from three park board candidates, Justak said. They are incumbents Mary Ellen Penicook and Brad Belcaster, and newcomer Lynn Lacey. The council is expected to make endorsements for two open seats on the park board.

Justak said the deadline extensions were made in an effort to fulfill the council's bylaws, which require that "[E]very effort shall be made to obtain at least two (2) qualified nominees for each office to be voted upon by the Council."

While that target was not met in either of the past two local elections—held in 2009 and 2007—the council in those years was able to attract and endorse at least enough candidates to equal or exceed the number of open seats.

Extending the deadline a third time for current village board candidates might help the council repeat those feats, but Justak said the council will not give its endorsement "just to fill a seat."

"Candidates must convince the council that they are qualified and will be good public servants," she said.

Justak said she unsuccessfully tried to persuade Palermo to reconsider his decision not to seek the council's endorsement in his bid for a second four-year term as village trustee. Palermo sought and won its endorsement in the 2007 race.

The non-partisan council "is not and cannot be a political party," Justak said. "We're not a caucus."

Instead, Justak compared an endorsement from the council as equivalent to one from a local newspaper's editorial board.

"We are a group of citizens recommending a group of candidates to our fellow residents," she said.

While the council intends to publish an informational brochure announcing its endorsements and detailing the candidates' backgrounds and qualifications, it will not organize any election campaign on their behalf, Justak said.

But she did acknowledge that council members in the past typically have formed independent political parties in order to promote and campaign on behalf of a slate of candidates endorsed by the council.

However, in 2009, candidates endorsed by the council formed their own party without direct assistance from council members.