CITIZENS' COUNCIL SWITCHES GEARS

Long before Katie Justak became chair of the Citizens' Council of La Grange, the La Grange wife and mother had an idea to transform the decades-old nonpartisan candidate-recommending organization into one that will help educate its members and the community year-round about the practices, policies and day-to-day issues of the government leaders they need to know about every election season.
And now that Justak has firmly taken hold of the reins of the Council's 2009-10 season, this may be a year that goes down in the history books for the organization that has usually only shown its face in the six months preceding local elections for the village, park and library boards.

This season is also an intriguing one for the always hoped-for 88-member group (representing 11 geographically precise districts) because it has experienced some growing pains in the past few years, perhaps due to changing demographics in town but more visibly in the impact candidate selections have on the community and just how that delicate process is laid out. The group changed its bylaws and took on new leadership.

For the first time in its history, the Council is hosting monthly public information forums in which various government officials, both elected and appointed, can meet face-to-face with the public and field questions from them. The first such event is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, and features Village Manager Robert Pilipszyn following a brief business meeting.

Former chair Orlando Coryell and others have occasionally brought in speakers in the off-season past, but not as concerted of an effort or as regularly as the current Council hopes to do this coming year.

"I asked (Pilipszyn) to focus on the process (and) how he works with the board," said Justak, but she's not sure how he will handle the task. "or he may choose to be more interactive."

She hopes the night is well-attended and said they will be ramping up their efforts to bring more public awareness to its activities. If for no other reason, changing things in this manner could bring about more enthusiasm in local politics and a more informed electorate.

For those who like to mark their calendars, Public Library Director Jeanne Dilger-Hill is slated to appear before the Council, along with a Library Board member, in January 2010.

The Council is exploring the airing of its meetings on cable, although she said that's fell on deaf ears in the past.

At the Council's first meeting since the spring elections held Sept. 9, some 20 people showed up, the typical core of die-hard members plus a few newbies anxious to join its ranks. No district boasts the maximum number of members allowed just yet and a few have none, as usual.

"We got the ball rolling and we've decided as a council to re-look at the process we use (in candidate vetting, evaluating and choosing," she said, noting a committee will be formed this fall charged with producing two or three options by the spring."

Justak believes she is leading "a solid group of people dedicated to the mission of the Council."

This fall, members Robert Wessel and Carolyn Pann dropped out. Pann is the wife of Nicholas Pann, who was recommended by the Council in 2007 but failed to win. One new member has been inducted: District 1 member Peggy Carlson, who also is a member of the village's Economic Development Commission.

The Council, she implored, is in dire need of District 2 members, or those coming from the north side of the village between the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad and the east side of Brainard Avenue. District 2 is in the same straits and covers the opposite side of Brainard to the village's western limits.

The first meeting also resulted in two main objectives: to focus on the variety of publicity outlets to explore to more efficiently get the word out and to appoint so-called "board reporters" to serve as liaisons between the Council and the three main elected municipal boards in town.

Member Ray Bishop also has been named parliamentarian, a role Justak said may or may not be needed but one that will help meetings and debates on issues run more smoothly.

"We're excited about the year ahead with the speakers and are just plugging along," said Justak. "We have some real work ahead of us."

A new beginning
The Council may not have met formally until last month, but Justak said "a couple laid-back meetings" with core members this past summer helped everyone get up to speed with the coming year or two.

"It was basically done to let me know what their thoughts and ideas are and possible agenda items," she said. "I definitely think we're in a new different place. The members we have are excited to be members and want many people to be part of it. They want to make sure at slating time, we have good, honest discussions like never before."

She said she asked those who showed up to the informal July sessions to speak what was on their minds and to tell her, their new chair, why they were involved with the Council. And, she said, they were more than open to the idea and gave her some new perspectives to consider.

In the last couple of years, there was a lot of talk amongst members who expressed displeasure with what was happening during meetings, how vetting and slating was carried out, and so new bylaws were enacted to address some of those issues.

"We are moving forward; now we have a clear set of (rules) that will help govern us better," she added.

Justak said one goal she raised was for greater visibility and publicity, even in the off-season.

"People don't know what the Citizens' Council is about," she said, noting she would love to have a stronger community presence at fairs, festivals, parades and other civic events. "I would like to propose a grassroots effort of reaching out to people more."

She said the Council wants voters to know it is taking a closer look at how it carries out the slating process so they, too, can become more educated about the selection of candidates its members deem most qualified and why.

"We want to move toward a Council that can help educate the community on what they're doing so they can develop solid questions at slating time," she added. "This can provide some real insight."

In turn, more residents may decide to join the Council, to have a voice, a pride in ownership of the process and "to have their finger on the pulse of the community" regardless of whether they feel comfortable speaking publicly or normally have time to attend meetings. The Council typically only meets monthly, except perhaps at slating time every two years.

Justak wants to develop an email list of anyone and everyone interested in Council affairs so they can be regularly updated when things are going on.

In recent past, there was a lot of questions raised at meetings about the integrity of the group and people with political agendas who try to alter the process. So, the bylaws were updated to ensure that was harder to happen.

For instance, immediate family members cannot vote for each other, such was the case of a couple years back when a member voted for her husband who is now a sitting trustee.

Others were concerned about members individually speaking to the media "who were not representing the Council in a good way" because they had different goals.

"We're a non-partisan organization within the community whose charge is to recommend qualified candidates to the community and that's about it," she said, adding the oft-criticized closed meetings are only those in which secret votes are cast for slated candidates.

The bylaws have also stiffened up what membership means by strengthening attendance requirements.

"This (coming) year," said Justak, "you have the opportunity (through the Council) to educate yourself on how local government works."