It was meant to be a community meet-and-greet event to generate enthusiasm for a long-planned public library in Dixmoor, with book giveaways, games for the kids, free food and raffles.
Instead, members of the village’s public library district say they were met by three police officers as well as Dixmoor’s code enforcement officer, slapped with a $750 fine and the event shut down a little more than an hour after it got underway.
Advertisement
Whether the fine will be upheld will be decided at an Oct. 20 municipal court hearing, according to Arletta Evans, the district’s secretary, and Yolanda Williams-Corner, the district’s treasurer.
The event was held Sept. 24 on a vacant lot the district bought in 2016, at 14501 Davis Ave., which is the site of the proposed library.
Advertisement
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/QKDIQESUFBFYTMPFJMC5UED3VY)
Both Evans and Williams-Corner said the event was shut down due to a lack of permit, but that district officials tried to get necessary approval at a recent Dixmoor Village Board meeting but were denied.
The group was not on the agenda for that meeting, and the Village Board only considers items that are part of the agenda, said Travis Akin, a Dixmoor spokesman.
“The library board did not reach out to be added to the agenda,” he said Thursday.
A departure from the set agenda is not part of the board’s “traditions and how they do business there,” Akin said.
He also defended the village’s action in shutting down the event.
“You can’t just set things up that are regulated by permits,” Akin said. “The library board failed to follow those protocols and got shut down as a result. It comes down to, there are rules to be followed and they didn’t.”
The library district was established in 1989 and initially partnered with Harvey’s public library so Dixmoor residents could use its services. In 2011, the Dixmoor district instead partnered with the William Leonard Public Library in Robbins.
District officials describe plans for the building as a media center, which will have a limited number of books available through a lending system, but also computers, wireless internet access and meeting spaces.
Advertisement
The district had held a community awareness event in August in Crestwood, and the Dixmoor gathering was intended to “get people excited about the coming media center,” Williams-Corner, who was a Dixmoor trustee for 20 years, said Thursday.
She said she did not seek reelection in the spring of 2021 and joined the library board last year.
Evans said the district spent a bit more than $2,000 to rent a tent, portable bathroom, and to have giveaways such as $10 Subway gift cards and refrigerator magnets with the phone numbers for Village Hall and village police on them.
She and Williams-Corner said they hope the court hearing might just result in a citation and that the district can avoid a fine.
They said that setting up for the event began early in the morning, and the gathering was opened to the public at 11 a.m. Evans said it was shut down by the village after noon, perhaps closer to 12:30 p.m.
Daily Southtown
Twice-weekly
News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday
Evans said the district had initially estimated the cost of building the library at $250,000, but figures that might have risen to $400,000 due to more costly building materials.
Advertisement
She said the district had submitted blueprints for the building but that the Village Board has postponed the approval process.
“We have everything we need to start our process,” Evans said.
The library district has accepted donations of money, books and other items, but district officials “might have to return it all” if plans for the library continue to stall.
She and Williams-Corner said they do not understand why the event needed to be shut down, and why obstacles have been thrown up in efforts to establish a library in the village.
“It will be a good thing for the residents,” said Evans, who has been with the district eight years. “Why do we have to keep depending on other libraries when we can have our own?”
mnolan@tribpub.com
"Shut" - Google News
October 07, 2022 at 04:41AM
https://ift.tt/3rqCVK5
Dixmoor library event shut down, district faces $750 fine - Chicago Tribune
"Shut" - Google News
https://ift.tt/pUriD1t
https://ift.tt/OhDBrWF
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Dixmoor library event shut down, district faces $750 fine - Chicago Tribune"
Post a Comment