It was a short but instructive Board Meeting on November 5 as the Commission steamed through a number of items with very little discussion. There was an Ethics Ordinance Amendment which had been proposed by Com. Peraica. This would have died as Com. Peraica was not present and no one else volunteered to make the motion for it, but Com Suffredin made the motion to "lay it on the table" which means it must wait until a Commissioner moves to bring it off the table in the future before it can be considered.
The only matter of contention during the meeting was over a request from ATT to allow use a small amount of Forest Preserve land to place a cable TV box for people across the street. Some Commissioners (Murphy, Butler, Sims) argued that the permission ought to be allowed on the basis that it would not be a big inconvenience to the Forest Preserve and that we ought to help businesses in Cook County. Some, including Commissioners Suffredin, Claypool and Collins, argued that this is a test case for how we treat all requests. If these services are not essential to the mission of the Forest Preserve then it is not a good idea to make an exception to the land-use policy in order to accomodate them. Commissioner Collins also noted that the fee for ATT was $74 for a 10-year-lease "an amount that would not cover the cost of processing the check." The motion NOT to allow the request passed 6-5 with Commissioner Silvestri voting present.
With regard to the ongoing debate about individual requests for land favors, Commission Collins introduced an Amendment to the Transfer of Land statutes. She is in favor of making the land-use policy more clear and explicit so that it can be adhered to consistently with no exceptions. Her proposed ordinance amendment was referred to the Finance Committee, with the comment that "if it were referred to the Real Estate Committee we would never see it again."
Respectfully submitted by Observer Henrietta Saunders
