Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident criticizes village appointment practices, cites 2002 mayoral corporation‑counsel choice
Summary
During public comment at the Jan. 6 meeting a longtime commenter urged reform of political hiring in Skokie's legal department, cited a 2002 appointment and distributed a newspaper account; the board did not respond with action and the remarks were an appearance of public comment, not a formal complaint or hearing.
A member of the public used the Jan. 6 public‑comment period to criticize the village’s historical practice of appointing political allies to positions in the corporation counsel’s office and to urge reform of the appointment process.
The speaker said the board “for over half a century…appoint[ed] its own political party leaders to public positions in Skokie's legal department” and referred to a 2002 episode when Mayor George Van Dusen nominated an outside attorney (Jay Patrick Hamley, as reported) instead of a local party‑affiliated candidate; the commenter read excerpts from a Tribune account and distributed copies of the article to board members.
The remarks were delivered as a public comment and did not include a formal complaint or a board directive; board members did not take action during the meeting on the record in response to the comments.
Ending: The commenter said they will continue to speak about the issue at future meetings; no board vote or administrative response was recorded at this meeting.
