It’s not as though the Chicago Park District needs more problems, what with trees dying in Lincoln Park and so many inner-city parks a shambles. Yet once again it’s the target of accusations by outraged activists who feel the bureaucracy is trying to take control of policies and practices beyond its domain.
“We don’t need the Park District with its mandatory guidelines coming in to tell us how to run our business, thank you,” says Cecilia Butler, chairperson of the Washington Park advisory council and a member of the consortium. “But that’s just what’s been happening since the Park District stacked the consortium with paid staff.”
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The enterprise began innocently enough, with a $1 million grant last year from the Kellogg Foundation–the cereal conglomerate’s not-for-profit philanthropic wing. The purpose of the grant was for the Park District to train and assist local residents so they could better manage their neighborhood parks.
Besides, most councils seemed to be operating without major problems, Nelson says. “Oh sure, there are times when an advisory council will only get a handful of people to a meeting, but that’s the nature of a voluntary organization,” says Nelson. “They have their ups and downs; when an issue gets hot a lot of people show up. But generally speaking the day-to-day oversight work attracts only a few dedicated, civic-minded types.”
After a few meetings, a dispute emerged over the issue of creating bylaws. “There are no set rules or regulations governing these councils,” says Jernigan. “For instance, there is no rule prohibiting someone from joining a dozen park councils all over the city and having a vote in every one. That violates the concept of one person, one vote. Is it unreasonable to say that you can be a member of as many parks as you want but only vote in one?”
The two sides came head to head earlier this summer, when a handful of advisory members from parks across the city showed up to testify at a meeting of the consortium. Jernigan said she would gladly hear their concerns, but that they would have to leave once the official consortium meeting began. “It’s not that our meetings are private or that we have anything to hide,” she says. “But we had a lot of work to do and a lot of the things we were discussing were not public. At one point they will be public, when we make our recommendations to the full Park District board.”
“The consortium is turning into a joke,” says Butler. “Most of the advisory council members who are on the consortium don’t even show up for the meetings. They are volunteers. If there’s something nasty they stop going. No one docks them, no one reprimands them. We end up with a consortium dominated by paid Park District employees. So much for independence.”
