December 2006 - Illinois Library Association

IN THE NEWS
Ex-library Official Guilty
on Two Counts
A former member of the North Chicago Library
Board pleaded guilty to failing to seek bids for library
carpeting and lying about his financial status while
living in publicly subsidized housing, reported the
October 3 Chicago Tribune.
Calvin Warren, 51, is to be sentenced in Lake County
Circuit Court for official misconduct and state benefits
fraud. He was one of seven North Chicago residents
indicted in May 2005 after a two-year investigation
of public corruption.
While on the library board in 2002 and 2003, Warren
approved a contract for new carpet in the library without
seeking bids, which the law requires. The contract was
awarded to a company owned by Warren’s stepson, Glenn
Bullocks, officials said. After receiving the contract,
Bullocks lent Warren $2,300, which he didn’t repay,
officials said.
Warren also received rent supplements from the North
Chicago Housing Authority for three years starting in
2000, said Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Chancey.
Warren and his wife, Barbara Anderson, lived in the
housing together and Warren didn’t declare his income
to the housing agency, Chancey said. Anderson also was
charged and is awaiting a court date.
Library Seeks Land
to Expand Facilities
Wanted: A 10- to 12-acre parcel of land, centrally located
between Manhattan and Jackson townships. Interested
sellers should contact the Manhattan Public Library
District, reported the October 8 Sun-Times News Group.
Manhattan library officials have been making long-range
building plans for at least two years and are almost ready
to ask voters for the construction funds they will need.
“The board is being very proactive. They have all their
ducks in a row, and would love to go to a referendum
[question] in April,” library director Judy Pet said. All
ducks, that is, but one: they don’t have land on which
to build.
Land appears to be plentiful within the seventy-two square
miles served by the library district, but, Pet said, they
cannot find anyone who is interested or willing to sell
them a chunk. “I’m surprised. I never thought finding
land would be as challenging as it has been,” she said.
Library officials have been working with realtors and
talking to developers and landowners since May. “It’s time
to make the community aware of our dilemma,” Pet said.
The ideal site would have the long axis running east-west
to allow the building to have northern lighting. This
reduces glare and the cost of shades that usually accompany
windows on the west and south sides of a building, she
said. Also, the library would like to be able to annex to the
village of Manhattan but still be centrally located to serve
its Jackson Township patrons.
If they can identify a site by November, they would have
time to calculate the funds needed and place a request on
the April ballot. If that measure were successful, they could
move into a new library in 2009. If not, the next chance
for a referendum question would be in the spring of 2008,
with a building in 2010. “I cannot fathom another four
years in this building,” Pet said.
The board hired consultants to do a needs assessment
and a financial analysis. Officials are awaiting results of
a growth management study being completed by Northern
Illinois University’s Regional Development Institute to
determine how quickly the community will grow.
Pet said they will use that information to determine the
size of the building. She also plans to form small discussion
groups to solicit public input on the construction project.
The current facility, built in 1984 at 240 Whitson, is 6,000
square feet, and serves a population of about 13,000 people.
Pet said they see an average of 360 patrons per day,
a number that is growing steadily.
The needs assessment done by Frederick Schlipf found severe
overcrowding in all library areas, inadequate shelving, seating,
work space, restrooms, and storage space, and insufficient
parking and electrical outlets. He recommended a new
two-story structure, built in two phases, on a site large
enough to accommodate future expansion.
By 2030, growth projections have shown that the population
of the library district will be 100,000 people, and the library
will need 100,000 square feet, numbers that Pet finds
“mind-boggling.”
ILA Reporter – December 2006
26